How much does a website cost in the UK?

The answer to “how much does a website cost in the UK?” depends on what the site has to do: a few pages that explain your business and take enquiries sit near the bottom, while bookings, quotes, payments or a searchable directory push it up.

Three ways to get a website, and what each costs

The route you choose sets the rough price before anything else does.

• A website builder you set up yourself. You pay a subscription and do the work. Startups.co.uk’s guide puts builder plans at between £1.99 and £259 a month, depending on the features. It suits a sole trader who needs a few pages, contact details and a way to be found. The cost that doesn’t appear on the invoice is your own time.
• A freelancer or a small studio. MoneyMagpie’s guide, published on 4 July 2026, says a basic brochure site of four to six pages with a contact form “typically costs between £1,500 and £3,500 from a competent freelancer or small agency”. Ask whether a quote in that range includes writing the copy, the domain and hosting, and changes after launch.
• A larger agency, or a bespoke build. Online shops, booking systems, member areas and directories cost more, because they are software as much as pages. Published figures for this kind of work vary so widely that I won’t quote one. A written quote for your own scope is the only number worth having.

Is it expensive to start your own website? Not if a builder covers what you need. Pay for help when the site has to do something a template can’t, or when your time is worth more than the saving.

Why the page count is a poor guide

A page count, such as a 10-page website, tells you less about the price than it seems. Once a page template is designed and built, adding another page like it is quick. The cost sits in each different kind of page, and in each thing a visitor can do on the site.

Two of the websites I have designed and built show the difference. For Evolution Flooring, a commercial flooring contractor in the East Midlands, the job was to explain each type of flooring clearly, show recent installations, introduce the team, set out the area they cover and lead visitors to a free site survey. HouseJester, a UK home improvement directory, needed search by category and location, company profiles with reviews and contact details, quote requests, routes for businesses to list themselves, buying guides and an Ask HouseJester assistant.

Both are websites. The first is mostly words, photographs and one clear route to an enquiry. The second is search, data and templates working together, which makes it closer to software than to a set of pages. That difference, not the length of the menu, is what moves a price.

That is why I don’t publish a price list.Websites and applications are quoted on scope: the number of page types, the content, any integrations and what happens after launch. The scope, fee, responsibilities and timeline are set out in a written proposal and agreed before work starts. You work directly with me, and a focused business website takes weeks rather than months, with working pages to see early.

You can look through the websites I have designed and built, from a cricketer’s personal site to a national directory, and read how I design and build websites.

What adds to a quote

Beyond the route and the kinds of page, these are the things that move a website quote.

• The words and photographs. If you supply finished text and good photographs, the work is design and build. If the copy has to be written or the photographs taken, that is extra work. I can help structure and write the copy with you; the facts, prices and claims still come from you.
• Things visitors can do. Booking, registering, requesting a quote or paying each needs a form, checks and somewhere for the information to go. The delivery pricing and quote route on the TLX Group website, for a same-day courier firm in Northampton, is more work than a contact form.
• Connections to other systems. Sending enquiries into a CRM, bookings into a calendar or orders into accounts software adds design and testing, and one more thing that can fail.
• Moving from an old site. Old pages need redirecting to the closest new page, so existing links and search listings keep working. That starts with a list of every old address.
• Search groundwork. Clear page structure, unique titles and descriptions, structured data, fast loading and a sitemap. These belong in any professional quote, so check they are there.
• AI features. An assistant that answers visitors’ questions from your own content is a piece of work in its own right. The guide to adding a chatbot to a small business website covers what it involves.

What the law expects of a UK business website

Depending on how you trade and what the site collects, some of this is required by law, so a quote that leaves it out is not the full price.

• Privacy information. A contact or booking form that asks for names and email addresses collects personal data. The ICO says you must tell people your purposes for processing it, how long you keep it and who it will be shared with, at the time you collect it. See the ICO’s guidance on the right to be informed.
• A cookie set-up that matches your tools. Cookies, tracking pixels and tags are used for analytics and advertising. List every tool the site loads and what it is for, and check each one against the ICO’s guidance on storage and access technologies before launch.
• Company details, if you trade as a limited company. GOV.UK says a limited company’s website must show its registered number, its registered office address, where it is registered (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) and that it is a limited company, usually by giving its full name including “Limited” or “Ltd”.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Each item is easier to plan in from the start than to add later, so check that every quote mentions them.

The running costs after launch

Whichever route you take, the spending doesn’t stop at launch. Budget for these:

• The domain name. MoneyMagpie’s guide puts registration at £10 to £20 a year, depending on the extension. Make sure it is registered to your business, not to whoever builds the site.
• Hosting. Ask what the price includes, such as backups, and who you call if the site goes down.
• Licences and subscriptions. Many WordPress plugins charge an annual licence fee. List every paid tool the site depends on, and what each costs to renew.
• Updates and fixes. Software needs updating, and things break. Agree before launch who does this and how it is charged.
• The changes you will want. New services, prices, photographs and people. Ask whether you can make those edits yourself. The sites I build are set up so the content you change most often is easy to edit, with documentation and a walkthrough at handover.

How to get website quotes you can compare

Two quotes are only comparable if they price the same job, so send every supplier the same short brief:

• What a visitor must be able to do: call, book, register, request a quote or buy.
• The kinds of page you need, with an example of each, rather than a page count.
• Who writes the words and supplies the photographs.
• The systems the site has to connect to, such as a calendar, a CRM or a payment provider.
• Your current site, if there is one, so old addresses can be redirected.
• Who will update the site after launch.

Then ask each supplier the same three questions. Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the code at the end? What happens after launch, and what does it cost? Which items in the brief are in the price, and which are extra? A quote that answers all three clearly tells you more than a cheaper one that doesn’t.

A real figure starts with what the site has to do. Book a free 30-minute project call to talk through your website and what it needs, and if it makes sense to go further, I will set out the scope and fee in a written proposal.