Web Design Cost Calculator

In 2025, So how much does a website cost in the UK? This is a burning question for business owners. But with a million different options out there, figuring out the cost of a website is very overwhelming.

The short answer is that prices vary widely.

For a few hundred pounds, you could start with a DIY website builder but if you want something a little more fancy and professional for bigger enterprise projects done by large agencies, you can look at spending up to £20,000–£30,000 (or more!).

The total cost depends on many factors, some of which include the complexity of the project, the designers expertise, the level of collaboration required and so much more!

But don’t panic! We’re here to make this simple.

This guide provides a break down of everything you need to know, so you can pick the best option for you.

To make this even easier, we’ve created a handy Cost Calculator Tool. This tool shows you the main factors that can influence pricing, whilst providing a high-level estimate tailored to your needs. Whether you’re a large company comparing quotes or a small business deciding if a DIY approach is best for you, this guide and tool will help you make the right decision!

If you’re not quite ready to dive into our web design cost calculator, no problem! Keep reading if you want a break down of all the key factors that impact a website design costs.

We start this process off very simply, by understanding your budget, so we can recommend the best options for you straight away. Let’s take a look at an example: If you have a smaller budget of £500-£1000, a website builder is your best bet. However, if you have a much larger budget with more specific needs, then hiring an agency would be the most efficient decision.

In order to give you the most accurate cost possible, we would need more detail on your specific website requirements. That’s why we created our Cost Calculator Tool, it walks you through this process and gives you a high-level estimate.

One helpful step is to Create a Website Design Brief, this can be sent to different design companies and agencies in order for you to receive more accurate quotes.

What can influence the cost of website design?

It firstly depends on what your goals are for the website.

A website builder is perfect for you if all you’re looking for is a simple site with basic functionality.

You then need to think about the features your website might need. Will it require a contact form, blog, booking system, e-commerce functionality or maybe even a location map? These will all influence the time and cost of your site.

Additionally, think about the size and content of the site. Plus, think about whether you will need copywriting as well, as that will also add to the cost.

Then you have the choice between a bespoke site or a theme-based one. A bespoke site is tailored to you and therefore more expensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, a site built with a WordPress theme or a builder tool is a lot cheaper, but you may come against some limitations, keep reading for this.

The next thing to think about is whether you expect to see large traffic on your site? If you’re a stat-up you may only see a few hundred visitors. But if you’re an established company, you could see millions of visitors, which would therefore require a professionally built website.

The key element that will determine a website’s cost is: who is going to build it.

DIY site builders are well priced and offer simple solutions, but you can also hire freelancers or offshore developers who may have a cheaper hourly rate.

If you want a high-quality, bespoke site, agencies and studios are the best option for this. While they are more expensive, they provide expertise and a tailor-made solution just for you.

When building your website, there are a few extra costs (yes, there’s more!) to keep in mind that could impact your budget. Let’s break them down.

SEO
If you want your site to show up in search results, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) or SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are essential. You could try doing some of this yourself, but working with a professional, either an SEO or web design agency will usually get you much better results! For DIY SEO tools, expect to spend between £50 to £200 a month. If you go with an agency, it could range from £200-£700 a month. Larger agencies could charge £1,200 to £1,500 a month depending on the services you require but worth it for your site to stand out!

Domain Names
A domain name usually costs between £5 – £30 per year. You can purchase a location-based domain, such as .co.uk, or a top-level .com domain, which is not area-specific and will be slightly more pricey. You can register a domain for 1 year, but we’d recommend registering for at least 2-3 years as it comes with an added SEO benefit, Google loves it – it determines that the domain is going to be around for a long time which helps with SEO. You can also opt to buy a premium domain from someone else. These will usually be priced at upwards of £100 but can be a lot more. In fact, one of our clients recently purchased one in the region of £10,000! If you want your site to appear as HTTPS, you need an SSL Certificate. HTTPS is important for SEO and security. You will need a domain validation SSL Certificate – this comes with a yearly fee of around £50.

Monthly Costs

• Hosting: For your website to be accessible online, you will need to ‘host’ it on a server. Hosting costs range from completely free to £500 a month. For an efficient, unmanaged hosting service, you can expect to pay in the region of £10-£20 a month, whereas a more premium managed service will usually be priced upwards of £200. If you’re using a website builder, this will be included as part of your monthly fee.
• Plugins: Some functionality will require the use of high-end plug-ins, such as those found in Shopify or WordPress, and will come with a monthly fee.
• Newsletter systems: Mailchimp, for example, requires a monthly subscription to use.
• Retainers and care packages: If you require technical support or ongoing updates to your website, you’ll need to factor this in.
• Social media marketing: You may require someone to manage and update your social media accounts to keep them buzzing and integrate these with your website.

General Costs

• Branding: Your website is going to be built around your brand, so if you don’t have a brand or logo created, you will need to factor this in first. It’s rare, but sometimes just a basic logo and an idea of colour palette can do but it’s best if you can determine a strong identity as it will ensure your website is on the same page as it. 
• Image/Video Licences: If you don’t use your own photography, you will need to purchase stock images and licence them in order for them to be used. Prices range from £1-£250. As part of our website builds, we offer 20 stock images, based on the spec and the client’s individual requirements. For a video licence, you should expect to pay in the region of £50+.
• Copywriting: If you’re not so great with words or you might have the time, consider hiring a professional to write your content and it’s a really crucial part of your website especially when it comes to ranking.
• Payment processing fees: PayPal takes 3% of all payments that are processed, so if someone purchases a product for £100, you will actually only receive £97, is this something you’d be happy with? If you’re running an e-commerce site, this is crucial.

DIY Site Builders and Themes
These types of websites are self-hosted, cost a monthly fee and are usually pre-built using a template, which you can easily customise to become your site. An example of this is WordPress, which allows you to buy a theme with a set layout. All you need to do is add your text and images, and you’re good to go!

Both of these options are perfect for startups,  small businesses or individuals who need a basic online presence. These types of site builders usually cost between £15-£50 a month, including hosting. But if you prefer a one-time purchase, themes can cost around £50-£200.

Custom Small Business Sites
If you are looking for a more polished, interactive, and unique website, a custom built option might be best for you. These websites require a lot of planning, design and time, so typically start at £8,000. But depending on how you want it built, they can range from £8,000 to £30,000 plus.

If you are on a tighter budget, hiring a freelancer instead of an agency can bring your website costs down to around £500-£1000, but it is important to remember that you get what you pay for.

E-Commerce
If you are looking to sell online, you will need an e-commerce website. One of the most popular platforms is Shopify, which offers a lot of flexibility, whether you want to use a pre-built template for a quick setup, or work with a freelancer or agency to create something completely custom. Another common option is WordPress and WooCommerce, which allows for even more customisation.

Choosing between a theme-based or custom-built e-commerce site will greatly depend on your budget:

• Theme-based e-commerce sites: Expect to pay between £1,500 to £5,000 for a professionally set-up store using an existing template.
• Custom-built e-commerce sites: If you want something unique, pricing typically starts at £7,000 to £8,000, right up to £40,000 to £50,000 depending on your requirements.

Enterprise Level Websites
Enterprise websites tend to be larger, have higher traffic volume, and need more consideration in terms of functionality aspects, including API integrations, multi-language, and other criteria.

Due to the complexity of these projects, working with a web design agency is the only realistic option.

• Minimum budget: £20,000 to £25,000 minimum
• High-end budgets: These can go well into hundreds of thousands depending on the requirements and ongoing support needed.

Web Applications
A web application is more than just a website, it’s a fully functional tool designed to perform specific tasks. A great example is Airbnb, which integrates payments, maps, and user accounts into one experience.

Because web applications require extensive development, they are often built in-house. However, if outsourced, you will need a minimum budget of £25,000. Of course, this can go up to an indefinite amount depending on what you need to create.

Many individuals and businesses, opt for the DIY approach as it is the most affordable. Popular sites for this include: Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and IONOS, which price from £10 up to £40 a month depending on the features you might need.

But, if you are looking to build an e-commerce store, options like Shopify or BigCommerce are best, with prices ranging from £25 up to £500 a month.

There are also AI-powered website builders like Hostinger, Framer, and 10Web, which generate a site for you depending on some inputs. AI-powered websites very often begin with a free trial and will later require payment that can sit between £20-£200/ month.

Things to Consider Before Choosing DIY:

• Time Investment: DIY websites are very time-consuming which isn’t a problem if you know what you’re doing. If not, it’s best to hire a professional to help.
• SEO Challenges: On Google, many DIY website builders do not perform very well compared to custom-built sites. Yes, they provide built-in SEO tools, but you need to know how to use them and if ranking well on search engines is a priority, you may opt to hire an SEO expert, which can cost £500-£1000.
• Hidden Costs: To begin with, DIY website builders seem affordable but with time you may wish to add plugins, premium templates, features which very quickly will increase your cost to thousands over the years.

Pros:

• Cost Effective: The main investment will be your time aside the subscription or theme cost This helps keep startup costs low, which is perfect for businesses on a budget.
• Quick and Flexible: If you need to make a quick change, you can make updates instantly without relying on anyone else.
• High-Quality Templates: Many templates available that can help you create a stunning and professional-looking website, all customisable.
• User-Friendly: Their drag and drop functionality makes it really easy to use.

Cons:

• Time-Consuming: The time is takes to build a website yourself especially with no prior experience can be tremendous.
• Limited Customisation: Site builders are template-based, which can mean limitations. Those that don’t know HTML/CSS coding can come up against a brick wall when there’s a layout change that needs making.
• SEO Challenges: It can be much harder to optimise a website builder-built site for SEO purposes due to its rigid functionality. The more rigid it is, the harder it is for Google to crawl and index your site.
• Lack of Ownership: You never own the website. This is often overlooked because of the attractive pricing, but in effect, you are renting the design of your website.

Freelancers
Hiring a freelancer can be a great way to get a high quality website without paying the agency fees. Also, if you hire someone abroad, like in India or Poland, you might even save more. However, there are some important factors to consider:

Pros:

• Good Value for Money: One of the main advantages of this option is that it can be extremely good value for money. If you find a good developer at a low cost price, you are likely to receive a good quality website for a reasonable price.
• Time-Saving: Hiring an offshore freelancer greatly reduces the time required from you, as they are doing the majority of the work.
• Availability: Freelancers often have a high level of availability meaning they can get started in a matter of hours, whereas it could take an agency weeks to fit you into their schedule.
• Flexibility/Responsiveness: As they rely on the work they tend to make a real effort and want to keep the client as happy as possible. You have a direct line to them, so often it means response times are much faster.
• Personal Relationship: Because freelancers do all the different aspects of the work and are one-on-one with you, you can form a good working relationship with them, and explain exactly what you want.

Cons:

• Communication Barriers: If you hire a freelancer from abroad then communicating exactly what you want for your website may not always be smooth due to language barriers, and you may be presented with something that isn’t quite what you asked for that requires multiple revisions. There is also inevitably a time difference working with someone from another country, which can cause further delays.
• Some UK Freelancers are Expensive: Hourly rates can often be the same price, if not more, than agency costs for the more “boutique” freelancers.
• Availability: As well as being a pro, this is also a con. There is no guarantee that they will be available when you need them to be. They are their own boss and therefore can take time off whenever suits them.
• Risk: There is an element of risk involved here too, as you will never fully know the quality of a freelancer’s work until you start to use them. It’s important to look at their portfolio if you can, to get an idea of the quality of their design and development, but also to ensure they are who they say they are and not out to scam people for money. Using a site like People Per Hour is good as you can leave your money in an escrow until both parties agree the work has been completed sufficiently.

Agencies

Pros:

• Multi-Diverse Set of Skills: You’ll have a full team of talented people to work on your project including designers, developers, SEO specialists, and copywriters.
• Time-Saving for You: Once initial discovery has been carried out by the agency, involvement can be as little as signing off designs and key areas in the project, freeing up your time.
• High-Quality End Product: You are almost guaranteed a high quality website at the end of the project. Make sure to choose an agency that has good reviews and view their portfolio to pick one with the right design style for you.
• Ongoing Support: In most cases, agencies will offer a warranty or ongoing care plan once a project is complete, providing ongoing advice and technical support.
• Availability: Due to having a larger workforce, agencies always have availability most of the time which things will get done for any given deadlines.
• Reassurance: Agencies will have security policies to protect you or your clients’ information, including ISO and GDPR compliance.

Cons:

• Cost: There is one main disadvantage; they’re expensive. Highly skilled specialists working together to create the best possible end-product based on a given brief comes with a price.
• Timescales: Often the turnaround times are longer as creating a bespoke, high-quality end product takes time, even for multiple team members.

With 17 years of experience in website development, we can confidently say that investing in professional website design is the best option if your website is important to your business.

Why Choose Professional Website Design?

A well-designed website can create lasting value. In fact, we typically find that the return on investment (ROI) for professionally designed websites is around 2.5x the amount spent. For example, if you were to spend £10,000 on a bespoke and well-built website, you should expect a return of between £20,000-£25,000 in terms of the marketing and engagement it generates. This shows the clear advantage of going with a professional website design. It creates something that is more unique, brand-consistent, scalable, and has better user experience and conversions.

When Might DIY or Freelancers Be a Good Fit?

Of course, there are times when a website builder or freelancer may be a better option. If you feel that you are a person that needs to be heavily involved in the project, you have clear direction, you know what you’re doing, and you’re tech-savvy, then a website builder, a theme, or a freelancer could be better options to help make your vision come to life.

Our Recommendation

It completely depends on who you are, where you’re at with your requirements, and what you need, and although we’re a bit biased, we would highly recommend investing in professional website design in order to get the best website you can.

If you are interested in getting your website built by professionals, get in touch with us today, or use our cost calculator at the top of this page to get an estimated project cost.