How much does a small business website cost in the UK?

DIY builders

Builder plans run from about £9 to £30 a month, so roughly £100 to £500 a year [2]. Whito gives a slightly wider £10 to £50 a month [1]. Hosting and security are included.

If you sell online, Shopify's UK plans are £19 a month for Basic, £49 for Grow and £259 for Advanced, billed yearly. Paying monthly costs £25, £65 and £344 [5].

DIY is the right call when your needs are simple and you have time to write, design and maintain the site yourself.

Fixed-price packages and freelancers

There is a growing market for fixed-price packages. Whito's June 2026 price file of 28 UK packages found a median of £520, with the middle half between £399 and £898 [1]. Crafted Pages, for example, lists £399, £899 and £1,799 tiers [4]. These suit small sites with a clear brief.

A freelance designer typically charges £1,000 to £3,000 for a five-page site [2]. Whito puts it at £1,500 to £3,000 [1]. Freelance hourly rates run about £40 to £70, or £35 to £55 outside the big cities [1].

A good freelancer is often the best value for a straightforward brochure site. Check they will be around after launch and that the domain is registered in your name.

Small studios and agencies

A small studio sits between a freelancer and an agency, at about £2,000 to £8,000 [2]. You usually get more design and build depth than one freelancer, without paying for account managers.

Agency prices start around £3,000 to £5,000 for a five-page brochure site [1]. Weboptic puts a lean agency brochure site at £2,000 to £5,000 and a stronger lead-generation site at £5,000 to £10,000 [3]. Hire A Designer gives £5,000 to £20,000 or more, higher for full-service London agencies [2]. Agency hourly rates run £60 to £150 [1].

E-commerce and bigger builds

Online shops vary the most. Whito puts e-commerce sites at £5,000 to £20,000 or more [1], Weboptic from about £6,000 [3] and Hire A Designer at £3,000 to £35,000 or more [2]. The sources disagree because a ten-product Shopify shop and a custom store with integrations are very different jobs.

Custom business sites with 15 or more pages run £5,000 to £15,000 [1].

Hidden and running costs

Whito advises adding 30% to 50% to a quote for costs it leaves out [1]. The usual extras:

• Copywriting: £50 to £150 a page [1]
• Photography: £200 to £800 [1]
• Each extra page: £150 to £500, depending on the source [1] [2]
• Domain: about £10 to £20 a year [2]
• Maintenance: £30 to £150 a month, with a median entry plan of £50 [1] [2]
• Total running costs: about £500 to £2,000 a year with maintenance [1] [2]