How much does a website cost for a small business in the UK?

It is one of the most Googled questions by small business owners and the honest answer is: it depends. But that is not very useful, so here is a proper breakdown of what you can expect to pay and what you actually get at each price point.

DIY website builders (£0 to £30 per month)

Wix, Squarespace and similar builders let you create a basic site yourself. The monthly cost is low but the hidden cost is your time, and the results are often generic. These tools are fine if you just need something online quickly, but they are not built to convert visitors into paying customers. You will also hit limitations fast if you want anything custom.

Freelancers (£300 to £800)

A junior freelancer can put together a decent-looking site at this price. The risk is quality and reliability. Timelines can slip, communication can be patchy and ongoing support is rarely included. At this budget, expect a template with your content dropped in rather than something built around your business.

Small agencies like CogoChat (£499 to £1,500)

This is where you start getting a properly designed site built around your goals. A good small agency will take the time to understand what your site needs to achieve, design something specific to your brand and make sure every page is working to bring in enquiries. You also get proper support after launch rather than being left to figure it out yourself.

Large agencies (£3,000 and above)

Big agencies come with big overheads. You are paying for account managers, project managers and layers of process on top of the actual work. For most small businesses this level of spend rarely translates into meaningfully better results. The size of the invoice does not always reflect the quality of what gets built.

What should you actually pay?

For most small businesses, somewhere between £499 and £1,500 is the right range for a well-designed, conversion-focused website. Add a monthly retainer of £100 to £300 if you want ongoing updates and marketing support. The most important thing is finding someone who understands what the site needs to do for your business, not just someone who can make it look nice.