The short answer: a professionally built website for a UK small business usually costs somewhere between £800 and £8,000. A focused one-to-six page site sits at the bottom of that range; a 20-page site with a content management system, booking or multiple languages sits at the top. Anything that behaves like software — customer logins, payments, dashboards — is really a web app, and starts around £8,000.
That range is wide, so here's what actually moves a quote up or down, what our own prices are, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.
Our actual price bands
We publish our prices, so you can compare like for like:
| What you're getting | Price | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page or small site (1–6 pages) | £800 – £3,000 | 1–3 weeks |
| Multi-page site with a CMS (8–30 pages) | £3,000 – £8,000 | 3–6 weeks |
| Web app, client portal or dashboard | £8,000 – £20,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Platform (web + iOS + Android + admin) | £20,000+ | 8 weeks → ongoing |
Most small businesses — trades, local services, consultancies, couriers — need the first or second row. If someone quotes you £15,000 for a brochure site, ask what you're getting that a £3,000 site wouldn't give you.
What pushes the price up
- Unique page designs, not total pages. Ten service pages that share one layout cost far less than ten pages that each need their own design.
- Content. Who writes the copy and supplies the photos? If the studio has to write every word, that's real time — and it should be in the quote.
- Editing. A content management system (CMS) lets you change text and images yourself. It's worth it if you'll update the site often; overkill if you won't.
- Integrations. Booking systems, CRMs, payments and instant-quote calculators all add work — and usually pay for themselves the fastest.
- Multiple languages. Every language multiplies content, testing and SEO work.
- Custom functionality. Once visitors log in, pay or save data, you're building software, and the price follows.
What brings it down (without cutting corners)
- Bring your content. Having your copy, logo and photos ready is the single easiest saving.
- Start focused. Launch the five pages that bring in enquiries, then add the rest once the site is earning.
- Make decisions quickly. Fewer rounds of "can we try another version?" means fewer billable days.
DIY builder, freelancer or studio?
Website builders (Wix, Squarespace and friends) are the cheapest way to get online and are fine for testing an idea. The trade-offs: you rent rather than own, you get less control over speed and SEO, and the monthly fees never stop.
Freelancers can be excellent value. The risk is a single point of failure — if they're ill, busy or move on, your project stalls.
Studios and agencies cost more, but you're paying for process: written scope, a defined process, milestones, and someone accountable after launch.
There's no wrong answer — just make sure the price matches the risk you're comfortable with.
Hidden costs to ask about before you sign
- Hosting and domain. Who pays, and whose name are the accounts in? You should own your domain, always.
- Who owns the code? Some providers keep the site on their hosting and charge to leave. Ask what happens if you want to move.
- Maintenance. Who updates and fixes things after launch, and what does it cost?
- Change requests. How are changes priced once the scope is agreed?
- VAT. Is the quote inclusive or exclusive of VAT? It makes a 20% difference.
- SEO. "SEO-friendly" can mean anything. Ask exactly what's included — titles and descriptions, a sitemap, Search Console setup, page speed.
How we price, in plain English
- A fixed written estimate within 48 hours of your brief — scope, milestones and a total, before you commit.
- 50% deposit to start. On projects over £3,000, the other 50% can be split into three monthly instalments at no extra cost.
- Free hosting during the build, a staging link from week one and a short video demo every week.
- When the final payment clears, the code, domain and accounts are yours — no lock-in.
- 30 days of free bug fixes after launch.
Full details are on our pricing page, and you can see what a small-business site includes on our web design page.
A website should pay for itself
The better question isn't "how much does a website cost?" but "how many customers does it need to bring in to be worth it?" As an example: if an average job is worth £500 to you and a new site brings in two extra enquiries a month that convert, a £2,500 site pays for itself within a few months — and keeps working after that.
That's why every site we build is designed around one action — a call, a quote request or a booking — rather than just looking nice.
Want a real number for your project? Send us a brief — it takes about 90 seconds, and a founder will reply with a written estimate within 48 hours.