Guides
Read this before you buy a website.
Every guide here carries a number, a source, or data we collected ourselves. They are written for an owner deciding how to get a website, not for someone who wants to build one, and each one is dated and refreshed.
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Case study: six weeks of measured work on a live hotel website
Al Murjan Palace Hotel's live website was worked on for six weeks in July and August 2026 without replacing it. The code was the easy part; the hosting stack fought every fix. Every number below was verified on the live site.
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How do you compare website quotes? The ten lines every bid should show
Three website quotes rarely describe the same thing. Put them side by side on these ten lines and the cheapest one is often the most expensive, and the gaps in each one show before you sign rather than after.
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Case study: a real hotel website rebuilt, from 39 to 99 on mobile
Al Murjan Palace Hotel's live site scored 39 on Google's mobile test. The same content, photographs and business, rebuilt on the Firstfold pipeline, scores 99. This is what the rebuild found along the way, and how to check every number yourself.
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Do you actually own your website? What each platform lets you take with you
Owning a website means being able to take it somewhere else. On some platforms you can, on some you can take the text and start over, and on one you cannot leave at all. Here is what each one says in its own help pages.
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How long does it take to build a business website?
Most small business websites take five to ten weeks, and agency projects run two to six months. Almost none of that is building. It is waiting: for content, for meetings, and for the next round of revisions.
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What is the first fold of a website, and why does it decide everything?
The first fold is what a visitor sees before scrolling. It gets most of their attention, it loads first or not at all, and it is where a business either says what it does or loses the visit.
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What does a small business website cost in 2026?
Most professional small business websites cost between $2,000 and $8,000 in 2026. Freelancers quote $1,500 to $8,000, agencies $10,000 to $35,000, and DIY builders run $2 to $40 a month plus your own time. Here is what sits behind those numbers.
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Agency, freelancer, DIY or done-for-you: which website route fits?
There are four realistic ways to get a business website, and they differ far more in what they ask of you than in what they cost. Here is the honest comparison, including where each one is the wrong choice.