How much does a website cost in the UK?
By Tom · Last reviewed · 9 minute read
UK web designers who publish their prices typically start a small business website at £500 and an online shop at £1,470, from the 262 designers in my October 2026 price index. Pay-monthly websites start at about £50 a month. Real quotes usually come in higher once you add pages and features, plus a few hundred pounds a year for hosting, a domain and upkeep. I charge £600 for a custom-built site, £800 for WordPress, or £99 a month with nothing to pay upfront.
On this page
What 262 UK web designers charge
In October 2026 I read the websites of 322 UK web designers and agencies. 262 of them publish their prices, and these figures are what they list. They're starting prices: most real quotes come in higher once you add pages, words and features. How I collected them.
- Small business website
- £500
- Typical entry price, 206 designers
- Online shop
- £1,470
- Typical entry price, 100 designers
- Pay-monthly website
- £50/mo
- Typical entry plan, 67 designers
- Publish their prices
- 81%
- 262 of 322 designers
The dot is the typical (median) price. The bar shows the middle half of designers' prices.
Freelancers and agencies list a small business website at the same typical price, £550.
See all the figures as a table
| Group | Typical | Middle half | Designers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business website | £500 | £400 to £940 | 206 |
| Online shop | £1,470 | £840 to £2,500 | 100 |
| Single-page website | £360 | £250 to £590 | 50 |
| Bespoke or larger website | £2,000 | £1,300 to £3,500 | 61 |
| Pay-monthly website, per month | £50 | £30 to £100 | 67 |
| Freelancers, small business website | £550 | £500 to £850 | 42 |
| Agencies, small business website | £550 | £400 to £1,000 | 113 |
| London, small business website | £500 | £300 to £750 | 25 |
| South East, small business website | £800 | £400 to £990 | 23 |
| South West, small business website | £500 | £500 to £960 | 14 |
| East of England, small business website | £600 | £430 to £1,500 | 20 |
| East Midlands, small business website | £500 | £410 to £860 | 14 |
| West Midlands, small business website | £690 | £300 to £850 | 13 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber, small business website | £500 | £350 to £600 | 15 |
| North West, small business website | £500 | £450 to £920 | 23 |
| North East, small business website | £530 | £500 to £900 | 12 |
| Wales, small business website | £640 | £500 to £870 | 18 |
| Scotland, small business website | £630 | £390 to £1,040 | 20 |
| Northern Ireland, small business website | £500 | £300 to £500 | 9 |
Free to reuse with a link back. Download the figures (CSV). My own prices aren't included: I charge £600 for a custom-built site, £800 for WordPress, or £99 a month. See my pricing.
UK website pricing explained
"How much does a website cost?" is one of the most common questions I hear. It depends. Website costs in the UK range from free DIY tools to six-figure custom applications.
For most UK small businesses, a professional website costs between £500 and £5,000. That gets you a custom-designed site that works on phones, with a content management system (CMS) so you can make updates yourself.
The range is wide because websites aren't off-the-shelf products. A five-page brochure site for a local plumber has very different needs from an online shop selling hundreds of products, or a membership site with user accounts and payments.
What determines website cost?
The price depends on a handful of things: how complex the design is (template or custom), how many pages there are, what the site needs to do (forms, bookings, payments), whether you need a CMS, any connections to other systems, and who builds it (a freelancer or an agency).
Knowing these helps you spot a quote that's too high, or one so low the site won't be any good.
UK website costs by type
There are two numbers worth knowing for each type of site: the starting price designers list, and what a finished project usually costs once it has the pages and features you need. The starting prices come from my October 2026 price index above. The finished-project ranges are typical UK market ranges, not figures from the index.
| Type of website | What it is | Listed starting price | Finished project | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic brochure website | Simple 3 to 5 page site for a small business | £500 | £500 to £1,500 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Professional business website | Full-featured site with 8 to 15 pages | n/a | £1,500 to £5,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| E-commerce website | Online shop with product management | £1,470 | £2,500 to £15,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Custom web application | Bespoke functionality and integrations | £2,000 for a bespoke build | £10,000 to £50,000+ | 8 to 20 weeks |
What each usually includes:
- Basic brochure website: homepage, about page, services or products, contact page, works on every device, basic SEO.
- Professional business website: custom design, a blog, contact forms, Google Analytics, more advanced SEO, training on the CMS.
- E-commerce website: product catalogue, shopping cart, payment integration, order management, shipping setup, stock tracking.
- Custom web application: custom development, user accounts, database design, connections to other systems (APIs), an admin dashboard, room to grow.
For a rough figure for your own project, try my website cost calculator.
What affects website pricing?
| Factor | Why it matters | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Design complexity | Template-based designs cost less than fully custom ones. Bespoke illustrations, animations and unusual layouts take more design time. | Low: £200 to £500. High: £2,000 to £5,000+ |
| Number of pages | Each page needs to be designed, built and tested on different devices. | 5 pages: £500 to £1,000. 20+ pages: £2,000 to £5,000+ |
| Functionality | Basic contact forms are simple. Booking systems, membership areas, payments and custom calculators add a lot of work. | Basic: £100 to £300. Complex: £1,000 to £5,000+ |
| Content management | A static site is cheaper than one with a CMS. WordPress, Drupal or a custom CMS let you edit content but take more setup. | Static: nothing extra. CMS: £300 to £1,000+ |
| E-commerce features | Selling online needs product management, payment gateways, shipping and tax. More products and variants mean more work. | Simple shop: £1,500+. Complex: £5,000+ |
| Third-party integrations | Connecting to CRM, accounting, email marketing or booking systems needs development and testing. | £200 to £2,000+ per integration |
| SEO and marketing | Basic on-page SEO is standard. Keyword research, content strategy and local SEO add to the scope. | Basic: included. Advanced: £500 to £2,000+ |
| Developer experience | Junior freelancers charge less than senior developers or established agencies. Experience often goes with quality and reliability. | Junior: £20 to £40/hr. Senior: £60 to £150/hr |
Hidden costs to budget for
These catch a lot of businesses out. Plan for them from the start.
| Cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registration | £10 to £50 a year | Some providers include it, others charge separately. Premium domains cost more. |
| Hosting | £50 to £500 a year | Shared hosting is cheaper but slower. Managed WordPress hosting is faster and more secure. |
| SSL certificate | £0 to £200 a year | Free SSL is available through Let's Encrypt. Some online shops choose a paid certificate. |
| Premium plugins and themes | £50 to £500 a year | Some need renewing every year. Check renewal costs before you choose. |
| Email hosting | £50 to £200 a year | Professional email (you@yourdomain.co.uk) often costs extra. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are popular. |
| Stock images | £50 to £500, one-off | Good images matter. Budget for stock photos or a photographer. |
| Copywriting | £200 to £2,000, one-off | Good copy helps turn visitors into enquiries, and it's often left out of budgets. |
| Maintenance and updates | £600 to £3,600 a year | WordPress sites need regular updates to stay secure. |
| Future changes | Varies | Most sites need changes and additions over time. |
Tip: Plan to spend around 10 to 15% of what the website cost to build each year on maintenance, updates and improvements. A £3,000 website would have a £300 to £450 yearly budget.
DIY or professional development?
Both have their place.
DIY website builder
Best for very small businesses, personal projects, or anyone on a very tight budget who has time to learn. Popular platforms include Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com and Shopify (for online shops).
Advantages:
- Lower upfront cost (£100 to £500 a year)
- No technical skills needed
- Quick to get started
- Templates work on phones
- Hosting and security are built in
Disadvantages:
- Limited customisation
- Monthly fees add up
- Template-based, so it can look like other sites
- SEO limitations on some platforms
- Hard to move away if you outgrow it
- Your time has value, and building a site yourself takes many hours
Professional development
Best for established businesses, businesses that don't want a template look, and companies where the website brings in a good share of their revenue. Listed starting prices are close (£550 for freelancers and £550 for agencies in my October 2026 index), but finished projects usually come to £500 to £3,000 with a freelancer and £2,000 to £15,000 or more with an agency.
Advantages:
- A design of your own that fits your brand
- Better SEO potential
- Can grow and change with your business
- Copywriting available
- Expert advice
- Ongoing support and maintenance
Disadvantages:
- Higher upfront cost
- Takes longer to complete
- Depends on the developer's availability
- You need to vet and choose the right person
My view: if your website matters to your revenue, it's worth having it built properly. The gap between a cheap DIY site and a professionally built one can easily be worth more than the difference in price in lost enquiries.
How to budget for your website
- Define what you need first. List the pages, features and functionality before getting quotes. Unclear requirements lead to the scope growing and higher costs.
- Get several quotes. Ask three to five providers. Look beyond price at experience, the quality of their work, how they communicate and what's included.
- Budget for ongoing costs. A website isn't a one-off purchase. Plan for hosting (£100 to £500 a year), maintenance (£600 to £3,600 a year) and occasional updates.
- Prioritise features. Start with the essentials and add nice-to-haves later. A phased approach helps with cash flow and shows you what you need.
- Prepare your content. Having your words, images and logo ready can cut costs noticeably. Content is the most common cause of delays and budget overruns.
- Think about the total cost. A £500 website can cost more in the long run if it needs rebuilding in two years. Spend in line with what the site needs to do for your business.
Freelancer or agency: which is right for you?
Both freelancers and agencies can build good websites. The right choice depends on your project, your budget and how you like to work.
When to choose a freelancer
- Your budget is tight: freelancers have lower overheads, so a finished project usually costs less.
- The project is simple: brochure sites and simple WordPress builds.
- You want a personal relationship: you talk directly to the person building your site.
- Your timeline is flexible: freelancers may have limited availability.
Typical UK freelancer rates: £30 to £80 an hour, or £500 to £3,000 fixed price for a finished small business site (listed starting prices are around £550).
When to choose an agency
- The project is complex: online shops, custom functionality, integrations.
- You need several skills: design, development, copywriting and SEO.
- The deadline is fixed: agencies have more people to call on.
- Long-term support matters: a larger business may be more likely to still be around in five years.
Typical UK agency rates: £60 to £150 an hour, or £2,000 to £15,000 or more fixed price.
Questions to ask any provider
- Can I see examples of similar projects you've done?
- What's included in the price, and what's extra?
- Who will be working on my project?
- How do you handle changes to the scope?
- What happens after launch? Do you offer support?
- Do I own the finished website and all the code?
What I charge
I'm Tom, and Web Cardiff is just me. My prices are fixed and public:
- Custom-built (Next.js) website: £600 upfront, plus a care plan from £10 a month.
- WordPress website: £800 upfront, plus a care plan from £10 a month.
- Pay monthly: £99 a month, all in (custom-built site, hosting, SSL, backups, security and small changes). Nothing to pay upfront; minimum 12 months, then stay monthly or cancel.
Every site includes a design of your own, all the pages a typical small business needs, works on every device, the SEO basics, an SSL certificate and a month of support after launch. For sites paid upfront you pay half to start and half when you're happy and it's live.
After launch, care plans keep things running: Essential £10 a month (UK hosting, SSL, daily backups, monitoring and security), Plus £20 a month (Essential plus small changes each month) and Pro £30 a month (priority support and bigger changes). No contracts; cancel whenever.
Need an online shop or something bigger? Tell me about it and I'll give you a price. See my pricing for the full details, or get in touch.
Summary
Budget guidelines for the UK market:
- Basic site: £500 to £1,500
- Professional site: £1,500 to £5,000
- E-commerce: £2,500 to £15,000 or more
- Yearly running costs: £500 to £2,000
And a few sensible decisions:
- Define your requirements before getting quotes.
- Budget for running costs, not just the build.
- Compare people's real work, not just their prices.
- Spend in line with your business goals.
How I collect the price data
Every quarter I run web searches for web design prices and packages in towns and cities across all twelve UK nations and regions. I leave out directories, marketplaces and website builders. For each web designer found, my software reads their pricing page, checks their robots.txt first and identifies itself as WebCardiffPriceIndex. An AI model records each price exactly as listed. A run's figures are only published if enough designers are behind them and they haven't jumped implausibly since the last quarter.
Each designer counts once in each figure, at their lowest listed price for that type of website, which is usually a “from” price. Prices are as listed, so some include VAT and some don't. Hourly rates, hosting and SEO packages are left out, as are one-off prices under £150, which are almost always something other than a website build. Figures are medians, and a figure is only shown when at least 5 designers are behind it. No individual designer is named. Designers who publish their prices tend to be at the more affordable end, so agencies that only quote on request, which often charge more, are under-represented. The current figures were collected in October 2026.
If you run a web design business and would rather your prices weren't included, email hello@webcardiff.co.uk and I'll leave you out.
Questions people ask
How much does a website cost in the UK?
In my October 2026 price index of 262 UK web designers, the typical starting price was £500 for a small business website, £1,470 for an online shop and £50 a month for a pay-monthly site. Overall, UK website costs range from a few hundred pounds for a basic brochure site to £50,000 or more for complex custom applications. A standard small business website costs between £500 and £5,000, while online shops range from £2,500 to £15,000. The final cost depends on complexity, features, design and whether you choose a freelancer, an agency or a DIY platform.
Why do website prices vary so much in the UK?
Prices depend on the complexity of the design (template or custom), the number of pages, the functionality you need (contact forms, booking systems, online payments), the experience of the developer, ongoing maintenance, and whether you need copywriting, photography or SEO work. A freelancer may charge £500 where an agency charges £5,000 for similar work.
How much should I budget for a small business website?
Listed starting prices are the floor: in my October 2026 price index the typical small business website started at £500. Once you add the pages, words and features most businesses need, I'd budget £500 to £1,500 for a basic brochure site, or £1,500 to £5,000 for a larger custom one, plus £150 to £500 a year for hosting and a domain. Add £50 to £150 a month for maintenance if you need it. Avoid going too cheap: a poorly built site can cost more in lost business.
Is it cheaper to build my own website?
DIY website builders like Wix, Squarespace or WordPress.com cost £10 to £40 a month, so they're cheaper upfront. But factor in your own time (learning and building a site takes many hours), limited customisation, possible SEO limitations and the monthly fees that never stop. For many businesses, a professionally built site is better value over time.
What are the hidden costs of website development?
Common hidden costs include domain renewal (£10 to £50 a year), hosting (£50 to £500 a year), SSL certificates (often included, sometimes £50 to £200 a year), premium plugins or themes (£50 to £500), stock images (£10 to £50 each), content writing (£50 to £200 a page), ongoing maintenance (£50 to £300 a month) and future changes.
How much does an e-commerce website cost in the UK?
UK web designers list online shops from a typical £1,470 in my October 2026 price index. A finished WooCommerce or Shopify store, with products, payments and shipping set up, usually costs £2,500 to £15,000. Complex stores with custom features, integrations or large product catalogues can cost £10,000 to £50,000 or more. If you're thinking about a shop, tell me about it and I'll give you a price.
Should I pay hourly or a fixed price for web design?
Fixed prices give you budget certainty and work well when the scope is clear. Hourly rates (typically £40 to £150 an hour in the UK) suit projects where the requirements are still changing. Most small business websites work better with a fixed price. Whichever you choose, get a detailed scope of work in writing.
How much do web design agencies charge compared with freelancers?
Their starting prices are close: in my October 2026 price index, freelancers listed a small business website from a typical £550 and agencies from £550. The difference shows in finished projects, which tend to be bigger with an agency once project management, copywriting and extra pages are added. Agencies offer more resources; freelancers offer a personal service and usually lower overheads. Choose based on what your project needs and your budget.
What ongoing costs should I expect for my website?
Plan for domain renewal (£10 to £50 a year), hosting (£100 to £500 a year for managed WordPress), an SSL certificate (usually included), security updates and maintenance (£600 to £3,600 a year), content updates and any new features. A common rule of thumb is to budget 10 to 15% of the build cost each year for upkeep.
How can I reduce website development costs?
Have clear requirements before you start, provide your own words and images, choose standard features over custom development, use a proven starting point, keep design, hosting and maintenance with one provider, and plan properly upfront so the scope doesn't keep growing.