Most design and marketing agencies hit the same wall. The pitches go well, the designs get approved, and then development becomes the bottleneck. Hiring a full-time developer is a big fixed cost for uneven work. Freelancers disappear mid-project. So you turn work down, or you deliver late.
A white-label development partner is how many agencies get past that. This guide covers how the arrangement works, what it costs, and how to pick a partner without risking a client relationship you spent years building.
What "white-label" means
Your agency owns the client. You do the strategy, design and account management. The partner builds the website from your approved designs, under your name. The client never talks to the partner, never sees their name in the code or emails, and the site is handed over as your agency's work.
You set your own price to the client. The partner charges you a fixed fee per project or a monthly retainer.
When it makes sense
- You win more web projects than your team can build, especially in bursts.
- You are a design-led or marketing-led agency and development isn't your core skill.
- You want to offer something new, such as Shopify stores, web apps or speed optimisation, without hiring for it first.
- Your developer is leaving, or is on leave, and projects can't wait.
It makes less sense if you only build one or two sites a year, or if development is the main thing your clients pay you for.
What it costs
Prices vary with the market and the complexity of the design. For a partner based in India, typical ranges in 2026 are:
| Work | Typical white-label price | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page from your design | ₹12k–25k | About a week |
| Business website, 5–8 pages | ₹35k–60k | 1–3 weeks |
| Shopify store from your design | ₹35k–70k | 2–3 weeks |
| Speed and SEO fix on an existing site | ₹15k–30k | 3–5 days |
| Web app or custom feature | Quoted per project | Weeks |
Agencies in the UK, UAE and Australia often pay a partner in India well under half of what an equivalent local developer would charge, which leaves room for a healthy margin on the client invoice.
The cheapest option is rarely the cheapest outcome. A build that needs three rounds of fixes, or breaks a week after launch, costs you far more in client goodwill than the difference in price.
Seven questions to ask before you sign
1. Can I see live sites, not screenshots?
Ask for links to sites they built and check them on your phone. Run one through a speed test such as our free website check. Good developers build sites that load fast on mobile without being asked.
2. How closely will the build match the design?
Pixel-perfect is the standard. Ask how they handle spacing, responsive layouts between your breakpoints, hover states and animations you didn't specify. A good partner asks questions before starting rather than guessing.
3. Who owns the code, the hosting and the accounts?
You or your client should own everything: the domain, the hosting account, the CMS, the code repository. The partner should work inside accounts you control and hand over cleanly.
4. Will they stay invisible?
No credits in the footer, no partner name in the code comments or emails, no contact with your client unless you ask for it. Put this in writing, along with a non-solicitation clause saying they won't approach your clients directly.
5. How do updates and fixes work after launch?
Clients will want changes. Agree response times and pricing for small edits and bug fixes, or a monthly retainer, before the first project goes live.
6. How do you communicate?
Agree on time zones, a shared channel (Slack, WhatsApp or email), and how often you'll get progress updates. India overlaps comfortably with UK, Middle East and Australian working hours.
7. Will you do a small paid pilot?
The best way to judge a partner is a small real project: one landing page or one template. It costs little, and you'll learn more from it than from any portfolio.
How a project usually runs
- Handover: you share the approved designs (Figma is easiest), content, brand assets and any technical requirements.
- Questions and quote: the partner reviews everything, flags gaps, and confirms a fixed price and date.
- Build: with a staging link you can check as it progresses.
- Your review: you test it, and the partner fixes anything that doesn't match.
- Launch: on your client's domain and hosting, with speed and SEO checks done.
- Handover: logins, a short guide for editing content, and a support window.
Working with us
Appna Studio is a small studio in India that builds websites, Shopify stores and web apps, and our hours work well for agencies in India, the UK, the Middle East and Australia. We build from your designs, stay invisible to your clients, and every site is tested for speed on a mid-range phone before handover. A business website from your designs is typically ₹35k–60k (about £700–1,400), and we're happy to start with a paid pilot.
See our work, or tell us about your next project.