As the government of the UAE supports startup culture with extraordinary enthusiasm, every year, the UAE gets millions of startups registered. When new startups come to life, website design and development become their primary need to establish digital footprints.
However, the UAE government provides financial support to startups, foreign and domestic alike, still website design cost is often a matter of confusion for the Emirati entrepreneurs.
If you are planning to launch your startup in the UAE soon and need website design and development services, then let’s have a look at the cost first.
This blog will enable you to not only calculate but also optimise the cost. Additionally, you will also learn, towards the end of the blog, that you can also resell your website at a good price in the case of a shutdown! So, let’s scroll down and dig deeper.
Before jumping straight to the cost, you first need to understand that website design and website development are two different, however interlinked processes.
👨ðŸ¼â€ðŸŽ¨Website Design: The website design process is concerned with the website’s look and feel. That is, the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX). A website design team is made of-
👨ðŸ»â€ðŸ’»Website Developer: A website has two aspects- Front End (visible to the website visitors) and backend (the structure of the website). Both front-end as well as backend development require coding skills, and web developers take care of the same. However, the role of a backend developer is primary after finalising the design.
So, the website development process in a nutshell has the following sequence-
Graphic Designer Creates UI UX Design → Backend Developer Writes the Structural Code → Front-End Developer Modifies the Backend to Execute the UI UX.
Therefore, if you are a new business going for website design for the first time, you will need UI UX design + Backend Development + Front End Development. That is, the development team will work on your website from scratch.
In this case, custom website design and development cost can range between AED 7,000 and AED 30,000, depending on the complexity of the web design.
However, if you already have a website backend and just need a little bit of re-engineering to modify the design or to add some new website features and functions, then the cost might range between AED 650 and AED 2200, depending upon your requirements.
Also, remember that website design and development costs in Dubai will be slightly higher than the cost in Abu Dhabi. The underlying cause of the cost difference is the difference between the economy and the living standard of both the Emirates.
Resultantly, the cost of making a website in Dubai might be AED 500 to AED 2000 higher than in Abu Dhabi. But the number of website development companies in Abu Dhabi will remain quite limited!
Apart from the location, the complexity of the web development process also determines the cost. Features and functionality of the website or web app define its complexity level.
So, now let us have a detailed Custom website design cost breakdown for Dubai and Abu Dhabi locations, considering features, functions, and UI UX design of the website.
Note: The cost breakdown includes Front End + Backend Design & development-
| Feature/Function | Complexity Level | Cost in Dubai | Cost in Abu Dhabi |
| Domain Purchase* | Low | 50-250 (Annually) | 50-250 (Annually) |
| Hosting & Maintenance* | Low | 650-750 (Annually) | 650-700 (Annually) |
| SSL Certification* | Low | 150 | 150 |
| Custom UI UX Design | Medium | 5,000-12,000 | 4,500-10,000 |
| Web Page Creation (10-12) | Medium | 15,000 | 12,000-14,000 |
| Interactive UI UX Elements (Forms, CTAs, etc.) | Medium | 4,000-5,000 | 3,000-4,000 |
| CMS Integration* | Medium | 1,500-2,500 | 1,000-2,000 |
| Data Analytics* | Medium | 3,000-5,000 | 2,500-3,500 |
| Base SEO* | Medium | 1,000-2,000 | 1,000-1,500 |
| Website Content (Text & Images) | Medium | 1,200-2,500 | 1,000-2,000 |
| Multi-lingual Support* | Medium | 3,000 | 2,000 |
| Dark & Light Mode Toggle* | Low | 2,000 | 1,600 |
| Web App Development for Ecommerce & Other Genres | |||
| User Log In | Low | 5,000-6,000 | 4,000-5,000 |
| Multi-Factor Authentication* | Medium | 3,000-5,000 | 1,800-2,800 |
| User Profiling* | Medium | 6,000-8,000 | 5,000-7,000 |
| Searching & Browsing Product* | Medium | 6,000-7,000 | 5,500-6,500 |
| Add-to-Cart | Medium | 10,000-15,000 | 8,000-12,000 |
| Sort & Filter | Medium | 3,000-4,000 | 2,000-3,000 |
| Payment Gateway Integration | Complex | 2,500-4,000 | 1,800-3,500 |
| Order Tracking (Requires Maps API Integration) | Complex | 2,000-3,000 | 1,800-2,500 |
| Order Management* | Complex | 3,000-4,000 | 2,500-3,000 |
| Delivery Partner Side Version (overall) | Complex | 6,000-7,000 | 4,500-5,000 |
| Admin Panel (Owner Side Dashboard) | Complex | 7,000-8,000 | 6,000-6,000 |
| AI Chat-Bot Support | Medium | 1,500-2,000 | 1,200-1,800 |
| SMS & Email API Integration | Complex | 4,000 | 3,000 |
| Legal Aspects | |||
| Trademark Registration Cost* | N/A | 8,000-10,000 | 7,000-9,000 |
| Website Copyright* | N/A | 2,500-3,000 | 2,000-2,800 |
| Sourcecode Purchase (IP Transfer)* | N/A | 2,200-4,000 | 2,000-3,500 |
For new startups, here is an explanation of the lesser known features and costs-
Now, let’s sum up the website design and development cost briefly in categories-
A small business website from scratch with normal customisations with 8-10 web pages and interactive forms and CTAs can cost between AED 5,000 and AED 15,000.
Highly professional website with 15-20 interactive web pages and mobile responsive design can cost between AED 20,000 and AED 25,000. It can also include basic web app features like online booking and appointments for a business.
To set-up an ecommerce store with custom web development technologies can cost between AED 22,000 and AED 82,000 depending upon features and functions.
Highly dynamic and functional web apps with intensive searches, filtering, calculations, big data handling etc. with latest technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Machine Learning (ML) can cost anywhere between AED 42,000 and AED 160,000.
However, you may also use the table above and estimate the cost on your own feature-wise and get an estimate.
Furthermore, if the website design costs given above are bothering you too much, remember that website is not an expenditure but an investment. Cherry on the cake, your website is an intellectual property that can you actually resell in case you need to!
Yes, definitely. You can resell your website and encash it in case you are shutting down the operations for unforeseen event. The cost of resell will depend upon your website’s SEO, Domain Authority, and Page Authority scores. You will just need to-
— Own the sourcecode of the website to resell it.
— Transfer or write off completely the copyrights of the website.
— Write off the registered trademark on your website.
— Be very careful of the user data that your website has stored. Handle it ethically.
The legal aspects above should be removed so that the new website buyer can reuse the website without any interruptions.
You can list your domain address on various website reselling platforms like Flippa, Motion Invest, and Microns. Alternatively, you may also try on the relevant LinkedIn groups or consult the website development company that developed your website.
Yes, you can! If you are a startup, certainly funding might be an issue for you. Amidst tight funding, investing heavily in website creation might be an impossibility. So, here are some tips that you can follow to optimise the website design cost-
— Don’t feel tempted to getting highly animated design. Just start with the simple one.
— Remember, your logo and website design are unique already, so no need to animate too much.
— Start with Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development technique.
— That is, go for only necessary features and avoid features you may go without in the beginning.
— Always try to choose a web development company that provides bundled services like design + hosting + maintenance + base SEO. Packages help you save more.
All in one, creating a new website for a unique startup from scratch can cost you anywhere between AED 5,000 and AED 55,000 depending upon features and functionalities.Â
Moreover, the location of the website developer also has a little bit of influence over the cost.
Although, expensive, but one should remember that your website is an intellectual property and asset. Even in case of shut down, you can resell and encash it.
So, do not worry too much about the website development cost. Just go for the investment. We will pray that you never face a shut down and your business website attracts terrific customers towards your business.
If you have more doubts on this topic and you need web design consulting, feel free to contact us. We will guide you one-on-one.
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