This is one of the most common questions we get asked, and it is a fair one. Unfortunately, the honest answer is that it depends, which is not very satisfying if you are simply trying to budget for a new website.
So rather than leaving it there, this guide breaks down real UK pricing across the different types of websites businesses typically need, what actually drives the cost up or down, and what questions you should be asking any agency or freelancer before you commit to anything.
Why is there such a big range in price?
A website can cost anywhere from completely free to tens of thousands of pounds, and both of those figures can be entirely reasonable depending on what you actually need. The price mostly comes down to three things: how much custom design and development work is involved, how many pages and features you need, and who is doing the work for you.
A simple website built from a template by a freelancer working alone will naturally cost far less than a fully custom site built by an experienced agency with a team of designers and developers. Neither option is automatically the right choice. It depends entirely on what your business actually needs.
Realistic UK pricing by website type
Here is a rough guide to what you can expect to pay in the UK, based on typical pricing across the industry.
A simple brochure style website (five to ten pages)
Expect to pay somewhere between £1,000 and £5,000. This typically covers a clearly designed website explaining who you are, what you do, and how to get in touch, built on a platform such as WordPress.
An online shop (ecommerce website)
Expect to pay somewhere between £2,500 and £10,000 for a solid, properly built shop, depending on how many products you are selling and how much custom functionality you need.
A fully custom designed website with bespoke features
Expect to pay £8,000 upwards, sometimes considerably more, if your business needs something built specifically around an unusual requirement, such as a booking system, a membership area, or a custom web application.
A landing page (a single, focused page for one specific purpose)
Expect to pay somewhere between £500 and £2,000, depending on how much copywriting and design work is involved.
Worth Knowing
Extremely cheap websites, often advertised for a few hundred pounds, are usually built from a generic template with very little customisation. They can be a reasonable starting point for a brand new business with a very tight budget, but they often need replacing within a year or two as the business grows.
What actually affects the price?
A few specific things tend to move the price up or down more than anything else.
The amount of custom design work. A website built entirely around your brand, with original layouts and graphics, takes considerably more time than one built from an existing template, and the price reflects that.
The number of pages and features. A simple five page website naturally costs less than a fifty page website with a blog, a shop, and a booking system built in.
Who is doing the work. A freelancer working alone will typically charge less than an agency with a full team, though this does not automatically mean one is better than the other. It simply means you are paying for a different level of support and capacity.
Ongoing costs. The upfront cost is not the whole story. Most websites also need hosting, which is the service that keeps your website online, along with regular updates and maintenance. This typically costs anywhere from £10 to £50 per month, depending on what is included.
Questions worth asking before you commit
Before agreeing to work with anyone, it is worth asking a few simple questions to understand exactly what you are paying for.
Does the price include hosting, or is that a separate ongoing cost. Will I own the website outright, or does it belong to the agency. How many rounds of changes are included before extra charges apply. What happens if I want to make changes myself after the website is finished. Is search engine optimisation included, or is that an extra cost.
None of these questions should make a reputable agency or freelancer uncomfortable. If anything, a clear and honest answer to each of these is a good sign that you are dealing with someone trustworthy.
Is the cheapest option ever the right choice?
Sometimes, yes. If you are a brand new business with very little budget and you simply need something online quickly, a low cost website can be a perfectly sensible starting point. The mistake is assuming it will last forever, or expecting it to perform in the same way as a properly built website designed around your specific business.
The right amount to spend is whatever makes sense for where your business is right now, balanced against what you realistically expect that website to do for you over the next few years.
The bottom line
There is no single correct price for a website, because there is no single correct website. What matters is understanding what you are actually paying for, what is included in the ongoing costs, and whether the price reflects the level of work your business genuinely needs.
If you are weighing up your own options and would like an honest, straightforward answer rather than a sales pitch, we are always happy to talk it through with you.