shepx insight article image: here's what a 12-page website should cost

Here’s What a 12-Page Website Should Cost You

TL;DR

A well-built, fully managed 12-page website for a B2B service brand should cost you $12,000–$15,000, all in. That includes strategy, UX, design, development, copywriting, and imagery. You don’t need to commit the full amount upfront—our process starts with a discovery session and a down payment of just $4,000 (one-third of the total budget). The rest is structured across the project timeline. 


Why 12 Pages? (It’s Not Arbitrary)

Most B2B service brands don’t need a 150-page website. They also don’t thrive with a 5-pager.

Twelve pages is the sweet spot. It’s what we build most often for our customers, and it’s what actually converts warm leads into clients.

Here’s why: A 12-page website gives you enough real estate to tell your story (your who, your why, your how) while staying focused and navigable. It covers your core service offerings, speaks to the actual problems you solve, showcases your work, and builds trust through social proof. But it stops before becoming overwhelming.

Eight pages? You’re cramming. Fifteen pages? You’re losing people in the noise.

Twelve pages respect both your brand and your visitors’ time.


What You’re Actually Paying For

When you invest in a 12-page website, you’re not just buying web pages. You’re investing in a process that treats your website as a capital asset for growing your business, not a static marketing expense that sits for 2 years.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Strategy & Discovery (~$2,000–$2,500 of your investment)

Before a single pixel is designed, we understand your business deeply. This phase includes:

  • Brand audit: What’s working in your current brand experience? What’s not?
  • Competitive landscape review: Who else is in your space, and why aren’t you dominating it?
  • Customer persona development: We don’t guess at who you serve—we map it out.
  • Website goal-setting: What should this website actually do? Drive leads? Build authority? Convert existing warm relationships?
  • Information architecture & UX flow: How do visitors move through your site? What’s the journey?
  • Wireframing: Low-fidelity layouts that map the logic before we touch design.

This phase isn’t sexy, but it’s where better websites are born. It’s also where we catch misalignments early; when they’re cheap to fix, not three months in.

2. Design & User Interface (~$3,000–$3,500)

With strategy locked in, we design. This includes:

  • Visual design system: How your brand looks on screen—typography, spacing, color hierarchy, components.
  • High-fidelity mockups: Every page is designed and approved before we build.
  • Responsive design: Mobile-native by default. Every breakpoint works beautifully.
  • Interaction design: Micro-interactions, hover states, transitions; the stuff that feels right.
  • Brand-specific UI: Custom components that reflect your brand character, not generic templates.
  • Design iterations: We loop on feedback until it’s genuinely better than what you had before.

3. Development & Technical Architecture (~$3,500–$4,000)

This is where design becomes reality. This phase covers:

  • Codebase setup: Clean, scalable architecture so your site doesn’t become a technical debt nightmare.
  • Front-end development: Semantic HTML, modern CSS, performant JavaScript.
  • Back-end integration: CMS setup, API connections, form handling, security protocols.
  • Performance optimization: Load times matter. We build for speed from the start.
  • Cross-browser testing: It works everywhere, not just Chrome.
  • Accessibility standards: Your site is usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.
  • Security best practices: SSL, headers, vulnerability scanning—we protect your domain and your visitors.

4. Content & Copywriting (~$1,500–$2,000)

We don’t leave your words to chance. This includes:

  • Strategic copywriting: Headlines, body copy, CTAs, all written to speak to your actual customers’ pain points and desires.
  • SEO optimization: Naturally integrated keywords and structure so search engines understand what you do.
  • Brand voice consistency: Every page sounds like you, not a template.
  • Copy refinement: We loop on messaging until it genuinely connects with your audience.

5. Imagery & Visual Assets (~$1,000–$1,500)

Your site needs compelling visuals. This includes:

  • Professional photography direction: If you need photos, we guide the shoot or source professional stock that aligns with your brand.
  • Image optimization: All images are compressed, formatted, and delivered for web, no bloat.
  • Graphic creation: Custom illustrations, icons, or brand-specific graphics.
  • Diverse representation: Your imagery reflects the diversity of your actual customers.
  • Lightweight video: Short, auto-playing brand videos or explainer content that doesn’t kill load times.

6. Project Management & Coordination (~$1,000–$1,500)

This is often invisible, but it’s critical:

  • Single point of contact: You’re not juggling emails between designers, developers, and copywriters. We handle that.
  • Timeline management: Realistic schedules. No surprises.
  • Feedback loops: Clear processes for revisions so nothing gets lost in translation.
  • Launch coordination: Testing, final checks, DNS migration, analytics setup.
  • Handoff documentation: You know how to maintain and update your site after launch.

Why an All-In-One Team Matters

Here’s where shepx differs from hiring a designer, then a developer, then a copywriter, then an SEO person.

When everything happens under one roof, the handoffs are seamless. Your designer isn’t throwing pixels over a wall to a developer who has to figure out the intent. Your copywriter knows the design constraints before they write 500 words that won’t fit. Your developer isn’t trying to retrofit security into a design that wasn’t built with it in mind.

One team = one vision = one fluid process.

That cohesion saves time, prevents scope creep, and results in a website that feels intentional, not Frankensteined together from competing priorities.


What’s NOT Included (Manage Expectations)

Transparency matters. Here’s what a 12-page website doesn’t cover:

  • Custom e-commerce functionality: If you’re selling products, that’s a different conversation.
  • Ongoing content creation: We launch your site; we don’t blog for you.
  • Advanced marketing automation: Email sequences, retargeting, CRM integration—those are add-ons.
  • Ongoing support retainers: Maintenance, updates, and hosting are separate (and worth budgeting for).
  • Extensive third-party integrations: If you need custom API work beyond standard tools, scope increases.

These aren’t negatives, they’re just outside the 12-page website box. We’ll surface them early if they’re relevant to your business.


The Real ROI: What Warm Leads Are Worth

Let’s talk about what you’re actually buying.

A 12-page website built to convert should generate warm inbound leads. For most B2B service brands, a single qualified lead is worth thousands in revenue, especially compared to cold outreach or buying lists.

If your new website brings in even 2–3 additional warm leads per month that convert to customers, you’ve paid for the entire investment in 6–12 months. After that, it’s pure business growth.

That’s why we treat your website as a capital investment, not a line-item expense.


Getting Started (It’s Easier Than You Think)

Here’s the barrier to entry: $4,000.

That covers a discovery session where we dig into your business, understand your goals, and map out the strategy for your specific situation. After discovery, you’ll know exactly what you’re building and why. You’ll also have a clear timeline and payment schedule for the remaining investment.

How it works:

  1. Discovery call (~30 minutes): You talk to us about your business, your challenges, and your goals.
  2. Proposal & timeline (~1 week after discovery): We present a customized plan, timeline, and payment structure.
  3. Down payment ($4,000): You commit to the project. We begin strategy and discovery work.
  4. Remaining investment: Split across project milestones—design approval, development start, launch prep.

That’s it. No surprise invoices. No hidden fees. Just a transparent, realistic process.


Questions Before You Start?

Here are the most common ones we hear:

Q: Can you do it for less?

A: We could, but then it wouldn’t be the same thing. A $5,000 website exists. It just won’t generate the same warm inbound leads or represent your brand with the same intentionality. We build for better, not for cheap.

Q: How long does it take?

A: Typically 8–12 weeks from discovery to launch, depending on how quickly feedback loops move. We’re realistic about timelines because we’ve done this hundreds of times.

Q: What if we need changes after launch?

A: That’s what a maintenance retainer covers. We’ll discuss ongoing support during the discovery call.

Q: Do you work with brands outside [your region/industry]?

A: Yes. Location doesn’t matter; your needs don’t require a local agency. We work with B2B service brands across the country.


Ready to Build Something Better?

If you’re a B2B service brand that’s tired of an outdated website or a generic template that doesn’t represent your actual business, let’s talk.

Book a 30-minute discovery call. No pitch. No pressure. Just an honest conversation about where your brand experience is today and where it could be.


shepx™ creates better on-screen brand experiences than what brands have had before. We work with B2B service businesses to build websites that generate warm inbound leads and grow their brands. Since 2008, we’ve been quietly building websites that work.

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