Website Packages: Types, Typical UK Costs, Trade-offs
A website package is a bundled price for a set number of pages, design, build and often some extras such as hosting or support. In the UK, small business options run from DIY builders at about £12 to £40 a month, through one-off freelance builds of £1,500 to £5,000, up to pay-monthly plans with a setup fee. The useful comparison is 12-month cost, what is still extra after launch, and who looks after the site.
What a website package actually is
A website package is a bundled offer: a set number of pages, a design approach, technical setup, and sometimes hosting or support, sold at one price. It is a way of quoting, not a guarantee of quality. Two quotes both labelled a five-page business package can differ on design originality, who writes the words, who owns the files, and who fixes the site when something breaks.
If you treat every package as the same product, you will pick the lowest number and regret it. Treat them as different products that happen to share a name, then compare like with like.
The four types you will see
Almost every UK small-business quote I see falls into one of four buckets. Do not compare a £20-a-month builder plan with a £4,000 studio build.
DIY website builders
Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and similar tools charge about £12 to £40 a month, plus a domain at roughly £10 to £15 a year. You, or a freelancer hired for a few hundred pounds, assemble a template. You are the designer, editor and the person who notices when something breaks. Custom work and SEO control are limited, and leaving the platform later often means a rebuild.
Low-cost template packages
These sit in the £99 to £799 range. You get a pre-designed layout, a handful of pages, a contact form and a short revision window. Delivery is fast. The result often looks generic, with thin copy and weak structure for Google. Support after handover is usually email-only or billed extra.
One-off professional builds
You pay a freelancer or studio a project fee and, in theory, you own the result. For a small UK business, a realistic freelance range is £1,500 to £5,000 for 5 to 10 pages, a design that is not a generic theme, mobile layout, forms, basic on-page SEO, analytics and a short handover. Larger studios and agencies often quote £5,000 to £15,000 for a similar brief with more process and more review rounds.
That fee is not the full cost. Hosting is extra, typically £5 to £30 a month. Updates, backups and content changes are extra unless you buy a retainer, often £30 to £150 a month in the UK. Add those up over three years before you call the one-off quote cheaper.
Pay-monthly managed packages
You pay a setup fee, then a monthly amount that includes hosting, updates and ongoing management. The point is that the site is not dumped on you. This route suits small businesses that do not have a few thousand pounds spare at the start and do not want to log in every month. Read the contract: who owns the domain, the content and the code if you leave, and how much notice you need to give.
Setup can be a few hundred pounds to over £1,000. Monthly fees for a small-business site with hosting and care often land between £50 and £200. Cheaper monthly deals usually mean a template, tight change limits and little real management.
Typical UK costs compared
Use 12-month totals, not the headline number. A cheap build with no care can cost more than a managed plan once you add hosting, a developer call-out and a security incident.
| Type | Upfront | Typical monthly | Rough 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | £0 to £400 | £12 to £40 | £150 to £900 |
| Template package | £99 to £799 | £5 to £20 hosting | £160 to £1,040 |
| One-off freelance | £1,500 to £5,000 | £35 to £180 hosting and care | £1,900 to £7,200 |
| Agency project | £5,000 to £15,000 | £35 to £180 | £5,400 to £17,200 |
| Pay-monthly managed | Setup fee | £50 to £200 all-in | Setup plus £600 to £2,400 |
One-off totals above add typical hosting and care on top of the build fee. DIY upfront is £0 if you do it yourself, or a few hundred pounds if you hire someone to set the template up.
What should be written down
If a line is not on the quote, assume it is not included. I would not sign a package that leaves these points vague.
- Exact page list, not a vague page allowance without names
- Mobile layout as standard, not an extra
- SSL, plus a privacy and cookies setup that matches UK GDPR practice
- A way for you to edit text and images, plus a short training session
- Contact form with spam protection, sending to an email you control
- Analytics and Search Console in your name
- Redirects from old URLs if you already have a site
- Who registers the domain, in whose name, and who pays the renewal
- Who owns the design files, code and content
- How many revision rounds, and what counts as a new request
What is nearly always extra
Copywriting, photography, logo design, extra pages beyond the agreed list, e-commerce, booking or quoting tools, a blog beyond a basic template, ongoing SEO work, Google Business Profile work, email mailboxes, and content changes after the included rounds. A £2,000 package that still needs £1,500 of copy and photos is a £3,500 project. Get those lines in writing so the real number is visible before you start.
How to compare two quotes
Do this on one sheet of paper before you reply to anyone.
- Put both page lists side by side. If one includes Services, Locations and FAQ and the other does not, they are not the same job.
- Add 12 months of hosting, updates and support to any one-off fee.
- Check whose name is on the domain and hosting. If both sit in the supplier's account, leaving later means a migration.
- Count revision rounds and the hourly rate after that. £80 to £120 an hour is common for UK freelance changes.
- Ask what happens when the CMS, a plugin or the server needs an update.
- Read the exit clause: notice period, data export, and whether the design is yours to take.
One-off build or pay monthly
Both routes are legitimate. Choose a one-off build if you have the budget now, you want to own the site from day one, and you will either look after it or buy a retainer. Choose pay monthly if cash at the start is tight, you want one supplier for build and care, and you would rather not touch the CMS.
I offer both a one-off website build and a pay-monthly plan. The monthly option has a setup fee, then a monthly price that includes hosting, updates and ongoing management. Current figures are on arlowebstudio.com.
Monthly, you keep paying while you use the service. One-off, you pay more now and still pay later for hosting and care. Neither is a trick if the contract states ownership, notice and what sits in the monthly fee.
Write one page before you pick a bundle: who you serve, the 6 to 8 pages you need, the one action you want, three sites you like, a deadline and a budget range. Send it to two or three people. Compare replies against the inclusion list and the 12-month cost. The right package covers the real job at a cost you can sustain.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business website package cost?
For a proper small UK business site, plan on £1,500 to £5,000 as a one-off freelance build, or a setup fee plus £50 to £200 a month for a managed plan. DIY builders are £12 to £40 a month if you do the work. Quotes under £800 are usually templates with little support after launch.
What is the difference between a one-off package and a monthly plan?
A one-off package is a project fee for design and build. You then pay separately for hosting and care. A monthly plan charges a setup fee, then a monthly amount that typically includes hosting, updates and management. Monthly suits you if you lack upfront budget or do not want to run the site yourself.
Are cheap website packages worth buying?
A £99 to £799 template can be a stopgap. It is rarely enough if you need to rank locally, look credible against competitors, or change pages without paying again. Add copy, photos, hosting and fixes, and the cheap option often reaches the price of a better build while still looking generic.
Should hosting and updates be inside the package?
If you do not want to manage a CMS, yes. A build-only package leaves you with hosting of £5 to £30 a month plus updates and backups. Those are easy to ignore until the site breaks. Either buy a retainer or choose a monthly plan that includes them.
Do I own the website if I pay monthly?
Only if the contract says so. Ask who the domain is registered to, whether you can export the content and code, and what happens when you cancel. If the supplier owns the account, you may be renting a site you cannot take with you. Get that in writing before you pay the setup fee.
How many pages should be in the package?
Most small firms need 6 to 8: Home, About, Services (sometimes one page per service), Work or examples, FAQ, Contact. Add Locations if you cover more than one town. Name every page on the quote. A vague page allowance with no list is how extra fees appear later.