In 2026, a professional small business website in the UK typically costs £500–£3,000 one-off with a freelancer or small agency, plus £20–£150 per month for hosting, maintenance and basic SEO. DIY on a builder is roughly £15–£40/month plus your time. Large agencies start around £8,000–£25,000.
The range is huge because "a website" can mean five very different things. Here's what each route actually costs, and what you get.
Cost by route
DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify)
£15–£40 per month, plus 10–40 hours of your time. Fine for a simple brochure site if you're comfortable with design and copy. Downsides: templates look generic, performance is often mediocre, and moving away later is painful. Add a domain (~£12/year) and any paid apps.
Freelance web designer
£500–£2,500 one-off for a small business site. Quality varies enormously — a good freelancer is excellent value, but you're relying on one person for support, and SEO and copywriting are often extra. Ask to see live sites they built 12+ months ago.
Small / independent agency
£800–£5,000 one-off, plus a monthly care fee (commonly £49–£150). You get a custom design, a team rather than one person, and usually SEO and hosting built in. This is the sweet spot for most small businesses and professional firms. OnSquared sits here: £595 / £995 / £1,995 builds plus care from £49/month.
Mid-size to large agency
£8,000–£25,000+, sometimes far more. Justified for complex sites, large content volumes, or brands that need a full identity and strategy programme. Overkill — and a waste of money — for a typical local business or single-office firm.
E-commerce
Add roughly £1,000–£5,000 on top of the equivalent brochure site for a small shop, more for large catalogues, subscriptions or custom checkout logic.
The ongoing costs quotes leave out
- Domain: £10–£15 a year.
- Hosting: £5–£30 a month, or bundled into a care plan.
- Maintenance & security: updates, backups, fixes — £20–£100 a month depending on the platform.
- SEO: optional but usually necessary to actually get found — £150–£750+ a month.
- Content changes: either your time, or a few pounds per edit.
Many small agencies bundle hosting, maintenance and basic SEO into one predictable monthly fee. That's usually better value than paying for each separately.
What changes the price
- Custom vs template — a bespoke design costs more than a themed one, and looks it.
- Number of pages — a 5-page site vs a 25-page site with a service page for everything.
- Copywriting — writing the words is often 20–40% of the work. Check if it's included.
- SEO setup — technical structure, keyword research, Google Business Profile.
- Features — booking, payments, portals, calculators, integrations.
- Content migration — moving an existing site without losing rankings takes real work.
What to check before you pay
- Do you own the code, the domain and the content? (You should.)
- Is there a contract lock-in? (Avoid long ones.)
- Is SEO included, or bolted on later at extra cost?
- Who does support, and how fast?
- Can you see live sites they built over a year ago that still rank?
More on this in how to choose a web design agency.
A rough guide for a UK small business
If a quote is far below this, ask what's missing. If it's far above, ask what you're paying for that a local business actually needs.
FAQ
How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
In 2026, a professional small business website in the UK typically costs £500 to £3,000 as a one-off with a small agency or freelancer, plus £20 to £150 a month for hosting, maintenance and basic SEO. DIY on a builder like Wix or Squarespace costs roughly £15 to £40 a month with your own time on top. Large agencies start around £8,000 to £25,000.
Why is there such a big price range for websites?
Price is driven by who builds it (DIY, freelancer, small agency, large agency), how much is custom versus template, the number of pages, whether SEO and copywriting are included, and any special features like booking systems, e-commerce or integrations.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
Domain (about £10 to £15 a year), hosting (£5 to £30 a month or bundled), maintenance and security updates, and optionally SEO or ads management. Many small agencies bundle hosting, updates and basic SEO into one monthly care fee from around £49.
Is a cheap website worth it?
A cheap website is worth it if it loads fast, works on mobile, is built on clean code you own, and is set up for search. It is not worth it if it is a slow, bloated template you cannot edit, or if you do not own the code and domain.