How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? (2026 Price Guide)
The short answer: £150 to £10,000
A website for a small UK business costs between £150 and £10,000 in 2026. The price depends on who builds it and what you need. A one-page site for a plumber or electrician sits at the low end. A multi-page site with booking systems and e-commerce sits at the top.
The three ways to get a website built
Every small business owner in the UK faces the same three options. Each has trade-offs. Here's what you're actually paying for at each level.
| Option | Cost | Time | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | £150–£350/year | 1–3 days (you) | Template site, drag-and-drop, basic SEO | Someone with time and design sense |
| Freelancer (like AJ Web Design) | £297–£997 one-off | 5–7 days | Custom design, mobile-first, local SEO, click-to-call | Trades who want results without learning tech |
| Agency | £2,500–£10,000+ | 4–12 weeks | Multi-page, custom features, ongoing retainers | Larger businesses with complex needs |
DIY website builders: what £150–£350 per year actually gets you
Wix and Squarespace cost around £150 to £350 per year once you add a custom domain, remove their branding, and get a business email address. The templates look decent. The drag-and-drop editor works. You can have something live in a weekend.
The problem is what happens after. Most DIY sites for trade businesses end up slow, poorly structured for Google, and missing the things that actually convert visitors into callers — like prominent phone numbers, click-to-call buttons, and proper local SEO setup.
Freelancer websites: what £297–£997 gets you
A freelance web designer builds your site for a one-off fee. No monthly lock-in for the website itself. You own the files. At AJ Web Design, the three packages look like this:
Everything a trade business needs to start getting online enquiries.
- Single-page responsive website
- Mobile-first design
- Click-to-call buttons
- Google Maps integration
- Basic SEO setup
- Live in 7 days
For trades who want to dominate their local area online.
- Up to 5 pages
- Everything in Starter
- Google Reviews integration
- Contact form with email alerts
- Schema markup for local SEO
- Photo gallery
Website plus ongoing support, updates, and monthly reports.
- Everything in Professional
- Monthly content updates
- Performance monitoring
- Google ranking reports
- Priority support
- Quarterly design refresh
Hosting runs £49 per year on top — about the price of a takeaway per month. The site is live within 7 days. You get a preview link before anything goes public.
Agency websites: what £2,500–£10,000 gets you
A web design agency in the UK typically charges £2,500 to £10,000 for a small business site. Some charge more. The build takes four to twelve weeks. You'll have meetings, mood boards, revision rounds, and a project manager.
For a trade business that needs a clean site with a phone number and a few photos of your work, that's overkill. You're paying for process, not results. The site a £5,000 agency delivers to a plumber does the same job as a £497 freelancer site — it just costs ten times more.
Hidden costs most people forget
The build price is not the full picture. Every website has ongoing costs that most web designers don't mention upfront. Here's what to budget for:
| Cost | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name (.co.uk) | £8–£15/year | Your web address — you should own this yourself |
| Hosting | £49–£150/year | Where your site files live — speed matters here |
| SSL certificate | Free–£50/year | The padlock icon — most hosts include this free |
| Email (business address) | Free–£50/year | info@yourbusiness.co.uk — looks more professional |
| Updates and maintenance | £0–£50/month | Optional — some people handle this themselves |
What actually matters more than the price
The cheapest website is the one that pays for itself. A £297 site that brings in one extra job per month has paid for itself before the month is out. A £5,000 agency site that sits there looking pretty but doesn't ring your phone is the most expensive option of all.
Three things matter more than the price tag:
Mobile speed
Over 70% of people searching for a local trade are on their phone. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, they're gone.
Click-to-call
A big, visible phone number that works with one tap. Not buried in a footer. Not behind a form. Right there.
Google-ready
Proper page title, meta description, and local schema so Google knows what you do and where you do it.
Web design Cambridge: what local trades are paying
Cambridge is a competitive market. Plenty of agencies charge London prices for local work. Most trade businesses in Cambridge and Cambridgeshire are paying between £300 and £2,000 for a website in 2026.
AJ Web Design is based in Cambridge and builds websites specifically for local trade businesses. Recent builds include Raquel NutriFit (nutrition coach) and Istanbul Barbers (barbershop) — both in Cambridge, both live within a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a basic website cost in the UK?
A basic one-page website for a small UK business costs between £150 and £500 in 2026. A DIY builder like Wix costs around £150 to £350 per year. A freelance web designer like AJ Web Design charges £297 as a one-off payment for a mobile-first, Google-ready site with click-to-call buttons.
How much should a small business pay for a website?
Most small trade businesses in the UK should budget £300 to £1,000 for a professional website. That range covers a custom-designed, mobile-first site with local SEO. Anything below £200 usually means a template with limited functionality. Anything above £2,000 is agency pricing that most trades don't need.
Is it worth paying for a website or using a free builder?
Free website builders add their own branding, give you a subdomain instead of your own .co.uk, and limit what you can do with SEO. For a hobby site, free works. For a trade business trying to get calls from local customers, paying £297 to £497 for a proper site is worth it. One extra job covers the cost.
Do I have to pay monthly for a website?
Not necessarily. Most freelancers charge a one-off fee for the build. Hosting is the only recurring cost — typically £49 to £100 per year. Some agencies lock you into monthly payments of £50 to £200, which adds up fast. At AJ Web Design, the website itself is a one-off payment. Hosting is £49 per year.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
A freelancer can build a small business website in 5 to 7 days. An agency typically takes 4 to 12 weeks. A DIY builder takes 1 to 3 days of your own time, plus ongoing tweaking. AJ Web Design delivers a fully built site within 7 days of a 15-minute phone call.
What is the cheapest way to get a website for my business?
The cheapest upfront option is a DIY builder like Wix or Squarespace at around £150 per year. The cheapest long-term option is a one-off freelancer build at £297 to £497 — you pay once, own the files, and only pay hosting after that. Monthly agency retainers are the most expensive option over time.
Want a straight answer on what your site would cost?
No pressure, no hard sell — just a quick chat about what you need.
Call 07549 636 200