Ask five web designers in Harare what a website costs and you will get five different answers, from “$50, my cousin does it” to “send us a brief and we’ll get back to you”. Neither helps you plan.
So here is a straight answer, and the things that move the number up or down.
The short answer
For a small business in Zimbabwe, a proper website usually falls into one of four sizes:
| What you need | Typical size | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| A simple presence: who you are, what you do, how to reach you | 1–3 pages | $150 |
| A site that brings in enquiries for a service business | Up to 8 pages | $450 |
| A product catalogue customers can order from on WhatsApp | Up to 50 products | $850 |
| An online shop that takes payment (Paynow, EcoCash) | Any size | from $1,500 |
Those are once-off prices. Hosting and small edits are a separate, optional monthly cost, which we cover below.
What makes a website cost more
Number of pages. Each page needs designing, writing and checking on a phone. Most small businesses need fewer than they think. A good home page, a services page and a contact page cover a lot.
Products. A catalogue is more work than a brochure. Every product needs a photo, a name, a price and a page, plus categories and filters so people can find things.
Taking payment online. Connecting Paynow or EcoCash means checkout pages, order emails and testing real payments. Many Zimbabwean shops do better starting with WhatsApp ordering and adding payment later.
Writing the text. If you send us your own words, it’s quicker and cheaper. If you’d rather we write it, that’s $50 per 5 pages.
How fast you need it. A rush job means moving other work around, so it costs more.
The costs people forget
This is where cheap websites get expensive.
- Domain renewal. Your
.co.zwor.comrenews every year. Ask what it renews at, and make sure it is registered in your name, not the designer’s. - Hosting. Somewhere has to keep the site online. Some designers bundle it; others leave you to sort it out.
- Edits. Prices change, staff change, you open a new branch. Ask what a small change costs before you need one.
- Getting your files back. If you move to another designer, will they hand everything over? Some don’t.
Our care plans start at $15 a month for hosting, backups and domain renewal, and $30 a month includes an hour of edits and a monthly report. They’re optional: if you’d rather host it yourself, you get your files.
Is a $50 website worth it?
Sometimes. If you need a single page with your number on it and nothing else, a quick template can do the job.
But watch for the warning signs: a site that takes ten seconds to load on a phone, a domain registered in someone else’s name, or a designer who stops answering WhatsApp once they’ve been paid. A slow site on expensive mobile data loses customers before they see your prices.
What to ask before you pay a deposit
- What exactly is included, and how many rounds of changes?
- When does the clock start, and when will it be live?
- Whose name is the domain registered in?
- What does hosting cost after the first year?
- If I leave, do I get all my files?
If the answers are vague, keep looking.
Not ready for a website yet?
Start with the free basics. A Google Business Profile puts you on Google Maps, and a properly set up WhatsApp Business account makes you look professional on the app your customers already use. We set up a Google Business Profile for $40 and WhatsApp Business for $40.