The short answer
A professionally built website for a UK small business in 2026 typically costs between £1,500 and £10,000. Where you land in that range comes down to four things: what kind of site it is, how many pages it needs, how custom the design is, and what it has to do beyond showing information.
That is a wide range, and it is why "how much does a website cost?" gets so many unhelpful "it depends" answers. So here is what it actually depends on, with real numbers, from an agency that publishes its prices rather than hiding them behind a sales call.
Want your own figure right now? Our website cost calculator gives you a realistic range in about a minute, using the same numbers as this guide.
What each type of website costs
The biggest single factor is the type of site. Pick one to see what it costs and what you get for the money:
What pushes the price up or down
Within each type, five things move the number.
- Design level. Template-based design costs roughly 15% less than custom; premium, brand-led design roughly 30% more. Custom is the sweet spot for most SMEs.
- Page count. Each page beyond the typical number adds a modest amount, and fewer pages trims it.
- Features. Bookings, payments, member areas, multiple languages and integrations with your other systems each add a clear, fixed amount.
- Content. If you supply the words and photos, that costs nothing. Help with copy, or full copywriting plus photography, adds between a few hundred and around £1,500.
- SEO depth. Launch SEO basics should always be included. Enhanced on-page or full technical and content SEO is a sensible add-on if search is your main source of customers.
Worth paying for, or not?
Not every line on a quote earns its keep. Here is our honest take on the extras you will most often be offered. Tap each one:
Agency, freelancer or DIY?
An agency isn't the only route, and it isn't always the right one. Here is how the options typically compare in the UK market:
| Route | Typical cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | Monthly subscription | Very early-stage businesses testing an idea | Your time, generic templates, limited SEO control |
| Freelancer | Varies widely | Simple sites with a clear brief | One person's availability, gaps in skills like SEO or copy |
| Small agency | £1,500 to £10,000 | SMEs that need a site to win work, with strategy, design, build and SEO under one roof | Quotes that don't itemise what's included |
| Large agency | £15,000+ | Complex organisations with large teams and budgets | Paying for layers of account management |
The costs after launch
The build is a one-off; a website also has running costs. Budget for:
- Domain name: a small annual fee.
- Hosting: monthly or annual, depending on the traffic and features your site needs.
- Maintenance and care: updates, security, backups and small changes. Optional, but cheaper than fixing a neglected site.
- Marketing: a website doesn't bring traffic on its own. SEO, content or ads are what fill it with the right visitors.
Ask any provider to put these in writing before you sign, so the price you compare is the real total, not just the headline.
Is your quote any good? Check it
Whoever you're comparing, a good website quote covers all of these. Tick off what yours includes:
Questions we get asked
From an agency, a professionally designed small business website typically costs £1,500 to £1,800 for a brochure site of up to five pages, and around £4,000 for a larger business site of ten pages or more. Online shops and web apps cost more because they do more.
Because "a website" can mean anything from a template with your logo on it to custom software. Quotes also differ in what they include: copywriting, SEO and ongoing support are sometimes bundled and sometimes extra. Always compare itemised quotes, not headline prices.
A brochure site usually takes three to six weeks and a larger business site six to ten, depending mostly on how quickly content and feedback come back. Shops and web apps take longer.
Often, yes. A site that looks fine but doesn't rank, loads slowly or fails to turn visitors into enquiries costs you more in lost work than you saved. The right question isn't "what's cheapest?" but "what will this site earn back?"
You should. Make sure your quote confirms you own the domain, the content and the finished site, and that you can move it elsewhere if you ever choose to. We think that's the only fair way to do it.
Get your own figure in a minute
Every business is different, so the most useful number is yours. Our website cost calculator uses exactly the pricing in this guide: pick the type of site, pages, design level and features, and it gives you a realistic range, with no email address required.
If you'd rather talk it through, book a free consultation and we'll give you an itemised quote with no pressure, and an honest view of whether you need a new site at all.
