A clear, honest breakdown of what professional website design actually costs in 2026, and what drives the price up or down.
Most service businesses get one of two answers when they ask what a website costs: a number that feels suspiciously cheap, or a number with no explanation. Here is how to think about it properly, then a quick way to find out what yours would cost.
What actually drives the price
The real cost of a website is built from a small number of variables: how many pages, how custom the design, how much conversion work goes into it, and how much SEO foundation is built in. A five-page brochure site is not the same product as a ten-page lead-generation machine with proper local SEO.
DIY templates
Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy. Cheap, fast, you control it. The catch is it looks like a hundred thousand other businesses, performs badly on mobile, ranks poorly on Google, and is hard to convert from. Fine for a hobby business. Wrong tool if you want the phone to ring.
Independent designers and small studios
This is the bracket most established service businesses sensibly land in. Custom design (no template), conversion-focused copy, mobile-first build, on-page SEO foundations, a private admin hub for leads, analytics and any tools you ask us to build in. Industry typical: anywhere from low four figures to mid four figures depending on scope. This is the range where a website starts paying for itself in booked jobs within months.
Mid and large agencies
More design polish, custom photoshoot, booking integration, light branding work. Industry typical: mid four figures to low five figures. Right for established businesses with strong revenue who want a step-change in brand presence.
Beware the £200 "agency" website
The agency that promises a full custom site for £200 plus a tiny monthly that "includes everything", these are template farms reselling the same site to hundreds of businesses with your logo swapped in. They lock you into long contracts, hold your domain hostage, and disappear when you ask for changes. Avoid.
How most agencies overprice
A lot of agencies pad invoices with strategy decks, account managers, project managers and discovery workshops you didn't ask for. None of that makes the phone ring. You're paying for the agency's overhead, not for leads.
How to find out what yours would cost
Every business is different. The honest answer is: it depends on the work you want the site to win. The fastest way to get a real number is the free demo, we'll build a custom homepage for your business at no cost, then send a tailored proposal with pricing.
Get a free demo at /free-demo and stop guessing.