The cheapest way to get a website in the UK (3-year costs)
The cheapest way to get a website in the UK depends on what you count. We compare DIY builders, freelancers, agencies and pay-monthly over three years.
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What will a website really cost you?
The sticker price is never the whole story. Put in your own quotes and see the total over three and five years, with the costs people forget: your own hours, apps, photos, copywriting, fixes and the next redesign.
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Your numbers, side by side
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What each option actually includes
The price only means something next to what you get for it. Agencies vary a lot, so check your own quote against each line.
| What you get | DIY website builder | Typical agency build | Nerdsharks Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | A template you adapt yourself | Usually custom - check the quote | Ask us |
| The words on every page | You write them | Often extra, or you supply them | Every word written for you - no homework |
| Hosting and SSL | In the builder plan | Usually a separate monthly fee | Hosting, SSL, security updates, 24/7 monitoring and daily backups |
| Security updates and fixes | The platform patches itself; apps and settings are yours to manage | On a maintenance plan, or billed per job | Ask us |
| Changes after launch | You make them | Usually billed by the hour | Two small changes a month, done for you |
| Google setup | You set up Search Console and your Business Profile | Sometimes included, often extra | On-page SEO, Google indexing and Search Console setup. Google Business Profile set up or tidied up. |
| Forms, reviews and enquiries | Often paid apps or plugins | Varies by build | Quote, booking-request and contact forms, straight into your inbox or CRM. Built-in review system that shows reviews on your site. |
| Phones and speed | Depends on the template and the apps you add | Depends on the build | Mobile-first, with tap-to-call on every page |
| Support | The platform’s help desk | Varies by agency | WhatsApp and email support from the person who built it |
| Who owns what | Your words and photos; the site usually cannot move off the builder | Usually yours once paid in full - check the contract | On Monthly, you pay the website off as you go: we own and run it while you are paying, and after 24 monthly payments it becomes yours and the monthly drops to £49 for hosting and care, with no minimum term. Your domain, words and photos are yours from day one. On Own It and Pro, you own the website outright once the build is paid for. Once a website is yours, cancel the monthly service and it is still yours - we hand over everything so you can host it anywhere. On Monthly, if you stop before 24 monthly payments, the site comes offline when the plan ends and we send you your domain, words and photos so they can go into a new site. After 24 payments, and on Own It and Pro, the website is yours: stop the monthly service and we hand over the complete site so you can move it to any host. |
| Your time | Tens of hours to build, then ongoing | Briefing, content and feedback rounds | A 15-minute call, then approving your design |
| Time to launch | As long as it takes you | Often several weeks | We aim to have you live within 3 working days of your 15-minute call and your approval of the design. |
Want to see how any website measures up, including one built by us? Run it through the free website grader. Full plan details and exclusions are on the pricing page.
Hidden costs
The costs people forget to count
Your own time
The biggest cost of a DIY site. Twenty or thirty hours at what your time is worth is a real bill, even if nobody sends it to you.
Apps and plugins
Booking forms, review widgets, SEO tools and extra storage are often monthly add-ons on top of the builder plan.
Stock photos
Good images are rarely free, and free ones are the same ones your competitors use.
Copywriting
Words that turn a visitor into an enquiry are a skill. Agencies often quote them separately; on a DIY site they are your evenings.
SEO and Google setup
Page titles, descriptions, Search Console and your Google Business Profile. Skipped, they cost you visibility; done, they cost time or money.
Hosting upgrades
Cheap hosting and starter plans often need upgrading once you add a shop, bookings or more storage.
Security fixes
Hacked plugins, expired certificates and broken forms have to be fixed by someone, often out of hours and at a premium.
A redesign every few years
Many small-business sites are rebuilt every few years as they start to look dated. Tick the box to count one.
Enquiries a weak site loses
A slow page, no tap-to-call or no reviews can quietly cost you work. Only you can estimate how much, so it is off unless you add it.
Questions
About website costs
How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
It depends on who builds it and how long you keep it. A DIY builder is cheap in cash but costs tens of hours; agency builds are commonly quoted in the thousands, plus hosting and changes; our Monthly plan is £299 to set up and £99 a month with the design, words, hosting and changes included. Use the calculator with your own quotes to compare them over three or five years.
Why does the calculator count my time?
Because your time is the biggest hidden cost of building a website yourself. An hour spent fighting a template is an hour not spent on paid work. Put in what an hour of your time is really worth, or set it to zero if you would rather compare cash only.
Are the DIY and agency figures real prices?
No. They are placeholders to overwrite with the quotes and plans you actually have, not claims about any company’s prices. Builder plans, agency quotes and maintenance fees vary a lot, so the calculator is only as accurate as the figures you put in.
Is the Monthly plan or Own It cheaper?
Monthly has less to find upfront (£299), with a 12-month minimum term. Own It costs more upfront but has a lower monthly fee and no minimum term, so it works out cheaper if you keep the site for a couple of years or more. The calculator shows the month where Own It overtakes Monthly.
What happens to my website if I stop paying?
On Monthly, if you stop before 24 monthly payments, the site comes offline when the plan ends and we send you your domain, words and photos so they can go into a new site. After 24 payments, and on Own It and Pro, the website is yours: stop the monthly service and we hand over the complete site so you can move it to any host. On Monthly, you pay the website off as you go: we own and run it while you are paying, and after 24 monthly payments it becomes yours and the monthly drops to £49 for hosting and care, with no minimum term. Your domain, words and photos are yours from day one. On Own It and Pro, you own the website outright once the build is paid for. Once a website is yours, cancel the monthly service and it is still yours - we hand over everything so you can host it anywhere.
Why is a redesign every three years in the calculator?
Because many small-business websites get rebuilt as they start to look dated, and that cost is rarely counted when choosing. The calculator assumes each option pays for its first build again, which is a simplification. It is off by default, so you can choose whether to count it.
Read more about website costs
The hidden costs of cheap websites
The hidden costs of cheap websites: renewals, plugins, premium themes, email, SSL, second-year prices and your own time, with a table of what to budget for.
Read →Pay monthly websites in the UK: how they work
Pay monthly websites explained: what the fee covers, minimum terms, exit terms, who owns the domain, and when paying monthly is worth it for a UK business.
Read →Try another free tool
Website grader
See what your website is missing, with a strict yes or no verdict and a fix for each gap.
Open →Website ROI calculator
Work out what a website earns you back, and how many jobs it takes to pay for itself.
Open →Is my website outdated? quiz
Twelve quick questions that tell you whether your site is helping or quietly costing you.
Open →Know what you’re paying for.
£299 setup, then £99 a month. Live in 3 working days. Tell us what your business does - we reply the same working day.