Page count is only the visible part of the fee
A six-page site with approved copy and a straightforward enquiry form can be simpler than a four-page site requiring interviews, new positioning, regulated content review, a client-portal connection, custom photography and migration from an old platform.
The fee usually grows across five areas: message clarity, content production, visual complexity, technical functionality and the effort required to approve and launch the work.
Strategy and content
If the firm cannot yet explain who it serves, how advice works or what makes the relationship different, the website project includes communication work before visual design begins. Copy also needs an owner: the firm, the studio or a specialist writer. “We will send it later” is not ownership.
Functionality and integrations
Navigation, articles and an enquiry form are not the same scope as secure portals, account aggregation, CRM automation, gated documents, calculators, multilingual content or complex scheduling. Every integration adds setup, testing and someone who must own it after launch.
What a focused six-page website can cover
A sensible starting structure might include Home, Who We Help, Services or Approach, Team, Insights and Contact. The names should follow the visitor's questions—not a sitemap copied from another advisory firm.
Initial concepts arrive within two business days after the agreed kickoff and required inputs are received. That is the first creative direction—not a completed, approved and tested website.
Costs that are easy to miss
- Domain, hosting, premium plugins, scheduling, CRM, and licensed photography or fonts.
- Copywriting, content migration, biography editing, and legal or compliance review.
- Extra pages, calculators, secure functionality, or third-party development.
- Analytics configuration, ongoing updates, maintenance, and new campaign pages.
A financial firm's advisers should determine applicable regulatory and disclosure requirements. Design can make approved information easier to find and understand; it cannot approve the claims.
Compare what is solved—not only what is charged
Ask both studios to state the page list, content responsibilities, purpose of each concept, revision process, responsive scope, platform, browser testing, analytics, accessibility expectations, third-party costs, launch responsibility and post-launch support. A lower headline price may simply move more work back to your team.
The best scope is not the largest. It is the smallest complete website that helps the right visitor understand the firm and take an informed next step.