- August 3, 2020
How much does it cost to have a website in the UK?
Reading Time: 8 minutesAre you looking to improve your online presence with your own website? A website will be, in many cases, the first interaction your potential customers will be with your brand or business. Did you know that almost 2 million UK businesses do not have a website? Don’t be part of that statistic, having a website can help grow your business revenue.
The Internet has changed the way we communicate, shop, study, and work. As consumers, we have to adapt to changing technologies, and as business owners or entrepreneurs we have to do the same and learn new tools to adapt to the digital world.
Getting a new website might be a new and scary thing that you have to do, but it doesn’t have to be a painful learning experience. Unsure about how much it costs to create and maintain a website in the UK? Then you are in the right place. Stick around and we’ll go through a breakdown of costs and options for you.
Why is it important to have a website? Almost 80% of consumers search for products online before buying them, even if they end up buying them in a shop. So if you are launching a new business or looking into having an online presence with your current one, you need a website. It will be easier for your potential customers to find out about you and your products or services.
Having a website doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. We will walk you through your options and hopefully, by the end of this article you will be more confident about it.
But first, think about what you need your website to do, what style does your business or brand have? Do you have a domain registered already? What about web hosting? What budget do you have assigned to your website?
Read on to find out what are the basic things you will need to consider to get your business online and an estimated cost for it.
Let’s start with the beginning.
What do you need for your website?
There are three main aspects that you’ll need to consider to get your website up and running:
- Your business domain name,
- A hosting plan with a hosting provider,
- The content that actually goes on your website.
Anyone who uses the Internet knows what a domain is, even if they don’t know that it’s its official name. A domain is what we type on our browsers when we want to access a website.
The domain name of your website is going to be the first thing your customers come across, and it’s what you are going to say outloud a million times when promoting your business, print in your stationary, merchandising and more. This is why it is important that you choose the right one. But don’t worry, check out our blog A complete guide to buying a Domain Name – Everything you need to know.
In a nutshell, the prices for domain registration will vary according to the extension that you want to use. The extension of a domain is everything that comes after the second dot, for example, .com, .co.uk, .online, .net, .community, and more. Shop around for options and special offers, but remember to check the renewal price as well.
Once you’ve picked and registered your domain name, you will need a web hosting plan. Web hosting is a service providing space in servers that work 24/7 to have your website available online. Basically, the content of your website is saved on web servers that are constantly connected to the internet making your website available to everyone.
Rather than building your own web server, let us save you some time and money. Building and maintaining web servers is expensive. It will be better to get web hosting from a reputable hosting provider, such as Neolo.
Different web hosting providers have different prices and plans. Which plan do I need? This will mainly depend on the needs that you have for your business website. We will come to this when we explore different types of websites.
Neolo’s unlimited hosting plan is £2.77 per month (on sale right now! Save 50%) and we currently have a special offer for Plan 1 which costs £1 for the first year. That’s right, not £1 per month, that’s web hosting for a whole year for just £1. Use the code UK2020 when checking out your shopping cart and enjoy our limited launch offer. Neolo’s hosting plan provides outstanding speed for your website and great customer support.
And last, but not least, your website needs the content that the visitors are going to see when they check out your business online. This will depend again, on the type of business that you have and the type of website you need. Some websites upload content regularly via a blog, others work more like a virtual window to your business and in some websites you can shop or book services online.
The price to build a website will vary according to the functionality it has. If you are after a simple, quite static website, you will probably be able to build it yourself or use templates. If you need your website to manage memberships or process sales and payments you might be better off getting help from professionals. What you can do, is to plan ahead the content that you want your website to have, draft a layout with pen and paper and once you know what you need, you will have narrowed down the type of website that works for your business.
Types of websites: which one do you need?
There are many different types of websites, and it can be hard to choose the right one for your business. Remember, the most important thing is that it fits the purpose of your business. We have outlined 4 of the most common categories, but if your business doesn’t fall on any of these categories, don’t worry. Even if we haven’t covered it in this article, it is likely that your business is part of a larger group of businesses doing a similar thing. Check out what they are doing and that will give you a starting point for what your business might need.
Brochure website
As it is implied in its name, this type of website is the equivalent of a paper brochure with your business information, only digital. Think of a trifold brochure. They usually have a few pages, to describe what you do, how to contact your business and some feedback or reviews from your customers. You can also add a blog and links to social media channels to make them a bit more dynamic.
This type of website is simple and it’s main function is to inform the visitor and signpost them to how they can buy or hire your services. It is an affordable type of website that works well for freelancers, service-based businesses and tradesmen. It’s main function, as on the paper form of a brochure, is to promote your business.
Small e-commerce websites
If you are already selling products and would like to increase your customer base, having an online store can help you do that.
A small e-commerce website’s main functionality will be to sell products. Remember to add information about your return, refund and/or cancellation policies and contact details. How can your clients contact you online or find your shop, if you have one? Ideally your online store will have all the information your visitors need to browse, check what they want, and buy it without any barriers.
There are a couple of platforms that can help you set up your online store, such as WooCommerce, Magento or PrestaShop.
Hospitality-sector websites
These types of websites are focused on the needs of this industry. Even if cafes, restaurants or bars could have a simple brochure style website, customers nowadays expect more from their websites than just static information. You might want to consider having a blog or a section with your latest news and current promotions.
Of course you should cover the basic information of your business (location, opening times and menu). Having the option to contact your business and book online will be an advantage. Show reviews and previous customer’s experiences, this will encourage the undecided visitor and help you make the sale.
Large-scale e-commerce websites for enterprises
If you are already selling thousands from your branches and are looking into expanding to an online store, you will need a more complex and secure large-scale e-commerce website. The more products you sell the more powerful your website will need to be. This will cost more than for a small online store, but having it built professionally will provide a secure e-commerce site and reduce the risk of crashing due to large quantities of traffic.
Large, bespoke website
You might have a big, awesome and unique idea or maybe you want to tailor your website to the needs of your business. In this case, you will have to hire professional help to build your website, maintain it and update it regularly. Because it’s built from scratch to fulfill all of your business needs it will be more expensive than the templates and standardised options, but it might be a good investment on your business or brand.
How much should a UK website cost?
These are the things that you will have to budget in to have your own website:
- Domain name registration
- Hosting (annual payment)
- SSL Certificates (included in some hosting plans)
- Programmer to maintain, update and keep your website safe
- Optional: Digital content producer to improve your SEO (Google’s search engine optimization)
Our Hosting Plans
Plan 0
As low as
£ 1.19 /month
On Sale: Save 50%
£ 2.37 /month after renewal
Plan 1
Don’t miss out on this Sale!
Neolo’s launch sale price is £1 for Plan 1 for 1 year! Yes, that’s right, just £1 for your first year of hosting when choosing Plan 1. Use the code UK2020 during the checkout process.
Unlimited Plan
As low as
£ 2.77 /month
On Sale: Save 50%
£ 5.54 /month after renewal
Our domain registration price list:
| Domain extension | Registration fee (12 months) | Renewal fee (12 months) |
| .co.uk | £ 7.50 | £ 7.50 |
| .uk | £ 7.50 | £ 7.50 |
| .com | £12.65 | £12.65 |
| .net | £16.50 | £16.50 |
| .org | £16.50 | £16.50 |
What are the options to build your website? If you are thinking of getting a web designer to build your website this will increase your costs. Prices for a website built professionally can go from £300 to thousands. It will depend on the designer and how many functionalities you need the website to have. We recommend you use our Website Builder to reduce your costs, but we will explore both options.
Option 1: Use a website builder
A website builder can help you reduce the costs of creating a website. Another benefit of using a website builder is that you will have complete control over your website. You will be able to add, remove, or edit the content on your website without having to contact your web designer. Having full control over your website can save you time and money.
Website builders have come a long way since they first appeared. Unless you need to build a complex website, most websites can be built with a builder. If your website falls into some of the categories described above, you will be able to build yours using our website builder, even for a small e-commerce business.
Neolo’s website builder is convenient, has a drag-and-drop interface, and is included in your web hosting plan.
Option 2: Get a web designer
There are a lot of professional web designers with technical skills and capable of building impressive and complex websites available. As expected, highly skilled professionals will also charge accordingly. Even if you asked a highly trained designer to build a simple website, it is very possible that they will charge you their standard hourly fee and you will end up overpaying for the website that you get.
Website designers usually charge for their services, web hosting, and a monthly maintenance plan. These costs might be reasonable for large e-commerce websites or tailored projects. But it might not work for your business. The following is an example of a professional quote breakdown.
Cost breakdown of building a website using a web designer:
Web designer’s fee: from £160 (Depending on the website’s layout)
Domain name registration: from £16 a year
Hosting cost: from £90 a year (more for larger websites)
Other costs: A digital content producer, ongoing maintenance fees.
Getting a professional web designer will increase the cost of your website, especially in comparison with using a website builder.
If you do decide to go with a designer for your website, remember to shop around and ask for a couple of quotes before committing to a company or designer.
If you’re building an e-commerce website, check out Neolo’s recommendations on platforms for online stores.
Final Thoughts
Having a website used to be expensive and a task reserved exclusively for professionals, but not anymore! Web builders are here to help every business owner and entrepreneur design their own site in minutes and on a small budget.
Are you ready to build your own website?
