It is the question everyone wants answered and almost nobody in our trade will answer plainly: what does a website actually cost? So here is the honest version, with no “it depends” hiding the number.
The short answer
For an independent UK business, a genuinely good website built by a professional typically lands somewhere between £2,000 and £10,000. A single, immaculate page sits at the lower end. A full site with bookings, a shop or anything that takes payment sits at the upper end. Anything dramatically cheaper is usually a template someone has spent an afternoon on; anything dramatically dearer usually has an agency’s glass office baked into the price.
What actually moves the price
- How many pages, and how much of it needs writing from scratch.
- Whether it just informs, or also does something — takes a booking, sells a product, collects a deposit.
- Whether photography is handled for you (it should be — your phone snaps won’t do your work justice).
- How much of the heavy lifting on Google and setup is included.
The costs people forget
A website is not a one-off the way a new sign is. It needs hosting, security updates and the occasional change. Reckon on £30–£50 a month for someone to keep it fast, safe and current. Be wary of anyone who won’t tell you that figure up front, or who locks you into a long contract to get it.
How to spot a fair quote
A fair quote is a fixed number you understand, for a clearly described piece of work, with the ongoing cost stated plainly and no penalty for leaving. “POA”, vague day rates and surprise retainers are the warning signs. You would never accept them from a builder; don’t accept them from a web person.
The right question isn’t “what’s the cheapest?” It’s “what will this earn back, and how quickly?” A good site for a busy local business usually pays for itself in a season.
If you’d like to see real numbers rather than ranges, our prices are simply written on the board — no “POA”, no meter running.
While you’re here