For most UK small businesses, a professionally built website is a one-off cost in the low thousands of pounds, followed by a modest monthly fee to keep it hosted, secure and up to date. At Marvanova, builds start from £1,200 for a site of up to five pages, and ongoing care starts at £39 a month. A do-it-yourself template site costs much less in cash but takes a lot of your own time, while a larger agency project with many pages and custom features costs more.
That is the short version. The rest of this page explains where the money goes, what we charge and why, the costs that carry on after launch, and the things worth checking before you sign anything.
What drives the price of a website
Two websites can look similar on the surface and still be very different jobs underneath. These are the things that move the number most.
The number of pages. A simple site with a home page, services, about and contact page is a smaller job than one with a page for every service, every area you cover and a blog. Each page needs designing, writing, building and testing.
Design. A ready-made template is quick and cheap to set up, but it can look like plenty of other sites. A design made for your brand and your customers takes longer, which is where much of the difference in price comes from.
What the site has to do. A site that shows your work and a phone number is the simplest kind. Online booking, a chatbot that answers questions, a link to your CRM, a members area or an online shop all add work, because each one has to be built, connected and tested.
The words and pictures. Somebody has to write the copy and supply the photos. If you provide them, the build is quicker. If you want help with the writing, that is extra time, although it often makes the biggest difference to whether visitors get in touch.
Being found on Google. A properly structured site with the right headings, page titles, descriptions, a sitemap and schema markup gives you a sound footing in search. Doing this from the start is cheaper than fixing it later.
The three usual routes, and what each really costs you
Most small businesses end up choosing between three routes, and the cheapest in cash is not always the cheapest overall.
A do-it-yourself website builder has a low monthly fee and you can have something online in a weekend. The real cost is your time, both now and every time something needs changing, and the result depends on how much design and search knowledge you bring to it.
A freelancer usually costs more than doing it yourself and less than a larger agency. Many are excellent. The questions to ask are who looks after the site once it is live, and what happens if that one person becomes unavailable.
An agency or studio costs more up front, and in return you should get a clear proposal, a defined process and somebody responsible for the site after launch. With a small studio like Marvanova, the person who scopes your site is the person who builds it.
What Marvanova charges
Our website packages are one-off projects with a fixed scope agreed before any work starts. These are the starting prices published on our site today.
| Package and what it includes | Price |
|---|---|
| AI Starter Site. Up to 5 pages, an AI chatbot, lead capture with auto-response, mobile optimised, SEO-ready structure and 30 days of post-launch support. Usually a 3 to 4 week build. | From £1,200 |
| AI Business Site. Up to 10 pages, a full AI chatbot with lead qualification, CRM integration, a blog section, full SEO setup and 60 days of post-launch support. Usually a 3 to 4 week build. | From £2,500 |
| AI SaaS Site. A full marketing site for a software product, with a live demo section, a pricing page with subscription logic, analytics and A/B testing setup and 90 days of post-launch support. Usually a 4 to 6 week build. | From £4,000 |
Every build includes three months of our Plus care plan at no extra cost. A chatbot is standard on these packages but it is not forced on anyone. We also build straightforward websites with no AI at all, and our guide to whether you need an AI chatbot will help you decide. If your project does not fit neatly into one of these tiers, we scope it and quote it to exactly what you need.
Unless we agree otherwise, a website project starts with a 50% deposit, and the balance is due when the site is finished and before it goes live. The full detail is in our terms.
The costs that carry on after launch
A website is not a one-off purchase in the way a van or a laptop is. Once it is live it needs somewhere to live, and it needs looking after. The ongoing costs usually cover these things.
- Hosting, which is the server your site runs on, along with the SSL certificate that gives you the padlock in the browser.
- Your domain name, which is your web address and is renewed every year.
- Backups and security fixes, so a problem can be put right quickly.
- Small changes, such as new photos, updated prices or new opening hours.
At Marvanova these are covered by a monthly website care plan. After the three free months of Care Plus, the plan carries on at £69 a month, or you can switch to a different one. Essential is £39 a month for sites that rarely change, Plus is £69, AI Care is £99 for sites with a chatbot, and Growth is £179 for businesses that want more enquiries, adding a monthly blog article and two Google Business posts a month. We email you a reminder before the free period ends, and care plans can be cancelled with 30 days' notice. You own your domain, and the details of each plan are on our websites page.
What to watch out for
Most problems with small business websites come from things nobody asked about at the start. These are the questions worth putting to anyone who quotes you.
- Who owns the domain? Your web address should be registered to you. If it is in somebody else's name, moving away from them later can be painful.
- What happens after launch? Ask who fixes the site if it goes down, who renews the security certificate and how quickly you get a reply.
- What counts as an extra? Find out what is included and what is charged separately, such as new pages, extra changes or a redesign. A low headline price can grow quickly.
- How long are you tied in? Some cheap or "free" website deals come with a long contract or a monthly fee that never ends. Check the notice period before you sign.
- Do the contact forms actually reach you? A broken enquiry form can go unnoticed for weeks. Ask whether anybody checks it.
- Cookies and privacy. If your site uses cookies that are not essential, such as most analytics tools, the rules generally require you to tell visitors and get their consent. The ICO's guide to cookies explains what is expected, and your site should also have a clear privacy notice.
A good quote answers all of these in writing before you pay anything, and our proposals set out pages, features, timeline and price before you sign off.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a small business website cost in the UK?
For most UK small businesses, a professionally built website is a one-off cost in the low thousands of pounds, plus a monthly fee for hosting and care. At Marvanova, builds start from £1,200 for a site of up to five pages, and care plans start at £39 a month. A do-it-yourself template costs less in cash but takes your own time.
Are there monthly costs after a website is built?
Yes. A live website needs hosting, a security certificate, backups, security fixes and the occasional change. At Marvanova every build includes three months of the Plus care plan, then it continues at £69 a month unless you switch to Essential at £39, AI Care at £99 or Growth at £179. Care plans can be cancelled with 30 days' notice.
Is it cheaper to build my own website?
In cash, usually yes, because a website builder has a low monthly fee. The cost is your own time, both to set it up and every time something needs changing, and the result depends on how much design and search knowledge you have. If your time is better spent running your business, paying for a build is often the better deal.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
At Marvanova, a Starter or Business site usually takes 3 to 4 weeks and a larger SaaS site takes 4 to 6 weeks. Timelines are estimates and depend on how quickly the content and feedback come in, so having your words and photos ready helps a great deal.
Do I have to pay for the whole website up front?
Not with Marvanova. Unless we agree otherwise, a website project starts with a 50% deposit, and the balance is due when the site is finished and before it goes live. The full detail is set out in our terms.