GuideHow much does a website cost in the UK?

The short answer

Prices vary a lot depending on who builds it. These are typical UK ranges for 2026, pulled from published price guides:

Sources: ExpertSure, Mapletree Studio and ExpertSure's Wix pricing guide. Ranges overlap because a very experienced freelancer can charge more than a small agency.

A DIY builder is the cheapest way to get online, and for some businesses it's enough. The catch is your time. Writing the words, sorting the photos, setting up Google and working out why it looks odd on a phone all fall on you, usually in the evenings.

What I charge, and what's in it

Every website I build is quoted after a free call, so you only pay for what your business needs. As a rough guide, this is where things start.

Premium website, from £1,599

This is my core offer, and it's what most of the local businesses I work with choose. It's everything you need to look like the best option in your area and start winning work from Google:

• a hand-built website of up to 5 pages, designed around the jobs you want more of
• the words written with you, in the way your customers talk and search
• your Google Business Profile set up and matched to your website
• pages for the towns and villages you cover
• automatic review requests after every job
• call, WhatsApp and quote buttons where people look for them
• speed, security and SEO set up properly, with two rounds of changes

For a custom website built to that standard, £1,599 is very reasonably priced, and it's the option I'd point most businesses to.

When you want more

Premium covers what most businesses need. If you want everything about your business to look and feel top end, I can take it further.

• All-in, from £3,500. My most complete option. Everything in Premium with up to 10 pages, plus a professional photo and video shoot of you, your team and your work, branding so everything matches, and branded flyers and social graphics. It's for businesses that want to be the obvious choice in their area from the first day.
• Add-ons for any website. Photography and video, branding, Google profile management, local SEO, social media and ads, each quoted to what you need.

Just starting out?

If you're brand new and need to get online properly, a Basic website starts from £899. That's up to 2 pages, designed for phones, with the words written for you and Google set up from day one. It's built so it can grow into a Premium website when you're ready.

Why it's priced the way it is

You get the design and build quality you'd expect from an agency, without paying for an agency's overheads. There's no account manager or sales team in the middle. The person who quotes your website is the one who designs it, builds it and picks up the phone when you need a change.

For comparison, a five-page website from a small agency usually starts at around £3,000, so it's worth checking whether that includes your Google profile and town pages. I'm not VAT registered either, so there's no 20% to add. If you aren't VAT registered, you can't claim VAT back, so add 20% to any quote that's shown before VAT.

You pay half to start and half before launch, or spread the cost monthly. The websites page has more detail on what's included.

What pushes the price up

When two quotes are far apart, it's usually because they include different things. These are the parts that make the biggest difference:

• The number of pages. A page for each service and each town you cover takes longer to plan and write, but it's also what helps you show up on Google.
• Who writes the words. If the designer writes them with you, that's real work and it's priced in. If you're expected to write everything, the quote will be lower and the project will take longer.
• Photos. Stock photos are cheap. A proper shoot of you, your team and your work costs more and does far more to win trust.
• Quote and booking forms. A simple contact form is standard. A quote form that asks the right questions, or a link to booking software, takes longer to set up.
• Selling online. A shop with products, payments and delivery is a bigger build than a site that gets people to call.
• Branding. If you need a logo and a look before the website can be designed, that's extra.
• Moving an old site. Getting a domain back from a previous designer, or moving content across without losing your place on Google, can add time.

Costs people forget

The build price is the number everyone compares, but these come up every month or every year:

• Your domain. A .co.uk address usually renews at around £10 to £16 a year, though some companies charge much more. 365i compared renewal prices across UK registrars.
• Hosting and care. Somewhere has to keep the site online, secure and backed up. Some designers include this, some charge for it, and some leave you to sort it yourself. Mine is £49 a month after an upfront build, and that includes small changes.
• Business email. An email address on your own domain usually costs a few pounds a month per person.
• Changes after launch. Ask what a new page or a price change costs once the site is live.
• Your Google Business Profile. It's free to set up yourself. Help setting it up or looking after it is a separate cost with most designers.
• VAT. If your designer is VAT registered and you aren't, add 20% to their prices.

Monthly or upfront?

Spreading the cost can make a good website affordable when cash is tight, and it often includes hosting and care. Before you sign one, get answers to these:

• How long does the plan run, and what's the total over that time?
• When does the website become yours?
• What happens, and what does it cost, if you want to leave early?
• Whose name is the domain in while you're paying?

To compare fairly, add up the monthly plan over its full term. Then add the upfront price to the cost of hosting and care over the same number of months. If a monthly plan never ends and the site never becomes yours, you're renting it.

My monthly plans run for 24 months with hosting and care included, and the site is yours at the end. I give you the monthly figure and the total with your quote, so you can compare it with paying upfront.

Dearer isn't always better

Tony runs Anthony Mason Upholstery in Bedfordshire and has 40 years in the trade. Before I met him, he'd paid an agency thousands for a website that didn't work, and his domain was tied up in their setup. Spending more had bought him a site he didn't control.

I moved everything onto hosting he controls, built a full site around his work and set his Google profile up across four counties. Read Tony's story.

The cheapest quote can be a false saving too. A site with no words written for you, no Google setup and no help after launch can cost you more in lost work than you saved. What matters is what the price includes and who owns the result.

How to compare two quotes

Put your quotes side by side and tick off what each one includes:

• Number of pages
• Words written for me
• Photos included, or I supply them
• Quote or booking form
• Google Business Profile set up
• Rounds of changes agreed
• Hosting and care, and the monthly cost
• Domain registered in my name
• The website is mine once it's paid for
• Total over two years, including monthly fees
• VAT included or added
• A finish date

If you're still weighing up who to hire, my guide on how to choose a web designer has the questions to ask on the first call.