When a website builder is no longer enough
A builder is fine for a first business card online. But once you need a price calculator, a customer account, a large catalogue, payments through Click or Payme, or orders flowing into a CRM, a template starts to get in the way. A custom site is designed around your sales process, not the other way round.
Ownership matters too. The domain, hosting and source code should belong to you. Otherwise, parting ways with a contractor can leave you without a site.
Freelancer, studio or agency
The Tashkent market is uneven. A freelancer is usually flexible and easy to talk to, but you depend on one person: if they get ill or take another job, nobody maintains the site. A small studio covers design and front-end work, while SEO, advertising and analytics often fall outside the scope. A full-cycle agency takes all of it on, at the cost of a more formal process.
The difference is rarely just price. Look at whether the contractor shows past work live, explains why each block is on the page, and is ready to answer for results in numbers rather than with promises that it will look nice.
What drives the price
The phrase «custom website» covers very different amounts of work. The estimate depends on a handful of things:
- the number of pages and the complexity of templates;
- design: built from scratch or adapted from existing solutions;
- functionality: catalogue, cart, customer account, calculators;
- integrations: Click, Payme, CRM, Telegram notifications, delivery;
- language versions, copywriting and photography;
- support after launch: hosting, updates, further improvements.
What to prepare before work starts
Ask for an estimate broken down by stage rather than a single line, so you can see what you are paying for. A suspiciously low figure usually means something, such as mobile adaptation or analytics setup, is simply not included. The clearer the task, the fewer revisions. Before the first call, gather:
- who your customer is and what you want them to do: leave a request, call, message you on Telegram, pay;
- examples of sites you like and dislike, with reasons;
- logo, photos, texts, price list, reviews;
- the systems the site has to connect to;
- one person on your side who approves each stage.
What matters specifically in Uzbekistan
Most visitors arrive on a phone, sometimes on a weak mobile connection, so light pages matter more than flashy animation. Decide early whether you need Russian and Uzbek versions: in many niches the audience splits between the two languages, and a single-language site loses part of its enquiries.
Think about buying habits as well. Many people would rather message you on Telegram or Instagram than fill in a long form, so messenger buttons and local payment methods are part of the funnel, not details. If you also sell on Uzum or OLX, your own site gives you what marketplaces do not: your own customer base and control over how you present the offer.
How to tell whether the site pays off
Agree on metrics before the start: number of leads, cost per lead, share of visitors who complete the target action, rankings for key queries. A common mistake is launching without analytics, so that two months later nobody can say whether the site works or simply exists.
The minimum at launch is visitor counters, goals for forms and for clicks on the phone number and messengers, and tagging of ad sources. Then you can see which channel brought each customer and decide where the budget should go next.
Where to start
The markdev team builds turnkey websites in Uzbekistan, from prototype and design to analytics and ad launch. Tell us about your business and your goal, and we will work out together whether you need a custom site or whether a simpler solution is enough.
FAQ
How is a custom website different from a builder site?
It is built around your sales logic and integrations instead of a template's limits. That matters when you need non-standard features, payments and CRM connections.
What should the brief include?
The site's goal, target audience, page structure, features, integrations, language versions, materials and how stages will be approved.
Who should own the domain and the code?
You. Put it in the contract and register the domain and hosting in your own or your company's name from day one.
How do I know the site is working?
By the metrics you chose in advance: leads, cost per lead, conversion to the target action and search rankings. That requires analytics to be set up properly.
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