Web Design Pricing (2025)
Before we get into the detail, we should mention that we build conversion-focused, with transparent pricing and no hidden fees.
- Small Business Website — from £1,800
- Ecommerce Website — from £3,200
- Custom / Complex Builds — quoted based on scope
Web Design costs vary hugely, but Why?
It all depends on who you get a quote from. Much like buying a car, you can pay vastly different amounts for what looks like the same thing, but under the bonnet and in the design there is a world of difference.
If you are looking to get a new website for your company and have reached out to get a few quotes, then you will most likely have received quotes that vary greatly without much explanation as to why.
Understanding why there is such a difference in costs means that you will have a better idea of the type of service that you can expect to receive and what type of website design business is right for you.
In this article, we will cover the following.
- Web design costs by company type.
What’s involved in building a website?
Why not build a website myself?
What’s the cost of photos, images and media?
How much does a domain name cost?
How much does website hosting cost?
- Example Project Costs
Web Design Costs by Company Type
Web design agencies, companies and freelancers are service based so time is the main cost for them. Website design costs will be based on hourly or daily rates. The rate set is determined by the type of company, experience, demand and the overheads that they incur.
Average web design rates in the UK and Offshore in 2023 are approximately as follows:
| Business Type | From | To | Reason |
| Offshore Web Design Agency | £10 | £25 | Low cost of living. Low premises costs, Favourable exchange rate. |
| Freelancer Web Designer | £25 | £50 | Minimal overheads. Generally, working from home. |
| Small Web Design Agency | £50 | £100 | Small multi-skilled team, commercial property, medium overheads. |
| Large Web Design Agency | £75 | £150 | Multiple specialised staff, a large wage bill, and commercial property. |
Choosing which type of company you want to work with depends on your budget and projected returns on the website that you create. It also depends on the quality of service that you want.
Offshore web design companies are cheap, but you will usually have to deal with a time difference which adds to the overall time to create your website. You will usually also have one contact, a project manager, who will speak English. Very rarely will you be able to speak to the actual person who is doing the work. Communication and getting exactly what you want will be a challenge. It may seem cost-effective, but multiple amendments and instructions lost in translation may mean that you do not get exactly what you want.
Freelancers are a good choice, however, you will be limited to one person attempting to do all of the work. Many Freelancers are very good and you will get a good service, however, they will almost always be juggling multiple jobs, and if time is a concern, then a Small agency might be a better choice.
A small web design agency is good for small to medium-sized businesses with a favourable projected return on investment from the website build. Work will generally be of a high standard, and a multi-skilled team will be able to create the website you want at a reasonable cost.
A large web design agency is for bigger businesses, with a larger budget. Corporate companies will employ the larger agencies, knowing that they will be ‘or should’ be getting the best service possible at a premium price.
What is involved in building a website?
A website design company will create a site based on your specifications. The type of website that you need will be a major factor in the cost implication. Web design covers a range of services and companies will offer core services such as:
- Project management:
- Research
- Design
- Development
- Content Creation
- Training and documentation
- Testing
- Launch
Project Management will include planning, meetings, consultation, and advice.
Research involves competitor analysis, strategy, defining objectives, audience and content requirements.
Design will include wireframes, mock-ups, design rounds and amendments.
Development includes the coding and build of both the frontend design and backend functionality.
Content Creation, which covers photography, copywriting, graphic design, illustrations and video.
Training and Documentation will provide you with information on how to work with your new CMS or e-commerce store.
Testing in the background througout the process to make sure everything is working as it should before release.
Launch of the live website with a demo version ready for updates and new features as you need them.
Why not build a website myself?
You can, of course, reduce your website design costs substantially if you create your own website. It’s quick and easy to do so. With the likes of Squarespace and Wix. You can have a website up and running very quickly.
These solutions are great, but there are a few issues that you will come up against with a self-build. You will need to get to grips with the technical side of things, there will be a learning curve. Sourcing images and manipulating them for display on the website may not be your thing. And these types of sites are inherently limited in terms of layout and design.
If you are happy with the basics and you have the time and inclination, then the DIY route may be for you.
How much does website content cost?
Content needs to be primarily for your visitors, and it needs to be engaging and useful and it needs to lead them to take the action that you want. That might be a contact form submission, a phone call or a purchase.
You also need to consider Google and other search engines. Content needs to be search engine-friendly for your website to appear in the search results.
There are two options: write the content yourself or employ a copywriter.
The larger web design agencies will usually have an in-house copywriter. Smaller agencies and freelancers will usually have a copywriter that they regularly use on an ad hoc basis, or yo u might want to employ your own freelance copywriter.
Content is usually down to you, so you can expect to incur additional costs for copywriting if you need it. Costs vary; you can expect to pay between £50 and £100 per page.
What’s the cost of photos, images and media?
Good quality images are essential. Depending on the type of website, you may need to hire a professional photographer. However, there are plenty of stock image services where you can source images for relatively low cost.
Web Designers and Agencies will already have access to stock image databases, and these images should be included in their charges.
A professional photographer can cost up to £500 per day, whereas stock images can be purchased individually at a much lower cost from websites such as Shutterstock, iStock, Unsplash and Stocksy.
How much does a Domain name cost?
You will need a domain name. Domain name extensions can be country-based, like .com (US or Worldwide), or like .co.uk (for the UK). They can also be more specific to a trade or service like .info, .store, .media, or .digital.
We would recommend 123Reg to search and register domain names. Prices will range from £5 to £50 per year.
How much does website hosting cost?
The hosting that you require will depend on the type of website that you have created and the volume of traffic that you expect.
The hosting refers to the physical server where your website files and images are served from and to the browser.
There are various options for hosting, including shared hosting, virtual private servers, cloud-based servers and dedicated servers.
Servers can be either managed or unmanaged, meaning that either you or the hosting administrators are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the server and its software. The options are priced accordingly.
So you will pay a monthly or annual fee for the server that you choose.
We recommend Cloudways as our preferred hosting provider and we use them for all of our in-house projects. they provide cost-effective, scalable managed servers. A standard promotional website would cost around £20 per month on this platform. An e-commerce store with 100,000 products would need a larger server, and the cost would be £100 – £200 per month.
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
The cost difference between an ecommerce website and a standard informational website is usually quite significant because of the extra functionality, integrations, and time needed.
The features that are needed on top of a standard promotional website are substantial.
Product catalogue (categories, filters, search)
Shopping cart & checkout
Payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, etc.)
Customer accounts / order tracking
Shipping & tax rules
Inventory management
Security (SSL, PCI compliance)
Integrations (accounting, ERP, email marketing, etc.)
The cost depends on the complexity of the business and the platform used.
We will estimate from £3000 for a Shopify store, from £4000 for a WordPress store and from £6000 for a Magento store. A larger agency would start at around £8000 and work upwats to £50,000 +
On average, an ecommerce store costs 2 -to 5 times more than an informational site. But with that said, it all comes down to features, branding, creatives and budget.
What is the Cost of Website Design with a Small Agency
So you’ve decided to go with a Small Agency. Their hourly rate is £65 per hour. Your website is a promotional 10-page website.
| Task | Hrs | Cost |
| Project management | 4 | £260 |
| Research | 4 | £260 |
| Design | 24 | £1560 |
| Build | 24 | £1560 |
| Training | 4 | £260 |
| Testing | 4 | £260 |
| Launch | 2 | £130 |
| £4160 |
Additional website design costs include content and hosting. Content creation costs are optional. Hosting is paid monthly or annually.
Content: 10 pages ad £75 per page: £750
Hosting: £20 per month
So in this example, the total cost would be £4910 + VAT.
What is the Cost of Website Design with Plus 8 Digital
Well, we are a small agency, so we’re not cheap, but we like to keep pricing competitive. We have a core multi-skilled full-stack developer and designer and we collaborate with additional resources such as graphic designers, copywriters and photographers, etc, as and when needed.
We are a UK company based in East Sussex
Our hourly rate is £65 per hour, but for a full website build we work on the basis of £50 per hour.
Your website is a promotional 10 page website.
| Task | Hrs | Cost |
| Project management | 4 | £200 |
| Research | 4 | £200 |
| Design | 24 | £1200 |
| Build | 24 | £1200 |
| Training | 4 | £200 |
| Testing | 4 | £200 |
| Launch | 2 | £100 |
| £3300 |
Additional website design costs include content and hosting. Content creation costs are optional. Hosting is paid monthly or annually.
Content: 10 pages at £75 per page: £750
Hosting: £40 per month
Maintenance & Technical support: £65 per month (1 hr)
So in this example, the total cost would be £3390 + £80 per month.
The time and cost here is of course estimated, and every business and project is different. We can be flexible with both time and costs. To find out more and have a chat about your project, contact us or schedule a call .
Article by Richard Hancock
Founder of Plus 8 Digital
