Is a cheap website a false economy?

Not always. A simple, fast site that clearly explains what you do can work well. It becomes a false economy when it is slow, hard to use on a phone or invisible in Google, because then it costs you enquiries every month.

Should I pay monthly for a website?

Some providers lease you a website for a monthly fee, which can cost more over a few years and may mean you never own it. Check who owns the domain and the site if you stop paying.

How much does a small business website cost in the UK?

By Bunyamin Kidir , founder of Leadyard Published 16 October 2026 Last updated 16 October 2026

The short answer

A small business website in the UK can cost anything from a few hundred pounds for a DIY builder to several thousand for a custom agency build. What matters is what is included. At Leadyard, a professional 5-page website is £599 and a custom 15-page site with local SEO foundations is £1,199, both at fixed prices.

What you are actually paying for

Quotes vary so much because “a website” can mean very different things. The price usually reflects:

How many pages you need. A sole trader might need 4 or 5 pages. A business covering several services and towns may need 15 or more.
Whether it is a template or a custom design. Templates are quicker and cheaper; custom design costs more but fits your brand and goals exactly.
Who writes the words. Copywriting takes time. If you supply the facts and the designer shapes them, the cost is lower than having everything written from scratch.
SEO setup. Basic SEO (titles, headings, a sitemap) should be standard. Proper local SEO, with service and location pages, structured data and citations, is more work.
Extras. Online booking, e-commerce, integrations and multiple languages all add cost.

Typical options and what they include

DIY website builders are the cheapest way to get online. You pay a monthly subscription and do the work yourself. They suit businesses with time to spare and simple needs, but it is easy to end up with a slow site that does not rank.

Freelancers and small agencies usually charge a one-off fee for a template-based or custom site. Prices vary widely, so compare what is included rather than the headline number.

Larger agencies charge more for strategy, bigger teams and account management. That can be worth it for complex projects, but many small and medium-sized businesses do not need it.

Our prices

We publish our prices so you can budget before you speak to anyone:

Groundwork, £599 fixed: up to 5 pages, mobile-first, SEO basics, Google Business Profile setup, enquiry form and click-to-call, with your domain and 1 business email free for the first year.
Lead Engine, £1,199 fixed: up to 15 pages, custom designed, a page for each service, local SEO foundations and a blog, with up to 3 business emails free for the first year.

See the full details on our website prices page.

Ongoing costs to budget for

A website is not quite a one-off cost. Budget for:

Domain renewal, every year.
Hosting and SSL, monthly or yearly.
Business email, usually per mailbox.
Maintenance: updates, backups and small changes.

Our hosting and care plan covers all of these for £39 a month, rolling monthly.

How to compare quotes fairly

Ask every provider the same questions:

Is the price fixed, and what exactly is included?
Who owns the website and the domain?
How fast will it load on a phone, and how do you test that?
What SEO is included, and what is extra?
What are the monthly costs after launch?

If you are not sure where your current site stands, start with a free website check. We will tell you honestly whether you need a new website at all.