How much does a website cost in the UK in 2026?

Last checked: October 2026. Kwiboo's 2026 guide puts the initial build of a professional small business website in the UK at £1,500 to £10,000, and Swiftcase gives £1,500 to £15,000 for a professional business website depending on size and complexity. Online shops usually start higher, and Kwiboo says bespoke web applications can exceed £100,000.

Those figures come from agencies that sell the services they describe, so treat them as indicative, not as a price list. Where we quote a number below, we name the source and it is listed at the end of the article.

Our own entry point: simple presentation and corporate websites start from €300 excluding VAT. We price in euros. The three packages are set out on the pricing page. Every other figure in this article is a third-party market range, not a quote from us.

The table collects ranges from four UK guides that publish 2026 figures. They differ at the edges, which is itself useful: it tells you how little a single "average" can say.

Two things stand out. The overlap between freelancer and agency prices is large, and London is quoted higher than the rest of the country, although the guides disagree on how much: Kwiboo says London agencies charge 65% to 280% more than regional alternatives, while Spotdev puts the London premium at 20 to 40 per cent. Neither figure tells you which supplier is right for your project.

Content

If you supply the copy, photography and page structure, the build is cheaper. If you expect the supplier to plan, write and photograph, that work is part of the quote even when it is not itemised. Swiftcase calls content one of the biggest variables in a project.

Functionality

A contact form is cheap. Booking systems, member areas, multi-language setups, product filters and links to stock or accounting software all add design, build and testing time.

Design approach

A tailored template costs less than a fully custom design. Either can be the right call. The question is whether your brand or conversion goals need the extra work.

Rules the site must meet

If the site uses cookies or similar storage and access technologies, the ICO's guidance says you must tell users what they are, explain what they do and obtain prior consent, unless an exception applies. If you collect personal data, UK GDPR sets out the privacy information you must give people. If you sell to consumers online, Schedule 2 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 lists what you must tell them before the contract, including delivery charges, payment and delivery arrangements and the conditions for cancelling. These are part of a proper build, not extras to haggle away.

Brochure or corporate site

Five to ten pages explaining who you are, what you do and how to get in touch. This is the usual starting point for a trade, a clinic or a professional practice. Kwiboo says agencies can charge around £3,000 to £12,000 for a brochure website, with wide variation by supplier type and location.

Online shop

Shops are priced on products, variants, delivery rules, payment methods and integrations, more than on page count. Kwiboo gives £5,000 to £15,000 for a standard WooCommerce or Shopify build from most UK agencies, rising to £12,000 to £40,000 for complex custom work. Add platform fees and payment-processing charges to your running costs.

Bespoke platform

If the website is really a software product, such as a customer portal or marketplace, you are in a different category. Kwiboo puts simple web apps at around £15,000 to £40,000 and complex enterprise applications with integrations at £75,000 to £250,000 or more. Our services page explains what we build at this end.

The build is a one-off; the site is not. UK guides give these indicative figures for recurring costs:

• Domain: £10–£15 a year (Expertsure; Kwiboo gives the same for a .co.uk after first-year promotional pricing); £10–£30 a year for a .co.uk (Mapletree).
• Hosting: £5–£30 a month for a freelancer build and £20–£100 a month for an agency build (Expertsure); £7–£12 a month for shared hosting at renewal rates (Kwiboo).
• Maintenance: £50–£150 a month on a freelancer retainer and £100–£500 on an agency retainer (Expertsure); £30–£150 a month for maintenance and updates (Spotdev).
• All-in: Kwiboo suggests budgeting £500 to £2,500 a year in ongoing costs for a typical small business site; Spotdev puts typical small-business running costs at £50 to £300 a month.

Swiftcase notes that ongoing costs are often overlooked. Kwiboo's advice is to have hosting, maintenance, updates and support spelled out before you commit. Ask for them to be priced separately so you can compare like with like.

The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%, according to GOV.UK. Kwiboo points out that most website platforms display prices before VAT, so a £3,000 quote becomes £3,600 once VAT is added.

Whether that matters depends on your own VAT status. GOV.UK says you can reclaim VAT on items you buy for use in your business if you are VAT registered, so for a registered business the net price is the real cost. If you are not registered, the VAT is a cost you bear. You must register once your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, the VAT threshold; below that level registration is voluntary.

Our prices on the pricing page exclude VAT. Confirm with any supplier whether a number is net or gross before you compare it with another.

Spotdev makes a point worth remembering: a £3,000 quote that includes twelve months of support can easily beat a £2,000 quote where every change after launch is billed extra. Look at the cost over two or three years, not at the launch invoice alone.

It also helps to ask what happens if you want to leave. Who owns the domain? Do you get the source files and logins? Is the content in a system you can edit yourself? A cheap site that ties you to the supplier can become expensive when you want to change something.

The three routes suit different situations, and price is only one of the differences.

DIY builders

Kwiboo puts the budget end at around £12 to £20 a month for DIY website builders. You do the work yourself, so the real cost is your time, and you will meet limits on search optimisation and bespoke features sooner than you expect. Remember that platforms usually display prices before VAT.

Freelancers

A good freelancer can be a sensible choice for a small, well-defined brochure site. Kwiboo quotes UK freelance day rates of £240 to £550 depending on experience. The risks are capacity and continuity: ask who looks after the site if they are ill or move on.

Agencies

You pay for a team that covers strategy, design, development and support, and for the process that goes with that. This matters more as the project grows, for example with integrations, a shop or several stakeholders.

Whichever route you choose, ask for a short written scope. If a supplier cannot describe what you will receive in a page or two, the price is hard to judge.

1. Which pages and features are included, in writing?
2. Who writes the copy and sources the images?
3. Are domain, hosting, SSL certificate and email included?
4. Is the site built to work properly on mobile?
5. How many rounds of changes are included?
6. What does support cost after launch, and is it compulsory?
7. Who owns the code, content and accounts?
8. Is the price net or gross of 20% VAT?

Examples of our work are on the references page. If you want a quote broken down this way, request a quote and describe the project in a few lines.

• How much does a website cost in the UK? A 2026 breakdown – Kwiboo
• How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide) – SwiftCase Signal
• How Much Does a Website Cost UK 2026? – Expertsure
• How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK in 2026? – Mapletree Studio
• How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK? – SpotDev
• VAT rates – GOV.UK
• Register for VAT: when to register – GOV.UK
• Reclaim VAT on business expenses – GOV.UK
• What are the PECR rules? Storage and access technologies – ICO
• What privacy information should we provide? – ICO
• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Schedule 2 – legislation.gov.uk