Guide · 6 min read
How much does a website cost in 2026?
The honest answer to the question every small business asks first, with real prices, what pushes them up or down, and what you’ll pay once the site is live.
By John Bell, freelance web and graphic designer in Birmingham ·
The three ways to get a website
Most small businesses choose between doing it themselves, hiring a freelancer or hiring an agency. Each has its place.
| Option | Typical cost | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Website builder (Wix, Squarespace) | £10–£40 a month, plus your time | Testing an idea on a tight budget, if you enjoy doing it yourself |
| Freelance web designer | £500–£3,000 | Most small businesses: a proper site, one person from start to finish |
| Agency | £3,000–£15,000+ | Larger firms needing a team, complex systems or ongoing campaigns |
Website builders look cheap, but the monthly fee never stops, and the real cost is the evenings you spend on it. A freelancer usually costs less than an agency because there’s no account manager or office to pay for. You speak to the person who actually designs and builds your site.
What I charge
These are my starting prices. Every project gets a fixed quote after a quick chat, so you know the full price before anything starts.
| Website | From | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Small website | £500 | A one-page shop window: who you are, what you do and how to get in touch |
| Medium website | £900 | Five pages or more: services, about, work, contact |
| Large website | £1,500 | Ten pages or more, with an editor so you can change it yourself |
| Small online shop | £1,800 | A Shopify shop with product pages, payments and delivery set up |
| Logo + small website | £700 | Both together, saving £100 |
Extra pages are £100 each. Search pages for your main services and towns are included, and so are two rounds of amends.
What makes a website cost more
- Number of pages. Each page needs designing, writing and testing on phones.
- Who writes the words. If you supply the text and photos, it costs less. Writing it from scratch takes time.
- Editing it yourself. A site you can update needs an editor built in, which adds to the build.
- Bookings, forms and payments. Taking bookings or payments online adds set-up and testing.
- Selling products. Shops need product pages, stock, delivery and payments, so they start higher.
- Branding. If you don’t have a logo yet, it’s worth doing it alongside the site (see logo or website first?).
Running costs after launch
| Cost | Roughly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | £10–£20 a year | Your web address, registered in your name |
| Hosting | From £10 a month | Keeps the site online, fast and secure |
| Care plan | From £40 a month | Hosting, updates and changes when you need them |
| Shopify (shops only) | From around £25 a month | Plus card fees on each sale. Check Shopify’s current prices |
A simple one-page site with no back end needs almost no upkeep. When you need a change, I make it for you, quoted up front, or it’s included on a care plan.
Questions to ask any web designer
- Is the price fixed, and what exactly is included?
- How many rounds of changes do I get?
- Who owns the site and the domain once it’s paid for?
- What will I pay each month or year after launch?
- Will it work well on phones, and is it set up for Google?
Whoever you choose, you should get clear answers to all five before you pay a deposit.