How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? 2026 Prices for Small Businesses

How much does a website cost in the UK?

Most UK small businesses pay between £1,500 and £3,000 for a professionally built 5-page website from a specialist developer, and £4,000–£7,500 for a site with custom features. Doing it yourself on a website builder costs from around £100 to £350 a year, plus your own time. UK agencies usually quote more than specialists for the same scope, because their price also covers account managers and office overheads.

The specialist ranges above are the fixed-price bands we quote at Unlimited Dev; your scope decides the final number. For hourly rates and how they compare with hiring, see our full-stack developer cost guide.

What affects the cost of a website

• Number of unique page designs: ten pages built from two layouts cost less than five pages each designed from scratch.
• Content: if you supply finished text and photos, the build is faster. Copywriting and photography are usually separate costs.
• Functionality: booking, payments, member areas, and integrations with your CRM or stock system are where cost rises fastest.
• Content management: being able to edit pages yourself adds setup time but saves paying for every small change later.
• Performance and search: fast loading, structured data, and technical SEO are built in by good developers and are expensive to retrofit.
• Who builds it: freelancers, specialist studios, and agencies charge very differently for similar work.

Wix vs Squarespace vs Shopify vs a custom website: the 3-year cost

Website builders look far cheaper because you pay monthly instead of up front. Over three years, the gap narrows, and what you get at the end is different. These are UK prices paid yearly, before VAT, from each company's pricing page:

Sources: Wix plans, Squarespace pricing, and Shopify UK pricing. Prices change and builders often run first-year discounts, so check before you buy. Builder costs also exclude your own time, and any designer you hire to set up the template.

Which is right? A builder is a sensible choice for a simple site you're happy to maintain yourself. A custom website makes sense when the site needs to win business in search and AI answers, connect to your other systems, do something a template can't, or stay fully under your control. For selling products, Shopify is often the cheapest way to start; a custom shop is worth it when Shopify's monthly and transaction fees or its limits start costing you more than a build would.

How much does it cost to run a website each year?

The .uk wholesale price is set by Nominet, the .uk registry, and is frozen at £3.90 a year until at least March 2027. Be wary of hosting packages costing £50 or more a month for a simple brochure site; unless they include regular updates, you're usually overpaying.

What is a fair price for a website?

A fair price is one where you know exactly what you're getting, and you own the result. Use this checklist when comparing quotes:

• Fixed price for a written scope, with the number of pages and features listed
• Clear about what's excluded: copywriting, photography, logo design, ongoing changes
• The domain, hosting, and code are registered in your name, not the developer's
• Mobile-friendly design, fast loading, and basic SEO included as standard
• A way to edit your own content without paying for every change
• Examples of similar sites they've built, and references you can contact

Red flags: a very low price that turns out to be a template with monthly fees attached, hosting you can't leave, no written scope, or an agency quote several times higher than specialists without a clear reason. Our guide on how to hire a full-stack developer covers vetting in more detail.

Website redesign costs

A redesign usually costs about the same as a new build of the same size, because most of the work is the same. It can cost less if your content is reusable, and more if you need to move a lot of old content or protect existing search rankings. If your current site ranks well, make sure your developer keeps your URLs or sets up redirects, so you don't lose the traffic you've built.

How long does it take to build a website?

A 5–10 page business website typically takes 2–4 weeks once content is ready, and a site with custom features 4–8 weeks. Waiting for content (text, photos, sign-off) is the most common cause of delay, so gather it before work starts.

Getting more from your website budget

• Make it findable in AI search as well as Google: our guides to generative engine optimisation and llms.txt explain what to ask for.
• Plan for growth: if you might add a customer portal or booking system later, a custom web app foundation avoids a rebuild. Startups testing an idea should look at an MVP instead.
• If you also need a mobile app, see what an app costs to build and Flutter vs React Native.
• Agencies that resell websites can outsource the build through white-label web development; our white-label guide covers pricing, margins, and contracts.

Need a website? Unlimited Dev builds fast, search-friendly business websites from £1,500, with a fixed quote up front and everything in your name.

Frequently asked questions