# How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK?

Source: https://dijitulwebdesign.co.uk/guides/how-much-does-a-website-cost-uk/
Updated: 2026-10-18

> A small business website in the UK usually costs a few hundred pounds from a freelancer and several thousand from an agency. dijitul designs and builds custom websites from £250 + VAT for up to 5 pages, from £500 + VAT for up to 15 pages with copywriting, and ecommerce from £750 + VAT, all fixed-price.

## Key facts

- Bark's UK web design cost guide (checked October 2026) puts freelance small business sites at £1,000 to £3,000 and agency ones at £2,000 to £7,000
- dijitul Starter: up to 5 pages from £250 + VAT; Business: up to 15 pages from £500 + VAT; Ecommerce from £750 + VAT
- Page count, copywriting, features like booking or payments, and who writes the content drive most of the price
- Domain, hosting, stock photos and premium plugins are usually separate; ask for them to be listed
- Small changes after launch at dijitul are £45 an hour + VAT
- You should own the site and the domain outright once it is paid for

## What UK businesses actually pay for a website

There is no standard rate card for websites, which is why quotes for the same job can differ by thousands of pounds. The trades marketplace Bark, which gathers quotes from UK designers, gives these typical ranges in its web design cost guide (checked October 2026):

| Who builds it | Type of site | Bark's typical range |

| Freelancer | Basic website | £300 to £1,000 |
| Freelancer | Small business site | £1,000 to £3,000 |
| Freelancer | Ecommerce site | £2,000 to £5,000 |
| Agency | Small business site | £2,000 to £7,000 |
| Agency | Ecommerce site | £5,000 to £15,000 |
| Agency | Custom enterprise site | £10,000 to £30,000+ |

The same guide puts DIY builders such as Wix and Squarespace at £10 to £40 a month, where you do the design and writing yourself. Many agency price guides quote higher figures than this, so treat any single number as a rough benchmark rather than a rule.

## What dijitul charges

We publish our prices because most small businesses want a number before a sales call. Every package is a fixed price, agreed in writing before work starts.

- **Starter, from £250 + VAT.** Up to 5 pages, a custom design rather than a template, mobile-first build, contact form and click-to-call, Google Business Profile set up, basic SEO foundations, Analytics and Search Console. Typically live in 3 to 4 weeks.
- **Business, from £500 + VAT.** Up to 15 pages, a page per service written to rank, copywriting included, full schema markup, local SEO groundwork, speed work to pass Core Web Vitals, conversion tracking and a training session. Typically 5 to 6 weeks.
- **Ecommerce, from £750 + VAT.** Shopify or WooCommerce, payments and delivery rules, Google Merchant Centre feed, abandoned cart recovery and staff training. See what an online shop costs.

Small changes and extra design time are £45 an hour + VAT. Larger builds such as big catalogues, membership platforms or multilingual sites get a fixed quote. Full details are on our prices page.

## What pushes the price up or down

Designers price on time, so anything that adds hours adds cost. The main drivers are:

- **Number of pages.** A five-page brochure site is a different job from a 30-page site with a page per service and per town.
- **Who writes the words.** Copywriting is often the slowest part of a project. If you supply finished text, the build is quicker; if the designer writes it, budget for it.
- **Custom design or template.** A bought theme with your logo dropped in is cheaper to set up, but you inherit its layout limits and its code weight.
- **Features.** Online booking, payments, member logins, product filters and integrations with your CRM or EPOS all add build and testing time.
- **Content migration.** Moving 200 blog posts or 500 products from an old site needs care so you keep your Google rankings.

If two quotes are far apart, check they include the same pages, the same copywriting and the same SEO setup before comparing the totals.

## The extras to budget for

The build fee is rarely the only cost. A fair quote lists these separately so nothing surprises you later:

- **Domain name.** A yearly renewal paid to a registrar. See domain names explained.
- **Hosting.** Somewhere for the site to live. Our hosting is from £1 a day + VAT; see website hosting explained.
- **Stock photography** if you have no photos of your own.
- **Premium plugins or apps**, such as a booking system or Shopify app, which often have their own monthly fees.
- **Ongoing care.** Updates, backups and small edits. Our care plans are from £25 a month + VAT; see what maintenance involves.

## How to tell if a quote is fair

A cheap quote can turn expensive if every change after launch is billed, or if you discover the designer owns your domain. Before you sign, check that the quote names the number of pages, says who writes the content, lists the extras, gives a timeline, and confirms that you will own the website and domain. Our guide to website ownership explains what to ask for in writing.

A written brief helps you get like-for-like quotes. Our web design brief guide gives a template you can send to several designers at once.

## When to call us

If you know roughly what you need and want a fixed price, ask for a quote. Tell us how many pages, whether you need copywriting, and any features such as booking or payments, and we will come back with a written price. dijitul has been building websites since 2006 from our base in Mansfield, and we work with businesses across the UK. Prefer to talk it through? Call 01623 650333.

## FAQs

### How much does a basic website cost in the UK?

Bark's UK web design cost guide (checked October 2026) puts basic freelance websites at £300 to £1,000. dijitul's Starter package is from £250 + VAT for up to 5 pages with a custom design, contact form, click-to-call and Google Business Profile set up, at a fixed price agreed before we start.

### Why do website quotes vary so much?

Quotes differ because they include different things. One may cover five pages with your own text, another fifteen pages with professional copywriting, SEO setup and training. Some include hosting, others list it separately. Compare the number of pages, who writes the words and the extras before comparing totals.

### Is a website builder like Wix cheaper?

Upfront, yes. Bark's guide puts Wix and Squarespace at £10 to £40 a month. You then do the design, writing and SEO yourself, and the subscription runs for as long as the site exists. For many owners the time cost is the bigger one.

### Are your prices plus VAT?

Yes. All dijitul prices are quoted plus VAT: Starter from £250 + VAT, Business from £500 + VAT, Ecommerce from £750 + VAT, and small changes at £45 an hour + VAT. Domain registration, stock photography, premium plugins and hosting are listed separately in your quote.

### Do I have to pay monthly for a website?

Not for the build. You pay a one-off fixed price for the design and build. Hosting and the domain renew yearly or monthly wherever you choose to keep them, and a care plan is optional. You own the site, so you are free to move it at any time.

### What is the cheapest way to get a professional website?

Keep the first version small. Five well-written pages with a clear call to action, click-to-call and a contact form will win more enquiries than twenty thin pages. You can add service pages later as the business grows, which spreads the cost.

## Prices and contact

Prices (from, + VAT): Starter £250 (Up to 5 pages, Custom design, not a template, Mobile-first build, Contact form and click-to-call, Google Business Profile set up, Basic SEO foundations, Analytics and Search Console); Business £500 (Up to 15 pages, A page per service, written to rank, Copywriting included, Full schema markup, Local SEO groundwork, Speed optimised to pass Core Web Vitals, Conversion tracking configured, Training session and recorded walkthrough); Ecommerce £750 (Shopify or WooCommerce, Product and category structure built to rank, Payments and delivery rules configured, Click-and-collect and local delivery, Accounts or EPOS integration, Google Merchant Centre feed, Abandoned cart recovery, Staff training on order management); changes £45 an hour. All prices are "from" and exclude VAT. Every project gets a fixed quote before work starts. Domain registration, stock photography, premium plugins or apps and hosting are listed in the quote, never added later. You own the website and the domain. Aftercare: Hosting from £1 a day + VAT (https://dijihost.co.uk/); Website care plans from £25 a month + VAT (https://dijitulsupport.co.uk/). Contact: https://dijitulwebdesign.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk