How much will it cost me to build a website for my business in 2025?

Quick overview of website costs

We work primarily with small businesses for whom budgets are often extremely tight. When every penny counts, how much should you be spending to get a website set up for your business?

To a certain extent this is one of those 'how long is a piece of string?' kind of questions. Obviously a complicated website with many pages and lots of functionality is going to cost more than a simple brochure site with just a few pages. However, the landscape has changed dramatically in 2025, with AI-powered website builders making professional websites accessible for as little as £100-500 per year, whilst custom enterprise solutions can exceed £50,000.

This post discusses the key factors influencing website pricing to give you an idea what a reasonable expectation might be, including the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence on web development costs.

If you don't have a website at all, there are several core elements to consider, each of which will cost you money:

Domain name registration (£10-30 per year)
Web hosting (£3-300+ per month depending on your needs)
Website design and development (£100-50,000+)
Ongoing maintenance and updates (£25-500+ per month)
Additional features like SSL certificates, email hosting and AI tools

What is a domain name and why do I need one?

Your domain name is the address of your website. For example, our domain for this site is awesometechtraining.com. The first step to getting a domain is to see whether the domain you want is available. You can do this by checking with a domain name registrar such as GoDaddy or 123-reg.

Without a domain name you cannot have a website as visitors would have no way of finding it.

Your own domain also makes your business look more professional as well as enabling you to have customised email addresses such as [email protected] rather than having to use a Gmail, Hotmail or other generic email address for your business communications.

For these reasons we would always recommend that you buy your own domain if at all possible.

How much does a domain cost?

Broadly speaking, how much the domain will cost you depends on how popular it's likely to be. Most small businesses should be able to get the domain they want for less than £20 per year, with some domains available for less than £10 annually.

Popular domains including valuable keywords can be extremely expensive. For example, the domain insurance.com was reported to have been sold for $35 million – one of the most expensive domains ever sold. However, many domains are available for just a few pounds.

The other factor that influences the price is the top level domain – that's the suffix at the end of your domain. The most common (and hence most valuable) are generally .com and .co.uk, but there are many other options available such as .site, .net, or .shop that may well be cheaper. It's always worth looking around for other options if you find that the .com version of your domain is too expensive or already taken.

It's important to remember that when you register a domain, you're buying the use of that domain for a fixed period of time. At the end of that time you will have the option of renewing the domain or letting it lapse. The price will be influenced by the length of time for which you register the domain. Shorter periods will be cheaper as a one-off charge, but if you know you're going to want the domain for a long time, then registering it for a longer period generally gets you a much better 'per year' rate.

Pro tip for 2025: Many experts recommend purchasing a domain name for at least five to ten years to protect your professional reputation and ensure continuity.

How much does it cost to build a website?

This really is a 'how long is a piece of string?' question as the price will vary massively depending on what you need and how you want to go about building it. However, website building costs in 2025 range from £120 to £50,000, depending on what you need.

For small businesses, it's often more cost-effective to learn how to use a platform like WordPress and build the site yourself, and that's generally the approach we advocate where possible. Our Build a Website in One Day with WordPress course costs £199 and gives you the skills you need to put together a simple website for your business yourself.

The main factors influencing website building costs in 2025

Do you need a web designer and a web developer?

There are two different aspects to the work involved in setting up a new website. One is the design of the site (determining the look and feel of the pages, typically done by a web designer) and the other is the actual building of the site (putting together the pages, populating the site with content, making sure all the functionality works, typically done by a web developer).

For relatively simple sites that don't need a bespoke design, it's likely that the same person will do both tasks. For competent, experienced web designers, the going rate in 2025 to build a modern, professional small business website is typically £5,000-£10,000 but could be as much as £20,000 or more, depending on the number of pages and customisation required.

How large is the site and what functionality do you need?

The more pages and content you have, the more it's going to cost to have someone lay them out for you. A good rule of thumb is to add about £100 per page for each page over and above what's included in the standard website package.

A simple site, perhaps with just a contact form and not much other complicated functionality, will be relatively cheap to set up. As soon as you start adding more functionality the price goes up. Building an ecommerce store adds extra cost and complexity, with prices ranging from £8,000 to £10,000+ for small business online shops.

Do you want something completely unique to your organisation?

The more that something is bespoke and tailored to you, the more expensive it's going to be. If you're using WordPress, then your choice of theme can be significant. If you're happy to work with a free or relatively inexpensive theme which is then customised for you, that's going to be significantly cheaper than if you want a bespoke theme built especially for your site.

Who do you get to build the site for you?

Your choice of developer and designer will significantly influence the price. Experienced freelancers charge anywhere between £30 and £100 per hour for a WordPress site, whilst large web design agencies often have minimum project sizes that put them beyond the reach of most small businesses.

Working with an independent freelancer is likely to be the cheapest option. Sites like Fiverr and Upwork can be good sources of freelancers, with prices that can be extremely competitive.

Be aware that, as with everything, you're likely to get what you pay for. If a designer is extremely cheap, think carefully about why that might be. Good web designers and developers have trained hard and developed specific skills that are worth paying for.

AI-powered website builders: the game-changer for 2025

What's revolutionising website building in 2025 is the emergence of sophisticated AI-powered website builders. These tools use artificial intelligence to help you build a complete website faster, generating layouts, writing copy and designing images automatically.

AI website builders have transformed the landscape for small businesses by making professional website creation accessible without technical knowledge. Here's what you need to know:

How AI website builders work

Instead of starting with a blank canvas, you can use AI to generate layouts, write content, create images, and even produce custom code snippets. You simply describe your business, and the AI creates a fully functional website in minutes.

Popular AI website builders for 2025

Wix ADI: £17-159 per month - comprehensive AI with design and content generation
10Web AI Builder: £20+ per month - WordPress-specific with managed hosting
Hostinger AI Builder: £2.99+ per month - budget-friendly with good AI features
SeedProd (WordPress): £79+ per year - AI assistant with drag-and-drop flexibility
Elementor AI: £48+ credits - AI integrated into the popular page builder

Advantages of AI website builders

Speed: Generate a website in under a minute
Cost-effective: Significantly cheaper than hiring professionals
No technical skills required: Perfect for small business owners
Professional results: Modern, responsive designs
Built-in SEO: AI optimises content for search engines

Limitations to consider

Less customisation than fully custom builds
Monthly subscription costs add up over time
May require upgrading plans as your business grows
Limited control over technical aspects

An AI website builder can be a good way of getting a basic site up and running very quickly. If you just need a simple 'brochure' site with a few pages that explains what your business does, and you don't need the site to be done to a specific brand design then an AI builder can be a good option.

However, you will find that it's difficult to get AI to build something that exactly matches a brand template and making changes to the site to get it to be exactly the way you want it can be just as time consuming if not more so that building it from scratch in the first place.

The limitations of AI are also apparent if you need any more complex functionality in your site such as appointment booking or event management or an ecommerce store. You will almost certainly need the involvement of a human developer to get what you want.

Bottom line: For some small businesses in 2025, AI website builders can offer a good balance of cost, speed and professional results if you need to get online quickly and don't require highly specific functionality.

How much does hosting a website cost?

Once you've got a domain and built your site, you need hosting. The hosting company stores your website files on their servers and makes your website available to visitors. The cost of hosting a website in the UK and Ireland varies from as cheap as £2.59 per month to over £300 per month, depending on your needs.

Types of hosting and their costs in 2025

Shared hosting (£3-15 per month)

Shared hosting services available in the United Kingdom and Ireland cost around £5 per month on average. This is the cheapest option, where your website lives on a server with other websites. It's often sufficient for small sites with low traffic levels, but you're sharing resources which can mean slower performance.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting (£20-100 per month)

VPS hosting provides your site with its own space, allowing you to benefit from increased security and quicker speeds. It's a good middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting.

Cloud hosting (£10-50 per month)

Cloud hosting maintains website performance even when traffic is high and offers high reliability - when one server fails, the website uses other servers to stay online. For example, medium-sized businesses can start with plans for £7.99/month, whilst enterprise plans cost £24.99/month.

Dedicated hosting (£100-300+ per month)

Your site lives on its own server with dedicated resources. This is ideal for large sites with lots of traffic or those requiring exceptional security and performance.

Additional hosting considerations for 2025

SSL certificates: Around £50 per year, though many hosts include free SSL
Email hosting: £1-15 per month depending on features
Backups: Often included in managed hosting plans
CDN (Content Delivery Network): Improves site speed globally
Security features: Essential for protecting your business

Our recommendation: Most small business owners won't need the higher spec hosting packages and will be comfortable using products at the £3.99 to £9.99 price point. However don't be tempted by the cheapest options if speed and reliability are important to your business.

How much does ongoing maintenance cost?

Getting your site designed and put live isn't the end of the process. All websites require ongoing maintenance and support. Ongoing maintenance for a small business website typically ranges from £25 to £100 per month, while mid-range websites can expect costs from £100 to £500 per month.

What's included in maintenance costs

Security updates: Regular software and plugin updates
Performance optimisation: Speed and SEO improvements
Content updates: Adding new pages, blog posts, images
Backup management: Regular site backups
Technical support: Fixing any issues that arise
Compliance updates: GDPR, accessibility requirements

DIY vs professional maintenance

Our recommendation is always that you should be familiar enough with your website to handle most regular updates yourself. We talk to clients all the time who have found they're reliant on the person who built the site to make all changes because they aren't confident about making changes themselves.

People who come on our courses often remark that they didn't realise how simple it would be to make changes to their site and express surprise that they've been paying £50-100 every time they want to make a change, for something that might only take a few minutes.

Most web developers and designers will have a minimum charge for maintenance work. An hour's work for a freelance web designer might start at around £50 and rise up to several hundred pounds, so the cost of having someone else make changes quickly adds up.

Staging sites for safe testing

Many hosting companies offer both a live site and a staging site. A staging site is a copy of your live site where you can experiment and make changes without affecting the live site that visitors see. This arrangement makes it possible to try out new things safely without risking 'breaking' your live website.

Money-saving tip: If you do decide to get someone else to make changes, save up a bunch of changes and get them done at the same time to maximise the value from your designer's minimum charge.

What's changed in 2025: new trends and technologies

The website development landscape has evolved significantly in 2025. Here are the key trends affecting costs and capabilities:

Artificial intelligence revolution

In 2025, the focus of AI in WordPress is not just on automation, but on smarter decision-making, time-saving features, and guided workflows. AI tools are now integrated into:

Content generation and optimisation
Design automation and layout suggestions
SEO analysis and improvements
Performance monitoring and optimisation
User behaviour analysis and personalisation

Voice search optimisation

With the increase in voice search usage, AI tools are optimising content structure and metadata to match how users speak. This affects both content creation costs and SEO strategies.

Green hosting and sustainability

Green hosting and carbon-neutral providers might charge slightly more but appeal to environment-focused customers. Many businesses are factoring environmental impact into their hosting decisions.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

More businesses are leveraging PWAs instead of conventional websites, offering app-like experiences through web browsers without the cost of developing separate mobile apps.

Enhanced security requirements

With increasing cyber threats, security has become non-negotiable. GDPR compliance remains crucial for UK-based web hosting services, and additional security measures are now standard rather than optional.

Mobile-first design mandatory

With most users accessing websites on mobile devices, mobile-first design isn't optional anymore. This affects development costs but is essential for success.

Impact on costs

These trends have both increased and decreased costs in different areas:

Decreased: AI builders make professional sites accessible at lower costs
Decreased: Automated optimisation reduces ongoing maintenance
Increased: Enhanced security and compliance requirements
Increased: Need for mobile optimisation and performance
Stable: Overall, technology improvements balance increased requirements

Take control of your website in 2025

As you've probably gathered by now, we're firm advocates of small businesses taking control of their own web presence and doing as much of this themselves as they can, especially now when the tools available make this more achievable than ever.

Why take control in 2025?

Cost savings: Avoid ongoing designer fees for simple changes
Speed: Make updates immediately without waiting for others
Understanding: Know how your most important marketing tool works
Flexibility: Pivot quickly as your business needs change

Recommended approach for small businesses

Learn the basics: Take a course or tutorial on website management
Handle routine updates: Manage content, images, and basic changes yourself
Outsource complex work: Use professionals for major redesigns or technical integrations
Plan for growth: Choose platforms that can scale with your business

Investment in knowledge pays off

It's well worth investing a day of your time to learn how to make changes to your own website. This gives you the flexibility to either run your own site or outsource work from a position of knowledge and strength rather than dependence.

The bottom line for 2025

Website costs in 2025 range dramatically from £100 per year for DIY AI-built sites to £50,000+ for custom enterprise solutions. The sweet spot for most small businesses is:

DIY with AI assistance: £100-500 per year
Professional small business site: £1,500-5,000 one-time
Ongoing costs: £50-200 per month including hosting and maintenance

The key is choosing the right approach for your business needs, budget, and long-term goals. With AI tools democratising web development, there's never been a better time for small businesses to establish a professional online presence without breaking the bank.