Most UK small businesses pay between £3,000 and £6,000 for a professionally built website, and another £500–£2,000 a year for hosting, maintenance and updates. A freelancer brochure site costs less, an online shop costs more, and the extras most quotes leave out can add a third again.
The short answer
Most UK businesses pay £3,000 to £6,000 for a professionally built website, according to Whito’s 2026 UK pricing research, which aggregates published freelancer and agency rates. On top of that, hosting, maintenance and updates add £500 to £2,000 a year. The range is wide because “a website” covers everything from a five-page brochure to an online shop with stock control.
UK website prices by type (2026)
| Type of website | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Freelancer brochure site (about 5 pages) | £1,500 – £3,000 |
| Agency brochure site | £3,000 – £5,000 |
| Most professionally built small business sites | £3,000 – £6,000 |
| E-commerce site | £5,000 – £20,000+ |
| Hosting, maintenance and updates | £500 – £2,000 a year (about £50 – £200 a month) |
| Copywriting, if not included | £50 – £150 a page |
Source: Whito, Website design costs in the UK, data verified October 2026. Ranges are the most common outcomes, not guaranteed prices.
What pushes the price up
Five things decide where a quote lands. The number of pages and how different they are from each other. Whether the design is custom or adapted from a template. Any functionality beyond reading: online booking, payments, a members’ area or a shop. Who writes the words and takes the photos. And how much search optimisation is done at launch rather than promised for later. Booking and payments matter most for a local business, because they turn a visit into an appointment without a phone call.
The costs most quotes leave out
The build price is rarely the whole bill. Copywriting is often excluded, and Whito estimates that copywriting, photography and SEO together typically add 30% to 50% on top of the quoted design price. Then there is the second year: hosting, security updates, backups and the small changes every business needs (new prices, opening hours, a seasonal offer). If those edits are billed by the hour, a cheap build can become an expensive website.
One-off build or a monthly plan?
A one-off build means a large bill up front, then you own the site and pay separately for upkeep and changes. A monthly plan spreads the cost and bundles the upkeep, but you keep paying for as long as you want the service. On the figures above, a typical first year of a one-off build costs £3,500 to £8,000 (the build plus a year of upkeep).
Solquara’s Launch plan is £239 a month, or £2,268 a year billed annually, with the design, build, hosting, unlimited edits and Google Business Profile setup included and no setup fee. The website’s code becomes yours after six paid months. It is not the cheapest route in year one, and we would not claim it is; it is the route where the edits, the hosting and the booking setup are somebody else’s job.
What to ask before you pay anyone
- Who owns the code, the design and the domain, and what happens if you leave?
- What is included every month: hosting, backups, security, edits?
- How quickly are changes made, and are they billed by the hour?
- How fast does it load on a phone? Ask to see a live site they built.
- Can customers book or buy without calling?
- Is LocalBusiness structured data included, so Google can show your hours and phone number?
Already have a website? Run it through the free website leak auditor before you replace it: it checks speed, mobile setup, one-tap calling, online booking and local search markup, and lists the fixes in order. Sometimes the answer is a better page, not a new site.
Questions
How much does a basic website cost for a small business in the UK?
A basic five-page brochure site built by a freelancer typically costs £1,500–£3,000, and an agency-built brochure site £3,000–£5,000, according to Whito's 2026 UK pricing research. Do-it-yourself website builders cost less up front, but you supply the design, words and photos yourself.
How much does it cost to maintain a website per month in the UK?
Hosting, maintenance and updates typically add £500–£2,000 a year, or roughly £50–£200 a month, depending on how much ongoing work is included. Domain renewal and security monitoring are usually part of that figure; content changes and new pages often are not.
Is it cheaper to pay monthly for a website?
Not always over several years, but it removes the upfront bill and usually includes the upkeep. Compare the first-year total: a £3,000–£6,000 build plus £500–£2,000 of upkeep is £3,500–£8,000; Solquara's Launch plan is £2,868 a year monthly or £2,268 billed annually, with hosting, edits and local SEO included and no setup fee.
Sources
- Whito, Website design costs in the UK (19 October 2026). Aggregated from published UK freelancer and agency rates.
