How much does a website cost in York?
The honest answer for a small local business: anywhere from nothing up front plus a monthly subscription, to a few thousand pounds with an agency. Here's what you're actually paying for, the costs people forget, and exactly what I charge.
One-off costs and monthly costs
Quotes often only mention one of these two kinds of cost.
- One-off: designing and building the site. You pay it once.
- Ongoing: the domain (a .co.uk is usually about £10 a year), hosting, a website builder subscription if you use one, a maintenance plan, and business email if you want an address like [email protected].
To compare quotes fairly, add up what you'd pay over three years, not just the first month. A cheap start with a monthly fee can end up costing more than a one-off build.
What makes a website cost more or less
- How many pages, and how much writing they need. Most local businesses do well with one to five pages.
- Who writes the text and takes the photos. If you supply them, it's cheaper.
- Features. A contact or order form is simple. An online shop, bookings with payments or customer logins cost a lot more to build and run.
- Moving from an old site: carrying over content and making sure old links still work.
- Who makes changes later. If every small edit needs the designer, you pay for it again and again.
DIY builder, agency or freelancer?
- DIY builders like Wix and Squarespace cost little to start, but the plan for a business site is often £15 to £30 a month, and the time you spend building it is yours. A good choice if you enjoy doing it yourself.
- Agencies bring a team, and quotes for a small business site commonly run into four figures, sometimes with a monthly retainer on top. Worth it for bigger projects.
- Freelancers vary widely in price and experience. You deal with one person directly. Make sure the domain and logins are in your name, so you're never stuck if they move on.
Whoever you choose, ask: who owns the domain, what do I pay every month, can I edit it myself, and what happens if I want to leave?
My prices, and what's included
- Quick fix, £60. Fixes to the site you already have, including Wix, Squarespace or WordPress: hours, prices, a tap-to-call button, broken links. Done in two or three days.
- Refresh, from £250. Your current site rebuilt with a new design, up to 5 pages, and moved to hosting with no monthly fee, so you can cancel your builder plan. Same web address.
- New site, from £350. One page or up to 5, a sketch before you pay anything, your Google Business Profile set up, and two rounds of changes. Half before I start, half when it's live.
- Care plan, £45 a month, optional. Backups, monitoring, fixes if something breaks and help when you're stuck. No contract. My first 10 clients get the first 3 months free.
Every site comes with a simple admin panel for hours, prices, text and photos, and the domain is registered in your name. The price is fixed before I start. It's lower than an agency's because I'm one person, working alongside my studies, and building my portfolio. The full list is in the prices section.
Costs people forget
- Domain renewal every year. Make sure it's in your name.
- Business email, usually a few pounds per person per month with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Forwarding to your existing inbox is sometimes free.
- Introductory prices on builder or hosting plans that go up at renewal.
- Moving away from a provider that owns your domain or won't hand over your content.
Questions about cost
Is there really no monthly fee?
For hosting, yes. I host sites on Cloudflare, which is free for sites like these. Your only running cost is the domain, about £10 a year. The care plan is optional.
What does "from £350" depend on?
Mostly the number of pages and any extra features, like an order form with several options. You get a fixed price before I start, and if anything would cost more, I tell you first.
How do I pay?
A quick fix is paid when it's done. For a refresh or new site, half before I start and half when you're happy and it goes live.
I only need one thing changed. Is that worth it?
Yes. That's what the £60 quick fix is for: hours, phone number, prices or a broken link, on the site you already have.
Ideas for your trade: cafés, butchers, salons and garages. Local pages: web design in York, Easingwold and Haxby.
Or run the instant website check on your site first.