π° How much does a website really cost in 2026 (Morocco, France, international)?
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Domain, hosting, design, development, content, SEO, maintenance and hidden costs: what a website really costs, how to compare quotes, and a worked example of the total cost over 3 years.
Method. The "at OUFRID" prices come from my public indicative rate card (in euros, excluding tax), converted roughly into dirhams at about MAD 11 to β¬1. For the market in general, I only quote sourced and dated figures. Where no reliable source exists, I say so instead of inventing a range. Prices checked on 18 October 2026.
1. Why quotes range from 1 to 20
For "a business website", you can get one quote at MAD 3,000 and another at MAD 60,000. That doesn't automatically mean one is a scam and the other is generous: you aren't being sold the same thing. The gaps come from:
- how much is custom: a bought theme filled with content, or a design created for your brand;
- content: texts and photos supplied by you, or written and produced by the provider;
- SEO: just installing a plugin, or real keyword research and page structure;
- languages: a French, English and Arabic site (with RTL) isn't "one site plus a translation";
- aftercare: hosting, backups, updates and support included or not;
- the provider's country and status: freelancer, agency, platform.
A good quote makes all these choices visible. A bad quote hides them.
2. Cost items, one by one
2.1 Domain name
| Extension | Observed price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
.ma | From MAD 119 a year at an ANRT-accredited registrar (Clouder) | ID documents required; registrant details are public |
.com | About $10.46 a year at cost at Cloudflare Registrar (third-party tracker) | Other registrars often charge more, especially on renewal |
Golden rule: the domain must be registered in your name, with access to your own registrar account. A domain in the provider's name is a site you don't really own.
2.2 Hosting
- Entry-level shared hosting: a few euros a month, often with a long commitment and a higher renewal price. Example: Hostinger advertises its WooCommerce plan at $3.99/month over 48 months paid upfront, then $16.99/month on renewal.
- For a store, WooCommerce estimates hosting for most stores at $25 to $350 a month.
- Managed hosting at OUFRID: β¬25 to β¬200 a month (about MAD 275 to 2,200), depending on traffic and service level.
2.3 Design and development
This is the bulk of the quote. What moves the price: the number of distinct page templates (not the number of pages), the features (forms, booking, customer area, payment, multilingual), the integrations (CRM, courier, CMI, ERP) and how custom the design is.
2.4 Content
Texts, photos, videos, translations. It's the most underestimated item: many projects run months late because "the copy is coming". At OUFRID, copywriting costs β¬150 to β¬1,200 (about MAD 1,650 to 13,200) depending on volume.
2.5 SEO
Two different things: the SEO basics delivered with the site (titles, descriptions, structure, sitemap, speed) and ongoing SEO work (content, links, monitoring). At OUFRID: an audit costs β¬250 to β¬900 (MAD 2,750 to 9,900), monthly SEO β¬350 to β¬1,800/month (MAD 3,850 to 19,800), local SEO β¬200 to β¬700/month (MAD 2,200 to 7,700).
2.6 Maintenance
Updates, tested backups, monitoring, small fixes. At OUFRID: β¬35 to β¬250 a month (about MAD 385 to 2,750). Without maintenance, a WordPress site sooner or later ends up hacked or broken. A one-off repair then costs β¬80 to β¬600 (MAD 880 to 6,600).
2.7 Hidden costs
- [ ] Renewals: domain, hosting after the promo, plugin licences (on the official WooCommerce marketplace: $29 to $299 per year per extension).
- [ ] Premium theme or page builder and its licence renewals.
- [ ] SaaS platform apps (Shopify, YouCan, Wixβ¦), billed monthly.
- [ ] Fees on sales (platform and payment provider).
- [ ] Photos (shoot, licensed stock images).
- [ ] Translations and native proofreading, especially for Arabic.
- [ ] Professional email (mailboxes on your domain).
- [ ] Online payment: the CMI application in Morocco and its fees.
- [ ] Legal pages and compliance (personal data, cookies).
- [ ] Advertising to bring in the first visitors.
- [ ] Your own time: approvals, content, answering customers.
- [ ] VAT: my prices exclude tax; always check whether a quote is before or after tax.
3. DIY, freelancer or agency?
| Do it yourself | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost in money | Lowest (tools + domain) | Medium | Highest |
| Cost in your time | Very high | Medium | Low |
| Quality | Depends on you | Depends heavily on the person | More consistent, established processes |
| Contact person | You | One person, who does the work | Project manager + team |
| Main risk | Slow, poorly ranked, abandoned site | Unavailability, depending on one person | Cost, hidden subcontracting |
| Best for | Testing an idea, a simple page | SMEs, independents, stores | Large projects, several teams, tenders |
What the market says (dated sources):
- On Codeur.com, a French-language freelance marketplace, the displayed average day rate for a WordPress developer is β¬140 (October 2026), from β¬70 (beginner) to β¬210 (senior), and the average budget of WordPress projects posted is β¬766. These are platform averages, with providers from many countries: they say nothing about the quality or scope of the projects.
- On Malt, an article by La Fabrique du Net (July 2026) puts most WordPress freelancers at β¬400 to β¬600 a day.
- For Morocco, I found no reliable public study of website prices. The figures going around come from agencies' sales pages. So compare detailed quotes, not averages.
The gap (β¬140 versus β¬400β600 a day) mostly shows one thing: a day rate isn't enough to compare. A provider at β¬150/day who needs 20 days costs more than one at β¬450/day who needs 5.
4. Price ranges by type of site at OUFRID
Indicative prices, excluding tax, rough conversion at MAD 11 to β¬1. The final quote depends on content, features and languages.
| Type of site | In euros (excl. tax) | In dirhams (β) | For whom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing page (single sales page) | β¬300 β 1,200 | β MAD 3,300 β 13,200 | One offer, one ad campaign |
| Business website | β¬450 β 2,500 | β MAD 5,000 β 27,500 | Craftspeople, practices, restaurants, SMEs |
| COD store (cash on delivery) | β¬900 β 4,500 | β MAD 9,900 β 49,500 | Selling in Morocco, order confirmation, couriers |
| Full e-commerce store | β¬1,200 β 6,500 | β MAD 13,200 β 71,500 | Online payment, catalogue, multilingual |
| Custom site | β¬2,500 β 12,000 | β MAD 27,500 β 132,000 | Platform, customer area, business logic |
| Custom WordPress plugin | β¬350 β 4,500 | β MAD 3,850 β 49,500 | A specific feature |
| Hourly rate | β¬30 β 60/h | β MAD 330 β 660/h | Small jobs |
For France or elsewhere, the euro ranges are the same. The site also shows these prices in your currency on the pricing page.
5. How to compare quotes
Put the quotes side by side in a table like this one. If a cell stays empty, ask.
| What to compare | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of page templates and list of pages | |||
| Design: adapted theme or custom? Number of revision rounds | |||
| Languages, and is Arabic (RTL) tested? | |||
| Who supplies texts and photos? | |||
| SEO included (exact list) | |||
| Speed: measurable target? | |||
| Hosting: included, duration, renewal price | |||
| Maintenance: included, duration, scope | |||
| Licences in the client's name? | |||
| Domain in the client's name? | |||
| Full admin access handed over? | |||
| Training on how to use it | |||
| Timeline and payment schedule | |||
| Price excl. tax, VAT, 3-year total |
6. Red flags in a quote
- A single price with no breakdown ("website: MAD 8,000"): impossible to know what's included.
- The domain or hosting in the provider's name, with no option to transfer.
- "You won't get admin access": you'll depend on them for the smallest change.
- "Free premium" theme or plugins with no licence in your name: no updates, security risk, sometimes pirated software.
- "Guaranteed first page on Google": nobody can guarantee a ranking.
- No mention of maintenance or of what happens after launch.
- 100% paid upfront, with no milestones or intermediate deliverables.
- No verifiable portfolio, or projects you can't visit.
- An unrealistic deadline ("three-language store in 3 days").
- An "all-inclusive" monthly subscription with no clear minimum term or exit terms: what do you keep if you leave?
7. Questions to ask before signing
- Who will own the domain, the site, the design and the content at the end?
- What technology is the site built on, and can I switch providers later?
- How much will the site cost me every year after launch?
- What exactly does maintenance include (updates, backups, response times)?
- How will the site be fast on an entry-level phone over 4G?
- Which SEO is included, and which isn't?
- For Arabic: who translates, who proofreads, and is the design tested in RTL?
- How many rounds of revisions are planned?
- Can I see two live sites you built and talk to a client?
- What happens if the project runs late on your side or mine?
8. Worked example: total cost over 3 years
Illustrative assumptions (not a real client): a consultancy in Casablanca wants a 6-page French-Arabic business website with a form and a WhatsApp button.
Option A: "cheap up front"
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build by a low-cost provider | β¬350 | ||
.com domain | β β¬10 | β β¬10 | β β¬10 |
| Promo hosting, then renewal | β β¬50 | β β¬50 | β β¬200 |
| Premium theme and plugins (yearly licences, assumption) | β¬100 | β¬100 | β¬100 |
| Maintenance | β¬0 | β¬0 | β¬0 |
| Clean-up after a hack (assumption, within my β¬80β600 range) | β¬400 | ||
| Partial rebuild: the site doesn't rank and reads badly in Arabic (assumption) | β¬1,200 | ||
| Total | β β¬510 | β β¬560 | β β¬1,510 |
3-year total: about β¬2,580, for a site that spent part of its life broken or invisible.
Option B: "done properly from the start" (OUFRID ranges)
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bilingual business website (mid-range, assumption) | β¬1,500 | ||
.ma domain (MAD 119/year) | β β¬11 | β β¬11 | β β¬11 |
| Managed hosting (low end of range) | β¬300 | β¬300 | β¬300 |
| Maintenance (low end of range) | β¬420 | β¬420 | β¬420 |
| Total | β β¬2,231 | β β¬731 | β β¬731 |
3-year total: about β¬3,690, or roughly MAD 40,600 (approximate conversion).
What to take away:
- Option B costs about β¬1,100 more over 3 years, but the budget is predictable and the site stays updated, fast and backed up.
- Option A is only "cheap" if nothing breaks. The failure assumptions are illustrative: your real risk depends on the provider.
- This calculation leaves out the most important thing: customers won or lost. A site that brings in just one more contract a year often covers the difference.
The same reasoning applies to a store: add subscriptions, fees and apps (see the guide WooCommerce, Shopify or YouCan).
9. How to cut the bill without cutting corners
- Prepare your content (texts, photos, logo) before asking for quotes: fewer billed hours, fewer delays.
- Start small: 5 solid pages beat 25 empty ones. Add more later.
- Choose a clean, fast theme rather than a custom design, if your brand doesn't require one.
- Don't pay for "just in case" features: member area, multilingual blog, chatbot⦠add them when the need is real.
- Keep maintenance, even minimal: it's the cheapest insurance.
- Make small content updates yourself: ask for training at handover.
- Test before paying more: run the free SEO audit, the speed test and the conversion audit on your current site. Sometimes fixes are enough and you don't need a redesign.
10. Sources (checked on 18/10/2026)
- OUFRID indicative rates (euros, excl. tax)
- Clouder, .ma domain names
- Cloudflare Registrar domain prices, third-party tracker
- Hostinger WooCommerce hosting
- WooCommerce pricing and stated costs
- Codeur.com, average WordPress developer rates (October 2026, in French)
- La Fabrique du Net, WordPress freelancer rates (July 2026, in French)
Need help?
I write detailed quotes, item by item, with the 3-year cost. See website design, all services or get in touch.