Creating a brochure site: pages, content, and real budget

A brochure site is a site that presents a business, a professional, or a company without handling online transactions: it informs, reassures, and drives the visitor to make contact. It usually consists of 4 to 8 pages (home, services, about, contact, sometimes dedicated pages per service) and costs between €1,500 and €5,000 with a traditional agency, or €99 excl. VAT a month all-inclusive in a subscription model. In most cases, it's enough for a tradesperson, a professional, or a small business that wants to be found and contacted, but not for selling online or handling complex bookings.

The most common confusion about brochure sites

Many professionals ask for a "brochure site" while picturing features that don't actually belong to one: automated appointment booking, a client portal, online payment, a blog with dozens of articles from day one. None of this is forbidden on a brochure site, but it isn't its core purpose.

A brochure site answers a simple question: who are you, what do you do, how can people reach you. Anything beyond that scope (sales, user account management, complex business logic) pushes the project toward a web app or an e-commerce site, with a different budget and maintenance.

This confusion is costly in both directions. Some people pay for features they'll never use. Others choose a brochure site when their business actually needs a booking system or a product catalog, and discover this six months later when they have to start over.

The essential pages of a brochure site

An effective brochure site doesn't need dozens of pages. Here's the structure that comes up in nearly all projects that work well:

1. Home — presents the business in one clear sentence, shows what you do and where, and directs visitors to key pages (services, contact).
2. Services — details what you offer, ideally one page or section per service if you have several.
3. About — who you are, your background, what sets you apart. This is the page that builds trust before the first contact.
4. Portfolio or testimonials — concrete proof (project photos, client reviews, cases handled). For a lawyer or an accountant, this might be areas of expertise rather than photos.
5. Contact — form, phone number, address, hours. Must be reachable in one click from any page.
6. Legal notice and privacy policy — mandatory, often forgotten.

Depending on your profession, an extra page can make sense: service area for a tradesperson, specialties for a doctor, sectors for a real estate agency. What matters is not to multiply pages without real content behind them — an empty page hurts more than it helps.

The content that actually converts

Structure alone isn't enough. What makes a visitor contact you or leave the site after ten seconds is the content.

A clear message right on the homepage. The visitor should understand within seconds what you do and for whom. Avoid vague phrasing like "your trusted partner" with no clarity on the actual profession.

Contact information visible everywhere. Phone number and contact button accessible without having to search, especially on mobile where a large share of traffic arrives.

Concrete proof, not claims. "Over 10 years of experience" convinces less than a list of verifiable projects or dated client reviews. If you don't have reviews yet, better to own that than to make them up.

Copy written for a human, not a search engine. Keyword stuffing hurts readability and, in the long run, hurts SEO too. A short, honest text beats a long, artificial one.

Real photos rather than generic stock images, when possible. For a restaurant, a tradesperson, or a coach, real photos of the place, the work, or the person carry more weight than any amount of text.

Realistic budget and timelines

Prices vary enormously depending on the provider and the level of customization. Here are the orders of magnitude observed in the market:

The choice depends less on the sticker price than on what happens after delivery. A €2,000 agency site that costs €150 per change quickly ends up more expensive than a monthly subscription if you adjust your content often. Conversely, if your site never changes once it's live, a one-time agency payment can be more economical over several years.

Basic no-code remains relevant for testing an idea quickly or for a very tight budget, as long as you accept its limits: reduced customization, sometimes weak performance, and a less professional image that can work against you against better-presented competitors.

The limits of a brochure site: when it's no longer enough

A brochure site is no longer enough as soon as your business needs one of these features:

• Online sales with payment — you need an e-commerce site, with a cart, stock management, and secure payment. Budget generally between €3,000 and €15,000 depending on catalog complexity.
• Automated booking or appointment scheduling with business logic (time slots, multiple availabilities, reminders) — this goes beyond a simple contact form and requires a dedicated web app.
• A client portal with login and personal data — requires account management, a database, and security rules specific to an application.
• A complex product catalog with filters, variants, stock — even without online payment, a catalog with several hundred references falls outside the scope of a brochure site.

In these cases, a brochure site can still be a good first step to stay visible while the bigger project is being built, but it isn't the final solution. Better to know that before ordering than after paying twice.

Key takeaways

• A brochure site presents a business and drives contact; it doesn't handle online sales or complex client accounts.
• The essential pages are few: home, services, about, portfolio, contact, legal notice.
• Content (clarity of message, concrete proof, visible contact information) matters more than the number of pages.
• Budget ranges from free with basic no-code to €5,000 with an agency, with a €99 excl. VAT/month subscription as an all-inclusive middle option.
• Realistic timelines range from 2 to 6 weeks depending on the provider, versus 7 days for a standardized subscription formula.
• As soon as online sales, automated booking, or a client portal come into play, a brochure site is no longer enough.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a brochure site cost in 2025?

Expect €1,500 to €5,000 with an agency for a custom build, a few euros a month for a basic but limited no-code solution, and €99 excl. VAT a month all-inclusive with VeryAppi (hosting, changes, and maintenance included). The price mostly depends on the number of pages and the level of customization.

How long does it take to create a brochure site?

With a traditional agency, expect 2 to 6 weeks depending on the provider's workload and rounds of revisions. With a freelancer, timelines vary a lot. At VeryAppi, the site is delivered in 7 days thanks to a standardized process covering the business verticals served.

What's the difference between a brochure site and an e-commerce site?

A brochure site presents a business and drives contact (a call, a form, a booking). An e-commerce site manages a product catalog, a cart, and online payment. The technical needs, budget, and maintenance aren't comparable.

Is a brochure site enough to be visible on Google?

A well-structured brochure site (clear pages, real text content, decent speed) can be indexed, but SEO builds up over time with regular content. The site lays the technical foundations; it doesn't replace a content strategy if you're aiming for strong traffic.

Can I turn my brochure site into an online shop later?

Technically yes, but in practice it's often a rebuild rather than adding a module, because the structure, hosting, and sometimes the technology change. If you're considering online sales in the medium term, it's better to know that from the initial design phase.

In summary

Creating a brochure site remains the best-suited solution for most professionals who want to be found and contacted, without the cost and complexity of an online shop. The choice of provider matters less than the clarity of the content and responsiveness on changes once the site is live. If you want to compare the available options, the website subscription page details the €99 excl. VAT/month all-inclusive offer.