UK Web Design Costs for Trades: What £599 Does Not Cover
Most UK business websites land between a few hundred pounds for a DIY or template build and several thousand for a freelancer or agency, with ecommerce and bespoke projects costing more. Project scope, meaning the features and content you need, decides which band you sit in. Cyber security (NCSC) and accessibility (GOV.UK) should be budgeted from day one, and we at TK Marketing build trade sites with both in mind.
TL;DR:
- A template WordPress example costs £599 once, while the managed Shopfront plan is £39 monthly plus £299 setup; compare inclusions before choosing.
- Trade businesses usually need services, service areas, reviews, job photos, and a tap to call number, which fit template or freelancer builds.
- Template WordPress sites take about 2 to 4 weeks, agency builds take 4 to 12 weeks, and bespoke projects take 8 weeks or more.
- Private trade businesses are not covered by public sector accessibility regulations, but GOV.UK recommends WCAG 2.2 AA; include testing, fixes, HTTPS, backups, and updates in scope.
- The NCSC says about 1 in 2 UK small businesses experience a cyber attack yearly; budget for updates and separate backups, not hosting backups alone.
Table of Contents
- What does a website cost in the UK, band by band?
- How does the build route change cost, speed and flexibility?
- What pushes a website quote up?
- What do UK web designers charge per hour, and how should you read a quote?
- What should you budget after launch?
- How long does a website take to build?
- How do you choose between quotes?
- What actually works for trade websites
- Want a managed trade website without the hassle?
- FAQ
- Sources
What does a website cost in the UK, band by band?
We have no single national price list to point to, so treat the figures below as the working ranges we see in the market, not published statistics. Where a figure comes from our own pricing page, it is stated exactly as listed there. Your quote will move up or down with scope, so use these bands to sort yourself, not to haggle.
- DIY site builder: subscription costs vary, plus your own time. You get a template, basic pages and a contact form. Suitable for a side business or a simple online card.
- Template WordPress starter: costs vary with the theme, branding and setup. You get a pre-made theme, your branding dropped in, a handful of pages and basic setup. We list our own WordPress website at £599 one-off as one example of this band.
- Freelancer or small studio: costs vary for a custom-styled brochure site, with some copy guidance and basic SEO setup.
- Small agency: costs vary, usually adding project management, stronger design, content support and a defined process with revisions.
- Ecommerce: costs vary for a small shop on a hosted platform and rise with stock systems, delivery rules and payment integrations.
- Bespoke or enterprise: costs vary enormously because requirements, integrations and approvals drive the hours.
Two things sit outside those bands. First, ongoing costs: hosting, security and updates are covered later. Second, content: if you need professional photography or a logo, our guide to UK logo design costs for trades shows how branding spend can change the total.
How does the build route change cost, speed and flexibility?
The cheaper the route, the more of the work lands on you. The dearer the route, the more is handled for you, and the more you can change. Here is how each route works in practice, with a realistic example for a trade-site brief.
- Site builder. You assemble the site yourself from templates. Cost is low, but you write the copy, source the photos and handle search basics. Common extras: a paid plan to remove builder branding, a custom domain, an email address.
- Template WordPress. Someone installs a theme, adds your branding and loads content. Flexibility is better than a builder, but design stays close to the template. Common extras: premium plugins and themes, which often renew annually, and stock images.
- Freelancer (about 2 to 6 weeks). One person designs and builds, so quality depends heavily on who you pick. Expect revisions, some copy help and a launch checklist. Common extras: copywriting, photography and ongoing support, which may be billed separately.
- Small agency. A team covers design, development, content and project management. Prices are higher, but you get a defined process and several people behind the work.
- Bespoke (8 weeks or more). Custom design and custom functionality, built around a detailed brief. This only makes sense when an off-the-shelf approach cannot do what the business needs.
Most trades do not need route five. A plumber, electrician or roofer typically needs a clear services list, service areas, reviews, a gallery of past jobs and a phone number you can tap from a mobile. That brief fits comfortably in routes two to four. Here are two illustrative quotes, not market data:
- Sole-trader brochure site: a template-based site, with content supplied by you. A quote in the template or freelancer band depends on scope.
- Multi-service contractor: service-area pages, a project gallery and a quote form. A freelancer or small agency quote depends on scope.
Our own managed route sits between template speed and freelancer service: you can see what we have built in our portfolio, and the monthly side of the offer is explained in the ongoing costs section below. If you also want wider brand work beyond the site, a strategy-led agency such as Align shows what a broader brand and conversion approach looks like.
What pushes a website quote up?
A website is priced mostly by hours of work, so anything that adds hours adds cost. These are the biggest drivers, in rough order of impact for a small business.
- Design complexity and bespoke features. Custom layouts, animations, calculators and one-off functionality cost far more than a clean template with your branding.
- Content creation and page count. Every page needs writing, editing and images. More well-written service pages cost more, and writing is often the slowest part.
- Integrations. Taking payments, linking a CRM, adding online booking or syncing stock each add set-up, testing and sometimes monthly fees from the third-party tool.
- Accessibility. Gov explains that audit costs vary and that you must budget for fixes and retesting. For design, Gov building accessibility in from the start and combining automated and manual testing against WCAG AA.
- Security basics. The NCSC’s TLS guidance recommends HTTPS, redirecting HTTP to HTTPS and using HSTS and secure cookies. A quote that skips these is cheaper for a reason.
The legal duties in the accessibility regulations apply to public sector bodies, so a private trade business is not bound by them in the same way. Still, accessible sites are easier for everyone to use, and that includes customers on a phone in bright sunlight.
Pro Tip: Retrofitting accessibility or security after launch usually costs more than including it in the original scope, so ask for both in writing before you sign.
What do UK web designers charge per hour, and how should you read a quote?
Hourly rates vary by region and experience, and published UK benchmarks differ, so use these as sanity-check ranges rather than fixed prices.
- Freelancers: hourly rates vary, with experienced specialists charging more.
- Small studios and agencies: hourly rates vary, reflecting the team and overheads behind each hour.
- Fixed-price quotes state one total for a defined scope. They suit brochure sites where pages and features are known. Check what counts as a revision and what happens if the scope grows.
- Time and materials quotes bill the hours actually worked. They suit evolving projects but need a cap or estimate so the total stays predictable.
To sanity-check a quote, work backwards: at an hourly rate, compare the project price with the estimated hours to judge whether it is plausible for a small brochure site. A low quote for a custom site with copywriting should make you ask what has been left out. A quote that bundles hosting, security and backups in clear line items is easier to compare than one that stays vague.
What should you budget after launch?
The build is only the first bill. Domain renewals, hosting, security and updates keep coming, and the NCSC says about 1 in 2 UK small businesses experience a cyber attack every year, so it recommends treating a website as a business asset that needs ongoing security management.
- Domain name: an annual renewal, usually a modest fee, which should stay in your name.
- Hosting: from a few pounds a month for basic shared hosting to more for managed WordPress hosting.
- SSL certificate: often included with hosting, but confirm it, and see the NCSC TLS guidance for what a sound set-up looks like.
- Plugins and themes: premium ones typically renew yearly, and unpatched ones are a common weak point.
- Backups: the NCSC recommends keeping backups online and on an external device, and protecting online backups with two-step verification. Hosting backups alone may not meet that standard.
- Monthly management: covers edits, updates, backups and monitoring so you are not doing it yourself. Our Monthly management plan starts from £20 per month, and the exact inclusions are on that page. For free, practical steps, the NCSC’s Cyber Action Toolkit is a good place to start.
How long does a website take to build?
Time is part of the price. Faster delivery usually means a tighter scope or a more standardised process, and slower routes buy more custom work.
- DIY site builder: days to a few weeks, depending on how quickly you write and decide.
- Template WordPress: about 2 to 4 weeks.
- Freelancer: about 2 to 6 weeks, depending on their diary and your feedback speed.
- Small agency: about 4 to 12 weeks, with scoping, design rounds and testing.
- Bespoke: 8 weeks or more, and longer where integrations are involved.
Whatever the route, you control a lot of the timeline. Have your service list, photos, logo, reviews and contact details ready, and nominate one person to approve work quickly. Late content is the most common reason a project overruns. We aim to complete our trade websites promptly, and timing depends on you supplying what we ask for.
How do you choose between quotes?
Start with the job the website must do. A trade that wants more phone calls needs a different site from a shop selling to the whole country. Then compare proposals line by line, not just by headline price.
- Match the route to the need: brochure and enquiries suit templates or freelancers, while shops, bookings and complex integrations suit agencies.
- Check the invisible items: are accessibility, backups and security included, or quietly excluded?
- Compare deliverables: page count, copywriting, photography, revisions and what happens after launch.
- Compare timescale and support: who answers when something breaks, and how quickly?
Questions to put to every supplier:
- What exactly is included in the price, and what costs extra?
- Who owns the domain, the design and the content?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- How are hosting, backups and security handled, and who pays?
- What does ongoing support cost, and is there a minimum term?
- Can I see similar sites you have built for trades?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
What actually works for trade websites
In my experience, effective trade sites are phone-first: a tap-to-call number, a clear list of services and areas, real photos of real jobs and one obvious next step. Flashy design rarely wins work, but clarity does. Budget for upkeep from the start, because a neglected site loses trust and security quickly. That thinking shapes our own fast-build, managed approach for trades.
— Trey
Want a managed trade website without the hassle?
We build fast-launch websites for UK trade businesses and look after them each month, so you are not chasing updates, hosting or security. You can compare our Shopfront, Shopfront Plus and Website Max plans, and we can also audit and manage your Google Business Profile. See the plans and request a quote on our websites page.
FAQ
How much do web designers charge in the UK?
It depends on the route. Freelancers often bill by the hour or by project, while agencies price more of the process, so the same website can vary widely between suppliers. Compare line-by-line deliverables rather than headline price.
How much does it cost to have a website built in the UK?
A simple template or DIY site costs the least, and freelancer and agency builds cost progressively more as scope grows. Our own Shopfront plan is £39 per month with a £299 one-off setup, as a point of reference for a managed trade site.
What ongoing costs should I expect after launch?
Plan for domain renewal, hosting, security updates, backups and any premium plugins. Many businesses choose monthly management so these tasks are handled together rather than left to chance.
Do small business websites need to be accessible?
Legal accessibility duties in the regulations apply to public sector bodies, but GOV.UK still recommends designing for WCAG 2.2 AA from the start. Building it in early is usually cheaper than fixing it later.