How much does website development cost in the UK?

Asking what a website costs is a bit like asking what a building costs. A garden shed and an office block are both buildings. Here’s what UK sources publish for different types of site, along with what moves the price. As with most pricing guides online, almost all of these figures come from agencies, freelancers and website builders, so treat them as indicative.

Published UK price ranges

These bands summarise guides such as those from Lilo, Expert Sure and Flick Media, and the sources often disagree. They aren’t a Techpedia price list. Published hourly figures also vary, with one guide placing freelancers at around £25 to £80 per hour and small UK agencies at about £50 to £150.

What affects the price

• Custom design or a template. A customised theme takes far less time than a design created from scratch.
• Number of unique page types. Twenty pages from two templates cost less than ten pages that are all different.
• Content. Copywriting and photography are often left out of quotes. If you need them, ask.
• Functionality. Booking systems, calculators, member areas and integrations add the most.
• SEO and migration. Moving an existing site safely takes planning, and it’s worth paying for if you get traffic from search.
• Who’s doing it. A freelancer has low overheads, but usually covers fewer skills. An agency offers a wider team and more cover if someone’s unavailable, at a higher rate.

What you’ll pay after launch

• Domain name: around £10 to £30 a year for a .co.uk, according to published guides.
• Hosting: from a few pounds a month for basic shared hosting up to hundreds for demanding sites. Faster, better-supported hosting is often worth paying for.
• Maintenance: security updates, backups and small changes. See our website maintenance page for what should be covered.
• Licences: premium plugins, themes and third-party tools.
• Online stores: platform fees and payment charges. Shopify’s UK plans, for example, start at £25 a month on monthly billing, or £19 a month paid yearly, with card processing fees on top. Check its current pricing.

How much should you actually spend?

Think about what the site needs to do for the business. If you’re a local tradesperson whose work comes through referrals, a simple credible site may be all you need, and spending more wouldn’t pay back. If your site is your main source of leads, and each customer is worth thousands of pounds, then a modest improvement in enquiries can justify a much larger investment.

A quote well under about £500 for a complete business site is usually a warning sign. One guide we read makes the same point, and you’re likely to get a generic template with little support. Equally, a high price doesn’t guarantee quality, so look closely at what’s included and at the supplier’s previous work.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Will I own the site, the content and the domain? The domain should always be in your name.
• Can I edit it without paying you each time?
• What’s included after launch, and what will it cost?
• Does the price include content, images and SEO setup?
• If I already have a site, how will you protect my search rankings?
• Could I move it to another supplier later, and how?

If you’re replacing an existing site, read our website redesign guide first. To talk about your own project, send us a short brief, along with your budget, and we’ll tell you what we think is sensible.