Ask a few people what a small business website costs and you’ll hear very different numbers. Most of that gap comes from a handful of choices. Know them, and a quote will make sense when it arrives.
Start with what the site has to do
Price tables online rarely agree, because a website isn’t one product. A five-page site that brings in enquiries is a different job from a shop with hundreds of products.
Before you compare prices, write down what the site needs to do and who it’s for. A few honest answers in a brief will get you most of the way. It also helps to give your homepage a clear job. Once everyone quoting is pricing the same job, the numbers become easy to compare.
Count the pages, and what goes on them
Page count matters, and so does how different the pages are. Ten pages that share a couple of layouts can take less design time than five that each need their own. A page with a gallery, a form or a price list takes more work than a page of text.
List the pages you think you need and mark the ones that are similar. That list alone will make a quote more accurate.
Decide who writes the words and takes the photos
Content is often the part people forget to budget for. With copy and photos ready, the design and build can move quickly. When someone still has to write them, or a photographer has to shoot them, that adds time or cost.
My example budgets assume you supply the content, and I price photography on its own. Ask anyone quoting you how they treat content, because it changes the number.
Check whether the brand is ready
A designer can build a site around an existing logo, colours and type. If those aren’t settled yet, the brand work either happens first or becomes part of the website project.
You can see it in the price. On my services page, a five-page website for an existing brand has an example budget of £7,000 and takes around 4 to 6 weeks. A new identity and website, developed as one project, has an example budget of £15,000 and takes around 6 to 8 weeks. Both figures are illustrative, not fixed quotes. If you’re not sure whether you need new brand work, this note on logos and clearer brands may help.
Choose the platform to fit the job
The platform affects the build cost and the running cost. Website builders charge a monthly subscription. At the time of writing (2 November 2026), Squarespace lists its Basic plan at £14.40 a month paid annually, or £19.20 paid monthly, including estimated VAT. Shopify lists its Basic plan at £19 a month paid yearly, or £25 paid monthly.
Those subscriptions pay for the platform. Design, content and your time come on top. I’ve written about picking the platform for your website last, once you know what the site needs to do.
Add up the integrations and the shop
Every connection to another system needs setting up and testing. Bookings, payments, a newsletter, a customer database or stock control can each add to the scope.
An online shop adds the most. Someone has to load the products, test the checkout and look after orders. That’s why ecommerce sits outside the example budgets on my services page.
Budget for the years after launch
A website keeps costing money after launch. It needs hosting, a domain renewed every year, software updates, backups and the odd change.
On a website builder, the subscription covers most of that. Squarespace says hosting is included in all its plans, and its annual plans add a free domain for the first year, which then renews at the standard rate. With self-hosted WordPress, someone has to look after hosting, updates and backups. That might be you, your developer or a managed hosting provider. Whichever route you take, keep the domain registered to you or your business.
Compare DIY, freelancer and studio fairly
A DIY builder usually costs the least in cash and takes the most of your own time. It can be a sensible place to start if the site is simple and you enjoy the work.
Freelancers and studios charge for the build, and their prices vary a lot. What each price includes tells you more than the number. Does it cover planning the content? Design as well as build? How many review rounds? What happens after launch?
Before I start a project, we agree the deliverables, review rounds, fee and schedule in writing. Ask anyone else you’re considering to put the same in writing. Check whether VAT is included, too.
Work out a sensible starting point
A builder and an afternoon are enough for some businesses right now. If the site is how most customers find you, it’s worth investing properly. Either way, decide what the site has to do, then set the budget around it.
For a sense of scale, look at my example budgets. Then tell me a little about the project and we’ll work out where it’s likely to land.