Most RFPs we receive do not include a budget.

It’s understandable why budgets get left out. Comms teams are usually navigating internal politics around what can be shared, or the RFP itself is part of how leadership tests the market before committing to a number.

We see it as a missed opportunity. When the budget isn’t established, the conversation defaults to price rather than fit. The right question isn’t which agency will do this for the lowest number. It’s which agency has the expertise and track record to deliver the website that serves your organization.

Agencies can’t propose anything meaningful without knowing what an organization is prepared to invest, so we default to what we think the org wants to hear, or we propose a range so wide it’s not useful to test the waters (guilty!).

Our experience? Most comms teams don’t have a clear framework for arriving at a number. There’s no widely cited benchmark for what a website should cost, and most teams guess based on past experience, rely on insights from their network, or base their estimate on what leadership has given them.

A Budgeting Framework

A commonly referenced benchmark suggests organizations invest roughly 5 to 15 percent of their operating budget in marketing and communications. This is a useful foundation, and it’s where the website budget should begin.

Our recommendation: once you have a communications budget that reflects your mission’s requirements, plan to invest 15 to 30 percent of that over a multi-year cycle. That covers the major redesign work, ongoing iteration and improvement, necessary maintenance, security, hosting, and a reserve for special projects.

The most expensive mistake we see is treating the website as a one-off project: fund it once, let it wither, and rebuild when it no longer reflects who the organization has become. Stanford Social Innovation Review’s “Nonprofit Starvation Cycle” argues that nonprofits are often pressured to underinvest in infrastructure and, ultimately weakening their effectiveness. Organizations come to us after falling into that trap all the time.

Continuous investment spreads costs over time and produces better outcomes than a five-year redesign cycle.

An Example

An organization with a $5 million operating budget, investing 10 percent in communications, would spend about $500,000 annually on marketing and communications. Allocating 15 to 30 percent of that toward their website results in an annual investment of roughly $75,000 to $150,000, or $375,000 to $750,000 across a five-year cycle.

That total covers a significant redesign in year one, ongoing content strategy and creation, design refinements and feature additions, accessibility audits, security and platform updates, analytics, and a reserve for unexpected projects along the way.

Spread that way, the cost is easier to make sense of. It’s not a one-time website bill; it’s a continuous investment in your mission.

Start High or Low?

Two organizations with similar communications budgets can have very different needs for their websites, and a variety of factors can determine where you fall within the range.

At the lower end, around 15 percent, you’re investing in a focused website. Think of a site designed to engage and inform a defined audience, with few special requirements, and relatively low complexity. The site has a clear content model, a manageable number of pages, is light on integrations, and has a tight stakeholder group making decisions.

At the higher end, around 30 percent, the site is doing more work. Think of a website that serves as an editorial platform, a hub for members, or an in-depth research library. The site has larger content volumes, multiple audiences with distinct needs, integrations with CRMs and other third-party platforms, specialized functionality such as searchable directories, and broader stakeholder engagement across program teams, leadership, and external advisors.

Wherever you land, your website is your organization’s most important, owned digital communications asset. One worth investing in at the scale your mission needs.

Wrap Up

There’s no perfect formula for budgeting a website, but we hope this framework gives you a more practical way to approach your next budgeting conversation.

If you’re working through a website budget right now and want to talk it through, we’d love to hear from you.