How Much Does a Website Cost for Small Business in the UK? (2026 Guide)

If you're a small business owner in the UK wondering what a website actually costs, you're not alone. It's one of the most Googled questions by entrepreneurs — and the answers online are usually vague or trying to sell you something.

This guide gives you real numbers, honest trade-offs, and practical advice so you can make a smart decision for your business.

UK Small Business Website Costs at a Glance

Here's what businesses in the UK typically pay in 2026:

The cheapest option isn't always the best value. Let's break down why.

What Drives the Price Difference

Who builds it

DIY website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy) cost £10–30/month. You do the work yourself, and while the barrier to entry is low, the results are often generic. Monthly fees add up — £25/month is £1,500 over five years.

Freelance web designers charge £500–3,000 depending on experience. Quality varies wildly. Some use templates with minor tweaks and call it custom. Others do genuinely good work. The challenge is knowing which you're getting.

Agencies charge £3,000–15,000+ and deliver polished work, but they're built for bigger budgets. For a five-page small business site, you're often paying for overhead rather than output.

Specialist small business developers sit in a sweet spot — hand-coded sites built efficiently because they focus on one type of client. Expect £497–1,500 with minimal or no ongoing costs.

What the site actually does

A £500 template site and a £3,000 hand-coded site might look similar at first glance. The difference shows up in performance:

• Loading speed — Hand-coded sites are lean. Templates carry bloat from plugins and unused code. Google penalises slow sites in search rankings.
• Mobile experience — Over 60% of UK web traffic is mobile. A site that looks awkward on a phone is losing you customers.
• SEO foundations — Proper heading structure, schema markup, meta tags, local keywords — these are either built in or bolted on badly.
• Conversion design — A site built to generate enquiries vs. one that just displays information. Big difference in results.

The ongoing costs people forget

Many providers don't mention these upfront:

• Hosting: £10–50/month
• Template or plugin licences: £100–400/year
• Security and maintenance: £50–200/month
• Content updates: £50–150/hour

A £500 website with £200/month in running costs is actually a £2,900 website in the first year. Always ask about total cost of ownership.

What Should a Small Business Website Include?

For most UK small businesses, you need five things done well:

Essential pages:

1. Homepage — clear value proposition, not a wall of text
2. About — builds trust, shows the human behind the business
3. Services or products — what you offer, ideally with pricing
4. Contact — phone, email, form, location
5. Areas served — critical for local SEO

Technical essentials:

• Mobile-responsive (not just "it works on mobile" — actually designed for it)
• Under 3-second load time
• SSL certificate (the padlock icon)
• Working contact forms
• Google Analytics and Search Console connected

Local SEO basics:

• Google Business Profile integration
• Local keyword optimisation (e.g., "plumber in Manchester" not just "plumber")
• Schema markup so Google understands your business type and location
• Consistent name, address, phone across the web

Where Cheap Websites Go Wrong

This isn't about shaming budget options — sometimes a Wix site is genuinely the right call (more on that below). But here's where the common pitfalls are:

Template sites tend to look like every other business in your industry. They load slowly because they're packed with code you don't need. And they rarely rank well locally because SEO is an afterthought.

DIY builders work if you have the time and enjoy it. But most business owners underestimate how long it takes. If building your site takes 40 hours and your time is worth £25/hour, you've spent £1,000 in time alone — plus the monthly subscription.

The cheapest freelancer will often deliver something that looks fine but performs badly. No SEO, poor mobile experience, slow loading. You save money upfront and lose customers for months.

When a Website ISN'T Worth It (Yet)

Honest answer: not every business needs a website right now.

• If you're pre-revenue and testing an idea, a simple social media page or Google Business Profile might be enough.
• If all your work comes from word-of-mouth and you're at capacity, a website might not be your priority.
• If you're planning to change your business significantly in the next few months, wait until you know what you're building.

A website is an investment. Like any investment, the timing matters.

What to Ask Any Web Designer Before Hiring

These questions will save you from bad decisions:

1. "What are the total costs in year one and year two?" — Catches hidden fees.
2. "Who owns the website files and domain?" — Some builders hold your site hostage.
3. "How fast will it load on mobile?" — If they can't answer specifically, that's a red flag.
4. "Is it optimised for local search?" — Not just "SEO-friendly" — specifically local.
5. "Can you show me results, not just designs?" — Pretty sites that don't rank are expensive wallpaper.
6. "What happens if I need changes in six months?" — Know the ongoing relationship.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Here's a rough decision framework:

Go DIY if you enjoy building things, have more time than money, and your business doesn't depend heavily on web presence.

Hire a specialist if you want a professional site that performs well, don't want monthly fees eating into margins, and need something that ranks locally.

Go agency if you have complex requirements (e-commerce, booking systems, integrations) and the budget to match.

Wait if you're not sure what your business looks like in three months.

For most UK small businesses and tradesmen, the sweet spot is a hand-coded site from someone who specialises in your type of business. You get professional quality, proper SEO, and you own it outright — no subscriptions, no lock-in.

The Bottom Line

A professional website is one of the better investments a small business can make. It works around the clock, builds credibility, and — when done properly — brings in customers you'd never have reached otherwise.

The key is matching the investment to your stage and needs. Don't overspend on an agency site when a focused five-page site will do. Don't underspend on a template that'll need replacing in two years.

Know what you're paying for, ask the right questions, and choose someone who builds for businesses like yours.

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At Axel Up, we build hand-coded websites for UK small businesses starting at £497 — pay once, it's yours. Based in Manchester, working with businesses across the UK. Get a free estimate.

Axel

Full-stack developer specializing in Shopify and Django. Building automated e-commerce solutions.