How much should a business website cost in 2026?

Ask five agencies what a website costs and you'll get five wildly different answers — anywhere from £300 to £30,000. None of them are lying. They're just answering different questions. Here's how to actually think about it.

The three price bands (and what you really get)

Under £1,000 — template builds. At this level you're paying someone to configure a theme: Wix, Squarespace, or a WordPress template. It can look respectable, but it'll look like other sites using the same theme, load slower than a custom build, and the moment you need something the template doesn't do, you're stuck. There's usually no ongoing relationship — once it's handed over, updates are your problem.

£2,000–£6,000 — the traditional agency build. Custom design, proper development, usually a content management system. This is where most small business sites should sit in quality terms. The catch is what happens after launch: hosting, security updates, content changes and fixes are typically billed separately, often at £50–£90 an hour. A £3,000 site quietly becomes a £4,500 site by the end of year one.

£8,000+ — bespoke platforms. Online shops with customer accounts, booking systems, member areas, integrations. Justified when the website is the business, overkill when you mainly need enquiries.

The costs nobody puts on the quote

• Hosting and SSL: £10–£40/month if managed properly
• Domain renewal: £10–£25/year
• Content changes: often £50+ per request after launch
• Security and software updates: neglected on most small business sites until something breaks
• Redesign every 3–5 years, because the site was never maintained: £2,000+ again

Spread over five years, a "£3,000 website" routinely costs £6,000–£8,000 once you count everything. That's the number that matters — not the launch invoice.

Why subscription pricing exists

The subscription model (a monthly fee that covers design, build, hosting, updates and support) exists because of exactly that gap. Instead of a big upfront payment followed by years of neglect, you pay a predictable monthly amount — typically £40–£150/month for small businesses — and the site stays maintained, fast and current for as long as you're subscribed.

Over five years, £40/month totals £2,400 — usually less than the all-in cost of the "cheaper" upfront route, with none of the decay. The trade-off is real too: you're in an ongoing relationship rather than owning a static artefact, so choose a provider you'd be happy to email in year three.

Questions to ask before paying anyone

• What exactly happens after launch — who does updates, and what do they cost?
• Is hosting included, and what happens to my site if I stop paying?
• Will I see a design or demo before I commit money?
• Who owns my domain name? (It should always be you.)
• Is the site built mobile-first and tested for speed — and can they show evidence?

The honest answer to "how much should it cost" is: whatever gets you a fast, well-maintained site that generates enquiries, at a total cost you can actually predict. Anchor on the five-year number, not the launch price, and the comparison gets much clearer.