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Ask three web designers to quote for the same business website and you can get £800, £4,000 and £12,000. This guide explains where that gap comes from, how long a build usually takes, who should own the domain and code, and how to compare quotes before you sign.
Updated: 30 October 2026. Prices are market guides, not quotes; a real figure depends on your scope.
How much does a business website cost in the UK?
Most of the difference between quotes is not about price, it is about what the price includes. These are four different products that all get called “a website”:
| Route | Who it suits | Typical cost | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website builder (Wix, Squarespace) or an AI builder | A few pages that need to go live quickly | Monthly subscription | The site lives on the platform; moving it later is hard, and it stops when the subscription does. |
| Freelancer using a ready-made theme | A standard brochure site on a tight budget | £1,000–£3,000 for a small business site | Theme and plugin licences, updates and who supports the site afterwards should be in writing. |
| Agency or senior developer, designed around your business | Companies that need the site to explain them properly, be found in Google and last several years | £2,000–£7,000 for a small business site; more for custom functionality | Design, content entry, migration and SEO responsibilities should be listed separately. |
| Ecommerce site | Businesses selling online | £2,000–£5,000 freelance; £5,000–£15,000 agency | Payments, shipping rules and stock or accounting integrations move the price most. |
Source: Bark, Website Design Prices 2026. For store projects, see the more detailed WooCommerce development cost guide.
What actually drives the price
- Design: recolouring a template and designing pages around your services are different jobs.
- Templates and page types: five pages is not the same as services, case studies, locations and a blog, each with its own layout.
- Content: who writes the copy and sources the images? It is often missing from quotes and becomes a surprise later.
- Migration: keeping the Google value of your existing pages needs a URL map and redirects.
- Integrations: booking, CRM, payment, stock or accounting connections change the scope noticeably.
- Languages: each extra language is its own content and its own SEO work.
How long does it take to build a website?
A focused business website usually launches 3–6 weeks after the scope is approved, provided the content and design decisions are ready. Ecommerce and integration-heavy projects often take 4–8 weeks or longer. In practice, the biggest delays are rarely the build itself; they are copy, images and approvals arriving late.
Which kind of website do you need?
| Your goal | Type of site | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Explain your business and win enquiries | Business website | Custom WordPress development |
| Sell products online | Ecommerce site | WooCommerce development |
| Reach buyers in other countries | Multilingual site | Multilingual WordPress development |
| Fix or look after an existing site | Care or a focused repair | WordPress maintenance |
Who should own the domain, hosting and code?
One complaint comes up again and again on small business forums: the designer stopped replying and kept the domain or the admin login. Before signing, make sure:
- the domain is registered in your name, in your own registrar account;
- you own the hosting account and give the developer access, not the other way round;
- you hold the main WordPress administrator account;
- the source code of any custom theme or plugin is handed over at launch;
- paid theme and plugin licences are recorded, with whose name they are in.
10 questions to ask before you accept a quote
- Is the design a template or made for us?
If it is a template, ask which one and who holds the licence.
- Which pages and sections are included?
Ask for the page list in the quote.
- Who writes the copy and supplies the images?
Is content entry included or charged separately?
- Can we update the site ourselves?
Ask which parts your team can edit without code.
- Can we review it before launch?
A staging site lets you check mobile and desktop before anything goes live.
- Is it ready for Google?
Page titles, sitemap, speed and redirects from your old URLs should be in scope.
- Whose name are the domain, hosting and code in?
Use the ownership list above.
- How many rounds of changes are included?
Find out when changes start to cost extra.
- Who supports the site after launch?
Updates, backups and fixes are usually a separate monthly plan.
- What is the total yearly cost?
Include hosting, domain renewal and licences, not just the build.
Is an AI website builder enough?
AI builders can produce a draft site in minutes, and for a personal page or a short campaign that may be enough. For a company site you will rely on for years, the hard part comes after the draft: accurate content, the technical foundations Google needs, forms and integrations that work, and the ability to move the site elsewhere. We looked at this in more detail in Are AI website builders SEO-friendly?
What working with me looks like
- You share the brief.
Your current site if you have one, examples you like, a budget range and a target date are enough.
- You receive a written proposal.
Pages, functionality, timeline, a fixed price in GBP and what is out of scope.
- You review on staging.
The site is built on a private address first; nothing goes live without your approval.
- Launch and handover.
Code, admin access and notes are handed over. WordPress care plans start at £120 per month if you want ongoing support.
You work directly with the developer building the site, with no account manager in between. I am based in Istanbul and work with UK businesses remotely, with calls and launch windows agreed around UK working hours. If you are hiring for a defined piece of work rather than a whole site, see Hire a WordPress developer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum budget for a professional business website?
Bark puts a freelance small business site at £1,000–£3,000. Below that you are usually looking at a template with little or no design, content or SEO work. Share your budget and I will tell you honestly what is realistic for it.
What are the ongoing costs after launch?
Domain and hosting renew every year, and paid themes or plugins have licence renewals. Keeping WordPress updated, backed up and monitored is optional but sensible; my WordPress care plans start at £120 per month.
Is a freelancer or an agency better?
An agency gives you a team and usually a higher price; a freelancer gives you one person and usually a lower one. What matters more is whether the person building the site is the person you talk to, and whether ownership, scope and support are written down.
Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?
It can if pages and URLs disappear. A safe redesign maps existing URLs, redirects anything that changes and monitors Search Console after launch. Nobody can guarantee rankings, but skipping these steps almost guarantees a drop.
Can I update the website myself?
Yes. I build sites so your team can edit text, images, services and case studies without code, and walk you through it at handover.
Bu rehberin Türkçesi: Web sitesi yaptırmak: fiyat, süre ve dikkat edilecekler.
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Maksut Maksutoğlu
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