How Much Should a Website Cost? A Guide for Small Businesses

One of the first questions business owners ask when they start thinking about a new website is: “How Much Should a Website Cost?”

It’s a fair question—but the answer isn’t always simple. Just like buying a car, the price depends on what you need. A small business website with a few pages will cost far less than a fully custom e-commerce store or a membership platform with advanced features.

In this article, we’ll break down the key factors that affect website cost so you know what to expect, and how to budget for your project.

1. What does your business need?

1. Basic brochure site – Simple sites with fewer pages costs less. But please remember that initial costs such as design, SEO, hosting, set up still need to be inplace regardless of the size of the site.
2. Business website with features – Includes service pages, a blog, or portfolio. Probably this type of site suits most SME service businesses.
3. E-commerce site – Online shops require product pages, checkout, and payment processing, email notifications. This would be added onto a business website as you would still often require those static pages.
4. Advanced functionality – Memberships, booking systems, or bespoke functionality agian come with additional costs.

2. Design

• Always go bespoke, this is your brand, your business and the window into your world, don’t compromise on a templated bland design.
• Make sure the design reflects your market. Mobile first may well be the best option but if your clients are businesses who use laptops maybe it should cater for that resolution first.
• Always make sure the design is responsive, works across any device and platform.

4. Content and Branding

A website is only as good as its content. Will you provide the copy, images, and videos, or will you need professional help?

• Copywriting – You need professional, concise content do you have the time to write this? Don’t reply on AI google will know!
• Photography – Stock imagery is very affordable but generic, does your budget stretch to a photographer? Can you engage AI?
• Branding – Do you have logo, branding, fonts, colour scheme, messaging? If not you may well want to include this as a cost factor.

5. Hosting and Maintenance

Your website needs hosting. Don’t go cheap go for a company that offers good backups, managed hosting meaning it’s kept secure and most importantly good support if things go wrong.

Don’t be sucked in by initial offers that are £1 a month for 6 months without checking the post 6 month deal. Switching hosts can be done but it will cost time and you’ll likely need a developer. Make wise choices up front.

6. Expertise

Just remember that you don’t know what you don’t know. Expertise, advice and guidance are invaluable and may well save you money in the long run. But that expertise comes from years of accumulated knowledge from your project partner. Don’t expect this for free part of the cost of the website will be that advice. Embrace that cost as an investment knowing a well thought out, user friendly, functional website will ultimately work so much harder for your business and brand than a ropey old thing flung out for half the cost.

So… What’s the Ballpark?

For small businesses here’s a rough guide:

Remember: these are ballpark figures. The real cost depends on your needs.