Estimate your website cost in 10 minutes

Key takeaways

You can estimate website cost in about 10 minutes by choosing a site type base price, adjusting for content and features, then adding running costs. For example, a template service site at £2,500, plus £1,000 for copy and £800 for booking, gives about £4,300 to build, plus monthly running costs. The estimate gives you a realistic range before asking for quotes.

• Step 1: pick a base price by site type.
• Step 2: add content you will not supply.
• Step 3: add each feature.
• Step 4: add yearly running costs.

How do you estimate website cost?

Estimate website cost by picking a base price for your type of site, adding content you will not supply yourself, adding each feature you need, then adding running costs. Use market ranges for each step. The result is a range, good enough to set a budget and brief suppliers.

• A small business website budget worksheet
• How much does a business website cost in the UK?

What base prices should you use?

Use indicative UK base prices for the build only, before content and features. These are orientation figures, not a GBL price list.

• Self-built builder site: about £200 to £500 a year.
• Template service site: about £1,500 to £4,000.
• Custom service site: about £5,000 to £15,000.
• Online shop: about £3,000 to £15,000.

• Brochure website cost in the UK: what you get

What should you add for content and features?

Add copy at about £100 to £400 a page if you will not write it, photography at about £300 to £1,500, booking at about £300 to £1,500 to set up, payments at £0 to £2,000, and CRM links at £0 to £5,000 depending on complexity.

• What an online booking system adds to website cost
• Website copywriting cost in the UK, page by page

How do you add running costs?

Add hosting, domain, email and licences, typically £200 to £1,500 a year, plus care at about £30 to £200 a month and any growth work. Multiply monthly costs by 12 for a yearly figure and add VAT if you cannot reclaim it.

• Annual website renewals small businesses forget

When is a quick estimate not enough?

A quick estimate is not enough for complex integrations, regulated sectors or large catalogues, where costs vary widely. Use it to set a range, then get quotes or pay for discovery to firm it up.

What does this look like in practice?

At Global Bridge Labs (GBL), a UK dog trainer estimated their site in ten minutes: template site £2,500, copy for five pages £1,000, booking £600, running costs £1,500 a year. Their quotes came back between £3,800 and £4,600 for the build, close to the estimate, which made choosing quick.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Estimate checklist

• Pick a base price for your site type.
• Add content you will not supply.
• Add each feature.
• Add yearly running costs.
• Add VAT if not reclaimable.
• Treat the result as a range.

• Questions to ask about cost before hiring a web designer
• Does website cost go up per page?

Next step

Run the four steps now with a pen and paper. Take the range to suppliers and ask what they would deliver within it.