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Many Dubai businesses struggle to understand why website design and development costs vary so widely. Some end up overpaying, while others settle for cheap sites that fail to attract customers or scale with growth.
This confusion often leads to wasted budgets, weak user experiences, and missed revenue opportunities.
After developing 450+ web development projects for 300+ cliens, we know what factors drives cost, value, and ROI.
In this 2025 guide, we break down the real factors behind website costs in Dubai and show you how to make smarter, ROI-focused decisions.
The cost of designing a website in Dubai ranges from AED 3,500 to AED 145,000 in 2025. A basic business website usually starts at AED 3,500â18,000, while small business websites with CMS and integrations cost AED 7,000â55,000. E-commerce websites with payment gateways, inventory systems, and logistics APIs range from AED 8,000 to 110,000. However, fully custom websites with unique features and branding can cost up to AED 145,000.Â
The final pricing depends on complexity, number of pages, required features, and the expertise of the web design agency.
However, the project prices vary based on website type, design intricacy, and specific client requirements.
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Whether youâre a new business or an established one looking to get a new website designed, it is essential to know the factors that can impact the cost of website design.Â
After the brief summary above, letâs dive into a little more detail.
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Every business is unique, and so are its business requirements. This leads to a wide variation in the type of website. Different types of websites influence the cost of website design in Dubai. Some of the most common types of websites are:Â
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A website can have a single page or 100+ unique pages. Based on the number of pages, the cost can vary from AED 3,500 to AED 145,000. Many E-Commerce websites have 100s of unique pages for different categories, offers, services, etc. The number of pages can differ from business to business, hence increasing the overall cost of website design.
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Additionally, every unique page will require custom design, images, texts, graphics, backend development, and much more. This increases the effort involved and often requires hiring experts to create and optimise the pages. Â
A website can have 100s of pages, but not all pages have to be built from scratch.Â
For example, letâs take an e-commerce website selling coffee mugs:
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Here is a clear break-up based on the cost based on the pages:Â
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The greater the number of unique pages, the more work the developer will need to do. The increased efforts and time will lead to extra costs.Â
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Still not clear?Â
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Check out the Figma Designs for one of our E-Commerce Clients. Pages are marked as unique, and then can then be replicated multiple times, as needed.
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Every brand has a core DNA. It comprises 3 key elements.Â
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Best-performing websites across the have the brand DNA as a core part of the design & development process.Â
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Another example of customization could be that some websites only showcase their work portfolio, while e-commerce websites require a much larger level of features and functionality. This includes payment integration, database management, design elements, inventory management integration and more.Â
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There are two options available when it comes to website design. They are as follows:Â
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Custom-designed websites are more expensive than templated-based websites as they require extensive personalisation.Â
These websites also require advanced integration, information architecture, CMS, etc., which leads to higher costs.
While designing & developing the website for a large organisation, it is often essential to ensure that our design process, development practices, and information security practices align with those at the organization's end.
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We conduct extensive discovery workshops with all relevant stakeholders & departments, such as marketing, IT, Sales, InfoSec, and others.Â
This ensures proper collection of information from each department before starting the project, and the end result is tailored to perfection to suit the custom policies/guidelines shared by the organization. Â
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Did You Know?
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We recently concluded designing a website for an educational institution. We consulted with their research, business, marketing, and teaching teams to ensure that the final website reflects all the requirements captured by different stakeholders.Â
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Website design requires precision in all the tiniest details to ensure you, as a brand owner, convey the right message to your audience.Â
Based on the information collected, our team first creates an information architecture document. It summarises what pages are required, what sections those pages would contain, and why.Â
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Based on that information architecture, we start with the websiteâs design.Â
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Hereâs how we work at Tenet and handle website design revisions:
At Tenet, we do not design the whole website in one go. Instead, we first create a concept design of 2-3 primary pages to ensure that the larger design direction aligns with your needs and preference(s).Â
Once that is approved, we then go on to designing the rest of the pages based on the approved design language.Â
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After creating these pages, we forward them to you for approval. If there are any revisions, we offer 3, 5, and 7 revisions based on the client's requirements.Â
And for the clients that donât want to hold back on anything (and can afford it), we even provide unlimited revisions.
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The extent of the revisions can impact our website design cost.Â
Your websiteâs design impacts over 90% of first impressions. A clean, interactive layout not only builds trust but also boosts conversions and brand recall.
Design and layout costs typically range from AED 3,500 to AED 100,000, depending on:
Custom Designs â Fully tailored to your brand, but require more time and expertise (2â4 months).
Template-Based Designs â Faster and budget-friendly, but with limited customization.
Interactive Elements â Animations and hover effects add engagement but increase costs.
Branded UI â Custom icons, banners, and graphics aligned to your visual identity.
The more personalized and feature-rich the design, the higher the investmentâbut also the long-term value.Â
Web development is where your site design becomes fully functional. This includes coding essential features like forms, logins, search, mobile responsiveness, and analytics trackingâcritical for Dubaiâs fast-moving digital ecosystem.
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In Dubai, development costs typically range from AED 4,500 to AED 120,000, depending on complexity and tech stack. Both front-end (user interface) and back-end (server-side logic) development are covered in this phase.
This includes custom features like payment gateways, booking tools, CRM integrations, or multilingual support.
Depending on the number and complexity of features, costs range from AED 2,000 to 40,000+. Static websites cost less, while dynamic sites with CMS platforms like WordPress or Strapi require a higher investment.
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The cost increases with the number and complexity of functionalities and features. Some of the most common website features and functionalities that impact the cost of website design are as follows:
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Domain and hosting costs in Dubai depend on your provider and plan. Domains typically cost AED 50â500 per year, while hosting ranges from AED 40â500 per month.Â
Your domain is your websiteâs address, and hosting keeps it live. Always register both under your own name to maintain full control.Â
This ensures you can make changes, switch providers, or recover data when needed. Choose a domain thatâs easy to remember and matches your brand, and select a hosting plan based on your expected traffic and performance needs.
Once your website is ready, you might have a hard time managing it due to the complexities or vastness of the website. Thus, you would require some training on how to use the CMS (content management system) or manage the website yourself. These manuals and training documentation can cost you somewhere around AED 1000 to 10,000.Â
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For these reasons, certain manuals and RBAC documentation are needed. This will enable you to make content updates without the help of external developers. To ensure such a handover is effortless, we assign deployment consultants to ensure a comprehensive handover.
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We are always happy to provide basic training or a video walkthrough of how everything is to be managedâand that, too, is free of cost. But if you need detailed documentation, our team members must prepare it in a few days.Â
The licensing costs can vary depending on the number of licenses required. It can range anywhere from AED 300 to AED 5000, depending on what licenses are being purchased.
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The licensing costs include stock photos, templates, extensions, etc. These are usually necessary to ensure youâre not using copyrighted material illegally. They are also used to get high-quality features and advanced functionalities to enhance your final product.Â
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This is one of the most essential yet often overlooked types of expense during website development. However, neglecting this can later result in hefty penalties and affect your brand image significantly.
The cost of third-party services can range from AED 300 to AED 5,000+, depending on the type of requirements.
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Third-party services and tools can slightly impact website development costs. These include premium plugins and extensions so that the business can rely on the website as a growth engine. Moreover, having third-party services through APIs can also enable payment processing, social media sharing, appointment scheduling, etc.
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We recommend our clients purchase third-party plugins and licenses, such as:
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Generally, on-site requirements can be fulfilled somewhere between AED 10,000 to AED 30,000 per month. Such costs can also vary depending on multiple factors. This cost comes into play when some clients need our team to be deployed at their location(s) due to various project and compliance-related reasons.Â
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On-site work can be beneficial since it provides better communication and effective collaboration and gives access to quick feedback. However, allocating members for such work can impact extra charges for full-time allocation, travel & accommodation allowances, etc.
Basic testingâlike QA, functionality, and responsivenessâis included in all Tenet projects to ensure your website works smoothly across devices.
Advanced testing such as Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing is optional and ranges from AED 10,000 to 50,000, depending on complexity.
These tests help protect your site from bugs, security risks, and performance issues, ensuring it's reliable and ready for growth.
The cost of website maintenance starts from around AED 2,000 per month and goes up to AED 40,000 per month.
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A website is required to maintain better operations and fulfil long-term goals. Maintenance can include regular updates, optimizations, security upgrades, backups, and system checkups, which can ensure that the website is up-to-date and error-free.
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You might also need help with troubleshooting errors,technical issues, and resolving bugs. A maintenance plan, which adds to the project's cost, can cover all these.Â
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There is no one-size-fits-all maintenance plan. The cost of a maintenance plan depends on the type of maintenance one wants.Â
In your post-deployment growth plans, you may want strategies to increase your website's popularity and generate more trust & revenue. Additional Services such as SEO & PPC can help you generate more revenue.Â
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The cost of SEO ranges between AED 20,000 and AED 85,000 per month. The cost of PPC is usually taken as a percentage of total ad spend, ranging from 10% to 30% per month.Â
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Tenet is a UI UX design & growth marketing company. We specialize in growing businesses online.Â
Growth marketing has 2 parts:
Our team at Tenet can help you with both of these.Â
This requires additional planning, content strategies, several design considerations, and development-related modifications, which can lead to an increase in costs.
Explore our Dubai-specific services:
Planning to build a website in Dubai? Here's what directly impacts your project costâand how to plan smarter.
In Dubaiâs diverse business landscape, your website needs will vary by industry and scale.
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Insight: Local businesses often require bilingual support (Arabic & English) and UAE-specific compliance, which adds to cost.
Tight timelines? Expect to pay more.
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Pro Tip: Plan 6â12 weeks in advance to avoid rush fees.
In sectors like real estate, fintech, or luxury retail, your Dubai website must do more than look good.
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Impact: Higher competition means more custom work and deeper strategyâleading to higher cost but stronger ROI.
Using advanced platforms like React, Laravel, or custom CRMs increases development cost.
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Tip: Always clarify which integrations (Zbooni, Telr, etc.) are essential upfront.
Custom photography can definitely impact your website by increasing customer engagement and making everything look professional & impressive.Â
Professional photography services can add costs due to image clicking, editing and retouching costs. There are also certain types of photography that can enhance your website catalogue.
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Lifestyle photography is pretty common for showcasing products. Similarly, corporate photography can show your company/business as one and unique.Â
And 360-degree photographs are perfect for showing your business location or for real estate agencies to give property tours via their website.
Understanding how pricing works is key to planning your project and setting realistic expectations.Â
Whether you're a startup or an established business, knowing the website design Dubai price range helps you budget smarter and choose the right agency.
Hereâs a breakdown of the three most common pricing models used by web design agencies in Dubai:
đ§ How it works
You agree on a fixed cost before the project begins. This covers everything defined in the scope of work. The price only changes if you request additional features or revisions beyond the agreed scope.
â Best for
Small to mid-sized businesses with clear requirements, fixed timelines, and tight budgets.
đ Pros
đ Cons
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đ¸ Typical cost in Dubai:
AED 3,500 to AED 100,000, depending on complexity and features.
đ§How it works
Youâre billed based on the number of hours worked. This model suits ongoing or evolving projects, where you may need to add new features mid-way.
â Best for
Startups, iterative projects, or businesses that expect changes during the build.
đ Pros
đ Cons
đĄ At Tenet, we use transparent time tracking so clients can monitor hours in real-time.
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đ¸ Typical cost in Dubai
AED 200 to AED 550 per hour, based on team size and expertise.
đ§ How it works
Pricing is based on the expected business value your website will generate. This model focuses on ROI, not just hours or tasks.
â Best for
Growth-focused companies looking for strategic outcomes, not just a functioning website.
đ Pros
đ Cons
đ¸ Typical cost in Dubai
5â20% of expected annual revenue from the website or digital platform.
A strategically designed websiteâwith proper SEO structure, mobile responsiveness, and optimized page speedâcan improve your visibility on search engines, driving more relevant visitors to your site.
Action Tip: Track your websiteâs organic traffic before and after redesign using tools like Google Analytics or Search Console.
Design influences trust. A clean layout, fast-loading pages, and persuasive copy can turn visitors into leadsâwhether itâs a product sale, form submission, or consultation request.
Action Tip: Use heatmaps or A/B testing tools (like Hotjar or Google Optimize) to refine key conversion pages and improve performance.
Your website often acts as a first impression. A professional, on-brand design increases credibility and can tip a sales decision in your favorâespecially for B2B or high-ticket services.
Action Tip: Collect feedback from visitors or clients post-launch to assess how the new design impacted their perception of your brand.
Automated booking forms, payment systems, CRM integration, and self-serve resources reduce manual work and customer support load.
Action Tip: Identify tasks currently handled manually and estimate how much time/cost youâll save by automating them through your site.
Your website is a digital asset that can keep delivering ROI for years if maintained properly. Unlike ads, the traffic, SEO value, and lead generation potential compound over time.
Action Tip: Set clear KPIs post-launchâlike monthly traffic, bounce rate, conversion rateâand review performance quarterly to measure ROI.
Put simply, a poorly designed website may save money upfront, but it often results in lost leads, missed sales, and a weak brand presence.
đ Further web designing resources:
Now that you know everything related to website development costs, you must be wondering why you should choose us.Â
Well, to start with, you will be partnering with a team that has delivered 450+ solutions, impacting 20M+ people across 15+ countries.Â
Moreover, we have a 98% client satisfaction rate, which speaks for our commitment to excellence and innovation. See some reviews here.
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Apart from this, our company started with a vision to build creativity with clarity, transforming intricate processes into intuitive and effective web solutions.Â
From professional execution to personalised, future-ready results, we ensure your digital growth journey is streamlined and enjoyable. So, progress by collaborating with us and getting an impactful, user-centric website for your business.
The time it takes to build a website in Dubai depends on how complex your project is. A simple website can be ready in 2â6 weeks, while small business sites may take 1â2 months. E-commerce websites or custom builds often need 2â4 months because of integrations, product pages, and testing.Â
If you need a site delivered faster, agencies may speed things up, but it usually increases costs.
Several factors influence the cost of website design in Dubai. These include the type of website (basic, small business, e-commerce, or custom), the number of unique pages, the level of customization, and the features you want, such as payment gateways, CRM, booking systems, or multilingual support.Â
Other elements like security, third-party integrations, compliance needs, and ongoing maintenance also add to the overall cost.
It depends on how you want to manage your project. Fixed pricing is most effective when your scope is well-defined and you require predictable costs. Hourly pricing is more flexible and suits projects where requirements may change along the way.Â
Value-based pricing focuses on ROI and is ideal if you see your website as a long-term growth engine. The right choice depends on your business goals, budget, and timeline.
Website maintenance in Dubai typically ranges from AED 2,000 to AED 40,000 per month. At the basic level, this covers updates, bug fixes, and backups. For larger or more advanced websites, maintenance may also include performance optimization, security audits, and regular content updates.Â
The cost depends on the size of your site, the amount of traffic it handles, and the level of support you expect from your agency.
Shantanu Pandey is a UI/UX design, branding, and growth marketing expert. As the Founder & CEO of Tenet, he helps global brands create amazing digital experiences.
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