How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
By Harry Norris, Aucta AI · Updated 26 October 2026
Published UK price guides for 2026 put a professionally built small business website at roughly £1,500 to £6,000: freelancers around £1,500 to £3,000, agencies around £3,000 to £5,000, and online shops from £5,000. Then add the running costs most quotes leave out: hosting, your domain and someone to make changes, often £500 or more a year.
On this page
Ask five web designers for a price and you will get five very different answers, because "a website" can mean anything from a one-page template to a full online shop. This guide gives you the typical UK ranges, shows the costs that come after launch, and lets you work out the real total over three years. We sell websites too, so you will see our price in the calculator, but every other option is there as well. If you want ours straight away, here is our small business website plan from £97 a month.
Typical UK website costs in 2026
These ranges come from several published UK price guides (linked at the bottom). Most are written by web companies, so treat them as a guide rather than fixed prices.
| What | Typical cost | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | £0 to £1,000 to set up, plus a monthly plan (Wix Core is £16 a month on annual billing) | Cheapest in money, most expensive in your time. |
| Freelancer, brochure site | £1,500 to £3,000 | Quality varies a lot. Check who looks after it afterwards. |
| Agency, brochure site | £3,000 to £5,000 | More process and people, priced accordingly. |
| Online shop | £5,000 to £20,000+ | Depends on products, payments and integrations. |
| Hosting | £50 to £300 a year | Often bundled into a care or maintenance plan. |
| .co.uk domain | £10 to £30 a year | Make sure it is registered in your business's name. |
| Maintenance and changes | £500 to £3,000 a year | The cost most quotes leave out. |
What a website really costs over three years
The build price is only part of it. These are example figures from published UK price guides; change any number to match the quotes you have.
DIY website builder
Wix Core on annual billing. Plus your own time to build and update it.
Freelancer, one-off build
Yearly: hosting, domain and someone to make changes.
Agency, one-off build
Yearly: hosting, domain and a maintenance plan.
Aucta £97 a month plan
Hosting and small updates included. Yours after 12 months.
What pushes the price up
- Online payments, bookings or logins. These take more building and more looking after.
- Copywriting and photography. One published guide puts these, plus SEO set-up, at 30 to 50% on top of the build quote.
- A bespoke design rather than an adapted template.
- Connections to your other systems, such as your booking diary, CRM or accounts.
- Charging by the page. Many quotes go up with every service or area page you add.
The costs that come after launch
The build is a one-off; the running costs never stop. Hosting and your domain are small, but changes are where the money goes: every new price, photo or opening time needs someone to update it, and a site that is never updated slowly stops bringing in work. When you compare quotes, ask what happens in year two, not just what it costs to launch. If one quote is monthly and another upfront, our guide to pay monthly versus a one-off build shows where the two cross over. And if you also want help getting found, here is what SEO costs a small business.
Questions to ask before you accept a quote
- What is included, and what will I be charged extra for?
- Who hosts it and looks after updates and security, and what does that cost each year?
- How much does a small change cost?
- Is the site set up to be found on Google and AI search, or is that extra?
- Do I own the site, and can I take it with me if I leave?
That last one matters more than most people realise. See do you actually own your website? for what to check.
We charge £97 a month because of how we build, not because we cut corners. AI does much of the heavy lifting in the build and every site is built on the same well-tested setup. That lets us spread the cost of a custom site over the first year with nothing upfront.
Over three years it is not the cheapest option in the calculator, and we would rather say so. What you get for it is a site built around your business, looked after every month, with no bill each time you need a change, and yours to keep after 12 months.
A custom website from £97 a month, yours to keep.
A custom website for £97 a month with nothing upfront: as many pages as you need, built to be found on Google and AI search, with hosting and small updates included. Yours to keep after 12 months.
Common questions
How much should a small business pay for a website in the UK?
Published UK price guides for 2026 put a professionally built small business site at roughly £1,500 to £6,000, with freelancers towards the lower end and agencies higher. Online shops cost more. On top of the build, budget for hosting, your domain and someone to make changes each year.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
Hosting, your domain name renewal, security and software updates, and changes to the site. Published guides put hosting at around £50 to £300 a year and a .co.uk domain at around £10 to £30, with maintenance anywhere from £500 to £3,000 a year depending on what is included.
Is a cheap website a false economy?
It can be. A cheap template site that nobody can find on Google costs you the enquiries it never brings in. But expensive does not guarantee results either. Judge a quote on what is included, who looks after it and whether it is built to be found.
Do website prices include VAT?
Often not. Many providers and website builders show prices before VAT, so add 20% if you are comparing against a VAT-inclusive quote, unless you can reclaim it.
How much does an Aucta website cost?
£97 a month with nothing upfront, including hosting, security, small monthly updates and a monthly report. Sites with bookings, payments or logins are £147 a month. Paying the first year upfront gets you 2 months free: £970, or £1,470 for Plus. After 12 months the site is yours, and you can stay on £97 Website Care, move to £47 hosting only, or take it with you.
Price ranges drawn from published UK guides, October 2026: