Quote a UK web project to ten different agencies and you'll get prices ranging from £500 to £50,000 for what looks like the same brief. The variation is real — different platforms, scopes, design depth and ongoing support. This guide explains what each tier actually delivers in 2026 and where the value sits for different business types.
Squarespace, Wix, WordPress.com, Webflow Starter. Subscriptions £15-£40/month including hosting. Suitable for service businesses needing 5-10 pages, a contact form and basic SEO.
Time investment for a non-designer: 30-60 hours from blank to launch. Quality bottleneck is design taste, not technical capability — templates make most businesses look nearly identical.
A skilled freelancer using WordPress, Webflow or Squarespace can deliver a custom-designed 8-15 page site in 4-8 weeks. Includes basic SEO setup, a CMS, and usually 1-2 rounds of revisions.
Suitable for established small businesses where the website actively generates leads or sales. The lower end (£1,500) typically uses a heavily customised template; the higher end gets a fully bespoke design.
Strategy + UX research + bespoke design + custom development + content support. 10-20 week timeline. Delivers a site significantly beyond template territory: integrated CRM, complex page templates, multilingual, accessibility audits.
Justified when website is a primary revenue driver (B2B SaaS, professional services billing £2k+/month per client, recognised brand). Below £30k MRR or revenue, agency cost is rarely recoupable inside 18 months.
Shopify ($29-$299/month) is the default for most UK SMBs — sub-£3,000 build with a freelancer for the basic store. Custom WooCommerce or Shopify Plus for £15k-£100k+.
Ongoing: theme licences ($200-$400 one-off), apps ($50-$300/month), payment processing fees (1.4-2.9% transaction), and the often-forgotten product photography (£500-£3,000 per shoot). Budget 15-25% of build cost annually for maintenance and growth.
Information architecture and copy: the highest-leverage spend most websites under-invest in. A clear value proposition and conversion path matters more than design polish.
SEO foundations: technical setup (sitemap, schema, fast hosting), keyword-mapped page structure, on-page optimisation. Easy to retrofit but easier to build in.
Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance is becoming a contractual requirement for B2B clients and a legal obligation for UK public-sector suppliers.
Often yes — £20-£50/month with a quality managed WordPress host beats agency-bundled hosting both on price and reliability.
Budget 15-25% of build cost annually for content updates, security, plugins and small features. Sites that aren't maintained decay within 18-24 months.
Yes for copy drafts and image generation. Not yet for design judgement or conversion strategy. AI helps the foot soldiers, not the architects.
Choosing between sole trader, limited company and LLP in 2026, plus VAT, business banking, insurance and a realistic startup costs checklist.
Read guideWhen UK businesses must register for VAT in 2026, voluntary registration trade-offs, Flat Rate vs Standard, Making Tax Digital and common pitfalls.
Read guidePlain-English guide to UK startup funding in 2026: bootstrapping, Start Up Loans, SEIS/EIS, angels, VC, grants and which suits which kind of business.
Read guide