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 trade business costs between £150 and £10,000 in 2026. I've built trade websites at every point in that range, and 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 trade business owner in the UK faces the same three options when getting a website built in 2026. 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 — the most popular DIY website builders according to Website Builder Expert — 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. According to Google's Core Web Vitals documentation, pages loading above 2.5 seconds on mobile see significantly higher bounce rates — a common problem with template builders.
I used to think Wix was the right answer for tradesmen who wanted to save money. I stopped after seeing the same pattern three times: they'd spend a weekend building it, get frustrated with the mobile layout, and call me to rebuild it properly. The £150 they saved cost them two weekends and a site that still didn't rank. After rebuilding one of those sites properly, the client went from 0 calls to 3 per week.
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.
I've built over 20 trade websites since launching AJ Web Design in 2024. The most common mistake I see is business owners paying £3,000 to an agency for something that could have been built for £497. The site looks the same. The results are the same. The invoice isn't.
Agency websites: what £2,500–£10,000 gets you
UK web design agencies — the kind listed on Bark.com and Checkatrade — typically charge £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
According to Google research, over 76% 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.
Not sure if a website would pay for itself for your trade business? Use the free Lost Customers Calculator to see how many enquiries you are missing each month — and the revenue gap that creates. Or run the Business Visibility Scanner to see where your business currently stands online.
Why cheap websites fail: the hidden costs of doing it wrong
Choosing the cheapest option looks smart at first. Then reality hits.
I rebuilt a plumber’s website after they spent a weekend in Wix. Cost them £150 in their time, looked the part on a laptop, and ranked for absolutely nothing. No local schema, no mobile click-to-call, no Google Business Profile connection. Six months of zero enquiries before they called me.
Here’s what cheap websites usually miss:
- No local SEO structure — Google can’t tell what you do or where you work
- No mobile optimisation — 70%+ of trade searches happen on phones
- No speed work — slow sites lose visitors before they read a word
- No conversion logic — a pretty page isn’t the same as a page that gets calls
The real cost of a cheap website isn’t the upfront price. It’s 6–12 months of missed enquiries while you wait to realise it isn’t working. That gap between a £200 DIY site and a properly built one isn’t aesthetic — it’s structural.
Web design Cambridge: what local trades are paying
Cambridge is a competitive market for web design. AJ Web Design is based here and builds websites specifically for local trade businesses. 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. Every site I build gets tested on a real phone before delivery — I check load speed, click-to-call, and how it looks on both iPhone and Android. Recent builds include Raquel NutriFit (nutrition coach) and Revive Massage Cambourne (massage therapy) — both live within a week.
What your investment is actually worth
Here’s the maths that matters: one extra job per month from your website pays for a professional build within a year — often faster.
- Plumber: One callout at £150+ covers a month’s repayments on a £1,500 site in under a year
- Electrician: One job at £200+ does the same
- Builder: One inquiry that converts is worth £1,000+ — your site pays for itself on day one
- Barber: One new regular returning 2x/month = £60+ monthly — recouped in under 6 months
A website that generates one extra lead per month isn’t a cost. It’s the cheapest member of staff you’ll ever hire.
What trade 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
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.
This guide was first published in March 2026 and last reviewed on 8 April 2026. All prices reflect current UK market rates.
About the author: AJ is the founder of AJ Web Design, launched in 2024. Based in Cambridge, I built over 20 trade websites for plumbers, electricians, builders, and barbers across the UK. Every site gets tested on a real phone before delivery. Read the AJ Web Design guides for more practical advice.
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