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A UK business website can cost hundreds of pounds for a focused brochure site or several thousand for custom content, integrations and commerce. ACA Tech Solutions currently publishes brochure-site starting prices of £500, £750 and £1,250, with custom portals from £1,500. Those are ACA examples—not a UK market average or a final quote.
Reviewed: 9 September 2026
ACA website starting prices at a glance
| Example starting point | Published price | Typical scope question |
|---|---|---|
| Starter brochure site | From £500 or £50/month for 12 months | Can a compact reusable layout tell the story? |
| Growth brochure site | From £750 or £75/month for 12 months | How many distinct pages and content sections? |
| Pro brochure site | From £1,250 or £125/month for 12 months | Which design, content and conversion work is needed? |
| Custom portal | From £1,500+ | Which users, data and workflows must be built? |
Prices and inclusions can change. Confirm the current scope on ACA’s business website service page. E-commerce, complex integrations and substantial custom development are priced separately.
Why website quotes vary so widely
Two proposals labelled “five-page website” may involve very different work. One might place supplied copy into an established design system. Another may include research, messaging, photography direction, custom layouts, accessibility, technical SEO, integrations, migration, analytics and a supported launch.
Useful quotes explain the assumptions rather than hiding them inside one total.
Discovery and structure
A focused site still needs clear audiences, goals, page hierarchy and conversion routes. Discovery becomes more involved when services overlap, several decision-makers contribute, old URLs must be preserved or the website connects to business processes.
Use ACA’s website brief builder to capture objectives, audiences, evidence, content ownership and handover requirements before requesting comparable quotes.
Pages are not equal units of effort
A simple contact page assembled from established components is not equivalent to a detailed service page, comparison tool, directory or interactive calculator. Ask suppliers to separate straightforward pages from complex layouts and functional templates.
- How many unique page types are required?
- Which pages need original research or copywriting?
- Are case studies, resources and team profiles repeatable content types?
- Will existing URLs and search traffic need migration?
- Who enters and approves the final content?
Content, photography and brand work
A low build price may assume finished copy, images and brand assets are supplied. If the project needs interviews, positioning, copywriting, illustration, photography, video or brand development, show those as separate deliverables. Content delays often become development delays when ownership is unclear.
Design and responsive behaviour
Template adaptation generally requires less work than a custom visual system. Either can be effective if it fits the business. The proposal should still cover mobile, tablet and desktop behaviour, navigation, forms, error states, accessible contrast and reusable content components—not only a polished homepage mock-up.
CMS, integrations and custom functionality
Price increases when the website exchanges data or supports business workflows. Examples include CRM forms, bookings, membership, gated resources, payments, stock, property feeds, multilingual content, customer portals and custom APIs.
For each integration, confirm the account owner, subscription cost, data fields, failure behaviour, testing, security and ongoing support. A connector installed during the build may create a permanent licence and maintenance obligation.
SEO, accessibility and measurement
A launch-ready site should include crawlable navigation, sensible headings, titles and descriptions, canonical URLs, image text alternatives, redirects where needed, sitemap and robots configuration, performance work and analytics agreed with the business.
Read the SEO-ready website brief and the 25-point handover checklist. No supplier can guarantee search rankings; good implementation gives useful content a sound technical foundation.
Hosting, domains and ongoing costs
Separate the one-off build from recurring costs such as hosting, domain renewal, email, premium plugins, fonts, consent tools, monitoring, backups, security services, content changes and support. Confirm who owns each account and what happens if the maintenance relationship ends.
Migration and launch work
A replacement site may need content export, redirect mapping, analytics continuity, DNS changes, mail-safety checks and rollback. Plan a launch window, acceptance tests and post-launch monitoring. “Put it live” is not a complete migration scope.
How to compare website quotes
- Give each supplier the same brief and content inventory.
- Compare page types and functionality, not only page count.
- Identify what the client must supply and approve.
- Separate build, third-party subscriptions and ongoing care.
- Check SEO, accessibility, performance and launch acceptance.
- Read ownership, source-file, licence and exit terms.
Use ACA’s website cost and scope estimator to model page, content, design, integration, commerce, QA and care assumptions. It produces a planning range, not a quotation.
Frequently asked questions
Can a small business website be built for £500?
Yes, where the scope fits a focused brochure build and assumptions are clear. Content, custom design, integrations, commerce and migration can increase the price.
Why do agencies quote more than website builders?
The proposal may include strategy, content, custom implementation, testing, migration and ongoing accountability. Compare deliverables and ownership rather than supplier labels.
Should hosting be included in the build price?
It can be bundled or separate. Either way, identify the recurring fee, service level, account owner, backup arrangement and exit route.
