Web design and development · Delivered online · anywhere in Ireland
Business website
Whether this needs a licence in Ireland
No licence required
Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer
Business website: what the job involves
Designing and building a website for a business or organisation: the pages, layout, contact forms and basic search optimisation, put live on a domain the business owns. Most of the work happens online, with calls and shared drafts, and the result should be a site the business can edit and take elsewhere.
Also asked for as: web designer · website for my business · web developer · new website · small business website
How the job is usually done
- Agree the purpose of the site, the pages it needs, who writes the text and what it should be built with.
- Collect brand files, text, photographs and examples of sites you like, and set up access to the domain and hosting.
- Produce a design or prototype of the key pages and agree changes before building.
- Build the pages, forms and navigation, adapted for phones, with titles and descriptions for search engines.
- Add the privacy notice, cookie consent and business details, and test forms, speed and accessibility on real devices.
- Put the site live, connect analytics only with consent, and walk you through editing it.
- Hand over logins, licences, the copyright assignment and a short guide.
Business website: what is included
Usually included
- Design of the agreed pages, adapted for phones and tablets
- Building the agreed number of pages and a contact form
- Basic on-page search optimisation: page titles, descriptions, headings and a sitemap
- Cookie consent and a privacy notice page, with the text supplied or agreed
- A set number of rounds of changes, agreed in the quote
- Training on editing pages yourself
Usually not included — agree it separately
- Writing the text, professional photography and logo design, unless quoted
- Domain registration, hosting and email, which are often paid directly by the business
- An online shop, bookings or a members’ area, which are bigger jobs
- Ongoing search engine optimisation, ads and social media
- Ongoing updates and maintenance after launch
- Translation into other languages
Materials and who supplies them
- Text, photographs, logo and brand colours, normally supplied by the business
- Domain, hosting and paid themes or plugins, usually bought in the business’s own name
- Stock images and fonts, licensed by whoever buys them; agree whose account they go on
How long it takes
A small brochure site usually takes a few weeks from the first call, and longer when text and photos are late, there are many pages, or several people must approve each draft.
When to book
Have the text and photos ready before work starts, and allow a few weeks before any launch date such as a season or an opening.
Business website: the rules in Ireland
What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.
The author of a work, here the developer or designer, is the first owner of its copyright unless they made it as an employee. Paying for a commissioned website does not by itself transfer ownership: an assignment of copyright is effective only in writing, signed by or on behalf of the developer.
Applies to: the business commissioning the site and the developer
Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, sections 23 and 120 · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
An employer owns the copyright in work made by an employee in the course of employment; an outside contractor is not an employee, so without a written agreement the contractor keeps the copyright.
Applies to: the business commissioning the work
Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, section 23 · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
The author also has moral rights, such as the right to be named and to object to derogatory changes, which stay with them even after copyright is assigned. They can be waived, but only in writing signed by the author.
Applies to: the developer or designer, and the business that will keep changing the site
Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, sections 107, 109 and 116 · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
A site that collects personal data, through a contact form, booking, newsletter sign-up or account, must tell people who is collecting it, why, on what legal basis, how long it is kept and what their rights are, at the time it is collected.
Applies to: the business that owns the website, as controller
GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), Article 13 · eur-lex.europa.eu · Checked 10 October 2026
Cookies and similar trackers that are not strictly necessary, analytics included, may be set only after the visitor consents, with clear information about their purposes. The Data Protection Commission expects a reject option as prominent as accept, no pre-ticked boxes, and consent renewed after no more than six months.
Applies to: the business that owns the website, and the developer who builds the banner
ePrivacy Regulations (S.I. No. 336 of 2011), regulation 5; Data Protection Commission guidance on cookies · dataprotection.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
A business offering services online must show, easily and permanently, its name, geographic address, email address, company or business-name registration number, VAT number where it has one, and prices that state clearly whether tax and delivery are included.
Applies to: the business that owns the website
European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 68 of 2003), regulation 7 · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
A developer, agency or host that stores or can access the personal data on a site on the business’s behalf is a processor, and the two must have a written contract covering the matters set out in Article 28 GDPR: instructions, confidentiality, security, sub-processors, deletion or return at the end, and help with breaches.
Applies to: the business, as controller, and the developer or host, as processor
GDPR, Article 28; Data Protection Commission, A Practical Guide to Controller-Processor Contracts · dataprotection.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Grants
Grow Digital Voucher (Local Enterprise Office)
A grant of 50% of eligible costs, from a minimum of €500 up to €5,000, towards a first-year subscription to off-the-shelf software new to the business, such as a hosted e-commerce or website platform, plus expert set-up, integration or training (no more than half the project). Custom or bespoke software and bespoke website development are not eligible, and the application must be made before anything is ordered or started.
Who qualifies: Small enterprises with 1 to 50 paid employees, trading for at least six months, that have completed a Digital for Business project in the previous two years, are not Enterprise Ireland or IDA clients and have tax clearance; apply through your Local Enterprise Office.
localenterprise.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
What business website costs, and why
What jobs on Talqero came to
Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.
What affects the price
- Number of pages and how many different page layouts are needed
- Whether the text, photos and logo are ready or have to be produced
- Custom design from scratch or an adapted ready-made theme
- Features such as booking, forms, maps, a blog, multiple languages or a members’ area
- Number of change rounds and people approving the work
- Deadline, and whether ongoing maintenance is wanted
What you should get at the end
- Written assignment of copyright, or a written licence, for the design and code made for you
- Admin logins for the site, hosting, domain and any connected services, in your own name
- A list of third-party themes, plugins, fonts and images with their licences and renewal dates
- Privacy notice and cookie list as published on the site
- A short written guide to editing pages and adding images
What the provider should hand over
- Hand over all logins in the business’s name and remove your own access if agreed
- Give the signed copyright assignment or licence and the list of third-party licences
- Show the owner how to edit pages, and explain backups, updates and renewals
Safety
- Register the domain and hosting in the business’s own name and keep the main logins yourself; a site held in a developer’s account is hard to get back.
- Do not email passwords; share access through a password manager or a separate user account that can be removed later.
- Use only photos and fonts you have the right to use; images copied from other sites can bring copyright claims.
Business website: before you hire
Questions to ask before you hire
- Will the domain, hosting and site be registered in my business’s name?
- Will I own the copyright in the design and code, in writing?
- Which themes, plugins or paid tools will I have to keep paying for?
- How many rounds of changes are included, and what happens after launch?
- Can I see sites you built that are live now, and speak to one of the owners?
- Will the site have a proper cookie banner and privacy notice?
What you can do yourself
A sole trader can build a simple site with a hosted website builder, but should still own the domain, write a privacy notice and set up cookie consent properly before going live.
What to put in your task
- Roughly how many pages do you need?
- Is your text, logo and photos ready?
- Which features do you need?
- Do you already have a website or domain?
- When do you need it live?
Photos that help
- Your logo and brand colours, or a link to where they are
- Links to two or three websites you like, and what you like about them
- Your current website address, if there is one, and a screenshot of anything you want kept
- A rough list of pages or a sketch of the menu
Web design and development
Need business website? Describe the job.
Post it once, free. Professionals anywhere in Ireland reply with their own price and when they could start. You choose, and pay them directly.
Questions about business website
Does business website need a licence in Ireland?
No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.irishstatutebook.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.
Do I own the website once I have paid for it?
Not automatically. Under the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 the developer owns the copyright in work they made unless it is assigned to you in writing and signed. Ask for a written assignment, or at least a licence that lets you keep, change and move the site.
Do I need a cookie banner?
If the site uses analytics, embedded videos, maps, social media pixels or advertising tags, yes. The Data Protection Commission requires consent before those are set, with a reject option as easy as accept. A site that uses only strictly necessary cookies does not need consent but should still explain them.
What should be on my contact page by law?
Your business name, geographic address, email address, company or business name registration number and VAT number if you have one. A contact form also needs a short privacy notice saying what happens to the details people send.
Website builder or a custom site?
A hosted builder is quick and the monthly fee covers hosting and updates, but you are tied to that company. A WordPress or custom site gives more control and is easier to move, but needs updates and backups. Ask the developer to explain which suits how you will use the site.