A bespoke website for a UK small business typically costs £2,000–£8,000 + VAT from an experienced freelancer, and roughly two to three times that from an agency. A small brochure site sits at the lower end, a content-driven site with a blog and landing pages in the middle, and eCommerce or custom builds start from around £5,000. DIY website builders cost less upfront but more in your time.
Last updated: November 2026. I keep this post up to date rather than publishing a new one each year, so the figures below are current.
Lots of agencies and freelancers won’t give you a straight answer to “how much does a website cost?” without a hefty scoping document and a few rounds of “how long is a piece of string?”. I’m a freelance web designer who has been designing and building websites since 2011, and this is the straight answer.
Website costs by type of site
These are my own prices, published on my pricing page:
| Type of website | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Small brochure site | Consultants, local services, early-stage businesses that need to look credible and convert enquiries | £2,000 – £4,000 + VAT |
| Content-driven site | Businesses using their site to attract, educate and convert, with a blog, resources and landing pages | £4,000 – £8,000 + VAT |
| Custom build or eCommerce | Online shops, bookings, CRM or API integrations, member areas | From £5,000 + VAT |
| Managed monthly package | Anyone who’d rather spread the cost: build, hosting and maintenance in one payment | From £250/month + VAT |
Agency pricing for the same work is usually two to three times higher, because you’re also paying for account management, an office and a sales team. That’s sometimes worth it on very large projects. My freelancer vs agency post covers when.
Across the wider UK market, freelancers charge anything from £500 for a basic brochure site to £50,000+ for complex builds. My UK freelance web designer rates guide breaks down hourly, day and project rates.
What decides where your project lands?
- Bespoke or template. A site designed around your business takes longer than a theme with your logo swapped in. It also performs and converts better, and doesn’t need replacing in 18 months.
- Unique page types. A homepage, a service page template and a contact page is a very different job from twelve one-off layouts.
- Content. Are you supplying the copy and photography, or does that need writing and shooting too? Copywriting and photography are usually priced separately.
- Functionality. Payments, bookings, filtering, logins, integrations with your CRM or other systems.
- Content management. Do you want to edit everything yourself? A well-set-up CMS takes thought.
- Accessibility, performance and SEO. Built in from the start, or bolted on later (at a higher price).
Can I build a website for free?
Technically, yes. Wix, Squarespace and similar builders have free or cheap plans, and they’re genuinely fine for a hobby, an event, or testing an idea.
For a business site, the costs show up elsewhere:
- Your time. Learning the tool, designing something that looks professional, writing the copy, making it work on phones, optimising it for Google. That’s days or weeks you aren’t spending on your business.
- The upgrades. Removing the builder’s ads, connecting your own domain and email, and adding bookings or a shop are usually paid plans.
- The ceiling. When you outgrow it, moving to something else often means starting again.
I’ve gone into the trade-offs in website builder vs web designer.
What are the different types of website?
| You need… | Usually means… |
|---|---|
| A basic presence you rarely update | A static site: fast, secure and cheap to host |
| To add pages, news or blog posts yourself | A CMS site (content management system), such as WordPress or Statamic |
| To sell products or services online | An eCommerce site |
| An internal tool for your team | An intranet or web application |
I build fast static sites with Astro as well as WordPress and Statamic sites, so I’ll recommend whichever actually suits how you work, not the one I happen to prefer.
How long does it take to build a website?
| Type of website | Typical timeframe |
|---|---|
| Static / small brochure site | 2 – 4 weeks |
| CMS site | 4 – 8 weeks |
| eCommerce site | 8 – 24 weeks |
The biggest variable isn’t the build, it’s content and feedback. Projects with copy and images ready on day one go fastest. Writing a clear brief upfront helps too. Here’s how to write a web design brief.
The running costs after launch
The build is a one-off; these keep going:
| Cost | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Domain name | £10 – £20 a year |
| Hosting | From a few pounds a month for a static site; more for WordPress or eCommerce |
| Maintenance (WordPress) | My plans: £49 – £199 a month + VAT |
| Email (e.g. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365) | Per user, per month |
| Content updates and new features | As and when, or included in a maintenance plan |
WordPress sites need regular updates, backups and security monitoring. Skipping it is how sites get hacked. See how much does website maintenance cost? for what’s included at each level.
How do I pay for a website?
For one-off projects I take 50% to book the project in and 50% on completion, before the site goes live. Larger projects (£8,000+) can sometimes be split into three instalments.
If you’d rather not pay the build cost upfront, my managed packages spread it over 12 months with hosting and maintenance included, from £250 a month + VAT plus a setup fee. After 12 months the site is yours.
The short answer
- Small brochure site: £2,000 – £4,000 + VAT
- Content-driven site: £4,000 – £8,000 + VAT
- eCommerce or custom build: from £5,000 + VAT
- Managed package: from £250/month + VAT
- Agency: expect two to three times these figures
Want an exact number? Get an instant price for your project, or read the full breakdown on my pricing page.
