It's the first thing most people search for, and it's the question most web designers dodge with vague answers about "it depends." So here's the straight version, based on 10+ years of building websites for small businesses.
The honest price ranges
A basic brochure website — 5 to 10 pages, contact form, mobile-friendly — costs between £500 and £2,500 from a competent freelancer. Agency prices for the same thing start around £3,000 and can go much higher.
A medium-sized site with more pages, a blog, event listings, or custom forms typically runs £1,500 to £5,000.
E-commerce — an online store with product pages, checkout, and payment processing — starts at around £2,500 to £3,000 for a solid build, and goes up depending on how many products you have and how complex the requirements are.
At the very bottom end (under £500), you're usually looking at a template with your name dropped in. It won't look like your business, it won't be built to rank in Google, and you'll likely outgrow it quickly.
What actually affects the price
The biggest factors are:
- Number of pages. More pages means more design, more content, more time.
- Custom design vs templates. A genuinely bespoke design takes longer than adapting an existing theme.
- Functionality. Contact forms are cheap. Booking systems, membership areas, and product configurators are not.
- Content. If you supply copy and images, the job is simpler. If you need those too, expect to pay more or supply them yourself.
- Platform choice. A static site (fast, secure, low maintenance) can cost less to build than a WordPress site with plugins that need managing.
Why cheap is often expensive
A £400 website that doesn't rank on Google, doesn't work properly on mobile, or needs rebuilding in two years isn't cheap. It's just deferred cost.
The sites that hurt businesses most are the ones that technically exist but don't do anything. No calls. No enquiries. Just a URL on a business card.
A website that costs £1,500 and consistently generates enquiries pays for itself quickly. One that costs £400 and sits there doing nothing has a negative return.
What to watch out for when getting quotes
Hourly rates. These are hard to budget against. You don't know what the final number will be. Fixed-price projects are safer — you know what you're paying before any work starts.
Ongoing fees buried in the contract. Some agencies charge low upfront but high monthly maintenance, or tie you into proprietary platforms where they control your site. Ask what happens if you want to move.
Vague deliverables. "A professional website" isn't a specification. Before signing anything, make sure you have a clear list of what's included: number of pages, features, revisions, who owns the code.
Offshore teams presented as local. Nothing wrong with offshore development in principle — but if you're paying for a local designer, you should be getting one.
What you should ask before hiring anyone
- Is this a fixed price? What's included?
- Who owns the website when it's done?
- Can I see examples of similar work you've done?
- Who will I be speaking to — you, or someone else?
- What's the process if something goes wrong after launch?
If you get straight answers to all of those, you're dealing with someone worth working with. If you get vague reassurances, keep looking.
I publish my prices on the services page. If you want to talk through what a site would cost for your specific business, get in touch — I'll give you a straight answer.