> web-design/cost.md
How Much Does a Website
Cost in the UK?
Anywhere from nothing to £50,000, which is about as useful as "how long is a piece of string". So here are the real UK price ranges for 2026, what pushes them up, what it costs to keep a site running, and what I charge.
> short_answer.txt
The Short Answer
For a typical small UK business, a proper website from a freelancer costs somewhere around £500 to £3,000. A regional agency is more like £3,000 to £8,000, and an online shop costs more again. Doing it yourself on Wix or Squarespace costs about £9 to £50 a month, plus a lot of your evenings.
Then there are running costs, which people forget. Domain, hosting, apps and upkeep add anything from a hundred or so pounds a year on a DIY builder to a couple of thousand for a busy shop.
These ranges come from UK pricing guides and the platforms' own price lists, checked in November 2026. Most guides are written by people who sell websites, me included, so get two or three quotes.
> costs.csv
UK Website Costs at a Glance
Rough 2026 ranges, excluding VAT. Your quote will depend on what you actually need.
| Option | Upfront cost | Running costs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | £0, plus your time | About £9 to £50 a month for the plan | Testing an idea, very tight budgets |
| Freelancer, brochure site | About £500 to £3,000 | About £50 to £200 a month if they host and look after it | Most small local businesses |
| Regional agency, brochure site | About £3,000 to £8,000 | About £100 to £500 a month | Bigger sites, or if you want a team |
| London or large agency | £8,000 to £30,000 and up | Retainers vary, ask before you sign | Larger organisations |
| Shopify shop, built for you | About £3,000 to £10,000 | Shopify from £25 a month (£19 billed yearly), plus apps and card fees | Most small online shops |
| WooCommerce shop, built for you | About £3,000 to £10,000 | Hosting, plugins and upkeep, roughly £50 to £200 a month | Shops already on WordPress, or wanting full control |
| Custom-built (bookings, portals, integrations) | £10,000 and up, £50,000+ for complex jobs | Depends entirely on the build | When nothing off the shelf does the job |
> who_builds_it.txt
DIY, Freelancer or Agency?
Each one is the right answer for someone. Here's the honest trade-off.
DIY Builders
Cheapest up front and fine for a simple site. The catch is your time, the design limits, and the fact you're renting. If the platform changes its prices or rules, you go along with it.
Freelancers
One person who builds it and usually looks after it. Cheaper, because there's no office, account managers or juniors to pay for. The catch is capacity: if your freelancer's ill or on holiday, things wait.
Agencies
A team, a process and cover for holidays. Worth it for big, complicated projects. For a ten-page local business site, you're mostly paying for the overhead, and you may never speak to whoever does the work.
> platforms.txt
Shopify vs WordPress vs Custom
WordPress runs a huge share of the web, and it's what I build most. Themes and plugins keep the build cost down, and you can edit it yourself. The trade-off is maintenance: an unmaintained WordPress site is an easy target. Add WooCommerce and it becomes a shop with no monthly platform fee, but the hosting and upkeep are on you.
Shopify is the easy route for online shops. Hosting, security and checkout are handled for you, and Shopify's UK plans start at £25 a month, or £19 a month billed yearly. Card fees come on top. The cost that creeps up is apps: reviews, subscriptions, filters, each with its own monthly fee. It's easy to end up paying more for apps than for Shopify itself.
Custom means built from scratch for a job off-the-shelf software can't do. The online quote, booking and deposit system I built for LW Removals is one. No template does that. It costs more and takes longer, so it only makes sense when the custom bit earns its keep.
> what_drives_cost.txt
What Pushes the Price Up
Two quotes for "a website" can be thousands of pounds apart because they're quoting for different things. These are the big ones.
Number of Pages
Every page needs designing, building and filling. A one-page site and a 30-page site are different jobs.
Who Writes the Words
If you supply the text and photos, it's cheaper. If the designer writes them, that's real work and it should be on the quote. Content is what holds most projects up.
Selling Online
Products, variants, stock, delivery rates, payments and VAT. A shop with 500 products takes a lot longer to set up than one with 10.
Bespoke Features
Bookings, quote calculators, member areas, links to your CRM or stock system. Anything that isn't off the shelf adds time and cost.
Theme or Bespoke Design
A professional theme, customised, is proven and keeps costs down. A design drawn from scratch costs more, and for most small businesses it doesn't sell more.
Redesigns and Moves
Replacing an old site means redirecting the old page addresses so you don't lose your Google rankings. Skipping that is a false economy.
> running_costs.csv
Ongoing Costs People Forget
The build is a one-off. These aren't. Typical UK figures, excluding VAT.
| Cost | Typical price | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name (.co.uk or .com) | About £10 to £30 a year | Make sure it's registered in your name. |
| Hosting | About £5 to £30 a month | Included in Wix, Squarespace and Shopify plans. Cheap hosting is usually slow hosting. |
| SSL certificate | Usually free | Most decent hosts include one. |
| Platform plan | Wix from about £9, Squarespace from about £12, Shopify from £19 a month | Those are yearly-billing prices. Paying monthly costs more. |
| Apps, plugins and premium themes | About £50 to £300 a year, a lot more for some shops | Shopify apps are mostly monthly subscriptions, so they add up. |
| Maintenance and updates | About £50 to £150 a month from a freelancer | Updates, backups, security and small changes. Mine are care plans. |
> red_flags.txt
Red Flags in a Website Quote
Most web designers are honest. These are the signs of one who might not be.
- The domain gets registered in their name, not yours. Whoever owns the domain owns your website's address.
- A 12, 24 or 36-month contract to "spread the cost". Some of these leased websites cost far more than buying outright, and you may not own the site at the end.
- No breakdown. One number with no list of pages, features, or who writes the content is impossible to compare.
- A monthly fee nobody explains. Ask what it actually pays for.
- Guaranteed Google rankings. Nobody can guarantee them. Anyone promising page one in 30 days is either lying or doing something dodgy.
- No mention of redirects on a redesign. Lose your old page addresses and you can lose your Google traffic with them.
- A price that's too good to be true. A £199 website usually means a template, your words and no help afterwards. Sometimes that's fine. Just know what you're buying.
> my_prices.txt
What I Charge
The same prices as my web design page. Every project gets a fixed quote before I start, so you know exactly what you're paying. No hourly surprises.
Starter, From £600
A simple one-page site for a small business. Mobile-friendly, with a contact form.
Business, From £1,500
A full business website, up to 10 pages, with a content management system so you can edit it yourself, and SEO basics included.
E-Commerce, From £3,000
An online shop on WooCommerce or Shopify, with payments and product management set up.
Custom, Let's Talk
Bespoke features, booking systems, API integrations. Quoted once I know exactly what's needed.
> where_i_fit.txt
Where I Fit, Honestly
I'm a freelancer, so my prices sit in the freelancer range, and you deal with me from the first chat to launch day and after. I customise professional themes rather than drawing designs from scratch, because it keeps costs down. I'm not the person for an award-winning showpiece. I build sites that load fast, work on a phone and turn visitors into enquiries, connected properly to your Google Ads and SEO.
Hosting and maintenance are separate: a fixed monthly fee, quoted up front, on a care plan you can leave any month.
> faq.txt
Questions People Ask
How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
In 2026, roughly £500 to £3,000 from a freelancer and £3,000 to £8,000 from a regional agency. DIY builders cost about £9 to £50 a month plus your time. Running costs come on top.
How much does a website cost per month?
On a DIY builder, about £9 to £50 a month for the plan. For a site someone built for you, hosting and maintenance typically run about £50 to £200 a month from a freelancer, depending on how much looking after it needs.
Is it cheaper to build a website myself?
Up front, yes. Over time, not always. Count your hours, years of monthly fees, and what it costs if the site brings in no enquiries. For a simple site on a tight budget, DIY can be the right call, and I'll happily say so.
Is Shopify or WordPress cheaper?
WordPress has no platform fee, but you pay for hosting and upkeep. Shopify starts at £25 a month (£19 billed yearly) with hosting included, plus card fees and apps. For a small shop the totals often end up closer than people expect.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because they're quoting for different things: pages, who writes the content, whether it's a shop, custom features and what's included afterwards. Ask each designer for a breakdown so you can compare like for like.
Do I own my website when it's finished?
You should. The domain should be in your name, and you should be able to take the site elsewhere. With me, you own both. If a quote doesn't make that clear, ask before you sign.
> ls ../
Where Next?
> new_message.txt
Want a Straight Figure?
Tell me what you need and I'll give you a fixed quote, or tell you honestly if a £20-a-month website builder would do the job.
"Matt was really responsive throughout the whole process - no questions went unanswered and Matt was really engaged in the whole process."
Lizzie Hill · Abergele Golf Club