How much does Website Design Cost in 2024

Web Design cost vary hugely, But Why?

Website design costs in the UK can vary hugely depending on who you get a quote from. If you are looking to 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:

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 overall time to create your website.  You will usually also have one contact, a project manager that will speak English.  Very rarely will you be able to speak to the actual person that is doing the work.  Communication and getting exactly what you want will be a challenge.  It may seem cost effective, but multiple amends 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 the one person attempting to do all of the work.  Many Freelancers are very good and you will get a good service, howerver they will almost alway 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 size 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 desing agency is for bigger businesses, with a larger budget.  Corporate comanies 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 comapnies 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, advice.

Research involves competitor analysis, strategy, defining objectives, audience and content requirements.

Design will include wireframes, mock ups, design rounds and amends.

Development includes the coding and build of both 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 ecommerce 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 desing 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 agains 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 ayout 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 yout visitors and it needs to be engaging and useful and 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 copyrighter.

The larger web design agencies will usually have an inhouse 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 usuall 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 webite you may need to hire a professional photographer.  However there are plently of stock image services where you can source images for relatively low cost.

Web Desingers and Agencies will aready have access to stock image databases and these images should be included in their charges.

A proffesional 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 the 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 server.

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 inhouse projects.  they provide cost effective, scalable managed servers.  A standard promotional website would cost around £20 per month on this platform.  An ecommerce store with 100,000 products would need a larger server and cost would be £100 – £200 per month

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.  You’re website is a promotional 10 page website.

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

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.  Our overheads are low with one office location and take advantage of remote colaboration .

UK company based in East Sussex

Our hourly rate is £40 per hour. 

You’re website is a promotional 10 page website.

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: £30 per month

Maintenance: £40 per month

So in this example the total cost would be £3390 + £60 per month