Custom Website vs Template: Which Should You Choose?
Cost, speed, design, performance and SEO compared, plus the middle route most businesses need.
Read articleIn this guide
Key takeaways
- Website cost in the UK ranges from a monthly DIY subscription to five figures for complex builds.
- The biggest price drivers are pages, custom design, ecommerce and integrations.
- Budget for hosting, maintenance and content, not just the build.
- Compare quotes on what's included: SEO setup, speed, training and support.
The short answer
A business website in the UK can cost anything from a small monthly subscription for a do-it-yourself builder to tens of thousands of pounds for a large custom or ecommerce build. For most small and medium businesses, a professionally built website costs somewhere in the low to mid four figures, with ecommerce and bespoke functionality costing more.
Website cost in the UK depends less on who builds it and more on what you need it to do. The rest of this guide explains the options, what changes the price and what to budget for after launch.
Your three main options
| Option | Typical cost (illustrative) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | A monthly subscription, plus your own time | Very small budgets and simple brochure sites |
| Freelancer | Hundreds to a few thousand pounds | Smaller sites with a clear brief |
| Agency | A few thousand pounds upwards | Businesses that need strategy, design, SEO and support |
These ranges vary widely across the market, so use them as a starting point rather than a benchmark. For reference, our own websites start from £1,500 for a Starter site of up to 6 pages, £3,500 for a Business site of up to 15 pages, and from £5,000 for an ecommerce store. See our pricing page for what each includes.
What changes the price
- Number of pages and templates: ten unique page layouts take longer than ten pages built from one template.
- Custom design: a design created for your brand costs more than adapting a ready-made theme. Our guide to custom vs template websites compares the two.
- Ecommerce: products, payments, shipping rules and stock management add significant work.
- Integrations: booking systems, CRMs, payment gateways and other software.
- Content: copywriting, photography and video, if you don't supply them yourself.
- SEO and migration: keyword research, on-page SEO and redirects from an old site.
- Accessibility and performance: building to good accessibility and speed standards takes care and testing.
A clear brief saves money. The more precisely you describe what you need, the more accurate (and often lower) your quotes will be. Use our website brief template to get started.
Running costs to budget for
- Domain name, renewed every year.
- Hosting, from basic shared hosting to faster managed hosting for busier sites.
- Maintenance: software and plugin updates, security monitoring and backups.
- Licences for premium plugins, themes or apps.
- Content updates and improvements, so the site keeps working for your marketing.
- Platform fees for hosted platforms like Shopify, including any transaction fees.
How to compare quotes fairly
Two quotes for "a 10-page website" can describe very different projects. Ask each supplier:
- Is the design custom, or based on a theme?
- Is basic on-page SEO included: titles, descriptions, headings, schema and a sitemap?
- How fast will the site be, and will it pass Core Web Vitals?
- Who writes the content and sources the images?
- How many rounds of revisions are included?
- Will you be able to edit the site yourself, and is training included?
- Who owns the site, the domain and the hosting account?
- What support is included after launch, and what does it cost after that?
Want a clear, fixed price?Tell us about your project and we'll quote exactly what's included.
Get my free quote The real cost of a cheap website
A low price can be good value, but watch for hidden costs later:
- A slow site that loses visitors and struggles to rank.
- No SEO setup, so the site is hard to find on Google.
- Hosting or the domain registered in someone else's name.
- Heavy page builders and plugins that make updates risky.
- No support when something breaks.
Redesigning an existing site? Budget for redirects and SEO checks, or you risk losing rankings you've already earned. Our website redesign SEO checklist covers what to protect.
Website cost FAQs
How long does it take to build a website?
Most business websites take four to eight weeks from kick-off to launch. Larger ecommerce and custom builds take longer, depending on content and integrations.
Should I pay monthly or upfront?
Both can work. Upfront pricing usually means you own the site outright, while monthly plans spread the cost but may tie you in. Check who owns the site if you stop paying.
Is a website builder good enough?
For a very simple site on a tight budget, it can be. If the website needs to win enquiries, rank in search or grow with your business, a professionally built site usually pays for itself.
Does website cost include SEO?
It should include on-page SEO basics such as titles, descriptions, headings, speed and a sitemap. Ongoing SEO to grow rankings over time is usually a separate monthly service.
The bottom line
Website cost in the UK depends on what the site needs to do. Write a clear brief, compare quotes on what's included rather than the headline price, budget for running costs and make sure you own everything. A well-built site that wins enquiries is worth far more than it costs.