Website redesign cost in Japan – what drives the price and how it compares with a new build

Typical website redesign cost in Japan

The cost of a website redesign depends on the size of the site and how deep the changes go. These are typical ranges when working with a Japanese web agency. They reflect the market in general and vary by provider.

• New design and mobile layout for a small site (5–10 pages): around ¥300,000–800,000
• Structure and copy reworked for a small to mid-size site (10–30 pages): around ¥800,000–2,000,000
• Large sites, a CMS change or multilingual setup: ¥2,000,000–5,000,000 and up
• A light refresh on a ready-made template: around ¥100,000–300,000

For new-build budgets, see website development cost. A renewal reuses what you already have, yet it adds migration and clean-up work, so it often lands close to the price of a new site and sometimes above it. Work out which band your site is closest to and agree on a ceiling internally – it makes quotes much easier to compare.

Three cost drivers: migration, content and design

Most of the price of a site renewal comes down to the amount of work in three areas. When two quotes are far apart, look at where they differ on these three.

• Migration: moving news posts, blog articles, product data and forms to the new setup. Hundreds of posts, a platform change (for example from a static site to WordPress, or from a custom system to Shopify) or a large set of 301 redirects all push the cost up
• Content: reusing your current text and photos keeps this low. Rewriting copy or arranging a new photo shoot is usually billed separately from design
• Design: adjusting an existing template is quick. Designing the home page and inner pages from scratch takes longer. The more page types you have – services, cases, recruiting, company profile – the more layouts need to be built

New features such as booking or online sales, a second language, and GA4 and tag setup also add to the total. When a quote arrives, write down what each of the three drivers includes and compare line by line.

When a renewal costs less – or more – than a new site

It is natural to assume that rebuilding an existing site is cheaper. In practice it depends on what you have to work with.

• Usually cheaper: the page structure and copy can stay, logo and photos are ready, the site is small, and the CMS stays the same while the design is refreshed
• Usually more expensive: data has to be extracted from an old system, there are many posts or products, the URL structure changes a lot, or nobody knows which pages get traffic
• About the same: structure and copy are both rebuilt, and only the domain and company details carry over

If migration is heavy and little is worth keeping, asking for a quote as a new build makes the scope clearer and the cost easier to predict. If you are unsure, list the pages you want to keep before you ask – it speeds up the conversation.

What to check in a redesign quote

A renewal quote contains work a new build does not. Comparing totals alone is how extra charges appear later. Check that these items are spelled out:

• An audit of existing pages and current traffic
• How many posts or products are migrated, and how (by hand or in bulk)
• 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones
• Whether copywriting and photography are included or extra
• Pre-launch checks for mobile, forms and tracking tags
• Domain, hosting and SSL switchover, plus monthly running costs
• How long post-launch fixes are covered, and the price of updates and maintenance

Our guide to reading a website quote covers each item in more detail. For anything unclear, ask the provider to state in writing what is included and what is not.

Keeping the cost down without cutting corners

The most reliable way to save on a redesign is to avoid rework. Late design changes and waiting for copy turn directly into extra fees and delays.

• Decide what stays first: list well-read articles, URLs you share with partners and photos you can reuse
• Phase the scope: renew the home page and key pages first, then the blog or recruiting pages after launch
• Prepare materials in-house: company details, product descriptions and photos you supply yourself reduce the bill
• Choose an easy CMS: if you can post news and products yourself, you pay less for small edits later
• Share a picture of the result early: catching a wrong direction at the start prevents rebuilding at the end

The full process and what to prepare are covered on our website renewal page. Even on a tight budget, phasing the work lets you start with what matters most.

How UNANOBO prices a renewal: a free demo comes first

Before any quote, UNANOBO builds a free demo – a new design of your current site based on your existing content and brand. With the result in front of you, we decide together which pages stay, how much copy to rework and what needs migrating, so the plan and estimate cover only the work you actually need.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, from the first demo to improvements after launch, and everything runs by message in Japanese or English. You get a reply within two business days.