"How much does a website cost?" is one of those questions where the honest answer is "it depends," and the unhelpful answer is everywhere else on the internet. Here's the honest answer with the ranges spelled out, the things that actually move the price, and what you should expect at each level.
The headline numbers
| Approach | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY on Wix / Squarespace | £0–£400/year | Year one, side businesses, very simple needs |
| Freelancer / small studio | £1,500–£5,000 one-off | Most established small businesses |
| Mid-sized agency | £8,000–£25,000 | Larger budgets, complex builds, multi-stakeholder |
| Full custom build | £15,000–£60,000+ | Bespoke functionality, ecommerce at scale |
What drives the price within a band
Two quotes at the same level can vary 3× because of:
- Page count and content depth. A 4-page brochure site is a different job from a 15-page services site with case studies.
- Custom design vs template. Original branding work and custom layouts vs picking a template and recolouring it.
- Copywriting. "You provide the words" vs "we'll write your homepage."
- Photography. Stock images vs an on-site shoot.
- Integrations. CRM, booking, payments, multilingual, members area — every one adds work.
- SEO setup. Some quotes include real on-page SEO, schema, sitemap and analytics. Others quietly skip all of it.
- Post-launch support. What's included for the first 3, 6, 12 months?
What you actually get at each level
£0–£400 — DIY on a platform
A template you fill in, hosted on Wix/Squarespace. Looks reasonable on launch day. Hits a ceiling fast as you grow. Worth it for a brand-new business that needs to look real and isn't sure where it's going yet.
£1,500–£3,000 — Freelance "tidy small site"
4–8 pages, light customisation on top of a chosen template or design system, basic SEO done, contact form, hosting set up. Sweet spot for most service businesses. This is where Pagewright's starter projects land.
£3,000–£5,000 — Properly bespoke small business build
Original design, custom components, real strategy work, more pages, more thought given to lead generation and SEO from day one. The level you want if your website is a meaningful part of how you get customers.
£8,000+ — Agency or complex build
Multiple specialists, more stakeholder management, more polish. Worth it for larger budgets, more complex integrations, regulated industries or where brand work happens alongside the build.
Why "cheapest" is rarely cheapest
We've inherited a lot of £500 websites. They cost their owners more by year two than a £3,000 build would have, because:
- SEO was never set up, so the site brings in no traffic. Every customer is paid for.
- Speed and mobile were ignored. People bounce.
- The site can't be edited, or only by the original designer, who's hard to reach.
- Within two years it looks dated and a redesign starts from scratch.
It's the same logic as cheap shoes: fine if you wear them three times. Bad value if you wear them every day for three years.
Where to go next
The pillar for this whole topic is our complete guide to small business websites. If you want a real number for your specific project, our pricing page shows Pagewright's starting points and the contact page is where you ask for a quote.