How much does a website cost? An honest breakdown

The short answer

In the UK, a professional website runs from a few hundred pounds for something small and focused, up to many thousands for a bespoke build with custom functionality. Most small-business sites land somewhere between £1,000 and £6,000. Anything advertised at £99 is almost always a template with your logo dropped in — and you usually pay for it later in performance, support and a rebuild.

What you're actually paying for

A price only makes sense once you know what's inside it. A real website quote is buying you:

• Strategy and structure — working out what the site needs to do before anyone designs it.
• Design — a layout built around your business, not a theme everyone else is using.
• Development — the actual build: fast, accessible, secure and easy to change later.
• Content help — shaping the words and images so the pages convert, not just exist.
• The invisible 40% — performance, SEO foundations, security and testing that you never see but Google and your customers feel.

The price bands, explained

Starter (from ~£300–£1,500). A focused, properly built site — a handful of core pages, mobile-first, fast, with a contact form and SEO basics. Right when you need a credible presence and a way to be found, fast.

Growth (from ~£2,500). For businesses that need more than a brochure: a larger page set, a CMS so you can edit it yourself, integrations (CRM, email, analytics) and a structure designed to convert visitors into enquiries.

Bespoke (from ~£6,000+). Custom platforms, web apps, ecommerce and large builds with their own functionality and integrations. Priced on scope — this is the band where "it depends" genuinely does.

What moves the price up (and down)

• Number of pages and templates — ten unique page designs cost more than three.
• Functionality — a brochure site is far cheaper than booking, payments, logins or a custom dashboard.
• Content — if you supply copy and images, you save; if we write and source them, that's real work.
• A CMS — letting you self-edit adds a little up front and saves a lot later.
• Rescue work — fixing or migrating a tangled existing site can cost more than starting clean.

Where the money gets wasted

• Paying for a "rebrand" that's really just a new theme.
• Buying features you'll never use because they were in a package.
• A cheap build that's slow and insecure, then paying again to rebuild it in eighteen months.
• Monthly "website builder" fees that, over three years, cost more than owning a proper site outright.

How to brief it so you don't overpay

• Lead with the goal ("more enquiries", "sell online"), not a page count.
• Say what success looks like in six months — it changes what should be built.
• Be honest about content: do you have it, or do you need help?
• Ask every quote what's not included — that's where surprises live.
• Ask what happens after launch: support, ownership of the code, and whether you can edit it yourself.

A good partner will give you an honest starting point quickly, then a fixed price once they understand the project — not a number designed to anchor you. If a quote can't be explained line by line, that's your answer.