You are a freelancer or you run a small business, and your current site no longer represents you, or does not exist yet. The same question always comes up: where to start, how much it costs, and who to trust with it?
I am an independent developer. Day to day, I build NarratIQ, an analytics SaaS I run solo, and I help freelancers and small businesses create their website. This guide gathers what I repeat most often at the start of a project, without the jargon.
What kind of site do you actually need?
Before talking design or budget, you need to clarify the goal. Most projects fall into one of these categories.
| Type of site | Goal | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing site | Present an offer, build trust, capture leads | Freelancers, craftspeople, professionals |
| Landing page | Convert on a single offer (a service, a launch) | Campaigns, side projects, pre-launch |
| E-commerce site | Sell products online | Stores, creators, SMBs with a catalogue |
| Web application | Provide an interactive service (account, data, dashboard) | SaaS, platforms, business tools |
A freelancer who wants to win projects does not need an e-commerce store: a clear marketing site, with a contact page and proof of their work, often doubles the conversion rate compared with a plain profile on a platform.
How much does a website cost?
That is the first question, and the honest answer is: it depends on how custom it is. Here are realistic ranges for the freelance and SMB market.
- Custom marketing site (5 to 8 pages): €800 to €2,500
- Site with features (booking, multilingual, advanced forms): €1,500 to €5,000
- E-commerce store: €3,000 to €10,000
What moves the price: a design built from scratch rather than an adapted template, the number of pages, the integrations (payment, scheduling, CRM), and the level of polish on SEO and performance.
The steps of a website project
A well-run project always follows roughly the same thread. Knowing it helps you see where you stand and what is expected of you.
1. Scoping
We define the site's goal, the pages needed, the tone, and the examples you like. This is the most important step: fuzzy scoping gives a fuzzy site.
2. Content
Copy, photos, logo, testimonials. Content is almost always what slows a project down. Preparing it upfront saves weeks.
3. Design
Mockups of the key pages, validation of the visual direction before writing a single line of code. We iterate here, not once the site is built.
4. Development
Turning the design into a real site, responsive (mobile, tablet, desktop), fast and technically clean. This is my core craft: I work with a modern stack (Next.js, React) that favours speed and SEO.
5. Launch and tracking
Going live, connecting the domain name, and above all: setting up performance tracking. A site without measurement is flying blind.
SEO and measurement: too often forgotten
A site is not a brochure: it is a tool that should bring in clients. Two foundations should be laid when the site is designed.
Technical SEO first: a fast site, readable on mobile, with clean title and meta description tags, and a content structure built around the questions your clients ask. Ranking is not bolted on afterwards, it is built into the architecture of the site.
Measurement next. As soon as the site goes live, you install Google Analytics 4 and Search Console to track where traffic comes from and what converts. If your site runs on WordPress, the install GA4 on WordPress guide covers the setup step by step.
Why work with a freelance developer
A no-code builder (Wix, Squarespace) gets you started fast. A freelance developer takes over the moment you want to truly stand out: unique design, high performance, strong SEO, custom integrations, and full control over your site without depending on a proprietary subscription.
Working with an independent also means a single point of contact from start to finish: the person who designs is the one who develops and the one who explains. No layers of middlemen, no quotes that balloon.
Discuss your project
If you have a website project, the simplest way is to look at my work and then get in touch directly:
- My portfolio: matheozimmer.fr
- Hire me on Malt: malt.fr/profile/matheozimmer
- My LinkedIn: in/matheo-zimmer
- By email: matheozimmer@gmail.com
You can also learn more about my background and projects on my personal page.
Whether you start from scratch or rebuild an existing site, the key is to scope the goal before the design, and to measure from launch. The rest follows.