Website design cost in 2026. Real market levels, and what drives the price.
Website design typically costs $2,000-$10,000 for a small business site in the US and £1,500-£8,000 in the UK, while custom lead generation and ecommerce builds run from $10,000 to $50,000 and beyond. Where your project lands depends mostly on content, features and who builds it. Below are the published numbers, what a redesign costs, and what you pay every year after launch.
US prices
What a website costs in the US
The ranges below are the levels US agencies and freelancers publish on their own pricing pages and guides (September 2026). They cover design and build of the site itself. Running costs come on top and are covered further down.
| Website type | Typical scope | Published price range |
|---|---|---|
| Basic website | A few pages, template-based, little custom work | $500-$1,500 |
| Small business website | 5-15 pages, custom design, contact forms | $2,000-$10,000 |
| Startup website | Product story, pricing, signup flow | $3,000-$12,000 |
| Custom lead generation site | Many landing pages, integrations, CRM | $10,000-$50,000+ |
| Ecommerce website | Catalog, checkout, payment, shipping | $5,000-$150,000+ |
| Enterprise / custom CMS | Many teams, many systems, governance | $100,000-$500,000+ |
Who builds it
Freelancer vs agency vs custom build
The same brief gets very different quotes depending on who you ask. That is not only margin: you are buying different amounts of capacity, process and responsibility.
| Provider | Published project range | Published hourly rates | What you typically get |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | $0-$500 plus monthly plan | Your own time | Templates, limited control over speed and structure |
| Freelancer | $500-$5,000 | $50-$150/hour | One person, usually design and build, rarely copy and SEO |
| Agency | $3,000-$20,000+ | $100-$180/hour | Strategy, design, build, often content and support |
| Custom build | $10,000-$50,000+ | Project-based | Bespoke design and functionality, integrations |
| In-house team | $85,000-$300,000+ per year | Salaries | Ongoing capacity, only relevant at scale |
UK prices
What a website costs in the UK
UK pricing follows the same pattern at a slightly lower level. Most UK guides agree that a professionally built small business website lands between £3,000 and £6,000, and that hidden costs like copywriting, photography and SEO setup add 30-50% on top of the quote.
| Website type | Published price range |
|---|---|
| Freelancer brochure site (about 5 pages) | £1,500-£3,000 |
| Agency brochure site (about 5 pages) | £3,000-£5,000 |
| Custom business site (15+ pages) | £5,000-£15,000 |
| Ecommerce | £2,000-£20,000+ |
| Freelancer hourly rate | £40-£70 |
| Agency hourly rate | £60-£150 |
| DIY builder | £10-£50 a month |
Price drivers
Six things that set the price. And where you can save.
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Number of unique page types
Not the page count itself, but how many different layouts need to be designed. Ten service pages that share one template cost far less than ten pages that each need their own design.
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Who writes the content
Copy, photos and case material are the most underestimated part of any website budget. Published UK pricing puts copywriting at £50-£150 per page, and missing content is the most common reason projects stall.
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Functionality and integrations
Booking, payments, member areas, CRM hookups and product catalogs each add real work. Published US pricing puts complex features like ecommerce, dashboards or API integrations at $5,000-$20,000+ each.
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Custom design or a template
A theme gets you online quickly. A design made for your business, your customers and your brand costs more, but it is also what makes you look different from the competitor who bought the same theme.
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Search and performance work
A site that is structured around what your customers search for, and that loads fast on a phone, takes planning before anyone opens a design tool. Skipping it is cheaper on day one and expensive every month after.
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The platform you build on
A page builder, a WordPress theme with plugins, a headless CMS or a static site all have different upfront and running costs. The cheapest to build is not always the cheapest to own.
Redesign
Website redesign cost
A redesign is not always cheaper than a new site. If the structure, content and platform all change, it is a new site that happens to have a history. If the structure works and only the look is dated, it can be much less.
| Scope | Published price range |
|---|---|
| Freelancer redesign | $3,000-$10,000 |
| Agency redesign | $5,000-$75,000 |
| Small business, 5-15 pages | $5,000-$20,000 |
| Mid-size business, 20-75 pages | $15,000-$60,000 |
| Ecommerce redesign | $10,000-$80,000 |
| Enterprise redesign | $75,000-$250,000+ |
The number that is missing from most redesign quotes is the cost of losing search traffic. If old URLs disappear without redirects, rankings built over years can drop overnight. Ask how the vendor handles URLs, redirects and content migration before you compare prices. We cover that in detail on our website redesign services page.
After launch
What a website costs per year
Many budgets stop at launch day. A website is closer to a car than a painting: it keeps costing something as long as you use it.
| Item | US | UK | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | $10-$20 a year | £10-£30 a year | Premium domains cost more |
| Hosting | $50-$200 a year | £50-£300 a year | Managed hosting and ecommerce cost more |
| SSL certificate | Free-$100 a year | £0-£100 a year | Often included with hosting |
| Maintenance plan | $50-$200 a month | £25-£200 a month | Updates, backups, security, small changes |
| Total rule of thumb | 15-30% of build cost a year | £500-£2,000+ a year | Includes marketing in some guides |
Platform choice moves this line more than people expect. A WordPress site with a stack of plugins needs regular updates and security monitoring. A static site has far less to update. See website maintenance services for what a sensible plan covers.
Spend smart
How to get more website for the money
Decide what the site has to achieve
More enquiries, more bookings, fewer phone calls, a stronger case for investors. A clear goal cuts features you do not need and protects the ones you do.
Start from what your customers search for
Page structure based on real searches means every page has a job. It also means you do not pay later for an SEO project that rebuilds half the site.
Get the content moving early
Waiting for copy and photos is the most common reason projects run over. If writing is not your strength, budget for website copywriting from the start.
Count the cost of owning it
Compare quotes over three years, not on launch day. A cheaper build with expensive maintenance and slow pages can end up costing more than a better site.
Proof
What a well-built site can do
We have built 50+ websites for clients, from a US grant consultancy to Danish clinics and architects. The results speak louder than a price list.
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20 pages
Simply Solutions
Read the case : Simply Solutions
A US grant consultancy went from a homepage where Google could read 46 words to 20 pages built to rank, scoring 100/100 in Lighthouse SEO. -
Timeless
Caspersen & Krogh Arkitekter
Read the case : Caspersen & Krogh Arkitekter
mobile-first site that showcases the architecture firm's work and has strengthened its position in the industry. -
Fewer calls
Lægerne Bøsbrovej
Read the case : Lægerne Bøsbrovej
Mobile-first website with patient self-service that took pressure off the clinic's front desk.
No price list
Why you get an estimate, not a starting price
A "from $X" number says nothing about what your website costs. We would rather hear what the site needs to do, who it is for and what content exists already. Then you get a concrete estimate and an honest answer about whether it is worth it. Sometimes the answer is a smaller site than you expected.
Read more about how we approach web design, or see what working with a web design agency in Denmark looks like.
Related
Related services
- Web designWebsites built around what your customers search for
- Website redesign servicesA new site without losing the rankings you have
- Website maintenance servicesHosting, updates and changes, month to month
- Landing page designOne page, one job, built to convert
- Website design for startupsA first website that can grow with the company
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does a website cost for a small business?
Published US pricing puts a professionally built small business website at roughly $2,000-$10,000, depending on the number of pages, content and features. In the UK, most small business sites land between £1,500 and £8,000, with a typical agency brochure site at £3,000-£5,000.
How much does it cost to redesign a website?
US agencies and freelancers publish redesign ranges from about $3,000 to $75,000. Freelancers typically sit at $3,000-$10,000, agencies at $5,000-$75,000, and a small business redesign of 5-15 pages usually lands between $5,000 and $20,000.
What does a website cost per year after launch?
Expect domain, hosting, security and maintenance. Published pricing puts a domain at $10-$20 a year, hosting at $50-$200 a year and maintenance plans at $50-$200 a month for a small business. Some guides simply budget 15-30% of the build cost per year.
Is a freelancer or an agency cheaper?
Freelancers are usually cheaper per project ($500-$5,000 in published US pricing versus $3,000-$20,000+ for agencies). The trade-off is capacity: design, development, copy and SEO rarely live in one freelancer. A small studio can sit in between.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because two quotes for "a website" often describe different things. One includes content, search research and a year of support. Another is a theme with your logo on it. Ask every vendor what is included, who writes the copy and what it costs to run the site after launch.
Why is there no price on your website?
Because two websites rarely cost the same. We would rather hear what the site needs to achieve and give you a concrete estimate than publish a "from" number that does not fit your project.
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