If you’ve been searching for website pricing online, you’ve probably noticed that the answer tends to be some variation of “it depends.” Which is technically accurate, but not particularly helpful when you’re trying to work out what to budget.
So let’s do this properly. Here’s a straight breakdown of what a small business website costs in the UK in 2026, what drives that cost up or down, and how to make sure whatever you spend actually delivers a return.
The Short Answer
For a professionally built small business website in the UK, the typical range is:
- Basic brochure site (5–8 pages): £1,500 – £4,000
- Lead generation website (custom design, SEO foundations, conversion focus): £3,000 – £8,000
- E-commerce website (online shop, payment integration, product management): £5,000 – £20,000+
- Web or mobile application (bespoke functionality, user accounts, complex integrations): £10,000 – £50,000+
These figures are for professional builds — not DIY builders, not offshore teams with no UK accountability, and not template jobs dressed up as custom work.
Anything quoted significantly below these ranges should come with questions. Very cheap website builds almost always cut corners somewhere — usually on SEO foundations, mobile optimisation, performance, or support.
What Actually Drives the Cost?
Number of pages and complexity — A five-page brochure site takes considerably less time to design and build than a twenty-page service website with location-specific landing pages, a blog, and integrated booking functionality. More pages, more time, higher cost.
Custom design vs template — A template-based site is cheaper because much of the design work is already done. You’re essentially fitting your content into an existing framework. A custom design is built specifically for your brand, your audience, and your goals. Both can be done well; the difference is in how precisely the result fits your business.
E-commerce functionality — Adding a shop, integrating payment gateways, setting up product variants, managing stock levels, configuring shipping rules — this all takes significant additional development time. E-commerce sites are more complex than brochure sites even when they look relatively simple on the surface.
Platform choice — WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Squarespace — these all have different build complexities, ongoing costs, and long-term capabilities. The right platform depends on what your site needs to do and how much control you want over future updates.
SEO setup — A proper SEO foundation built into the site from the outset requires additional planning and work during the build phase. It’s well worth it, but it adds to the initial cost.
Photography and content — Some agencies include copywriting and photography sourcing in their fees; many don’t. If you’re supplying your own content, that’s one thing. If you need help with it, factor in additional cost.
The Hidden Ongoing Costs (Don’t Ignore These)
The build cost is only part of the picture. Here’s what you’ll also need to budget for once the site is live:
- Hosting: £10 – £100+ per month depending on the platform and traffic levels. Don’t go cheap here — slow hosting kills your site speed and your search rankings.
- Domain name: £10 – £50 per year for a standard .co.uk or .com.
- Maintenance and security updates: £50 – £300+ per month, or a one-off arrangement. Websites need ongoing attention.
- SSL certificate: Usually included in hosting, but worth confirming.
- Future design and content updates: Either included in a retainer, billed as ad-hoc work, or done by you if the platform supports easy editing.
For most small UK businesses, a realistic ongoing cost sits between £100 and £300 per month once you account for hosting, maintenance, and light updates.
Is It Worth It?
This is the question that actually matters.
A cheap website that doesn’t rank on Google, doesn’t convert visitors, and doesn’t represent your business credibly isn’t saving you money — it’s costing you customers. The real cost of a poor website is invisible; it shows up in enquiries that never came, clients who checked you out online and went elsewhere, and missed opportunities that you never knew existed.
A website is your most consistent marketing asset. Unlike a social media post that disappears in an algorithm, or an ad campaign that stops the moment you stop paying, a well-built website that ranks on Google keeps generating enquiries around the clock — long after the initial investment is made.
The right question isn’t “how little can I spend?” It’s “what do I need this website to do for my business, and what’s that worth?”
At Revv Consulting, we build websites for small businesses that are conversion-focused, properly built, and priced fairly.
Whether you need a straightforward business site, an e-commerce platform, or something more bespoke, we take you through the process from initial design in Figma (with your input throughout) to launch — typically within two to eight weeks. No surprise costs, no disappearing after handover.