Costs start from S$8,000 for a base build and run S$15,000 to 20,000 for an elevated brand site.
A note on bias: we build custom and hybrid sites, so we lean that way. Below we say where we think a platform is the better choice.
What changed for 2027
- Speed is part of the product. Slow sites lose visitors and rank lower. Heavy plugin stacks and bloated scripts are the usual cause.
- People now arrive through AI answers as well as Google. Clean structure, clear headings and proper markup help both search engines and AI tools read your pages.
- Old builders age badly. Sites built on stacks of plugins get slower and harder to edit every year. We saw this on our own site, which is why we rebuilt it to current web standards. See rebuild or redesign.
Not sure where you fit? Message us on WhatsApp and we will tell you.
The three routes
| Feature | Platform (template builder) | Custom build | Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A hosted builder or theme, configured for you | Designed and coded for your brand | A proven platform or CMS with custom design and code on top |
| Typical cost (S$) | Lower, within or below the base tier | 15,000 to 20,000 elevated; 25,000 to 60,000 enterprise | From 8,000 base, rising with customisation |
| Speed to launch | Fastest | Longest | Middle |
| Speed of the site | Varies; often slowed by add-ons | Best control | Good, if kept lean |
| Look and feel | Limited by the template | Fully yours | Mostly yours |
| Editing | Easy | Depends on how it is built; should be easy for your team | Easy |
| Lock-in | Often tied to the platform | You own the code | Depends on the platform |
| Best for | Simple, low-traffic sites | Brands, integrations, strict performance | Most growing businesses |
Event landing pages: a case where custom earns its place
Hitcheed Group runs five event brands we build for: HallyuCon, The Happitat, Not So Little Fair, Not Another Pet Fair and FitXpo. Most of these sites are event landing pages. These pages have unusual demands:
- Traffic arrives in bursts. A ticket drop or announcement can send thousands of visitors in minutes. When HallyuCon traffic spiked into the thousands, the servers could not handle the load. We now build on responsive, load-balanced infrastructure with caching, so a surge does not take the page down.
- The timeline is short. The HallyuCon event page took two weeks to build.
- Ticketing, registration and partner info all have to work on day one. We connect pages to ticketing through Eventbrite plugins and embeds, and to booking through Calendly, so the page is fast and the checkout is handled by a tool visitors already trust.
- The page should outlive the event. Keep one URL per event series and update it each year, instead of starting a new page every time. This keeps whatever search value the page has earned. Mark it up with event details so search engines can read dates and venues.
If this sounds like your project, tell us the expected peak traffic early so we size the setup for it.
When we would tell you not to hire us
- A simple one-page or small brochure site with modest traffic. A template platform will do the job and cost less. Spend the savings on good copy and photos.
- A one-off event with no ticketing or integrations and little traffic. A platform page is fine.
- A tight budget and a need to test an idea fast. Launch lean on a platform, then rebuild if it works.
When custom or hybrid is worth it
- Your brand competes on look and feel.
- You expect traffic spikes (events, sales, drops).
- The site connects to payments, booking, CRM or inventory.
- Speed and search visibility are part of the business case.
- You want to own your code, domain and accounts.
How to decide: a short checklist
- What must the site do in the first 90 days?
- How much traffic do you expect at peak?
- What must it connect to?
- Who will edit it, and how often?
- What will it cost to run after launch?
- Could a grant offset part of the build? See EDG for websites and apps.
Singapore specifics
- Ticketing and booking should be planned from the start. We usually connect Eventbrite (plugins or embeds) for tickets and Calendly for bookings, rather than building checkout from scratch.
- PDPA: if you collect names, emails or ticketing data, your site needs a clear consent and privacy setup.
- Some SMEs may qualify for government co-funding for digital projects. Our free Fund Your Build checker shows whether a project may qualify.
Back to the full guide: Websites in Singapore. Service page: Websites. Related: website design cost.
Written by
The Pineapple teamAn app development and web design studio in Singapore. Since 2021 we have launched 60+ apps, platforms and websites for events, education, retail and growing businesses, and we write about what we learn along the way.