How much does a website cost for a small business? No matter how small your operation, a website is essential for any modern business. But how much should you budget for your business website costs? Written by Emma Ryan Reviewed by Ollie Simpson Updated on 5 September 2024 Our research When reviewing website builders, our expert team of writers and independent researchers focuses in on the most important factors for small business owners. We look at the range of templates and designs available to choose from; how easy it is to get started building your site and customising it; the help and support options available; the range of available plugins, apps and extensions; the ability to customise a mobile design, and above all, the value for money – including any hidden pricing, ongoing fees, and initial setup costs. Written and reviewed by: Emma Ryan Lead Writer Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive Startups.co.uk is reader supported – we may earn a commission from our recommendations, at no extra cost to you and without impacting our editorial impartiality. Based on our research, you can set up a professional-looking website with a website builder subscription for as little as £2.59 per month.Or, if you want something truly unique and made to your exact specifications, you could hire a web designer – costing you anything from hundreds to thousands of pounds in upfront costs – or use a CMS like WordPress for around £30 to £1,000 per year.These prices, however, are just estimates. The process of building a website is ripe with hidden and additional costs that I’ll break down and discuss in this article. This article will cover: How much does a website cost? Can I create a website for free? Website builders: from £2.59 per month WordPress: from £30+ per year Hiring a web designer: from £4,000+ upfront How much does it cost to maintain a website? Verdict: Should I use a website builder or a web designer? How much does a website cost?The cost of building a website will depend on how you create it, whether that’s using a website builder, WordPress, or hiring a website designer. It can cost anywhere from £2.59 per month to over £4,000 upfront. Plus, there are additional costs to consider, such as purchasing a domain name and plugins.Here’s a look at the typical costs involved with building a website: Comparing costs for building a website Website builder – from £2.59 per monthWordPress – from £30-£1,000 per yearHiring a web designer – typically over £4,000 upfront Can I create a website for free?Yes, you can – but I don’t recommend this option for small businesses looking to scale online. Plenty of website builders, such as Wix or GoDaddy, offer free plans, but these plans come with significant drawbacks.Although you would cut back on costs, free website builders are very limited in terms of the features you can use, and often splash ads across your site. You also can’t customise your domain name, which isn’t ideal as it can make your business look amateur and unprofessional. My free test website with Wix had a large ad banner at the top of the page. Source: Startups.co.ukUsing a free plan to test out a website builder before committing to a premium plan is fine, but it’s worth spending a little extra to unlock advanced features and remove ads. Website builders: from £2.59 per monthWebsite builder plans can range from £2.59 to £259 per month, from a basic plan built with simple sites in mind to advanced ecommerce plans for growing online stores.Most website builders advertise their plans on an annual subscription basis, so you’ll pay for a year in full when you sign up. You can also choose to pay monthly, but this will cost you more in the long run. For example, when looking at Wix’s cheapest plan, the annual price would drive my monthly cost down to £9 per month. However, if I paid month-by-month, Wix’s cheapest plan would cost me £11.50 per month.I’ve tested and reviewed the best website builders on the market, and you can get a quick summary of our top five and their prices in the table below: Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward Wix Squarespace GoDaddy Shopify Hostinger Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.8 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.7 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.5 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.4 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 3.9 Price £9-£119 per month£8.10-£107.10 with code “TAKE10” Price £12-£35 per month, billed annuallyUse code “SU10” to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans Price £7.99-£13.99 per month, billed annually (first term discounts available) Price £5-£259 per month, billed annually£1 for first month Price £2.59-£3.79 per monthUp to 81% discounted with code “STARTUPS” Free trial or plan Free plan Free trial or plan 14-day free trial Free trial or plan Free plan Free trial or plan 3-day free trial Free trial or plan 30-day free trial Number of templates 900+ templates Number of templates 150+ templates Number of templates 200+ templates Number of templates 200+ templates Number of templates 150+ templates From our extensive research, Squarespace and GoDaddy are the best value builders. Their plans are very affordable without sacrificing the number or quality of features on offer. That said, all of our top builders are cheaper alternatives than using WordPress or hiring a web designer.To sell products or services with Squarespace, I needed to upgrade to at least the Business plan for £17 per month (billed annually). Source: Startups.co.ukShould I use a website builder? Pros Builders cater to lots of businesses and industries – it’s a convenient and quick way to get online, especially for small businesses A website builder is the cheapest way to create a site, and you don’t need to pay for everything separately like you would with WordPress Website builder plans make it easy to scale your business because you can upgrade your plan to unlock better features You don’t need any coding knowledge or prior building experience since builders are beginner-friendly Cons You need time to play around with the website builder since you’ll need to get to grips with the interface and editor to create a site from scratch Not ideal for complex businesses that need advanced technical functionality – you’ll have more freedom and control if you use WordPress You have to commit to a long-term subscription to save money – paying monthly is more expensive WordPress: from £30+ per yearAn alternative to using a website builder is to use WordPress. WordPress is cheaper than hiring a website designer but gives you more control than a website builder.WordPress is a free open-source CMS (content management system). When trying WordPress myself, I found it easy enough to create a decent website without having to learn code, but it was less beginner-friendly than using a website builder.With WordPress, there are thousands of themes and plugins for extra functionality, depending on the needs of your business and the size of your budget. But that’s the primary drawback to using WordPress – the add-ons can bump your monthly costs up quickly.I could browse popular and featured plugins in the WordPress Plugin Directory. Source: Startups.co.ukAs with a website designer, you’ll have to pay for your own hosting and domain name. These are the only guaranteed monthly costs; the rest (such as ecommerce and social media integrations) are optional.That’s why it’s difficult for me to estimate the cost of using WordPress, as it’ll vary from business to business. However, on average, you can expect to pay anywhere from £30 to £1,000 per year depending on your hosting provider, apps, and template.Should I build a website with WordPress? Pros WordPress is a great option if you don’t have the budget for a web designer or agency – you can choose to spend as much or as little as you want If you have the time and ability, you can develop an advanced and unique website – because of this, WordPress is ideal for creatives and experienced builders Cons WordPress requires a certain skill level to use – a website builder is a better option for total novices WordPress has no built-in features, meaning you’ll need to research, download, and pay for extra functionality There are a lot of additional costs to consider, such as security, hosting, domain names, and support – all of this is usually included with a website builder Hiring a web designer: from £4,000+ upfrontHiring a web designer can be a great option for businesses that have expansive budgets and are looking for a bespoke website.Web design agencies typically charge you on an hourly basis. Chameleon Studios, a Cambridge-based marketing agency, gave us insight into a rough price list for web design depending on the type of agency you use:Offshore company – £10-£25 per hourFreelance web designer – £25-£50 per hourSmall web agency – £50-£75 per hourLarge web agency – £75-£150 per hourBased on these insights, and a presumption that your small business website could take around 12 weeks to build (based on an agency working seven hours a day on the project), you’re looking at a total price of £4,200 to £63,000 for the development of your business site.Most web design agencies, such as MadeByShape in Manchester, request project information before a set price can be shared. Source: Startups.co.ukOf course, there are a lot of hypotheticals here, and several variables I haven’t factored into the estimates – namely, the size and complexity of the website you’re trying to build. The more pages and functionality your website requires, the longer it will take to build and the more it will cost. Plus, using a web designer to create your site only covers just that: the creation of your site. You’ll still need to pay for the additional running costs (which I’ll go into more detail about later).Our guide to finding a web designer includes more tips for locating the perfect web design agency to create your small business site.Should I hire a web designer? Pros If you need your website to have complex functionalities and a specific design, it can be worth investing the money in a designer Hiring someone else to do the work frees up your time to work on other business matters Using a web designer is a good choice for large online stores that have unique requirements Cons Bespoke website design is the priciest way to create a small business site – I wouldn’t recommend this option for the budget-conscious If you rush to choose a designer and they’re the wrong fit you might end up paying more down the line to fix prior mistakes You’ll need to invest the time to research agencies and designers to find the perfect fit for your business Despite the large upfront cost, you’ll still need to pay the usual website running costs How much does it cost to maintain a website?Besides the primary costs involved with using a website builder, building with WordPress, or hiring a web designer, there are some additional price tags to consider. In most instances, a website builder will bundle these costs into your subscription.Domain nameA custom domain name will make your site appear more professional and build brand awareness.£10-20+ per yearHostingIf you don’t use a website builder, you’ll need to pay for web hosting separately to ensure your site can go live.£25-£600+ per yearApps and pluginsYou might need to install extra functionality from a third-party app or plugin, such as Mailchimp.£0-£100+ per monthThemesSome website templates come with a one-time price tag to use, but you can get a lot of themes for free, depending on the builder.£0-£400+ upfrontSecurityIt’s important to keep your website safe from harm and your data protected with SSL certificates, fraud detection, and other security measures.£0-£1,000+ per yearSEOIf you need a helping hand to optimize your website, you might want to hire an SEO specialist.£150-£1,200+ per monthImagesYou need eye-catching visuals on your site and access to royalty-free images or stock libraries often requires a subscription.£0-£100+ per month Top tip 💰 One of the main things to watch out for is the cost of domain name renewal, especially if you opt for a website builder. Most major website builders, including Wix and Squarespace, include a free domain name for the first year, which then renews at the standard rate. For instance, a .co.uk domain with Wix will set you back £10.39 for one year. With Shopify, however, you’ll need to pay for your domain name separately from the start of your subscription, as it won’t be included in your plan. Verdict: Should I use a website builder or a web designer?Cost is naturally an important consideration for small businesses looking to create a website. From my testing, using a website builder is a quick, easy, and affordable way to get your small business site up and running. Plus, you can start with a basic, cheap plan and then scale up if you need to.Alternatively, using a web designer will guarantee a bespoke website – the equivalent of paying for a tailored suit instead of buying off the rack. You’ll pay more, but you’ll end up with something crafted to your exact specifications. Meanwhile, using WordPress is a bit like the best of both worlds. If you want more control and don’t mind paying for extra functionality, the CMS could be the right choice for you.Whatever you decide, make sure to consider your budget, business needs, and what you want out of your website. Startups.co.uk is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Startups.co.uk to provide free reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews. Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Written by: Emma Ryan Lead Writer Emma works on Startups’ reviews and recommendations for building a website for your business. She is the Lead Writer at Website Builder Expert, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages Website Builder Expert’s topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma specialises in hands-on testing and research of all the leading website builder platforms, including Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. Her work and expertise have been featured in Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World. Reviewed by: Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive After three years of refining my skills in data analysis, I transitioned to a role as a researcher to help understand our readers' preferences and needs. My professional journey started as a researcher in law enforcement, where I developed strong analytical abilities. Later, I moved into operations, strengthening my understanding of quantitative data. Now, I blend my quantitative analysis skills with qualitative research to explore both audience preferences and product nuances. Armed with a UX design diploma, I translate research findings into actionable insights that facilitate informed decision-making. Whether enhancing Startups offerings or delivering research presentations, I am driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement and results.