How Much Does a Website Cost for a Local Business?

It's usually the first thing people want to know. And the honest answer is: it varies. That's not useful, so here's a plain breakdown of what you're actually paying for.

For years, getting a website meant hiring a developer, paying somewhere between £1,000 and £5,000 upfront, then sorting hosting and maintenance separately on top. Changes? That's another invoice. That model still exists, and for some businesses it makes sense. For most small local businesses, it doesn't.

A lot of web designers now work on a monthly subscription. You pay a fixed fee each month and get the website, hosting, security updates, and the ability to ask for changes without being billed every time. We charge from £45 a month, which works out at less than £1.50 a day.

The headline price matters less than what's actually included. Some providers advertise low monthly rates but charge separately for hosting, SSL certificates, and any update you ask for. Read what's included before you sign anything.

At a minimum, a decent subscription should cover a properly designed site that works on mobile; secure hosting with an SSL certificate (the padlock in the browser bar); a custom domain; the ability to request updates; and someone who actually picks up or responds when you get in touch.

Domain renewal (around £10 to £15 a year) and stock photography are the extras that tend to catch people out. Ask about them upfront.

Whether it's worth it depends on the work it brings in. A site that lands one extra job a month more than covers its cost for most trades businesses. A salon picking up one extra booking a week through Google is well ahead. The question isn't whether a website costs money. It's whether it makes more than it costs.

For most local businesses with a decent site, it does. For a cheap, badly built one, often not.

If you want a straight conversation about what would suit your business, get in touch. No pitch, just an honest chat.

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