It's usually the first question anyone asks about a website, and the most frustrating one to get a straight answer to. Ask three web designers and you'll get three very different figures, and it's hard to tell whether the cheap one is a bargain or a mistake.
I'm not going to give you a price list here. Prices change, every business is different, and a figure in an article tends to be read as a quote. What I can do, after more than a decade building websites for independent businesses, is explain what you're actually paying for, the main routes and their trade-offs, the costs people forget, and the questions that protect you before you sign anything. By the end you should be able to compare quotes properly, which is worth far more than an average.
What you're really paying for
A website isn't one thing. When you compare quotes, you're comparing different bundles of these:
- Time spent understanding your business. Who your customers are, what they search for, and what makes them choose you. This is the part cheap options skip.
- Words. Someone has to write a page for each service in your customers' language. If you write it all yourself, that's your time.
- Design and build. How it looks, how it works on a phone, and how quickly it loads.
- Being found. Page titles, structured information for search engines (schema), and making sure Google and things like ChatGPT can read every important word.
- Photos. Your own, a photographer's, or stock.
- Ongoing care. Hosting, security, updates, backups and small changes after launch.
Two quotes can look miles apart simply because one includes the words, the search setup and a year of care, and the other is a design on its own.
What drives the cost up or down
The biggest factors are:
- How many pages. A five page site for a cafe and a forty page site for a multi-service clinic are different jobs.
- Who writes the content. Writing every service page well takes real time.
- Booking, payments or a shop. Connecting a booking system is usually simple. Selling products online adds a lot more.
- Moving from an old site. If your current site has been on Google for years, a careful move keeps that history. Google's own guidance on moving a site recommends permanent (301) redirects from the old addresses to the new ones, and setting those up properly takes care.
- Custom features. Anything bespoke, like a quote calculator or a members' area, costs more to build and to maintain.
The main routes, honestly
Do it yourself on a website builder
Builders like Wix, Squarespace and others let you make a site yourself for a monthly subscription. This can be a sensible start if you have time, an eye for design and a clear idea of what to say.
The hidden cost is your time, and the result depends entirely on what you put in. Before you start, check what happens if you want to leave: can you take the site itself with you, or only your words and photos?
A freelancer
A good freelance designer gives you one person who knows your business, often for less than an agency. The risk is variety: some are excellent, some are mainly designers who don't think about being found on Google. Look at sites they've built for businesses like yours, and search for those businesses to see if they actually show up.
An agency
An agency brings a team, which suits bigger projects with lots of moving parts. You'll usually pay for that team and for account management. For a small local business, it can be more than you need.
Pay monthly
Some designers and companies offer a website for a monthly fee, sometimes with a small upfront cost. This spreads the cost and usually includes hosting and some changes. Read the terms carefully: how long the minimum term is, what's included each month, and, most importantly, what happens to your site and your domain if you leave.
The ongoing costs people forget
Whichever route you choose, a website has running costs. Make sure every quote is clear about who pays for:
- Your domain name, renewed every year or every few years.
- Hosting, where the site lives.
- Email on your own domain, if you want it.
- Booking or shop software, which often has its own subscription.
- Small changes, like new prices, hours or photos, and how quickly they're done.
- Security updates and backups, especially on WordPress sites with plugins.
- New content, if you want to keep showing up for more searches over time.
A cheap build with expensive or slow changes can cost more over a few years than a fairer price with care included.
Who owns the site and the domain?
This is the question I'd most want every business owner to ask, because getting it wrong is painful.
The domain name (yourbusiness.co.uk) should be registered in your business's name, not the designer's. If a designer registers it in their own name and you later fall out or they disappear, getting it back can be hard. Ask them to show you whose name it's registered in, and make sure you can log in to the account it's held in, or at least get the details to move it.
The website itself is less straightforward. On a builder or a pay monthly plan, you may be renting it. Ask in writing: if I stop paying, do I keep the site, a copy of it, or nothing? On the sites I build, the agreement says plainly what's yours to keep, and I'd encourage you to expect the same clarity from anyone.
Your accounts. Your Google Business Profile, analytics and booking system should be in your name, with your designer added as a manager, never the other way round.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly is included, page by page?
- Who writes the words, and do I get to approve them?
- How will people find the site on Google, and on things like ChatGPT?
- Will it work quickly on a phone? Google uses the mobile version of a site's content for indexing and ranking.
- If I already have a site, how will you keep my Google history when we move?
- What are the ongoing costs, and what do they cover?
- How do I ask for changes, and how quickly are they done?
- Whose name is the domain registered in, and do I own the site if I leave?
- Can I see two or three sites you've built for businesses like mine, and are they found on Google?
So how much should I spend?
The honest answer is: enough to get a site that brings you customers, and no more. A website that looks lovely but never gets found is the expensive one, whatever it cost. Think about what one new regular customer is worth to you over a year, and judge quotes against how likely they are to bring you more of those.
If you're not sure whether you need a website at all yet, I've written about whether you need one if you already have Instagram or Facebook.
If you'd like to talk through what makes sense for your business, I'm happy to, with no pressure. You can see the ways I work with people, or book 15 minutes here:
Frequently asked questions
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because they include different things. One quote may cover writing every page, setting up for Google and a year of care, while another is the design only. Compare what's included, not just the total.
Is a pay monthly website a good idea?
It can be, as it spreads the cost and usually includes hosting and changes. Check the minimum term, what's included each month, and in writing what happens to your site and domain if you leave.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
Typically your domain renewal, hosting, any email or booking software, security and backups, and changes or new content. Ask every designer to list who pays for each.
Should my web designer own my domain name?
No. Your domain should be registered in your business's name so you keep control of it whatever happens. Your designer can manage it on your behalf.
Is it cheaper to build a website myself?
In money, usually yes. In time, usually not, and the result depends on how much you know about design, writing and search. It suits some owners well and others not at all.
Sources
Checked on 7 October 2026.