You've decided your business needs a website. Now comes the question everyone asks: how much is this actually going to cost me?
The honest answer is that a small business website cost in 2026 can range from under £200 a year (if you do it yourself) to £10,000 or more (if you hire a big agency). That's a huge gap, and it's not very helpful if you're trying to plan a budget.
So let's break it down properly. What are the real options, what does each one cost, and what do you actually get for your money?
The three main routes to getting a website
There are essentially three ways to get a website for your small business. Each comes with different costs, different time commitments, and different results.
Option 1: Build it yourself (DIY)
Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com let you build a website without any coding knowledge. You pick a template, add your content, and publish. It's the cheapest option in terms of direct costs.
Typical costs:
- Domain name: £10-£20 per year
- Platform subscription: £100-£300 per year (Wix, Squarespace, or self-hosted WordPress with hosting)
- Premium theme or template: £0-£80 (one-off)
- Total first year: roughly £150-£400
What you get: A functional website based on a template. It'll look decent enough if you choose a good template and spend time on it. You'll have full control over changes and updates.
What you don't get: Custom design, SEO optimisation, professional copywriting, or ongoing support. You'll need to learn the platform, troubleshoot problems yourself, and handle all updates. If something breaks at midnight, that's your problem.
The hidden cost: Your time. Most business owners underestimate how long it takes to build a decent website from scratch. Even with drag-and-drop tools, expect to spend 20-40 hours getting something you're happy with - and many people end up with a site that looks a bit... templated.
We've written a detailed comparison of Wix vs hiring a web designer if you want to dig deeper into the DIY route.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
A freelance web designer will build your site for you, usually using WordPress or a similar platform. You get a more professional result than DIY, with someone handling the technical side.
Typical costs:
- Freelancer fee: £500-£3,000 (one-off, depending on complexity)
- Domain and hosting: £50-£150 per year (you usually pay this separately)
- Ongoing maintenance: £0-£100 per month (if you want them to handle updates)
- Total first year: roughly £600-£3,500
What you get: A more polished site with someone who understands design and basic SEO. Faster turnaround than doing it yourself (typically 2-4 weeks). Some customisation beyond off-the-shelf templates.
What you might not get: A comprehensive team behind the project. If your freelancer gets busy or moves on, you could be left without support. Quality varies enormously - a £500 freelancer and a £3,000 freelancer deliver very different results.
Option 3: Hire a web design agency
An agency typically brings a team: designers, developers, copywriters, and SEO specialists. You get a fully custom website built around your business goals.
Typical costs:
- Agency fee: £2,000-£10,000+ (one-off, for a standard small business website)
- Domain and hosting: often included or £100-£300 per year
- Ongoing maintenance and support: £50-£300 per month
- Total first year: roughly £2,500-£12,000+
What you get: A custom-designed, professionally built website with proper SEO foundations, mobile optimisation, and ongoing support. The site is designed specifically for your business, your customers, and your goals - not pulled from a template library.
The drawback: The upfront cost. For many small businesses, spending £5,000 before the site is even live is a big commitment - especially when you're not sure what the return will be.
There's a fourth option: pay monthly
This is the model we use at Zero Stress Websites, and it's becoming increasingly common. Instead of paying thousands upfront, you pay a small setup fee and a monthly fee that covers everything: design, development, hosting, maintenance, and ongoing support.
Typical costs (using our service as an example):
- One-off setup fee: £150-£300 (depending on complexity)
- Monthly fee: from £49 per month - everything included
- Total first year: roughly £740-£890
What you get: A professionally designed website without the large upfront investment. One monthly fee covers hosting, maintenance, support, and updates - no hidden costs, no surprise invoices. You don't need any technical knowledge; we handle everything. It's like having a web team on retainer for a fraction of the cost.
What to watch for with pay-monthly providers generally: Make sure you understand what happens if you cancel. Check what's actually included in the monthly fee - some providers charge extra for updates or changes. With our plans, everything is included, and there are no long contracts.
What actually drives the cost up?
Whether you go DIY, freelance, or agency, certain features will push the price higher. Here are the main ones:
Number of pages. A simple five-page site (home, about, services, blog, contact) is far cheaper than a 30-page site with dedicated landing pages for different services or locations. Our VLR Instalaciones case study is a good example - that project included over 30 pages across two languages, with dedicated location pages for eight towns.
E-commerce. If you need to sell products online, expect the cost to jump significantly. Payment processing, product catalogues, shipping calculators, and security all add complexity. A basic online shop starts around £1,000 with a freelancer or £3,000-£8,000+ with an agency.
Custom functionality. Booking systems, customer portals, calculators, integrations with other software - anything beyond a standard brochure site adds development time and cost.
Copywriting. Many people forget this. Someone needs to write the words on your website. If you provide the content yourself, great - that saves money. If you need professional copywriting, budget an extra £300-£1,000 depending on the number of pages.
Bilingual or multilingual. If you need your site in more than one language, you're essentially doubling the content (and much of the design work). Expect a significant uplift - though it also opens your business to a much wider audience.
The costs people forget about
The price you pay to build the site is just the start. There are ongoing costs that every business owner should budget for:
Hosting: £50-£200 per year for decent small business hosting. Cheap hosting (£20/year) often means slow load times and poor reliability - which costs you visitors.
Domain renewal: £10-£20 per year. Not much, but don't let it lapse - losing your domain name is a nightmare.
SSL certificate: Usually free with good hosting (Let's Encrypt), but some providers charge £50-£100 per year. You need SSL - without it, browsers will warn visitors your site isn't secure.
Maintenance and updates: If you're on WordPress, plugins and themes need regular updates. Ignoring them creates security vulnerabilities. Budget £50-£150 per month if you want someone to handle this, or plan to do it yourself regularly.
Content updates: Your website shouldn't be "set and forget." Regular updates - new blog posts, updated services, fresh testimonials - help with SEO and keep the site relevant.
A realistic ongoing budget for a small business website is £500-£2,000 per year on top of whatever you paid to build it.
So what should you actually spend?
Here's a straightforward guide based on where your business is at:
Just starting out, tight budget: Go DIY with Wix or Squarespace (£150-£400 for the first year). It won't be perfect, but it gets you online. You can always upgrade later.
Established but small, need something professional: A pay-monthly service or a good freelancer (£600-£3,000 for the first year). You get a professional result without gambling your cash flow. With a pay-monthly plan like ours, you're looking at under £900 for the first year - that's agency-quality for less than most freelancers charge.
Growing business, website is central to getting customers: An agency or premium pay-monthly service (£2,000-£10,000+). If your website directly generates leads and sales, investing in quality pays for itself. A well-built site that brings in even a few extra customers a month can cover its cost many times over.
The question isn't really "what's the cheapest website I can get?" It's "what website will actually help my business grow?" Sometimes that's a £300 DIY site. Sometimes it's a £5,000 custom build. The right answer depends on your goals, your industry, and how much your website needs to do for you.
A real example: what a professional website delivers
To put this in perspective, consider our client VLR Instalaciones - a 24-hour electrician in Malaga. They had zero online presence and relied entirely on word of mouth. We built them a comprehensive, bilingual website with location pages covering the entire province.
The result? They went from invisible to #1 on Google, and their enquiries increased tenfold. The website paid for itself within the first month through new customers they'd never have reached otherwise. That's the difference a well-built website can make for a service business.
Getting started
If you're a tradesperson or local business looking for a professional website without the big upfront cost, our pay-monthly plans start from just £49 a month with a small one-off setup fee. One monthly payment covers everything - design, hosting, maintenance, and support. No hidden costs, no long contracts.
Not sure what you need? Get in touch for a free consultation and we'll give you an honest recommendation - even if that means telling you DIY is the right move for now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the cheapest way to get a small business website?
Building it yourself using a platform like Wix or Squarespace is the cheapest route, costing around £150 to £400 for the first year. However, you'll invest significant time learning the platform and may end up with a less polished result than a professionally built site.
Are pay-monthly websites worth it?
For many small businesses, yes. You get a professionally designed and maintained website without paying thousands upfront. It's worth checking what's included - hosting, updates, support - and what happens if you cancel. With our plans, everything is included, and there are no long contracts.
How much should I budget for ongoing website costs?
Budget around £500 to £2,000 per year for hosting, domain renewal, maintenance, and updates. If you're on a pay-monthly plan, most of these costs are typically included in your monthly fee.
Do I need an expensive website to rank on Google?
You don't need an expensive website, but you do need a well-built one. Fast loading speeds, mobile-friendly design, proper SEO setup, and quality content matter far more than how much you spent. A £3,000 site with good SEO will outrank a £10,000 site without it.
Can I start cheap and upgrade later?
Absolutely. Many businesses start with a DIY site or basic freelancer build, then upgrade to a professionally designed site as they grow. Just be aware that switching platforms later can mean starting from scratch, so it's worth thinking about your medium-term needs from the beginning.