Cheap Websites for Small Businesses UK: What £300 Gets You
Last year I had a call from a plumber in Cambridge who'd paid £180 to someone on Bark for a "complete website." What he got was a Wix template with his company name pasted in, two stock photos of a spanner, and a contact form that emailed a Gmail address he never checked. It had been live for eight months. He'd had two enquiries — both spam.
He wasn't wrong to look for a cheap website. He was wrong about what cheap meant.
Here's what £300 actually buys you in 2026 — and the things that separate a site that gets calls from one that sits there doing nothing.
What £300 actually pays for
Web design pricing in the UK runs from under £100 to well over £10,000. Most small businesses don't need the expensive end of that range. What they do need is something that works — and "working" has a specific, testable meaning.
A working website for a small business does three things: it loads quickly on mobile, it tells a visitor what you do and where you cover within three seconds of landing, and it makes it easy to call or contact you. Everything else is a nice-to-have.
At £297 — the price of AJ Web Design's Starter package — you're paying for roughly 10–12 hours of a professional's time. That covers: building the page, writing the copy from a brief you give me, formatting your photos, setting up Google Search Console, submitting a sitemap, and testing everything on a real phone before handing it over. No template. No lorem ipsum. A finished site, live within 7 days.
What £297 doesn't cover: e-commerce, booking systems, member areas, or ongoing content writing. Those take more time and are priced separately. But for a tradesperson, a therapist, a personal trainer, or any service business that wants to start appearing on Google — £297 is enough to do it properly.
Wix and Squarespace vs a built site: the real cost comparison
Wix starts at around £13/month. Squarespace is £12/month. Both look cheap until you do the maths.
Over three years, that's £468–£540 in fees — and you still don't own the site. If you stop paying, the site disappears. If Wix changes its pricing or discontinues your plan, you're stuck. The template you built everything on may not look the same in two years.
A one-off £297 build is cheaper than two years of Wix. After that, hosting is £49/year — that's your only ongoing cost. You own the files. If you want to move hosts, you take the site with you.
There's also a performance difference. A well-built custom site loads in under 2 seconds on mobile. Wix and Squarespace typically score between 50–70 on Google's PageSpeed Insights for mobile — fine for casual browsing, not ideal when someone's searching for an emergency plumber on a patchy signal. Speed matters for both conversion and ranking.
| Option | Year 1 cost | Year 3 cost | You own it? | Mobile speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wix (Core) | ~£156/yr | ~£468 | No | Moderate |
| Squarespace (Personal) | ~£144/yr | ~£432 | No | Moderate |
| GoDaddy Website Builder | ~£96/yr | ~£288 | No | Variable |
| AJ Web Design Starter | £297 + £49 hosting | £297 + £147 hosting | Yes | Fast (<2s) |
The builder platforms have their place — if you want to update your own content regularly without touching code, they're genuinely useful. But for a small business that just needs to be found on Google and receive calls, you're paying ongoing fees for features you'll never use.
Red flags when buying a cheap website
Not all £297 websites are equal. Here's what separates a legitimate budget build from one that wastes your money.
What AJ Web Design includes for £297
Mobile-First Build
Loads in under 2 seconds on mobile. Tested on a real phone before delivery. Click-to-call in the header.
Real Copy, Written for You
I write the page content based on a brief you give me. No lorem ipsum, no generic templates.
Google-Ready from Day One
Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console on launch. Local SEO structure baked in from the start.
The Starter is a single-page site — everything a visitor needs to understand what you do, where you cover, and how to contact you, on one fast-loading page. If you need separate pages for different services or locations, the Professional tier at £497 covers up to five pages. See all pricing options here.
If you want to understand the full cost landscape before deciding, this guide breaks down what a website actually costs in the UK in 2026 — from DIY to agency builds.
Everything a small business needs to start appearing on Google and receiving calls.
- Single-page responsive site
- Copy written from your brief
- Click-to-call mobile button
- Google Search Console setup
- One revision round included
- Live in 7 days
For businesses that want to rank for multiple services or locations.
- Up to 5 pages
- Everything in Starter
- Separate service pages
- Contact form with email alerts
- Schema markup for local SEO
- Two revision rounds included
Website plus monthly updates, content, and ranking reports.
- Everything in Professional
- Monthly content updates
- Google ranking reports
- Performance monitoring
- Priority support
- Quarterly design refresh
Hosting is £49/year on top — no monthly fees for the website itself. You own the files outright. If you're a tradesperson specifically, this guide on web design for tradesmen goes into what matters most for that audience. For electricians, the electrician website design guide covers the trade-specific requirements in detail.
Want to see how visible your business is online right now? Use the free Business Visibility Scanner — it checks your Google presence, website speed, and local SEO signals in about 30 seconds.
What clients say about AJ Web Design
"I needed a website that looked professional and got my phone ringing. AJ had it live in five days. I got three new enquiries in the first week — one turned into a £2,000 kitchen refit job. Best £297 I ever spent."
— Mark T., Kitchen Fitter, Cambridge
"I was paying £150 a month to an agency for a site that did nothing. AJ rebuilt it for a one-off fee and now it actually brings in work. Should have done it years ago."
— Sarah D., Hair Salon, Ely
"I am beyond thrilled with the website AJ Web Design built for my small business! From our first meeting, they took the time to understand my vision and translated it into a digital space that is even better than I ever imagined."
— Raquel M., raquelnutrifit.co.uk, Cambridge
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a cheap website for a small business include?
At minimum, a budget website for a small business should include a mobile-first design that loads in under 3 seconds, a clear headline with your service and location, a click-to-call or contact button, a Google-ready page structure (canonical URL, meta description, sitemap), and real copy written for your business — not placeholder text. At AJ Web Design, the £297 Starter site includes all of this plus Google Search Console setup on launch day.
Is Wix or Squarespace cheaper than getting a website built?
Wix starts from around £13/month and Squarespace from £12/month — that's £144–£156 per year, every year, for a site you never fully own. Over three years you've spent more than £400 and still have monthly payments ahead of you. A one-off £297 build from AJ Web Design costs less than two years of Wix, loads faster, has no monthly fee, and you own the files outright. Hosting is a separate £49/year — that's all you pay after launch.
What are the red flags when buying a cheap website?
Watch out for: no written contract or brief, portfolio with no live URLs (only screenshots), templates sold as “custom”, no mention of mobile testing, promises of Google page one ranking within days, and any package that doesn't include at least one revision round. Prices under £150 for a “complete website” almost always mean a resold template with your logo swapped in and no real copy written for your business.
Can a £300 website actually rank on Google?
Yes — for local searches, a well-built £297 site will outrank a poorly built £3,000 site. Google ranks pages on relevance, speed, and mobile usability. If your site loads fast, has your location and service in the headline, and has a Google Business Profile pointing at it, you can appear for local searches within 2–4 weeks of launch. What Google doesn't care about is how much the site cost.
What is NOT included in budget website packages?
Most budget packages — including AJ Web Design's £297 Starter — don't include e-commerce, booking systems, member login areas, or ongoing content writing. These require more development time and are priced separately. The Starter is designed for service businesses that need a fast, professional presence online to start getting calls — not a full software platform.
How long does a cheap website take to build?
At AJ Web Design, a £297 Starter site goes live within 7 days of receiving your content (logo, photos, and a brief on your services). Most clients provide this within 24 hours. If you have nothing ready, I can work with a phone call and whatever you send over — I've built sites from a business card and a few photos before. The clock starts when you're ready, not when you pay.
This guide was first published on 22 April 2026. All prices reflect current UK market data. I review and update this guide quarterly.
About the author: AJ is the founder of AJ Web Design, launched in 2024. Based in Cambridge, I've built trade websites for electricians, plumbers, builders, and personal trainers across the UK. Every site is tested on a real phone before delivery. Connect on Facebook or call 07549 636 200.
Ready to find out what £297 gets you for your business?
Tell me what you do and where you're based — I'll tell you exactly what I'd build and why.
Call 07549 636 200