Updated 3 October 2026.
A web development company spends less of its time writing code than most buyers expect. The rest goes on deciding what the site has to do, moving old addresses safely, testing, and handing everything over so you can run it without us. Those parts decide whether the project works.
We have been building websites for 14+ years, across more than 350 projects. This is a plain account of what you are paying for, what to check before you sign, and how a website is priced in India.
What a web development company does, step by step
Different companies name the stages differently, but the work falls into six pieces. The right-hand column is the one worth reading, because that is where projects go wrong.
| Stage | What you get | What goes wrong when it is rushed |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | A review of your current site, your audiences, your offer and the decision the site has to support | The site is built for the company and not for the buyer |
| Structure and design | A sitemap, wireframes, a visual design and a set of review stages | Pages that look good and give nobody a next step |
| Build | Approved layouts turned into a working site on a CMS, a store platform or custom code, plus agreed integrations | Features nobody asked for, and the ones you did ask for missing |
| Testing | Checks on phones and browsers, forms, key paths, tracking and search foundations | A contact form that sends enquiries to a dead inbox |
| Launch and handover | Redirects, account access, editing guidance and a support arrangement | You cannot change a headline without calling the developer |
| Maintenance | Monitoring, backups, software updates and fixes, usually scoped separately | An unpatched site that gets compromised a year later |
That list matches how we run our own website development projects: discover, define and design, build and test, launch and hand over. Maintenance is a separate scope, and we say so in the proposal so nobody assumes it is included.
The work you do not see
Three jobs rarely appear on the pitch deck and cause most of the damage when they are skipped.
The first is redirects. If your new site changes any page addresses, every old address has to point to the right new page. Google’s guidance on moving a site recommends server-side permanent redirects, such as 301 and 308, and says to map old URLs to their closest new equivalents instead of sending everything to the home page[1]. It also says 301 redirects do not cause a loss in PageRank. A rebuild that skips this can lose pages that were ranking. We plan redirects during discovery, and we do not promise that rankings will hold, because nobody can.
The second is speed. Google measures page experience with three Core Web Vitals: loading, responsiveness and visual stability[2]. Most of that is decided by how the front end is built and how images are handled, which is why a company that treats speed as a final polish step tends to deliver slow sites.
The third is ownership. Your domain, hosting account, analytics and the site files should be in your name. We write ownership, source files and account access into the proposal, and we recommend client-controlled accounts. If a company wants to hold your domain, ask why.
Who is on the team
You do not need to meet everyone, but you should know who is doing the work. A typical project has a project manager who owns the timeline, a designer who owns structure and interface, a front-end developer, a back-end developer where data or integrations are involved, and someone who tests.
Search input belongs in that list from the first week. Page titles, URL structure, headings and internal links are cheap to get right during design and tedious to retrofit after launch. Our website page says the same thing in its own words: search foundations are agreed during the build. Ongoing SEO, AEO and GEO are separate scopes, and a new site does not rank because it exists.
What a website costs in India
Websites start at ₹1,00,000 plus GST with us. These are our four published packages, and they are starting prices, not fixed quotes.
| Package | Starting price (plus GST) | What the package covers |
|---|---|---|
| Basic CMS website | ₹1,00,000 | Responsive layouts, core business pages, a contact route and CMS handover |
| B2B website | ₹1,75,000 | Product or solution architecture, relevant proof, an enquiry or RFQ route and core analytics |
| Corporate website | ₹2,25,000 | Corporate information architecture, reusable CMS components and paths for several audiences |
| Ecommerce website | ₹2,50,000 | Catalogue, product pages, cart, checkout and agreed payment and shipping setup |
The final number moves with the number of pages and features, how ready your content is, the size of the catalogue and how complicated the integrations are. Hosting, paid licences, substantial content or asset production, third-party tools, complex integrations and ongoing maintenance are included only when the proposal lists them. No package engagement starts below ₹75,000 plus GST.
We have a separate piece on what website design costs in India that breaks down what pushes a quote up or down. If what you need is closer to software than a marketing site, such as a portal with logins and workflows, that is a different scope, and our web application development page covers it.
When you need an app and not a website
An app is a separate product scope, not a feature tucked inside a website package. It is priced by what it has to do, not by the number of screens. Our mobile and web app tiers start at ₹75,000 plus GST for a progressive web app with up to eight core screens. App-store fees are separate and paid directly by you: 99 USD a year for an Apple developer account and a one-off 25 USD for Google, as our app page states.
Most businesses that ask us about an app need a good website first. If your buyers find you on Google and fill in a form, build that well before you build something they have to download.
Website builder, freelancer or agency
All three are legitimate. They suit different jobs.
| Option | Works well when | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Website builder | You need a simple brochure site and nothing connects to it | You hit the ceiling when requirements grow |
| Freelancer | The job is well defined and you can specify and manage it | One person is a single point of failure for support |
| Agency | The project needs design, development, content and search work together | You pay for coordination, and the quote is higher |
We are an agency, so we have an interest here. If your site is five pages and a contact form, a builder or a freelancer will probably serve you better than we will, and we will tell you that on the first call.
What to check before you hire one
Ask to see live sites, not mockups. Then open them on your phone and run them through PageSpeed Insights yourself. Our own page shows real client websites, including Jakson, Roto Pumps, Indus Towers and Asian Hospital, so you can judge the finished product and not a pitch.
Ask who owns what, in writing. Code, domain, hosting and content should be yours, and the account logins should be in your name.
Ask how redirects will be handled on a rebuild. A vague answer means vague planning.
Ask what the quote includes. How many page templates, which integrations, whether content and images are in scope, how many rounds of revisions, and what happens after launch. Two quotes with the same headline number can contain very different amounts of work.
Ask what support looks like after launch, for how long and at what response time. Support that is not written down tends not to exist.
Ask whether search is considered during the build. If the answer is that it comes later, you will pay to retrofit it. Our SEO, AEO and GEO work runs as a separate scope, and the best time to talk about it is before the design is signed off.
Finally, ask what they would not build. A company that agrees with every line of your brief has not thought about it.
How long it takes
We do not quote a fixed number of weeks here, because we have no honest average to give you. Schedule follows page count, integrations and how quickly you send content and approvals. In our experience, review speed and content readiness affect the schedule as much as the design does. A site waiting on copy sits still whatever the developers are doing.
If you are comparing agencies more broadly, our guide on how to choose an agency covers contract terms and reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a web development company do?
It scopes, designs, builds, tests, launches and hands over websites and web applications, including the integrations with tools like a CRM or payment gateway. A good one also plans redirects, speed and search foundations, and writes down who owns the accounts and files.
How much does a website cost in India?
Our packages start at ₹1,00,000 plus GST for a basic CMS website, ₹1,75,000 for a B2B website, ₹2,25,000 for a corporate website and ₹2,50,000 for an ecommerce website. These are starting prices. The final quote depends on pages, features, content readiness, catalogue size and integrations.
What is the difference between web design and web development?
Design decides structure, layout and how someone moves through the site. Development builds it, covering what the visitor sees and the data, logic and integrations behind it. Most projects need both, and agencies usually provide them together.
Is hosting included in a website package?
Not unless the proposal lists it. Hosting, paid licences, third-party tools, complex integrations and ongoing maintenance are included only when expressly listed, so ask for each to be confirmed in writing.
Will a new website hurt my Google rankings?
It can, and missing redirects are the usual cause. A redirect map that sends each old page to its closest new equivalent protects most of what you have, but nobody can guarantee that rankings hold. Our website development process plans redirects and testing before launch.
Do I need an app or is a website enough?
For most businesses a website is enough to start. An app suits cases where users need accounts, offline use, notifications or a native experience. Our app tiers start at ₹75,000 plus GST for a progressive web app.
Who should own the website and domain?
You should. The domain, hosting account, analytics and source files should sit in your name, with the agency added as a user. We write this into the proposal and recommend client-controlled accounts.
References
- Google Search Central, How to move a site.
- Google Search Central, Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results.
- DigiStreet Media, published case studies, each with its source and date range.
