How much does a website cost in the UK? (2026 prices)

If you're searching for "how much does a website cost," you probably want a number, not a paragraph that starts with "it depends." So here's the short version: a proper website for a local business in the UK starts at around £299 if you hire a developer, or £0 if you build it yourself on Wix or Squarespace (but you'll pay monthly, forever).

The longer version is below, with real price ranges for every type of site and what actually drives the cost. For a full platform comparison and 5-year cost breakdown, see Wix vs Squarespace vs Shopify vs a custom website and the true cost of Shopify over 5 years.

Real price ranges (2026)

Type of website	One-off cost	Monthly cost	What you get
Brochure site (5-8 pages)	£299-£600	£0-£18	Home, services, contact, gallery, about
Site + admin panel	£400-£900	£0-£18	Edit your own content from your phone
Light Commerce (sell services)	£500-£1,200	£0-£18	Take payment for services, vouchers, bookings
Full Shopify store	£800-£2,000+	£25+	Inventory, shipping, full e-commerce
Wix / Squarespace (DIY)	£0	£9-£36	Drag-and-drop, template-based

Last verified: August 2026. Wix pricing from wix.com/upgrade/website. Squarespace pricing from squarespace.com/pricing. Shopify pricing from shopify.co.uk/pricing.

What drives the cost of a website?

Three things: features, design complexity, and who builds it.

Features

A website that just shows your business exists is cheap. A website that takes bookings, processes payments, pulls your Google reviews live, and lets you edit your menu from your phone costs more, because each feature is real work to build and test.

Design complexity

A template-based site looks fine. A custom design that matches your brand, loads fast, and works perfectly on mobile costs more. Not because it's "prettier," but because someone has to design and build it from scratch rather than filling in a template.

Who builds it

You can build it yourself for free on Wix or Squarespace. You'll pay monthly, you won't own the code, and you'll hit a ceiling when you need something their templates can't do. Or you can hire a developer, pay once, and own everything outright.

Is a cheap website actually cheap?

Wix looks cheap at £9/month. But over 5 years, that's £540, and you own nothing. A custom build at £500 with free self-hosting costs £500 total over the same period, and you own the code, the domain, and the admin panel. See the full comparison for the 5-year breakdown.

What does "you own everything" mean?

When a developer builds your site, the code, the domain, the hosting, and the admin login are all yours. If you want to move it to a different host, you can. If you want to hire a different developer to add features, you can. If the original developer disappears, your site keeps running.

With Wix or Squarespace, your site lives on their platform. If they raise prices, you pay or you lose your site. You're renting, not buying.

What kind of website do you actually need?

Take the quiz below and I'll tell you what I'd recommend for your situation, honestly, including when that recommendation is "just use Wix."

Sources

1. Wix pricing plans (UK) - accessed August 2026
2. Squarespace pricing plans (UK) - accessed August 2026
3. Shopify pricing plans (UK) - accessed August 2026