You want to know how much an air filtration company website costs. Fair question. Here is the honest answer: it depends on how many buyers you are trying to serve, and we will not pretend one number fits every shop in Raleigh, Durham or Cary.
We can tell you what moves the price and what to demand in writing. That is more useful than a figure pulled from the air.
Why does a two-buyer website cost more than a one-buyer site?
Because it is two websites wearing one logo.
A homeowner wants a quick answer about their house. A commercial buyer is running a procurement process against specifications. They share almost nothing: not the questions, not the vocabulary, not the patience.
Serve both from one generic site and you usually get a compromise that converts neither. Avoiding that compromise takes planning, content and build work that a single-audience site never needs.
That extra work is the price difference. It is not padding.
What actually drives the price?
Forget page count. Three things matter far more:
- Paths. How many distinct journeys does the site need? One, or one per buyer?
- Product categories. How many do you sell, and how deep does each go?
- Lead forms. How many different inquiries do you need to capture, and what does each one need to ask?
Two sites can both have twenty pages and differ wildly in cost. One is twenty pages of company story. The other is twenty pages of organized systems, each feeding a different kind of buyer.
When a quote leads with pages, ask what sits behind them.
Where does a template break for two audiences?
Templates are cheaper up front, and for a single buyer they can be the right call. We say so plainly.
They break in predictable places when you have two audiences:
- One navigation bar has to serve both buyers, so it serves neither well.
- One contact form asks the same questions of a homeowner and a procurement manager.
- Product layouts are built for a handful of items, not a range organized by specification.
You can bend a template to fix all three. Past a certain point, though, the bending costs about what building it properly would have. Then you own a site that fights you.
Where does custom break?
Custom has its own failure mode, and it is worth being fair about it.
A custom build can be overbuilt. Paying for bespoke animation, a clever configurator or a dozen features nobody asked for is how budgets disappear. Custom should mean the structure fits how your buyers buy. It should not mean ornament.
The right test is simple. Does each custom piece solve a problem a template could not? If yes, pay for it. If no, cut it.
Our custom web development work follows that rule. Build what the buyer needs, and nothing that only impresses other designers.
What does a split residential and commercial path add?
Air Clean Systems is the clearest example we have. They sell to two buyers with almost nothing in common, and the product range had to stay navigable for both at once.
We split the paths so residential and commercial buyers each get a route that matches how they buy. We also built a service-forward layout that leads with capability rather than company history.
For scope, a split path adds:
- Separate entry points from the homepage
- Content written for each audience, not shared
- Navigation that keeps the two journeys from tangling
You can read the full Air Clean Systems case study to see how it came together.
How many product categories can you maintain?
This is the question owners skip, and it should shape the budget.
A specification-driven buyer needs to navigate to the right system. That means categories organized the way a buyer thinks, not the way your warehouse is shelved.
Every category you add is a page structure to design, content to write and information to keep current. Build twelve and let eight go stale, and you have told a procurement buyer you are not paying attention.
Our position: launch with the categories you can keep accurate, then add more. A tight, correct catalog beats a sprawling one every time.
What should each lead form ask?
The two inquiries need different information. That is why lead capture gets tuned separately for each audience.
A homeowner form should be short. Their situation, their contact details, and a simple way to ask for help. Anything more and they leave.
A commercial form can ask for more, because that buyer is already working from specifications and expects to supply them. Project details, scope and timing help you respond with something useful rather than a vague reply.
Each form is a piece of design and build work. Two forms cost more than one. They also bring in leads you can act on the same day.
What should you ask any agency to put in writing in a quote?
Skip the total for a moment. Ask for the list underneath it:
- How many separate paths for visitors are included?
- How many product categories are built, and who adds the next one?
- How many lead forms are included, and what does each one ask?
- Who writes the content for each audience?
- Do you own the finished site and its code?
- What does it cost to change something after launch?
An agency that answers these in plain language is one you can compare fairly. An agency that waves them away is telling you how the project will go.
If you are weighing a smaller local build against this, our guide to small business website design in Raleigh lays out how we think about scope.
How do you decide what to build first?
Start with the buyer who pays the bills, then build the second path properly.
If commercial accounts carry your revenue, build that path and its catalog first. Give homeowners a clean, short route in the meantime. If residential volume keeps the phones ringing, flip it.
Do not launch both halfway. A half-built path reads as neglect to the exact buyer you wanted.
Phasing is a legitimate way to control cost. It only works if the structure is planned for both audiences from day one, so the second phase slots in rather than forcing a rebuild.
Your next step
Before you request any quotes, write down three lists: your buyer types, your product categories and the inquiries you need to receive. Bring them to every conversation. Quotes built on the same three lists are quotes you can actually compare.
When you are ready to talk it through, get started here.