“How much does a website cost?” is the first question almost every business owner asks us, and it is a fair one. The honest answer is that it depends, but that is not much use when you are trying to set a budget. So here is what we actually see across Romford, East London and Essex in 2026, what pushes the price up or down, and how to tell a good quote from a bad one.
The short answer
Across the UK, small business websites tend to fall into three rough bands:
- DIY website builders such as Wix or Squarespace usually cost somewhere around £10 to £40 a month. You do all the work yourself, and the result depends entirely on your time and design eye.
- Freelancers typically charge anywhere from roughly £300 to £3,000 for a small business site, depending on experience, number of pages and how much is custom.
- Agencies commonly start around £3,000 and can go well past £15,000 once strategy, copywriting, photography and ongoing retainers are included.
For context, here is where our own prices sit:
| Package | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | £300 one-off | A custom single-page website, consultation call, development plan, free hosting, custom email and logo |
| Premium | £500 + £15/month | Everything in Standard plus a multi-page site, Google Business Profile, Google Analytics and continuous support |
| Custom | On quote | Everything in Premium plus custom coded systems, brand-specific design, on-call maintenance and continuous page updates |
We keep prices public because we think you should know roughly what you will pay before you pick up the phone.
What actually drives the price
Two quotes for “a website” can be thousands of pounds apart. These are the things that make the difference.
Number of pages
A single page that explains who you are, what you do and how to get in touch is a very different job from a twenty-page site with separate pages for every service and area. More pages mean more design, more content and more testing. Many local businesses start with one strong page and grow from there.
Custom design or a template
A template is cheaper because the layout already exists, but your site will look like thousands of others. A custom design is built around your brand and your customers, which takes longer but tends to feel more trustworthy and memorable. Watch out for “custom” sites that are really templates with your logo dropped in.
Copywriting and photos
Words and images are often the slowest part of any project. If you can supply clear text and good photos, costs stay down. If you need help writing about your services or arranging photography, budget for it.
Features
Contact forms and click-to-call are standard. Online booking, a shop, a members area, integrations with your other software or anything that needs a database will add cost, because each one has to be designed, built and tested properly.
SEO and Google Business Profile
A site that nobody finds is not much use. Basic search setup (fast pages, sensible headings, location keywords, structured data) should be included in any decent build. Setting up and optimising your Google Business Profile is a separate job, and for local businesses it is often the thing that brings in the most enquiries.
Ongoing support
Websites need looking after. Somebody has to keep the hosting running, make small changes, renew the domain and fix things when they break. Some designers include this in a monthly fee, others charge by the hour, and some leave you on your own after launch.
One-off cost vs monthly cost
When you compare quotes, look at the full picture over a year or two, not just the launch price.
- Hosting: where your site lives. Can be free for simple static sites, or anything from a few pounds to £30+ a month for heavier platforms.
- Domain: your web address, usually around £10 to £20 a year.
- Email: a professional address at your own domain, sometimes bundled with hosting, sometimes a few pounds per mailbox per month.
- Maintenance: updates, backups, security patches and small edits.
On our Premium package, the £15 a month covers continuous support: keeping your site running, small changes when you need them, and help with your Google Business Profile and analytics.
Red flags when comparing quotes
Price is not the only thing to compare. These are the warning signs we would look out for:
- You don’t own the site or the domain. Make sure the domain is registered in your name and that you can take your website elsewhere if you ever want to.
- No plan or dates. A good quote tells you what happens when. If nobody can tell you when you will see a first version, expect delays.
- Locked-in contracts. Long minimum terms on monthly fees can turn a cheap website into an expensive one.
- “Guaranteed number one on Google.” Nobody can guarantee rankings. Anyone who does is either guessing or doing something that could get your site penalised.
- Vague scope. “A website” is not a specification. You should know how many pages, what features and what is not included.
What we’d recommend for most local businesses
If you are a shop, trade, salon, restaurant or professional service in Romford or East London, you probably do not need an agency-sized project to start. A clear, fast, custom single page that explains what you do, shows your reviews and makes it easy to call, message or request a quote will outperform a cluttered site every time.
Once that is working and you want to be found for more searches, move up to a multi-page site with separate service and area pages, plus a properly set up Google Business Profile. That is exactly what the Standard and Premium packages are designed around.
If your business has something more unusual, such as bookings, lead routing or an internal system, that is where a custom quote makes sense.
Get a price for your business
Every business is different, so the quickest way to get a real number is to tell us what you need. Have a look at the packages and prices, or request a free quote and we will come back with a clear plan and a fixed price. If you are local, you can read more about web design in Romford.