How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)

If you're running a small business and you've started looking into getting a website, the first question is always the same: how much is this going to cost me?

The honest answer: it depends. But not in the vague, unhelpful way. Website pricing follows patterns, and once you understand what drives the cost, you can budget sensibly.

The short answer

For a UK small business, a professionally built website typically costs between £200 and £5,000. Most small businesses land somewhere in the £400–£1,200 range for a solid 3–5 page site that looks professional and ranks on Google.

Here's the breakdown by type:

Brochure site (1–5 pages)

£200–£1,200

A simple site with Home, About, Services, and Contact pages. This covers most tradespeople, independent shops, consultants, and freelancers. At the lower end you're getting a template-based build; at the upper end you're getting custom design, copywriting help, and basic SEO setup.

Bespoke small business site (5–15 pages)

£1,200–£5,000

Custom design from scratch, case studies or portfolio pages, blog integration, more involved SEO, and possibly a booking system or client portal. This is the right bracket if your website is a core part of how you win work. Architects, marketing agencies, specialist consultancies. That sort of thing.

E-commerce site

£2,000–£15,000+

Selling products online adds real complexity: product listings, payment processing, stock management, shipping calculators, and VAT handling. Shopify can bring the lower end down, but a custom build with complex product variants or integrations will push toward the higher end.

What actually affects the price?

Number of pages. Each page needs designing, writing, and building. More pages = more time.

Copywriting. If you're supplying the words, great. That cuts cost. If the designer is writing them, expect to pay more. Good copy is half the value of a website.

Design complexity. A custom design costs more than adapting a template, but it also means your site doesn't look like everyone else's. For service businesses where trust matters, custom design pays for itself.

Functionality. Contact forms are standard. Booking systems, client portals, membership areas, or integration with your accounting software all add cost.

SEO setup. A basic site should include on-page SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, fast loading). Deeper SEO work (keyword research, content strategy, ongoing optimisation) is a separate service.

Hosting and maintenance. Once the site is built, you'll pay roughly £5–£30/month for hosting and £10–£15/year for your domain name. Some designers include the first year of hosting; others charge separately.

What about the cheap options?

You can build a site yourself with Wix or Squarespace for £10–£25/month. If you've got time, an eye for design, and don't need anything complex, this can work. The trade-off is that it still takes you 20–40 hours to build something decent, and the result often looks like a template. Because it is.

Ongoing costs to budget for

  • Domain name: £10–£15/year (.co.uk or .com)
  • Hosting: £5–£30/month depending on traffic and needs
  • SSL certificate: Usually free (Let's Encrypt) with decent hosting
  • Content updates: If you want someone else handling changes, budget £30–£60/hour for ad-hoc updates, or a small monthly retainer

How to get quotes that are actually comparable

When you ask a designer for a quote, give them the same information each time:

  1. How many pages you need (roughly)
  2. Whether you have copy and images ready, or need them created
  3. Any specific functionality (booking, payments, member area)
  4. Examples of websites you like the look of
  5. Your timeline

This stops you getting quotes for completely different scopes of work and wondering why the prices are £400 apart.

The bottom line

A good website for a UK small business costs somewhere between £400 and £1,200 for most cases. It's one of the highest-return investments you can make. It brings in enquiries round the clock, and it's the first place most customers check before they pick up the phone.

If you want a quote that's specific to your business, get in touch.