The short answer: a small business website has two costs, not one. There is the build fee, which in the UK can range from a few hundred pounds for a small site to several thousand for a large or custom build, and there are running costs for hosting, the domain name, maintenance and any ongoing content or SEO. To compare quotes fairly, add the build fee to everything you will pay in the first year.
This guide explains what each cost covers, what pushes the price up, what is often left out of a quote and how to work out the real first-year figure. It also explains where our own £499 website fits, and who it does not suit.
The two parts of website pricing
| Cost | How it is usually charged | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Build fee | One-off, often split into a deposit and a final payment | Planning, design, building the pages, writing the content (if included) and launching the site |
| Domain name | Yearly renewal | Your web address, such as yourbusiness.co.uk |
| Hosting | Monthly or yearly | The server space that keeps your website online |
| Maintenance and security | Monthly, yearly or per job | Backups, updates, security monitoring and fixing problems |
| Content and SEO | Monthly or per project | New articles, page improvements and work to help the site appear in search |
| Extras | One-off or monthly | Online booking, a shop, payment set-up, business email and integrations |
A quote that only shows the build fee is only showing you part of the price.
What a build fee usually covers
For a small business brochure website, the build fee normally pays for:
- A set number of pages, such as home, about, services and contact
- A design that works on phones, tablets and desktops
- A contact form and clear ways to get in touch
- Basic technical set-up so search engines can read the site
- Launching the site on your domain
What varies most between quotes is who writes the words. Some designers expect you to supply all the text and photos; others write it for you. Writing seven pages of clear, useful content takes time, and it is often the job that stalls a website project when the owner is left to do it.
What changes the price
- Number of pages. More services, locations or products usually means more pages to plan, write and build.
- Content writing. A quote that includes professionally written text will cost more than one that does not, but it saves you the work.
- Online booking or a shop. Taking appointments or payments online adds set-up, testing and often third-party fees.
- Custom design. A design built from scratch around a brand costs more than adapting a proven layout.
- Integrations. Connecting the site to booking platforms, CRMs or other systems adds work.
- Replacing an existing site. Moving content and your domain name across from an old website takes time.
The running costs that are easy to miss
Domain name
Your domain is renewed every year. Prices vary between registrars and domain endings, so check who registers it, who it is registered to and what the renewal costs. Make sure the domain is in your business’s name or under your control.
Hosting
Every website needs hosting. Some quotes include the first year free and then charge from year two, so ask what you will pay after any introductory period.
Backups, security and updates
Websites need regular backups, security monitoring and updates. The National Cyber Security Centre advises small organisations to back up the data they rely on, including their website, and to make sure they know how to restore it. Ask who does this for your site, how often and where the backups are kept.
Content and SEO
A website that never changes slowly falls behind. New articles, updated service pages and small improvements help customers and search engines understand what you do. That can be done by you, included in a monthly plan, or bought as a separate SEO service.
Business email
Email accounts on your domain are often a separate cost, either through your host or a provider such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
How to work out the real first-year cost
Use one simple sum for every quote:
Build fee + (monthly costs × 12) + yearly costs + any extras you know you need
For example, an illustrative quote of £600 for the build, with hosting at £20 a month and a £15 domain, comes to £855 in the first year: £600 + £240 + £15. If that quote does not include content writing or maintenance, add those too, or the value of your own time to do them.
Also check the minimum term. A low monthly price with a long contract, or a contract you cannot leave without losing the website, can cost more than it first appears.
Questions to ask before you accept a quote
- Who writes the content, and how many rounds of changes are included?
- Who owns the website and the domain once it is paid for?
- What does hosting cost after launch, and after any free period?
- Who takes backups, applies updates and fixes problems?
- Is there a minimum term, and what happens when it ends?
- What is not included, such as booking, a shop, email or the domain?
- Can I see websites you have built for similar businesses?
Where our £499 website fits
Our most popular package is built for businesses that need enquiries rather than online sales. It has two prices, and they always go together:
- £499 one-off build fee for a website of up to seven pages, designed for phones, tablets and desktops, with a contact form and enquiry buttons, a blog or news section, website text written for you and technical and on-page SEO foundations.
- £29.99 a month from go-live for hosting with weekly backups, security and performance monitoring, an SSL certificate, one written and published blog article a month, basic ongoing SEO and improvements, and Google Search Console and GA4 set-up. The plan has a twelve-month minimum term and then rolls monthly.
Using the sum above, the first year is the £499 build plus twelve monthly payments of £29.99. A domain name is not included, and online booking and shops are not part of this package.
It suits sole traders, start-ups and small firms that need a professional website, written for them, that they own once it is paid for. It does not suit businesses that need online booking or a shop from day one, or more than seven pages. For those, our £699, £899 and £1,249 packages add more pages, stronger SEO content and, on the £1,249 package, online booking or sales with payment set up and a tested checkout.
If you are comparing local quotes, our pages on web design in Belfast, Glasgow and Liverpool explain how the package works for businesses in those areas.
Common questions about website costs
Is a cheap website worth it?
It depends what is included. A low price can be fair for a small site if it still covers content, a working enquiry route, search set-up and someone looking after the site after launch. It is poor value if you are left to write everything, cannot update the site and nobody maintains it.
Can I build my own website instead?
Yes. DIY builders are a reasonable way to get online quickly, but you pay a subscription, you do the writing and set-up yourself, and moving the site elsewhere later can be difficult. If you already have one, our guide on whether to fix a DIY website or start again may help.
Do I have to pay monthly for a website?
Some running cost is unavoidable, because hosting and the domain have to be paid for. The real question is what the monthly fee includes and how long you are committed for.
Does SEO come with a new website?
Most professional builds include basic technical set-up, but that is not the same as an ongoing SEO campaign. Google’s own guidance says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, so be wary of any quote that promises one.
Get a clear price for your website
If the £499 website sounds like the right fit, see exactly what is included, or tell us about your business and one of the team will call you for a no-obligation chat. We will talk through which package fits, and what it costs, before you commit.
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