growthwrightAsk ten web designers what a website costs and you'll get ten answers. That's not because they're dodgy. It's because "a website" can mean a one-page brochure for a window cleaner or a shop with 2,000 products and a stock system plugged in. If you're a small business wanting a proper site that gets found and gets enquiries, the honest answer to "how much does a website cost in the UK" is: less than many people quote, but more than the £0 on the advert.
I've built sites for big companies with big budgets, and I started out as a small business myself. So here's the plain version.
The quick answer: website cost in the UK by type
These are rough market ranges, based on what you'll commonly see advertised. They're not statistics and they move about. Use them to sense-check quotes, not as gospel.
| Option | Rough upfront cost | Rough ongoing cost | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | £0 to low | From a few pounds to a few tens of pounds a month | You |
| Freelancer | Often several hundred to a few thousand pounds | Hosting and changes, often extra | One person |
| Agency | Often a few thousand pounds and up | Hosting, support and retainers, often extra | A team |
| Pay monthly website | Often £0 setup | A fixed monthly fee | The provider |
For a typical small business brochure site (home, services, about, contact, maybe a few local pages) you rarely need the top end. You need it done properly, kept fast and kept up to date.
DIY website builders
Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and friends. You pick a template, drag things about and pay a monthly plan.
What you pay
- A monthly or annual plan. The cheap tiers often show the builder's own branding or limit features.
- Usually a separate cost for a custom domain after the first year, and often for business email.
- Paid apps or plugins for things like bookings, forms or reviews.
The real cost: your time
The plan is cheap. Your evenings are not. Writing the words, sorting the photos, getting it to look right on a phone, working out SEO settings. If you enjoy that, brilliant. If you'd rather be doing paid work, it's often the most expensive option in disguise.
Freelance web designers
A freelancer builds the site for you, usually on WordPress or something similar, and hands it over. Prices vary hugely with experience and how much writing and design they do.
- Good: one person to talk to, often cheaper than an agency, a real design rather than a template.
- Watch for: who hosts it, who updates it, and what happens if they get busy or move on. Many freelancers charge per change after launch.
Web design agencies
Agencies bring a team: designer, developer, copywriter, project manager. That's great for complex builds, and it's priced to match. I ran an agency for over seven years, so I know where the money goes: meetings, project management, account handling. All real costs, but a plumber with a five-page site doesn't need most of them.
- Good: depth of skills, process, good for bigger or complicated projects.
- Watch for: ongoing retainers, hosting packages and charges for small edits that add up over the year.
Pay monthly websites
Instead of a big upfront bill you pay a fixed monthly fee, and the provider designs, hosts and looks after the site. This is how I do it: a custom website for £25 a month, 12-month minimum term, no setup fee.
The catch with some monthly deals is long lock-ins or unclear ownership. I've written a full comparison in pay monthly website vs one-off, including what to check in the contract.
£25 a month, all in. Design, writing, hosting, SSL, security updates and a business email address. No setup fee, no hidden costs. Tell me about your business
The hidden costs of a website
This is where quotes go wrong. A site that's "£500" can easily cost a lot more once the year's bills land. Here's what to ask about.
| Cost | What it is | Ask this |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | yourbusiness.co.uk. Renewed every year. | Who registers it, and in whose name? |
| Hosting | The server your site lives on. | Is it included? What does it cost after year one? |
| Business email | you@yourbusiness.co.uk | How many addresses are included, and what does each extra one cost? |
| SSL certificate | The padlock. Browsers warn visitors about sites without it. | Is it included and renewed automatically? |
| Updates and security | Keeping software patched so it doesn't get hacked. | Who does it, and how often? |
| Changes | New prices, new photos, a new service page. | Are small edits included or charged per job? |
| Licences and plugins | Premium themes, form tools, booking widgets. | Are any of these renewing yearly? |
Not sure what you need for email? My guide to getting a business email address covers it.
What affects the price of a website
- Number of pages. Five pages is a different job from fifty.
- Who writes the words. Copywriting takes time. If you supply the text, it's cheaper. If it's written for you, it's usually better.
- Custom features. Bookings, quotes, customer logins and payments all add work. If you need these, it can be a custom app job rather than a website job.
- E-commerce. Product pages, payments, delivery rules and stock all add up.
- Speed and SEO. A site that's fast and set up properly for Google takes more care than one that just looks nice.
- Ongoing support. Whether someone's looking after it, or you're on your own after launch.
How £25 a month compares
Over a 12-month term, £25 a month is £300 for the year. That covers the design, writing, hosting, SSL padlock, security updates and one business email. Each extra email is £5 a month. There's no setup fee. The domain name is included too for .co.uk and .com domains while you're a customer, and it's registered in your name.
Compare that against a quote by adding up the build fee plus a year of hosting, domain, email and changes. If the year-one total is well above £300, ask what you're getting for the difference. Sometimes it's worth it, for example if you need a big shop or a complex booking system. For most local service businesses, it isn't.
Want extras? With a £25-a-month website you can add an SEO, speed and accessibility tune-up or a Google Business Profile set-up for £100 each, paid once. See all of it on the pricing calculator.
Questions to ask before you pay anyone
- What's the total cost in year one, and in year two?
- What's included every month, and what costs extra?
- Who owns the domain name?
- What happens to the site and content if I leave?
- How do I ask for changes, and are they included?
- Will it be fast on a phone? Can you show me a Lighthouse score on a site you've built?
- Is it set up for local search, like my local SEO checklist covers?
A good provider will answer all of these in writing without blinking.
What a small business website actually needs
Before you compare prices, work out what you're buying. For most local businesses, a website that earns its keep has:
- A clear home page that says what you do, where, and how to get hold of you, in the first few seconds.
- A page for each main service, so Google can match you to specific searches.
- An about page with real photos of you. People buy from people.
- Proof: photos of your work, accreditations, reviews from your Google profile.
- A contact page and enquiry form, plus a tap-to-call phone number on every page.
- Speed on a phone, because that's where most local searches happen.
- Basic SEO: proper page titles, descriptions, headings and local business details.
- Accessibility, so everyone can use it. See my website accessibility guide.
What you probably don't need: animated intros, sliders, a blog you'll never update, or twenty pages of filler. Each of those adds cost and usually slows the site down.
A quick way to budget
- List the pages you need, and any features (bookings, payments, quotes).
- Decide whether you'll write the words yourself or want them written for you.
- Decide whether you want to look after the site, or have someone do it.
- Get two or three quotes and ask each one for a year-one and year-two total, all in.
- Compare like for like, including hosting, email and changes.
How I can help
If you want a proper website without a big upfront bill, I'll design, write, build and host it for £25 a month. You talk to me directly, not a ticket system. My own sites score 100 on Google Lighthouse, and I'll build yours to the same standard. Want to be found locally too? Add the Google Business Profile set-up.