Website Basics: How It Works, Setup Costs, and Timelines (Philippines 2025)
September 23, 2025
Website Basics: How It Works, Setup Costs, and Timelines (Philippines 2025)
This guide explains in very simple terms how a company website works, what is needed, how long it usually takes to make one, and realistic costs today (Philippines, 2025).
The Basics
- Domain name — the address of your site (example:
yourcompany.com). - Hosting / Server — the land/building where your site lives online.
- Design and Content — how the site looks and what’s inside (text, images, info).
- Development — coding, structure, making buttons and forms work.
- Extras / Features — blogs, e-commerce, booking, galleries, etc.
- Security & SSL — keeps data safe, makes site trusted (
https://). - Maintenance & Updates — ongoing fixes and improvements.
How Long It Takes
- Basic company site (4–7 pages, no fancy features): 1–3 weeks
- Medium site (10–20 pages, blog, simple e-commerce): 4–8 weeks
- Large/custom site (many features, integrations): 2–3+ months
Website Costs (Philippines, 2025)
| Item | What it covers | Typical Cost Range (PHP) |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Web address (.com, .ph, etc.) | ₱500 – ₱1,500 / year |
| Hosting / Server | Where your site lives online | Shared: ₱100–₱300/mo Managed WP: ₱250–₱500/mo VPS: ₱600–₱1,000+/mo Cloud: ₱1,000–₱3,000+/mo |
| Design & Development | Building and designing the site | Small: ₱15k–₱40k Mid: ₱40k–₱150k Large: ₱150k+ |
| SSL / Security | HTTPS, secure connections | Free – ₱5,000/year |
| Maintenance & Updates | Fixes, backups, content updates | ₱1k–₱5k/month |
| SEO | Search optimization for Google | Basic: ₱15k–₱30k/mo Mid: ₱30k–₱80k/mo High: ₱80k–₱150k+/mo |
Sample Total Costs
| Package Type | What’s Included | Setup Cost | Ongoing Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Local Company | Basic site (home, about, contact), shared hosting, simple SEO | ₱20k – ₱40k | Hosting ₱200–₱500 + SEO ₱15k/mo (total ₱2k–₱5k + SEO) |
| Medium Company | More pages, e-commerce or booking, VPS hosting, better SEO | ₱60k – ₱150k+ | Hosting ₱800–₱2k + SEO ₱30k–₱80k/mo (total ₱5k–₱20k + SEO) |
| Large / Enterprise | Custom features, integrations, enterprise hosting, full SEO strategy | ₱200k – ₱500k+ | Hosting ₱3k–₱10k+ + SEO ₱100k+/mo (total ₱10k+ + SEO) |
Things to Watch Out For
- Hidden costs (plugins, licenses, premium templates)
- Performance & speed (cheap hosting may be slow)
- SEO takes months, not days
- Mobile responsiveness is essential
- Good content (writing, photos, graphics) is as important as design