Ask three web designers in Nairobi for a quote and you will probably get three different numbers. One says Ksh 25,000. Another says Ksh 120,000. A third sends a full proposal for Ksh 350,000. Same request, completely different prices.
Website design is not a standardized product. The price reflects who builds it, what platform they use, how many pages you need, whether you are selling products online and how much custom work is involved. This guide covers what websites actually cost in Kenya in 2026, what you get at each price point and what to watch out for before you sign anything.
Website costs in Kenya by type
Basic business website: Ksh 20,000 to Ksh 50,000
A basic website covers your home page, about page, services page and contact form. It gives customers somewhere to find you, learn what you do and get in touch.
At this price you should expect a clean, mobile-friendly site built on WordPress or a similar platform, with basic SEO setup and a contact form. There is not much room for custom design or advanced functionality.
Good for sole traders, freelancers, small service businesses and NGOs that need an online presence without complexity.
Standard SME website: Ksh 50,000 to Ksh 120,000
A mid-range site adds more pages, a blog section, photo galleries, team profiles and better design. It is built with Google rankings in mind and structured to convert visitors into enquiries.
Web Design Packages at Jebilton Ventures fall in this range. We build mobile-first, SEO-ready websites for Nairobi businesses that need to compete online.
Good for established SMEs, schools, clinics, hospitality businesses and professional service firms.
E-commerce website: Ksh 85,000 to Ksh 200,000+
An online store requires a product catalogue, shopping cart, payment gateway, order management, inventory tracking and security. It is significantly more complex than a brochure site.
M-Pesa integration is not optional for Kenyan e-commerce. Over 80% of adult Kenyans use M-Pesa for everyday transactions. A store that only accepts card payments will lose most of its potential customers at checkout.
Our E-commerce Website packages start at Ksh 45,000 and include M-Pesa integration and mobile-first design built for Kenyan shoppers.
Good for retail shops moving online, fashion brands, food businesses and any business selling products to Kenyan customers.
Good for retail shops moving online, fashion brands, food businesses and any business selling products to Kenyan customers.
Custom or enterprise website: Ksh 200,000 to Ksh 500,000+
Large portals, booking systems, membership sites and custom web applications sit at the top end of the market. These are for established brands, SACCOs, large NGOs or any business needing functionality beyond standard templates.
What affects the final price
Number of pages. A five-page site costs less than a twenty-page site with individual service pages, landing pages and a blog archive.
Custom design. Using a pre-built template is cheaper than designing something from scratch. Templates are not necessarily bad but they limit how distinctive your site looks compared to competitors.
E-commerce features. Every additional feature, from product filters to discount codes to delivery zone calculators, adds development time and therefore cost.
SEO setup. A site built without SEO in mind is harder and more expensive to fix later. Good agencies include on-page SEO, meta tags, site speed optimization and Google Search Console setup as standard. Ask about this upfront. SEO services in Nairobi
Hosting and domain. These are annual costs separate from the build fee. A .co.ke domain costs around Ksh 1,500 per year. Reliable hosting in Kenya runs Ksh 5,000 to Ksh 20,000 per year depending on the provider.
Content. Some agencies write copy and source photos for you. Others expect you to provide everything. Clarify this before you start or you may face extra costs or delays at launch.
Red flags to watch for
A website quoted at Ksh 5,000 or Ksh 8,000 is almost certainly a template with your logo dropped in. It will look like dozens of other businesses, load slowly on mobile and do nothing for your Google rankings.
Beyond price, watch for these warning signs:
🔴 No written contract covering deliverables, timeline, payments and file ownership
🔴 No discussion of mobile performance from the first conversation
🔴 No mention of SEO in the proposal
🔴Vague timelines with no milestones or launch date
🔴Unclear about who owns the domain and hosting after the project ends
Some providers make it difficult or expensive for you to move your site elsewhere after they build it. Always confirm you will receive the domain login, hosting login and all website files at handover.
Freelancer or agency: which is better?
Freelancers are often cheaper and can do excellent work. The risk is availability. A solo developer juggling multiple clients may go quiet for weeks and if something breaks after launch, you are waiting on one person.
Agencies cost more but typically offer a team, a defined process, post-launch support and accountability. If your website is central to how you generate business, the reliability of an agency tends to be worth the extra cost.
What about Wix, Squarespace or other website builders?
DIY website builders work for a personal portfolio or a very simple presence. For a Kenyan business that needs to rank on Google, take M-Pesa payments or compete against established local competitors, they have real limitations.
They also carry ongoing subscription costs. A Squarespace plan runs $16 to $49 per month, which is roughly Ksh 2,000 to Ksh 6,000 every month, without giving you ownership of the site.
Ongoing costs after launch
The website build is a one-off fee. After launch, budget for:
🔳 Hosting: Ksh 5,000 to Ksh 20,000 per year
🔳 Domain renewal: around Ksh 1,500 per year for .co.ke
🔳 SSL certificate: usually included with hosting, but confirm this
🔳 Maintenance and updates: some agencies offer monthly retainers
🔳 SEO: if you want consistent organic traffic from Google, this is a separate ongoing investment
FAQ
How long does it take to build a website in Kenya?
A basic business website takes two to three weeks. An e-commerce site takes four to eight weeks depending on the number of products and payment setup complexity. Custom projects take longer.
Do I own my website after it is built?
You should. Confirm with your developer that you will receive the domain login, hosting login and all website files at the end of the project. Some providers hold these and charge migration fees later.
What platform should my website be built on?
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites globally and is the most widely supported platform in Kenya. It gives you control over your content, works well with SEO and is supported by developers across the country.
Should I use a .co.ke or .com domain?
For a Kenyan business targeting local customers, .co.ke is preferable. It signals to Google and to your customers that you are a local business. .com works if you serve clients outside Kenya as well.
Can you redesign an existing website?
Yes. If your current site is outdated, slow or not generating enquiries, a redesign is often more cost-effective than trying to patch the existing one. Contact us for a free assessment.