How much should a small-business website cost?

“How much should it cost?” is the question I get asked first, and it’s the hardest to answer in one number, because a website isn’t really one thing you buy. It’s more like asking how much a car costs. A runaround and a van that runs your business are both “a car”, but you’d never expect them to cost the same.

A small-business website typically costs £0-£500 if you build it yourself, £1,500-£8,000 for a one-off custom build by a freelancer or agency, or £30-£200 a month for a done-for-you service that bundles hosting, updates and support. The figure that’s right for you comes down to a single question: do you want to pay once and maintain it yourself, or pay monthly and have it handled?

And price isn’t the same as value. A cheap site that loads slowly and never gets touched again can cost you more in lost enquiries than a good one ever would. So let’s look at what actually drives the number.

The three ways to pay

There are three common models, and the gap between them is mostly about who does the work.

DIY looks cheapest, but you pay in time and you end up with a template. A one-off build buys real expertise, but it’s a chunk of money upfront and every change later is extra. A monthly service spreads the cost and keeps the site cared for, which suits owners who’d rather run their business than learn to run a website. The full trade-off is in DIY vs done-for-you and subscription vs one-off.

What you’re actually paying for

The headline build price hides a handful of smaller, recurring costs that catch people out:

• Domain name, your web address, £10-£15 a year. (What is a domain name.)
• Hosting, where the site lives, roughly £5-£30 a month.
• SSL certificate, the padlock that makes you “https”, usually free now.
• Design and build, the big one-off, driven by how custom it is.
• Copywriting, the words that actually sell. Overlooked, and worth paying for.
• Maintenance, updates, security patches, backups, content changes.

What pushes the price up or down

Two businesses can pay wildly different amounts for sites that look similar from the pavement. The things that move the number most:

1. Number of pages. A tidy 5-page site is far cheaper than a 30-page site with a blog.
2. Custom design vs template. Bespoke layouts cost more than adapting a theme.
3. Functionality. Online booking, payments, live chat, members’ areas, each adds work.
4. Copy and photography. Supplying your own is cheaper; having it produced costs more.
5. SEO and integrations. Wiring up Google Business Profile, analytics and email tools.

If money’s tight, spend it where customers notice: speed, clarity on a phone, and an obvious way to get in touch. A fast, focused 5-page site beats a sprawling slow one every single time.

One-off vs monthly: the maths nobody mentions

A one-off build is cheaper over five years if you can host, secure and update it yourself. The honest catch is that most owners can’t, or won’t, so the site quietly rots, drops down Google, and stops earning. A monthly plan costs more in total but includes the upkeep, so the site keeps working and you never get a nasty repair invoice.

We run the done-for-you model: website, hosting, security, updates and changes all handled for one predictable monthly fee, no big upfront cost, nothing for you to maintain. You can see what that covers, and exactly what done-for-you includes, on our pricing page.

A realistic budget by where you are

• Just starting, very tight: a tidy DIY builder site, £0-£500 plus ~£15/month.
• Established, want it done properly once: a freelancer or small agency build, £1,500-£8,000.
• Want it handled with no upfront cost: a done-for-you monthly plan, £30-£200/month including upkeep.

Decide first how involved you actually want to be, then pick the model that matches. Because the most expensive website in the world is the one that looks fine on launch day and never gets touched again. If you’d rather skip that fate entirely, get in touch and we’ll tell you, plainly, what your particular setup should cost.