How much does a website cost for a small business in the UK? (2026)

What you are actually paying for

A website price is really five separate costs bundled together. Knowing them makes any quote easier to compare.

• Design and build. Someone lays out your pages, makes them work on phones, and sets up things like a contact form and a map.
• Content. Your words and photos. Some quotes include writing and photography; many assume you supply both.
• Domain name. Your web address (yourbusiness.co.uk). It is rented yearly, not bought once.
• Hosting. The computer that serves your site to visitors, plus the security certificate that gives you the padlock in the browser.
• Care. Updates, backups, fixes, and small edits when your opening hours or prices change.

When two quotes differ by hundreds of pounds, it is usually because one of these five is missing, not because one supplier is cheaper at the same job.

What UK small businesses pay in 2026

We read several published UK price guides and supplier pages in October 2026. They are marketing material from the people who sell websites, so treat the numbers as a rough map rather than a rule. Here is what they say.

The same guides agree on one thing: the spread is huge. A site from an agency can cost ten times a template site and look similar to a customer standing in your doorway with a phone in their hand.

The running costs people forget

The build is a one-off. These are not.

• Domain and hosting. Coltura puts hosting and a domain at roughly £80 to £128 a year.
• Maintenance. Another guide, iWill Digital, puts a professionally built site with hosting and maintenance at about £60 to £180 a month. That is a ceiling for full-service plans, not what every small site needs.
• Freelancer support. One supplier quotes £500 to £1,500 up front plus £120 to £350 a year afterwards (Avago).

So the honest way to compare is the first-year cost: build, plus twelve months of domain, hosting and any care plan. A £300 build with £60 a month of care is more than a £700 build with nothing to pay afterwards.

Hidden costs to ask about

• Photography and writing. If you do not have good photos, budget for a shoot or ask whether the supplier includes imagery.
• Booking, ordering or payment tools. These often have their own monthly fee, separate from the website.
• Business email. A name@yourbusiness address is often an extra.
• VAT. Some suppliers quote ex VAT. If you are not VAT-registered, that can add 20% to the figure you thought you were paying.
• Renewal prices. Many "first year free" domains and hosting deals renew at the standard rate.
• Changes. Ask how many rounds of changes are included and what each extra edit costs.

Match the budget to the business

Under £300: a clear one-pager

If you are a café, barber, plumber or salon and customers mainly need your hours, location, a few photos and a way to contact you, one well-built page does the job. This is the sensible starting point for most very small businesses.

£300 to £1,500: a few pages and a gallery

Worth it when you have several distinct services, want to show your work, or take bookings through your own page. Expect a template-based build.

£1,500 and up: custom work

Makes sense for businesses selling online, with complex booking, many locations, or a brand where bespoke design is the point. It is rarely the right first step for a single-site local business.

Where Dexryn fits

We build a free demo first and you pay only if you want it live. In the UK, our current prices are:

Care covers hosting, security updates, uptime checks and email support. It is optional. With care for twelve months, the first-year totals are £279, £549 and £1,039 (that is the one-off plus twelve months of care, our arithmetic). Without it, you pay the one-off price and own the site. VAT and taxes may apply. These are lean, template-assisted builds with a fixed scope, which is why they cost less than custom work. They are not online shops or custom apps.

You can ask for a free demo and see exactly what you would get before spending anything. Current prices are always on the pricing section of our homepage, shown in your local currency.

Questions to ask before you sign anything

1. What exactly is included: how many pages, how many rounds of changes?
2. Who owns the domain, and is it registered in my name?
3. What do I pay after the first year, and what does it cover?
4. Can I take the site files elsewhere if I leave?
5. Is the price ex VAT?
6. When will it be live, and what do you need from me?

A supplier who answers these plainly is usually a safe choice. For help comparing the do-it-yourself route, read our guide to Squarespace, Wix and done-for-you websites.