The short answer
A simple, professional website for a one-person trade business typically costs somewhere between nothing and about £1,500 upfront, depending on who builds it and how much of the work you do yourself. Prices at the top end, £3,000 and above, are usually for larger businesses that need booking systems, an online shop or a lot of custom design.
The figures below come from published UK price guides and provider websites checked in October 2026. Many of those sources sell web services themselves, so treat them as a guide, not a quote.
What the main options typically cost
| Option | Typical UK price | Ongoing cost |
|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself (Wix, Squarespace and similar) | £10 to £25 a month | £120 to £300 a year, every year, plus your own time |
| Freelance web designer | £500 to £1,500 upfront for a trades site | Updates are often charged by the hour, around £50 to £150 |
| Trades-specialist firm, fixed price | About £595 to £995 | Domain and extras on top |
| Trades-specialist firm, monthly plan | About £85 a month | £1,000 or more a year, for as long as you keep the site |
| Web agency | £1,500 to £3,000 or more | SEO retainers are often £200 to £500 a month |
The costs people forget
The headline price is rarely the whole bill. Check each of these before you compare quotes.
- Your domain name. A .co.uk is typically a few pounds to about £15 a year, depending on the registrar. Cheap first-year prices often renew higher.
- Hosting. Some builders include it, some charge monthly, some charge extra for a custom domain.
- Changes. Ask how much it costs to change your phone number, add a photo or update your opening hours a year from now.
- Your own time. Guides to building a site yourself suggest 20 to 40 hours. If you earn £30 an hour on the tools, that is real money.
- Writing and photos. Some quotes include them, many do not.
- VAT. Check whether prices include it.
What drives the price up
Cost mostly follows scope, not quality. These things push a quote up:
- More pages than you need
- Fully custom design instead of a proven layout
- Copywriting and professional photography
- Online booking, payments or a shop
- Ongoing SEO or advertising retainers
What a tradesperson actually needs
Most tradespeople get their work from people who want to see who you are and then call or message you. That does not need a large site. A clear homepage, a services page, the areas you cover, photos of your work and an easy way to contact you is enough. Our guide to the pages a trades website needs lists them in detail.
Is a cheap website a bad website?
Not necessarily. Price and quality are only loosely linked for a small brochure site. A five-page site on a proven layout, with your own photos and clear text, can serve a one-person trade perfectly well for a low one-off price. What you give up at the low end is usually custom design, a lot of copywriting and a long back-and-forth. What you should never give up is the basics: a site that works on a phone, loads quickly, shows your number and lets you own your domain.
The warning signs of a bad cheap deal are different from low price. Be wary of anything that hides the real cost behind a long contract, takes ownership of your domain, charges a large fee to leave, or promises first place on Google.
A worked example: the same job, three ways
Imagine a one-person heating engineer who wants a simple site with a call button, WhatsApp button, a services page and ten photos. Here is roughly what it could cost over three years on each route, using the typical prices above. These are illustrations, not quotes.
| Route | Setup | Years 1 to 3 | Three-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY on a builder at £15 a month | Your time, about 30 hours | £540 in fees | £540 plus 30 hours of your time |
| Freelancer at £1,000 | £1,000 | A few updates at £50 to £150 an hour | Roughly £1,100 to £1,400 |
| Monthly plan at £85 a month | Often little or nothing | £3,060 in fees | £3,060 |
| One-off site at £199 plus domain | £199 | Domain about £5 to £15 a year, small changes as needed | Roughly £215 to £250 before any changes |
How to budget for the first year
- Domain name: a few pounds to about £15 a year
- The site itself: choose one-off or monthly, and work out the three-year total
- Changes: assume a few small edits a year, such as new photos, a new phone number or updated hours
- Photos: your phone is fine. A photographer is a nice-to-have, not a need
- Your time: 10 minutes if someone builds it for you, 20 to 40 hours if you build it yourself
How to get a quote you can compare
Send the same short brief to two or three providers so the quotes are comparable. Say your trade, your town, how many services you list, how many photos you have, whether you need a WhatsApp button and an enquiry form, and whether you already own a domain. Then ask each one to confirm in writing what is included, what changes cost, who owns the domain and files, and how you can leave. A good provider will answer in plain English.
Where we fit
We build one kind of website for UK tradespeople: five pages with a call button, WhatsApp button and enquiry form, for a one-off price with no compulsory monthly fees, and a free preview before you pay. The scope is on our What is included page. If a freelancer or a DIY builder suits you better, that is a perfectly good choice, and the points above will help you pick.
Common questions
Is £199 enough for a proper trade website?
For a simple five-page site with the essentials, a one-off price at the lower end is realistic if the layout is a proven template and the work is efficient. It will not include custom design, extensive copywriting or professional photography.
Do I have to pay every month for a website?
Not necessarily. Some options charge monthly and some charge once. Always ask what happens to your site if you stop paying.
What is the cheapest way to get a website?
A free plan on a builder, or a free social page, costs nothing in money but has limits and usually does not give you your own domain. The cheapest route to a proper site with your own domain is usually a one-off package at a low fixed price.
Why do some web designers charge thousands?
Larger prices usually reflect custom design, copywriting, photography, booking or shop features, ongoing SEO work and an agency's overheads. A one-person trade rarely needs all of that.
Do I have to pay VAT on a website?
That depends on the seller and whether they are VAT registered. Always ask whether a quoted price includes VAT.
Five pages with a call button, WhatsApp button and enquiry form. We build a free preview first, and you only pay if you want it live.
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