Ask five web designers what a website costs and you’ll get five different answers, from “about a tenner a month” to “ten grand”. Both can be true. It depends on what you’re buying, who builds it, and what happens after it goes live.
This guide breaks it down in plain English, so you can work out what makes sense for your business before anyone tries to sell you anything. The figures are rough ranges based on prices UK web designers and website builders publish in 2026 (for builders, see Wix and Squarespace for their current plans). Your quotes will vary.
How much does a website cost in the UK? The short answer
For a typical small business site (a handful of pages: home, about, services, a gallery and contact):
- Build it yourself on a website builder: roughly £10 to £30 a month, plus your own time.
- Hire a freelancer for a one-off build: roughly £500 to £3,000 up front, plus running costs.
- Hire an agency: roughly £2,500 to £10,000 or more up front, plus running costs.
- Pay monthly: roughly £20 to £150 a month, with the build spread into the monthly fee.
The up-front price is only part of the story. What a website costs you over two or three years, and what you get for it, matters far more.
Option 1: Build it yourself
Website builders like Wix and Squarespace let you drag and drop your own site from a template. The monthly plan is cheap, and you’re in complete control.
The real cost is your time. It’s easy to start one, get halfway, and leave it sitting there for months. Even when it’s finished, a DIY site often isn’t set up properly for Google, and you’re the one fixing it when something breaks.
It’s also worth knowing what a builder doesn’t do for you. It gives you a website, but not:
- your Google Business Profile set up properly, so you show up on Google Maps
- listings on Bing, Yell and the other places people (and AI tools like ChatGPT) look
- a system for collecting reviews and showing them off
- enquiries sent straight to your phone the moment they land
- someone keeping it all up to date
You can do all of that yourself, but it’s a lot more than dragging a template around.
Good for: people who enjoy this sort of thing and have the evenings to spare. Watch out for: the hours it takes, and sites that look fine but never show up in search.
Option 2: A freelancer, one-off
A freelance web designer builds your site for a fixed price, hands it over and moves on to the next job. You’ll usually get something more professional than a DIY site, and you only pay for the build once.
The catch is what happens next. You’ll still pay for hosting and your domain, and every change after launch is normally charged by the hour. If the freelancer gets busy or moves on, you can be left with a site nobody knows how to update.
Good for: businesses that rarely need changes and are happy to manage hosting themselves. Watch out for: ongoing costs that aren’t in the quote, and what happens if you can’t reach them later.
Option 3: An agency
Agencies bring a team: designers, developers and often marketing people. For bigger businesses with complex needs, like online shops, custom systems or a big content plan, that can be worth it.
For most local businesses it’s more than you need. You can end up paying for meetings, project managers and features you’ll never use, and smaller clients don’t always get much attention once the site is live.
Good for: larger businesses with complex projects and a proper budget. Watch out for: paying big-company prices for a five-page site.
Option 4: Pay monthly
With a pay-monthly website, the provider builds your site and then looks after it for a monthly fee. There’s usually little or nothing to pay up front, and hosting, security and some changes are included.
This has become a popular choice for small businesses because it protects your cash flow and means the site never becomes your problem. But pay-monthly deals vary a lot, so read the small print.
Good for: owners who want a professional site without a big bill, and want someone else to keep it running. Watch out for: long minimum contracts, exit fees, and providers who keep your domain if you leave.
The costs people forget about
Whichever route you take, these are the bits that turn a cheap quote into an expensive website:
- Domain name: around £10 to £15 a year for a .co.uk.
- Hosting: anything from a few pounds to £50 or more a month, depending on quality.
- Email: a professional address (you@yourbusiness.co.uk) can cost extra.
- Changes and updates: often charged by the hour once the site is live.
- Your Google listing: a website on its own won’t get you found locally. Your Google Business Profile needs setting up properly too, and some designers don’t touch it.
- Your time: chasing changes, logging in to fix things, or learning a builder.
When you compare quotes, add up what each option costs over two or three years, including these. The cheapest up front is often not the cheapest overall.
What each option costs over three years
Here’s a rough illustration using middle-of-the-range figures. It’s not a quote, just a way to compare like with like.
| Option | Up front | Running costs (3 years) | Changes and updates (3 years) | Rough 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build it yourself | £0 | about £720 (£20 a month) | your own time | about £720, plus your evenings |
| Freelancer | about £1,500 | about £540 (hosting at £15 a month) | about £300 | about £2,300 |
| Agency | about £5,000 | about £1,100 (hosting and support at £30 a month) | about £600 | about £6,700 |
| Pay monthly | £0 | £720 to £5,400 (£20 to £150 a month) | usually included | £720 to £5,400 |
The ranges overlap a lot, which is the point: the up-front price tells you very little. What matters is what you get for the money - whether anyone sets up your Google listing, keeps the site updated and is there when something breaks.
What actually makes a website worth paying for
A website is only worth the money if it brings you customers. For a local business, that comes down to a few things:
- It loads fast on a phone. Most people will look you up on their phone, often while they’re out.
- It makes it obvious what you do and where. Your services, your area and how to get in touch, without anyone having to hunt for them.
- It works with your Google listing and reviews. When someone nearby searches, Google leans heavily on your Google Business Profile and reviews. Your website backs that up.
- It makes getting in touch easy. A clear phone number, a short contact form and ideally a way to message you on WhatsApp.
- Someone keeps it up to date. Old opening hours and missing services cost you customers quietly.
A beautiful site that nobody finds, or a cheap one that puts people off, is the expensive option, whatever you paid for it.
Questions to ask before you sign anything
Whoever you talk to, ask these. A good provider will answer them straight away:
- Who owns the domain? It should be registered in your name, or at least transferred to you if you leave.
- Is there a minimum contract, and what does it cost to leave?
- What’s included after launch? Hosting, security, changes, support - and how many changes before you’re charged extra.
- Will you set up my Google Business Profile?
- When do I pay? Up front, in stages, or only once you’re happy with it.
- Who will I actually be dealing with? The person building it, or an account manager?
Where Digimill fits
We’re a pay-monthly provider, so we’re not neutral, but here’s how we do it. We build the complete online setup for local businesses across Lancashire and Yorkshire: the website, your Google Business Profile set up properly, reviews collected and shown off, and enquiries sent straight to your phone.
There’s no setup fee and you don’t pay anything until your site is live and you’re happy with it. You can cancel with 30 days’ notice, and your domain stays yours. We build it. We manage it. You get on with the job.
You can see our current prices on the pricing page, or get in touch and we’ll put together a free preview of what your site could look like.