Ask three agencies what a new website will cost and you may get three answers that differ by a factor of ten. That is confusing, and it makes people suspect someone is overcharging. Usually the truth is duller: the three quotes are for three different things. This guide explains what drives website cost, which running costs to expect, and how to compare quotes so you are judging like with like.
We have left out price tables on purpose. Prices change, and a number without the detail behind it is how people end up comparing the wrong things. What follows will help you make sense of any quote you are given.
Why website cost varies so much
A website is not a product with a fixed specification. It is closer to building work. “How much is an extension?” has no answer until you know the size, the finish and what is being knocked through. The same is true here. Most of the difference between quotes comes down to time: how many hours of planning, design, writing, building and testing are included.
So the useful question about website cost is never just “how much?” It is “how much, for what?”
The six things that drive the price
1. Size
The number of pages matters, but the number of different page layouts matters more. Twenty pages that share three layouts are far less work than ten pages that are each designed individually.
2. Design
A site built on an existing template or theme, adjusted to your brand, takes much less time than a design created from a blank page. Both can look professional. Bespoke design costs more because every screen is drawn, reviewed and refined for you.
3. Content
Someone has to write the words and supply the pictures. If you provide finished text and good photographs, the cost falls. If the agency is writing every page, arranging photography or sourcing images, that is real work and it should appear in the quote. Check which is assumed.
4. Features
A brochure site with a contact form is simple. Each of these adds time: online shop, bookings, payments, customer logins, quote calculators, multiple languages, membership areas, job boards. Be clear about which you need at launch and which could come later.
5. Connections to other systems
Linking the site to a CRM, an accounts package, a stock system or an email platform is often where budgets stretch. Ready made connectors are quick. Anything custom needs a developer and careful testing.
6. Who is doing the work
A freelancer, a small agency and a large agency have different overheads and different levels of cover. A do it yourself website builder costs the least in money and the most in your own time. None is wrong. They suit different situations.
The running costs people forget
The build is a one off. The following carry on for as long as the site is live, and they should be part of how you judge website cost over three or four years, not only on day one.
- Domain name. A yearly renewal. Make sure it is registered in your business’s name.
- Hosting. The server your site lives on. Quality varies a lot, and cheap hosting is a common cause of slow sites.
- Maintenance. Software updates, backups, security monitoring and fixing things when an update breaks something.
- Licences. Premium themes, plugins and fonts often renew annually.
- Email. Business mailboxes are usually a separate monthly charge per user.
- Changes. New pages, new staff, new services. Ask how these are charged: hourly, in a monthly plan, or something you can do yourself.
- Transaction fees. If you sell online, the payment provider takes a percentage of each sale.
Ask for these in writing before you sign. A low build price with high monthly fees can cost more over time than the reverse.
What cheap and expensive each get you
At the lower end you are generally buying speed and a proven layout. The site will be based on an existing structure, your content will be dropped into it, and there will be a limit on pages and rounds of changes. For many small businesses that is exactly right.
At the higher end you are buying time and thinking: research into your customers, a structure planned around them, original design, professionally written copy, careful testing and a team that will still be there in two years.
Trouble starts when expectations and budget don’t match. A bespoke brief with a template budget disappoints everyone.
The cheapest quote and the best value quote are rarely the same one. Neither is the most expensive.
How to compare quotes fairly
Website cost only means something next to a specification. Send every supplier the same written brief, then line up their answers to the same questions:
- How many pages and how many unique layouts are included?
- Is the design bespoke or based on a template?
- Who writes the content and supplies the images?
- How many rounds of changes are included, and what do extra rounds cost?
- What platform is it built on, and can I edit it myself?
- What are the monthly or annual costs after launch, itemised?
- Who owns the domain, the design, the content and the site files once I have paid?
- What happens, and what does it cost, if I want to move to another supplier?
- Is basic search engine set up included: page titles, redirects from the old site, analytics?
- What is the payment schedule?
If one quote is much lower than the others, look for what is missing before you celebrate.
Ways to reduce website cost without cutting corners
- Launch smaller. Start with the pages that bring in enquiries and add the rest in a second phase.
- Get your content ready. Late content is the biggest cause of extra time.
- Use a proven layout. Save bespoke design for the pages where it matters most.
- Decide once. One person with final sign off prevents rounds of contradictory changes.
- Keep features honest. If nobody has asked for a customer portal, you probably don’t need one yet.
Checklist before you ask for a quote
- One sentence on what the website needs to achieve.
- A list of the pages you think you need.
- The features required at launch, and those that can wait.
- Who will write the content and by when.
- Two or three websites you like, with a note on why.
- Your budget range, stated openly.
- Your deadline, and whether it is fixed.
- Who has final sign off.
- Details of your current domain, hosting and email.
Our own pricing, plainly
For businesses that need a solid, professional site without a large upfront bill, our Free Website Offer has no design or build fee. You pay £220 in total, made up of £100 set up and £120 for the first year of hosting, for a site of up to ten pages. Larger or more involved projects are quoted individually through website design and development, with running costs itemised before you commit.
