Are you looking for a simple and clear answer about how much websites cost in 2026? You’re not alone. Prices of UK websites could be anywhere from £0 for a basic DIY site to over £4,000 for a more complex website.
This detailed guide clarifies the confusion. Learn the real costs, including hidden fees, and select the path that best suits your budget and goals.
Building Blocks Of A Website
There are several building blocks of a website that help a website to work properly.
Domain Name:
- The words that users type in a browser to search your website
- Purchased through domain registrars like Namecheap.com & Godaddy.com.
Web Hosting:
- Involves storing website files on a server.
- Types include shared, dedicated, and cloud hosting.
- Varies in cost and resource allocation depending on the site.
Site Security:
- Measures to protect against unauthorised access.
- Includes SSL certificates, firewalls, and regular updates.
- Crucial for user trust and search engine rankings.
Content:
- Information, media, and elements on the site.
- Encompasses text, images, videos, and more.
- High-quality, relevant content is key.
- Content management systems (CMS) aid in content creation and organisation.
How Much Does a Website Cost: Quick Overview
Knowing the average investment allows you to establish a realistic budget from day one. The three most popular ways to build a site in the UK are through WordPress, DIY website builders, and hiring a web design agency or freelancer. Here is the monthly cost overview:
| Route | Upfront Cost | Ongoing Monthly Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
|
DIY Website Builder (Wix, Shopify) |
£9 to £259 |
£9 to £259 |
Simple service websites, Startups, Portfolios and quick website launches |
|
Professional WordPress Website (Self-Hosted) |
£240 to 2,270+ |
£0 to £100+ |
Growing businesses, blogs and websites that have specific needs and require complete autonomy. |
|
Custom Web Design Agency |
£1,000 to £5,000 |
£100 to £3,500 |
Established businesses, complex e-commerce websites and bespoke platforms. |
Important Note: The payment structure for agencies and professional WordPress builds is usually a project fee upfront. The ongoing costs are for hosting and security updates. DIY website builder prices are, for the most part, subscription-based.
Let’s break down these options for you.
WordPress
WordPress is very popular among UK merchants looking to build a site for their businesses. More than 180 million sites worldwide use WordPress and it represents around 43% of all websites. It is an easy-to-use website builder as well as a content management system that anybody can use. It features thousands of themes, designs, & plugins to give you what you want.
WordPress offers different plans and features:
WordPress.com offers five different plans for its users. You can take a look at each of their prices and features and choose the plan that meets your website’s needs
Free Plan
Price: starting from £0
£0 plan offers:
- 1 GB of storage
- Various free themes are available
- Integration with Google Analytics
Best for: personal use or a personal blog
WordPress has a free plan that you can access without paying any money. Although the features are minimal, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. You can still use this plan for writing your blog or if you just want to get familiar with website building. Keep in mind that can upgrade to a paid plan at any time.
Personal Plan
Price: £3 per month, billed yearly
The personal plan offers:
- 6 GB of storage
- Custom domain
- SSL certificate
- Several free themes
- Unlimited email support
- Zero adds
- Ability to accept payments
Best for: a startup that is just starting, small-scale websites, or personal websites
Although the free plan is great, you cannot use it for your business if you want your website to function efficiently. You need to pay to get the best use of the services of WordPress. WordPress’ starter plan is good for small businesses. The plan is billed annually at £3.6 a month.
Premium Plan
Price: £7 per month, calculated yearly
The Premium Plan offers:
- 13 GB of storage
- You can live chat with experts from WordPress
- Premium design themes
- Customise styles for font, color
- Generate Ad revenue
- Video Press players that support video sharing
- Share posts across all social media platforms without stopping
Best for: freelancers, established SMEs, and businesses that want more control over their websites.
The premium plan of WordPress will cost you around £7 per month. It is a great upgrade from a personal plan, as it offers options to customise your website as you wish.
Business Plan
Price: £20 per month, calculated annually
The business plan offers:
This plan offers all the features that a personal plan offers with the add ons of the following
- 50 GB storage
- SFTP-SSH, WP-CLI Data Access
- Unlimited themes up to 55,000+
- Advance SEO tools
- Third-party access to WordPress plugins
- Backup for your website
Best for: Small to medium businesses that want to customise their sites and maintain a professional look.
The business plan is a great option for small to medium businesses that want consistent branding for their website while maintaining a professional look. You’ll pay £20 per month for this plan to gain complete control over your website.
Commerce Plan
Price: £36 per month, calculated yearly
The commerce plan offers:
You can get access to all the features that a personal and business plan offers, while also getting access to:
- Reports for sales insights
- Reports for inventory management
- 50 gigabytes of storage
- Accept payments in 60+ countries
Best for: Online stores
This plan allows you to make a completely functional online store that can accept payments from 60+ countries. The Commerce plan is quite suitable for businesses looking to sell products or services online.
Overview of WordPress plans
| WordPress.com Plans | Monthly Price (Billed Yearly) | Best For |
|---|---|---|
|
Free |
Free |
Personal Use |
|
Personal |
£3 |
Personal Use |
|
Premium |
£7 |
Freelancers |
|
Business |
£20 |
Small businesses |
|
Commerce |
£36 |
Online stores |
*These prices are based on the exchange rate as of December 2025
Compare Quotes From Professional Web Designers
DIY Web Builders
Website builders could be one of the feasible options if you are looking to get your website made. There are specialised DIY website site builders like Wix, and Shopify that you can use to build your website. We have included details of both of these website builders below.
1. Shopify
Shopify has a well-earned reputation and users show trust in their website builder.
Pricing plans that Shopify offers:
Shopify has 4 pricing plans. They all have different features so you take a look at each of them and just decide what works best for you.
Shopify Starter – Shopify starter plan starts from £5 per month. It’s great for beginners or people who just wanna get familiar with how a website works. It’s also suitable for non-tech-savvy people who are not familiar with the basics of coding or designing.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
Basic Shopify – this plan costs £19 per month and it is billed annually. We recommend that small businesses go for this plan. Aside from small businesses, local SMEs with low sales per month can benefit from this plan too, as it offers all the basic and necessary features.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
Shopify Plan –you need to pay £49 per month to access this plan. This plan is most beneficial for established small to medium businesses, or those who want to grow in international online business. This Shopify plan gives you access to more powerful reporting tools. With the Shopify plan, you can create specific domains for each country where you want to improve your international SEO.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
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Advanced Shopify – as the name suggests, this plan is suitable for large enterprises with a well-established customer base and various international locations. To meet the features, the price is also high, starting at £259 per month. Since this plan is for established enterprises that process orders in a high volume, Shopify offers lower fees for credit card transactions. You can get access to a custom report builder and third-party calculated shipping rates to make the checkout process easier for your international customers.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
2. Wix
Wix is also among the popular website builders in the UK market. The platform is liked by many because it includes more than 900+ templates that are easily customisable. You don’t need to know the basics of coding or designing to use this website.
The best Wix plan for you comes down to what your site is trying to achieve. Here is a close look at all Wix plans to help you make the best decision:
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Key Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Light |
£9 |
|
Personal Projects |
|
Core |
£16 |
|
SMEs |
|
Business |
£25 |
|
Businesses |
|
Business Elite |
£119 |
|
High-value businesses with high-volume sales |
Wix Light Plan
Price: £9 per month
The Wix light plan offers:
- Free domain for a year
- 2 gigabytes of storage
- Upto 5 hours of video uploads
- A professionally made logo
- one-year subscription to two apps – events calendar and site booster
Wix Core Plan
One step up is Wix’s ‘Core’ plan.
For £16 per month, it includes everything offered by the Light plan, along with extra storage space – 50 GB overall, and up to five hours of video – and a free professionally made logo.
The plan also includes a free one-year subscription to two integrated apps: Events Calendar and Site Booster.
Wix Business Plan
Price: £25 per month
The Wix business plan offers:
This plan includes all the features offered by the core plan, with additional:
- 100 gigabytes of storage space
- 10 hours of video content
This plan is best for established SMEs since it just offers additional storage space and video content hours. If your website includes a lot of visual content and you need a pricing plan to accommodate that, then this plan might be the one for you.
Wix Business Elite Plan
Price: £119 per month
The Wix business elite plan offers:
- Ability to create customised website reports
- Unlimited storage space for video content and other media
- Access to a review collation tool
- Allows up to 3,000 product reviews
The Business Elite plan is quite expensive compared to other Wix plans. But this package does justice to the price, as it includes a combination of features that are particularly useful for larger e-commerce businesses.
Additional costs: If you need to buy a domain, professional email, or want a better analytics dashboard in Wix, that may cost you extra.
Wix All Plans:
| Plan | Light | Core | Business | Business Elite | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Monthly Price |
£9 |
£16 |
£25 |
£119 |
Must contact for a quote |
|
Storage |
2GB |
50GB |
100GB |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
|
Custom Domain, No Ads, Free SSL Certificate |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
£75 Ad Vouchers |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Automated Sales Tax |
- |
- |
100 transactions per month |
500 transactions per month |
Unlimited |
|
Abandoned Cart Recovery |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Loyalty Program |
- |
- |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Logo Creation |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Customer Support |
Available 24/7 |
Available 24/7 |
Available 24/7 |
Priority support |
Priority support |
Web Designer
Another option is to hire a web design freelancer or an agency. This option is recommended if you want to build a website with customised and advanced features and functionality.
The costs are decided by the designer’s hourly rate. Learn more about How Much Do Freelance Web Designers Charge? When you reach out to a web designer or an agency, let them know your website requirements and ask them about their hourly rates. Then they’ll reach out to you and provide you with a quote for building your website.
The cost of web design is also influenced by several other factors, such as the website’s style, size, and functionality features. Make sure you discuss the services provided by the agency because the final costs can range from a few hundred to several thousand pounds, depending on them. You can also learn about the Cheapest Way to Make a Website in the UK.
A lot of times, website designers or agencies allow you to pay the amount in installments rather than per month. If you want to pay in installments, you can discuss that with your provider to see if they accommodate your request.
Here are some rough estimates of web design costs based on the size of the business :
| Business Size | Cost Range |
|---|---|
|
Simple websites for SMEs |
£500 to £5,000 |
|
Websites with more complex features |
£5,000 to £25,000 |
|
Large websites with bespoke features & high-security |
£25,000 to £42,000+ |
Why UK Businesses Need To Know The Cost Of A Website
The final cost of the website depends on your requirements. The cost will increase as you add more special features. Here are 5 fundamental core factors; understanding them will help you create a budget and set the stage for clear communication between you and your possible website developer:
Website Type And Purpose
The type of website you are building directly impacts the cost. An online brochure for a local service will cost a small fraction of money as compared to a multi-vendor marketplace website. A complicated website requires a strong architectural base, as well as superior security protocols and features that can drive up the website development time and cost.
Design Complexity And Customisation
A pre-design template keeps costs down. However, a 100% custom design, the one that’s built from the ground up to look and feel like your brand, will need quite a bit more investment.
This process includes detailed user experience (UX) planning, custom graphic design, multiple rounds of design revisions, and rigorous development work, all of which are required to transform the concept from an idea into a web-ready product.
Number Of Pages And Quantity Of Content
Adding a few extra pages will, of course, not add an exorbitant amount to the standard website design cost, but adding multiple new pages, let’s say 20 additional pages, will definitely increase the cost. For a more precise cost breakdown, see our guides on 4-page and 5-page website costs.
Furthermore, people tend to forget the cost of professional content. Copywriting, videography, photography and graphic design are all calculated separately and can usually reach the same cost as the technical build.
Functionality And Integration
Features such as contact forms and lead magnets are necessary for any website. However, adding complex features, like customer login areas, online booking systems, live inventory management, or custom calculators, will increase the overall cost of your website. Adding complicated features requires planning, development, and quality assurance.
Moreover, integrating your website with third-party tools, such as CRM or accounting software, through APIs adds another level of complexity and additional costs to your website.
SEO, Hosting And Ongoing Maintenance
A simple website package might only offer basic on-page SEO. However, core SEO infrastructure, including technical audits, advanced keyword strategies, schema markup, and core web vitality optimisation, all require professional assistance, and it’s not just a regular service; it comes with a premium price.
What Determines The Cost Of A Website In The UK?
Your website is your digital shopfront, so it’s an investment, not a mere expense. For UK SMEs, it’s crucial to budget correctly for three main reasons:
- Avoid Financial Surprises: Know what to expect, from build costs to monthly ongoing maintenance, so you can budget accordingly and avoid surprise fees which disrupt finances.
- Smart Investment: When you know the difference between a cheap DIY builder and a custom agency, then you can invest in the right solution. You don’t overpay for features you don’t need, and you don’t underinvest in a platform that can’t scale with your business.
- Guarantees ROI and Competitive Advantage: A well-budgeted website gets results. It’s fast loading and mobile responsive, and it grows credibility, which feeds into search ranks and onsite conversion rates. A high-quality online presence isn’t just a nice-to-have in today’s market: it’s your minimum requirement for growth.
Setting the budget right from the start ensures your cash flow is protected and sets your business up to succeed in its digital ventures long term.
ComparedBusiness Can Help You Build A Website
ComparedBusiness can help you select the best web design providers in the UK. Just submit your requirements in less than 2-mins and we will get back to you with quotes from top web design service providers in the UK. You can pick and choose the best option.
FAQs
While there are free website builders, a professional, feature-rich site often requires some investment. In any case, building a website requires purchasing a domain name and hosting along with basic security and all three of these may cost you money.
The availability of different features affects the cost of building a website. The more advanced these features are, the more expensive the costs are. Also, keep in mind that the type of site affects the overall cost too. Blogging websites are less expensive than websites for online stores. If an online store of a website is international, it’ll be more expensive than a local online store. Now that you have gotten an idea, you can see how these features differ with different prices.
WordPress is a popular and versatile choice, but the best choice for you depends on your specific business needs, e.g. the level of security and functionality you need, how many pages will your site have, etc.
Hidden costs may include additional features, customisations, or post-launch support. If you are working with a developer, discuss these aspects with them to avoid any surprises in the billing process.
Request a detailed quote outlining all costs associated with your project. Clearly define the scope of work, discuss potential additional charges, and inquire about ongoing maintenance and support costs.
