January 4, 2026
HTML = Huge Money, Tiny Labor
I charged $18k for a Static HTML Page (2019)
Internet loses it over $18k for one page — insiders say that’s cheap
TLDR: A contractor billed $18,000 for a single static webpage, triggering a chorus of shock and shrugs. Commenters say big-brand campaigns routinely pay $50k–$100k+ and even multimillions, sparking debate over agency markups versus corporate chaos—and why “waiting without assets” still racks up real money.
The internet is clutching pearls over a contractor who billed $18,000 for a single, static page—basically one fancy webpage with a few animations. Outrage? Absolutely. Applause? Also yes. The thread split fast: one camp yells “highway robbery,” the other shrugs, “welcome to enterprise panic pricing.”
Insiders spilled tea. F7F7F7 dropped the bomb that agencies routinely charge “$50k+” to tweak a Shopify store (that’s a popular online shop platform), and recalled a $150k rebrand where a drag‑and‑drop site tool ate 40% of the budget and broke common‑sense design rules. Then a plot twist: firefoxd chimed in with “Hey I wrote that,” adding the commissioning company paid over $100k for that same page as part of a bigger campaign. Meanwhile, another commenter deadpanned that their company blew $3 million on a Drupal theme (Drupal is a website builder), calling it an “impressive waste.”
Cue memes: “HTML = Huge Money Language,” “Corporate Lunch-Driven Development,” and “Waiting is billable.” The drama isn’t “can you build a page?” It’s who’s to blame: agencies milking splashy marketing budgets, or big companies that lock a contractor on-site without assets and still expect miracles. For deeper receipts, folks resurfaced the 2019 debate on HN.
Key Points
- •A large company urgently hired the contractor after a developer left without warning.
- •The project was a single static HTML page with minor animations and embedded videos.
- •He estimated 20 hours and quoted roughly $1,500, requiring on-site work at a satellite office.
- •Day one was consumed by setting up a new MacBook Pro, email, SSH keys, and service access.
- •Despite being ready, required assets never arrived; he documented the delay via email to the manager.