"Turnkey website" sounds like a finished promise, but in practice every studio reads that phrase differently. For some it covers everything up to launch, for others it's only the design and the build, while the copy, domain setup, analytics and SEO arrive as separate invoices you only find out about along the way. I build websites that are genuinely turnkey and then run them myself afterwards, so let me explain what a proper order should include, what it costs and where the hidden charges usually sit.
What "turnkey" actually means
Turnkey is when you hand over the task and the materials, and you get back a working website that's already collecting enquiries. Not files, not "here's your access, you're on your own from here", but a finished result with analytics in place and forms that actually reach you.
The way I see it, a proper turnkey order includes:
- Structure and prototype. Which pages you need, what goes on each one, where a visitor is led. This happens before the design, otherwise everything gets reworked later.
- Design. Built for your business and audience, responsive on a phone, not a "marketplace template left as-is".
- Build and development. Fast, clean, with a proper mobile version.
- Copy. Written from your materials and the brief. Not filler text that you then painfully rewrite yourself.
- Basic SEO. Meta tags, headings, structured data, speed, sitemap. The things without which a site simply isn't found.
- Setup and launch. Domain, hosting, SSL, enquiry forms that notify you, analytics, Google Business.
If any of these points is missing from the proposal, it isn't turnkey, it's a half-finished product. And you'll feel the difference at exactly the moment the site is "ready" but doesn't work.
What a turnkey website costs
The prices below are for the full job up to launch, with no charges sneaking in along the way.
- Landing page or one-page business site, turnkey - 600-1,500 €. One or a few pages, an enquiry form, analytics, Google Business. 1-2 weeks.
- Corporate website, turnkey - 1,500-3,500 €. Several services, a blog set up for SEO, forms, reviews. 3-5 weeks.
- Website with integrations - 3,500-7,000 €. Online booking, payments, CRM, customer account. 5-8 weeks.
- Online shop, turnkey - from 2,500 € upwards, depending on the catalogue and payments.
These ranges are realistic for the Polish market. If someone quotes you a figure noticeably lower, it almost always means part of the work will land as a separate invoice later: copy, SEO, fixes. And if it's noticeably higher with no clear integrations, you're paying for the studio's "brand" rather than for the result.
What pushes the price up is integrations and the number of languages, not the number of pages. What doesn't move it is a from-scratch design where a tidy template does the job just as well. There's more on my process and stack in the website development service.
Where the hidden charges usually hide
The most unpleasant thing about ordering a website isn't the price at the start, it's what surfaces later. Here are the usual spots.
Copy. A very common story: the design and the build are in the quote, but the copy is "bring your own or order it separately". The result is a site sitting half-finished for weeks while you write the content yourself. I write the copy from your materials; it's part of the job.
SEO and indexing. Sometimes a site is handed over with no basic optimisation at all: no meta tags, no sitemap, hopeless speed. Technically the site exists, in search it doesn't. Later this gets "sold" as a separate service.
Edits after handover. Check what the contract includes: how many rounds of edits, what counts as an edit and what counts as a new task. Otherwise every "move the button" turns into an invoice.
Hosting and domain. Sometimes they're registered to the studio rather than to you. Then you're tied in and can't walk away comfortably. The domain and hosting should be registered to you and under your control.
Analytics. A site with no analytics is working blind. If it wasn't set up, you have no idea how many people visit or where the enquiries come from.
What to look for in the contract
Before you order the development, I'd suggest checking a few points, and it doesn't matter whether you're ordering from me or not.
First, what exactly is included in the price, as a list. Not "website development", but a breakdown: structure, design, copy, SEO, launch, analytics. Second, the timeline and what it depends on. It's healthy when the developer says honestly: the timeline holds if you provide the materials on time. Third, who owns the domain, hosting and source files. They should be yours. Fourth, what happens with edits and support after launch. And fifth, how you'll receive enquiries and see the analytics.
If you get concrete, calm answers to these questions, you can work with that person. If they drift into "ah, we'll sort it out as we go", that's a signal extra charges are coming.
What I need from you to order a website
To get started I don't need a twenty-page spec. I need a short brief and your materials.
For the brief I ask simple things: what you do, who your customer is, what searches people use to find you, what counts as an "enquiry" for you - a call, a form, a message in a messenger app. For materials - a logo if you have one, photos, a description of your services or products, contacts, examples of sites you like and dislike, and why. Everything else is my job.
The fuller the materials at the start, the faster and more accurate the result. But if something's missing, it's not a stopper: I'll write the copy, point you to where to get photos or how to shoot them, and propose the structure myself.
How turnkey work goes
The flow is simple and predictable. Brief - structure and prototype for sign-off - design - build and development - copy - integrations and forms - launch. At each stage you see the interim result and can adjust while it's cheap, rather than at the end when reworking is expensive.
After launch I set up analytics and Google Business, check that enquiries are coming through, and if you want, I keep running the site afterwards: updating content, watching speed and rankings, adding SEO articles. That's a separate story about support, but it's exactly what turns a site from a business card into a source of enquiries.
FAQ
What's included in a turnkey website? A proper turnkey order includes everything up to launch: structure and prototype, design, build, copy written from your materials, basic SEO, domain and hosting setup, enquiry forms with notifications, analytics and Google Business. If the copy, SEO or launch come as separate invoices, it isn't turnkey, it's a half-finished product.
How much does it cost to order a turnkey website? A landing page or business card site - 600-1,500 €, a corporate website - 1,500-3,500 €, a website with integrations - 3,500-7,000 €, an online shop - from 2,500 €. The price is driven by integrations and languages, not by the number of pages. I give an exact quote after a short brief, because without understanding the tasks any figure over the phone is just a guess.
Do I need to prepare a technical spec? No, a twenty-page spec isn't needed. A short brief is enough - what you do, who your customer is, what counts as an enquiry for you - along with materials: photos, a description of your services, contacts, examples of sites for reference. I'll propose the structure and the copy myself; that's part of turnkey work.
Who will own the domain, hosting and the site? You will. I register the domain and hosting in your name and hand over all the access details and source files. This is an important point: if they're registered to the studio, you end up tied in and can't change provider comfortably. Always check this in the contract, whoever you order from.
What happens with edits and support after launch? Basic edits after handover are part of the job, and we agree their scope upfront so there are no surprises. After that, if you like, I run the site on support: updating content, watching speed and rankings, adding pages and articles. A site that isn't updated gradually slips down the rankings, so I usually recommend support.
