"How much does a website cost?" is the first question almost every business owner asks us. The honest answer, anywhere from nothing to tens of thousands of pounds, is no use to anyone on its own.
So here is a more useful version: typical UK price bands in 2026, what moves the price, the costs that carry on after launch, and what a trades business actually needs. Our own prices are included, so you can see where we sit.
The short answer
For most UK small businesses, a professionally built website costs somewhere between about £1,000 and £6,000 up front, plus a smaller amount each month or year to keep it online. Well below that usually means DIY or corners cut. Well above it usually means custom features, e-commerce or a big agency's overheads.
Typical UK price bands
These are typical ranges, not fixed figures. Quotes vary with experience and what is included, so treat them as a guide.
| Option | Typical up-front cost | Ongoing cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | £0 plus your time | Roughly £10 to £40 a month on a paid plan | Testing an idea, a very simple presence |
| Freelancer | Roughly £300 to £800 for a basic template site, more for custom work | Often charged per change | Simple sites with a clear brief |
| Small agency | Roughly £3,000 to £6,000 | Hosting and care plan | Design, SEO and support in one place |
| Larger agency | Roughly £10,000 to £50,000 | Monthly retainer | Custom systems and large sites |
DIY builders are cheapest in cash and most expensive in time: you write every word, set up the search basics yourself, and the monthly fee never stops. Freelancers range from excellent value to a template with your logo dropped in, so ask who hosts it and who fixes it when it breaks. Small agencies are where most small businesses end up, and much of the price difference between them is overheads. Larger agencies make sense for custom systems and big sites. For a local business that needs a few pages and a phone that rings, you would be paying for capacity you never use.
Where tektiv sits
Our prices are fixed and published on our pricing page:
- Starter, £495 one-off. For an existing site that is not pulling its weight: a written audit, page speed and Core Web Vitals fixes, technical SEO and schema markup, delivered within 5 working days.
- Business Website, £1,495 one-off. A new site of up to 8 pages, with custom design, content writing, full SEO from day one, Google Analytics and Search Console set up, and 30 days of post-launch support. Delivered in 2 to 3 weeks.
- Growth Partner, from £295 a month (£695 a month for the full plan). Website care, Google Business Profile upkeep and SEO articles, with no minimum contract.
For brand-new businesses, the Launch Package (brand identity, website and launch content) is a fixed quote between £2,495 and £4,995. Every package, with the typical agency price shown next to ours, is on our packages page. VAT is not currently charged.
What actually drives the cost
Two quotes for "a website" can describe completely different jobs. The biggest factors:
- Number of pages. Five pages and thirty pages are different projects.
- Who writes the words. "You supply the content" is the most common way a quote looks cheaper than it is.
- Custom design or template. A template is quicker; a layout built around how your customers buy usually converts better.
- Functionality. Booking, payments, e-commerce and links to your other systems all add time.
- Search visibility from day one. Proper titles, structured data and a page for each service and area. This is the core of good web design for a local business, and increasingly what gets you mentioned by AI search tools, which is where AI SEO comes in.
- Speed. A site that loads slowly on a phone loses enquiries quietly, whatever it cost.
One-off costs vs monthly costs
The build price is only part of the picture. Expect some of these running costs:
- Domain name. A modest yearly fee. Make sure it is registered in your name, not your designer's.
- Hosting. From a few pounds a month for basic shared hosting to more for faster, managed hosting.
- Maintenance. Updates, backups, security and fixing things that break.
- SEO and content. Optional, but it is what keeps a site getting found. Usually monthly.
- Business email. Normally a separate provider, charged per person, per month.
A simple rule: ask every supplier for the total cost over three years, not just the build price.
Hidden costs to watch for
- Hosting locked to the designer, with renewals that creep up.
- Paying for every small change, so updating your prices costs an invoice.
- Content not included, leaving you to write ten pages in your evenings.
- Licence renewals for premium themes, plugins or stock photos.
- A site that does not work. A cheap site that ranks nowhere is not a saving. You pay once for the build, then again to fix or replace it.
Red flags in a cheap quote
- No mention of search, or a vague "SEO-friendly" with nothing behind it.
- No commitment on how fast the site loads on a phone.
- Nothing saying you own the site, the content and the domain.
- A long minimum contract on the monthly fee.
- A price given before anyone has asked what your business does.
- Any promise of "number one on Google". Nobody can guarantee that.
What a trades business actually needs
If you are a builder, plumber, electrician or decorator, you need a site that turns a search into a phone call:
- Your number on every page, tappable in one go on a phone.
- Clear services and the towns you cover, ideally a page for each main service.
- Your Google reviews on show.
- Fast loading on a phone with ordinary 4G.
- A quote form that reaches you the moment it is sent.
- A Google Business Profile that is claimed, filled in and linked to the site.
That is usually five to eight pages. You do not need e-commerce, a blog on day one or elaborate animation.
That is exactly what our web design for trades service builds. We have three founding-client slots for trades in Barnet and South Herts at £695 instead of the standard £1,495, live in 14 days, 50% upfront and the rest when the site goes live, with hosting for the first year included. If you are not ready for a new site, the Quick Win (Google Business Profile clean-up and missed-call text-back) is £149 to £249.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a small business pay for a website in the UK?
Most pay between about £1,000 and £6,000 up front for a professionally built site of a few pages. Our Business Website package is £1,495 for up to 8 pages, including content writing and SEO.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
A yearly domain fee, hosting, and maintenance for updates, backups and security. Business email and ongoing SEO are extra if you want them.
Why do web design quotes vary so much?
Because they often describe different jobs. Pages, content writing, custom design, extra features and overheads all change the price, so compare written lists of what is included, not just totals.
Do I own my website if someone else builds it?
You should. Before you agree to anything, get it in writing that the domain, the site files and the content are yours, and check what happens if you ever want to move it elsewhere.
The summary
Most professional small business websites in the UK cost between about £1,000 and £6,000, with modest running costs after launch. Cheap quotes tend to leave out the expensive parts: the writing, the search setup and the support. Compare the three-year total, check what is included, and make sure you own what you pay for.
If you already have a site and want to know whether it needs fixing or replacing, send it over for a free 5-minute video review. Brian will record a walkthrough of what is holding it back, with a written action list, within 48 hours.