Web design is one of the most-quoted disciplines in Ireland — quotes for the same site can range from €600 to €25,000. The reason is partly real (different scope, different deliverables) and partly because clients can't always articulate what they actually want. Better briefs produce better quotes.
What "web design" actually covers
- Information architecture. The sitemap. Which pages exist, how they're organised, what's primary vs secondary navigation.
- UX flows. The path from "stranger arriving from Google" to "customer sending an enquiry." Three or four key flows, mapped before pixel-design starts.
- Visual design. The look. Typography, colour, spacing, photography style, illustration treatment. The most-discussed layer; usually less important than the flows underneath.
- Responsive layout. Mobile-first in 2026. Roughly 65–80% of Irish SMB website traffic is on mobile.
- Accessibility. WCAG 2.1 AA at minimum. Not optional — and increasingly a legal requirement.
- Content production. Sometimes included, often a separate project. Make sure you know which.
What budget bands buy in 2026
- €600–€1,800 — template-based site, configured rather than designed. WordPress + a good commercial theme + a freelancer's day or two. Workable for very small businesses; ceiling on quality.
- €2,500–€6,000 — small-studio bespoke site for an Irish SMB. Design from scratch, custom-built theme or carefully chosen framework, 5–10 unique page types. The honest sweet spot for most Irish small businesses.
- €8,000–€15,000 — full agency engagement. Strategy, UX, design, build, content, launch support. Worth it for businesses with substantial scope (e-commerce, multiple audiences, integration with CRM/booking systems).
- €20,000+ — large bespoke build with custom development. Plus discovery, plus brand work. Usually only justifiable for businesses where the website is a primary revenue channel.
How to brief a web designer well
- Show three sites you admire and three you don't. Specific URLs. Words like "modern" mean nothing.
- Define the primary call to action. "Get a quote." "Book a consultation." "Buy this product." "Read the blog." One primary; everything else secondary.
- Be honest about content. Who's writing it? Have you got the photography? If you don't, that's part of the project — don't pretend it's not.
- State the budget band. Not the exact figure if you don't want to. But "€3,000–€5,000" is enough for a designer to scope honestly. Hiding the budget wastes everyone's time.
- State the deadline. "Three months" is a real deadline. "ASAP" isn't.
Trends worth paying attention to in 2026
- Performance is design. Sites that load slowly lose customers and rankings. The 2026 baseline: Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds.
- Accessibility moved from "nice to have" to required. The European Accessibility Act came into force June 2025; many B2B and consumer-facing services are now legally required to be accessible.
- AI-generated visuals are everywhere — and visibly so. Distinct human design work, real photography, and proper illustration are increasingly rare and noticeable.
- "AI search" optimisation — making your site readable to LLMs as well as search engines.
llms.txt, structured data, semantic HTML.