How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
It's the first question almost everyone asks us, and the honest answer is that it depends on what the website needs to do. What you're paying for isn't really a set of pages. It's a tool that brings you customers. Here's how the costs break down so you can budget properly.
The one-off cost: design and build
Most small business websites fall into one of three groups:
- Brochure websites (up to 10 pages). Home, About, Services, Gallery and Contact. Right for most trades, consultants and local services. Ours start at £459.99 fixed price.
- Upgraded brochure websites. The same idea, plus extras that make a real difference, such as a logo, professional images and a free domain. Ours start at £699.99.
- E-commerce websites. Online shops with payments, stock and order management, plus custom builds such as prize draw and competition sites. Ours are a fixed price from £1,000 to £10,000, depending on products, plugins and features, and can be spread over up to 12 months at 0%.
Be wary of very low "website for £99" offers. They are usually a locked template that you can't move, rented by the month, with no help writing content or getting found on Google.
The ongoing costs people forget
| Item | Typical cost | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Around £10 to £20/year | Your address, e.g. yourbusiness.co.uk |
| Web hosting | From £1.99/month (free for the first year with our web design) | Where the website files live |
| Often included with hosting | you@yourbusiness.co.uk looks far more professional than a Gmail address | |
| SSL certificate | Free with our hosting | The padlock in the browser, which Google expects |
| SEO (optional) | Monthly | Ongoing work to rank higher in search |
Questions to ask any web designer
- Do I own the website and the domain? The domain should always be registered in your name.
- Can I edit it myself? If every text change means paying someone, costs creep up fast.
- Is it mobile-friendly? Most local searches happen on phones.
- What happens after launch? Find out who you call when something breaks.
Our rule of thumb: spend enough to look as professional online as you are in person, and put the rest towards getting found.
So, what should you budget?
For most local businesses, a professional brochure website plus a year of hosting and a domain comes in comfortably under £500 in the first year. After that, you only pay for hosting and the domain. That's often less than a single newspaper advert, and the website keeps working all year round.
If you're not sure which package fits, tell us about your business and we'll recommend one, with a fixed price agreed before we start.