"How much does a new website cost?" is the question we get most often from new clients.

The honest answer is: it depends. But that answer does not help you make a decision. So here is a more concrete breakdown.

The price levels, and what you actually get

Under £2,000: do it yourself Platforms like Wix, Squarespace and WordPress.com let you build a simple website yourself for a monthly subscription. This works well for very basic needs: business card sites, hobby projects and businesses that primarily sell through other channels.

The limitation is that you pay with time instead of money, customisation options are restricted and the result is rarely optimised for search or conversion.

£2,000–£8,000: freelancer or budget agency In this range you get a finished website, usually built on WordPress with a purchased theme. For many SMBs this is an acceptable starting point: if you know what you are buying.

The risk is that you may get a site that looks fine but is technically poor: slow, loaded with unnecessary plugins, difficult to edit and built without any content strategy. Always ask for examples of previous work and clarify who is actually doing the job.

£8,000–£25,000: professional agency Here the work begins to have a strategic component. A serious supplier will map the target audience, discuss content and structure, align design with the brand and ensure the site is technically solid.

For most SMBs with real growth ambitions, this is the right level. You are paying for expertise, not just hours.

Over £25,000: custom builds and complexity Large e-commerce systems, CRM and ERP integrations, client portals, booking systems and multilingual solutions for larger organisations. Necessary when the requirements are genuinely complex: overkill for most SMBs.

What are you actually paying for?

A website is not a product you order and receive. It is the result of a process, and the quality of that process determines the outcome.

A good supplier invests time in:

  • Understanding who your customers are and what they need
  • Structuring content so it moves visitors forward
  • Writing or advising on content that actually sells
  • Building a technical solution that is fast, secure and easy to maintain
  • Making sure the site is set up correctly for search from day one

A cheap solution skips these steps. The result may look fine in the screenshot the supplier sends you. That does not mean it works.

Questions to ask any supplier

Before signing anything, find out:

  • Who actually does the work? (Agencies that outsource to budget freelancers are common.)
  • Can I see examples of websites you have built for similar businesses?
  • What happens after launch: who owns the site, who maintains it?
  • Are domain, hosting and licences included, or billed separately?
  • What do updates and changes cost after delivery?

The most expensive website is the one that does not work

A £3,000 website that does not rank in Google, does not convert visitors and has not been updated in two years has cost you far more than you paid, in lost customers.

A £15,000 website that is built strategically, maintained and improved over time can generate far more than it costs.

Price is not the most important question. The most important question is: will this website help the business grow?

Want an honest assessment of what kind of website suits your business and what it should cost? Get in touch.