How much does a small business website cost?
The honest answer depends on how you pay, what you need, and what happens after launch
There are three common ways to get a small business website: pay a monthly fee, pay once for a build, or build it yourself with a website builder. Each has a different mix of upfront cost, running costs and your own time. This guide explains what drives the price and what to check before you sign.
Three ways to pay for a website
| Pay monthly | One-off build | DIY builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Often none | The build price | Low: a plan and your time |
| Ongoing cost | A fixed monthly fee for the length of the plan | Hosting, domain and any maintenance, paid separately | The monthly or yearly plan, plus your time for updates |
| Who keeps it working | Usually the provider, within the plan | You, or whoever you pay for maintenance | You, with the builder's support pages |
| Main thing to check | Minimum term, what happens after it, and who owns the site | What is included after launch, and who fixes things | How long it will take you, and whether you can move away later |
| Often suits | Businesses that want a professional site without a large upfront bill | Businesses with budget now and a plan for ongoing care | Very small budgets, simple needs, and time to spare |
For comparison, our own pay-monthly websites are £100, £150, £200 a month plus VAT, with no upfront cost and a 12-month minimum term (at least £1,200 plus VAT over the term for the Foundation package).
What affects the price
- Number of pages. Separate pages for each service or area take longer to plan, write and build than a single page.
- Design approach. A design planned around your business costs more than a lightly edited template.
- Words and photos. Ask whether writing is included, or whether you supply the text. Real photos of your work are worth more than stock images.
- Features. A contact form is a normal part of a business website. Online shops, booking systems, customer portals and links to other software take much longer to build and look after, so they are usually priced separately.
- Ongoing care. Updates, backups, security and small content changes either come in a plan or are paid for as needed.
Running costs people forget
- Domain name: renewed every year or every few years. If it lapses, the website and any email on that domain stop working.
- Hosting: where the website lives. Some plans include it; with a one-off build it is usually a separate bill.
- SSL certificate: the padlock in the browser. Many hosts include one at no extra charge, often from Let's Encrypt, a free certificate authority.
- Email on your own domain: business email services are commonly charged per mailbox, per month. See business email hosting.
- Maintenance: software updates, backups and checks. Skipping them tends to cost more later. See website maintenance.
- Your time: the hidden cost of a DIY website, and of chasing a provider who is hard to reach.
Questions to ask before you sign
Whichever option you choose, get clear answers to these in writing.
- Are the prices shown with or without VAT?
- Who owns the website and the domain name, and can I take them with me if I leave?
- What is the minimum term, and what happens when it ends: does the fee continue, change or stop?
- Are there any fees for leaving or for transferring the website or domain?
- What exactly counts as an "update", and how many are included? (Ours are defined on the pay-monthly page.)
- Who hosts the website, and who do I contact when something breaks?
- Is writing the text included, or do I supply it?
How to check who owns your domain
Your domain name is registered to a person or business through a registrar. Log in to the registrar account if you have one and check the registrant details. For many domain endings, ICANN Lookup shows which registrar holds the domain; for .uk domains, Nominet, the .uk registry, runs a WHOIS lookup service. If the domain is registered to a former web designer rather than your business, ask for it to be transferred to you.
Website cost questions
Is it cheaper to pay monthly or upfront for a website?
It depends on the prices you are quoted and how long you keep the website. Paying upfront usually costs more at the start and less each month afterwards; paying monthly spreads the cost but continues for as long as the plan runs. Put your own quotes into the website cost calculator to see where they cross over.
Do I pay VAT on a website?
If the business you buy from is VAT registered, VAT is added to its prices. If your own business is VAT registered you can usually reclaim it; if not, it is a real cost. Always check whether a quoted price includes VAT. Our prices are shown excluding VAT.
What costs keep going after a website is built?
At minimum, the domain name renewal and hosting. Most businesses also pay for email on their own domain, and for someone to keep the website software updated and backed up.
Who owns my domain name?
Whoever it is registered to. Check the registrant details with your registrar, or look the domain up (for many domain endings, ICANN Lookup at lookup.icann.org shows the registrar). Ideally it should be registered in your business name.
Guide published 30 September 2026 by WebProjectUK.
Put your own quotes side by side
The calculator compares pay monthly, a one-off build and a DIY builder over up to five years.