If you're a business owner in Portsmouth and you've Googled "how much does a website cost," you've probably seen answers ranging from £0 to £50,000. Not exactly helpful.

The truth is, it depends. But not in the vague, non-committal way most agencies mean when they say that. It depends on a few very specific things, and once you understand them, the pricing starts to make a lot more sense.

I'm going to break this down properly — no fluff, no hidden agendas, no "request a quote to find out." Just a straight answer from someone who actually builds websites for businesses across Portsmouth and Hampshire every day.

The Quick Answer

For a small business in Portsmouth — a tradesman, a café, a salon, an estate agent, a local service provider — you're looking at roughly:

DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace): £0–£300/year. You get what you pay for. It'll exist, but it probably won't rank on Google or win you any work you weren't already getting.

Freelancer or budget agency: £500–£2,000. Hit and miss. Some freelancers are brilliant. Others will hand you a template with your logo slapped on it and call it done.

Professional web design studio: £2,000–£10,000. This is where most serious small businesses land. Custom design, built for SEO, mobile-first, conversion-focused. The kind of site that actually generates enquiries.

Complex builds (e-commerce, booking systems, custom platforms): £5,000–£30,000+. If you need an online shop, a booking system, user accounts, or anything with moving parts, the cost reflects the complexity.

Those are real UK numbers. They're not inflated, they're not lowballed. That's what the market looks like in 2025–2026.

Why the Range Is So Wide

A website isn't one thing. Asking "how much does a website cost" is like asking "how much does a van cost." A clapped-out Transit with 180k on the clock is technically a van. So is a brand new custom-fitted Mercedes Sprinter. Both will get you from A to B, but one of them is going to break down on the M27 outside Fareham.

Here's what actually drives the price:

Number of pages. A one-page site for a sole trader is a completely different job to a 15-page site for a multi-service business. More pages means more design, more copy, more build time.

Custom design vs templates. A template is a template. It might look decent at first glance, but your site ends up looking identical to hundreds of other businesses. Custom design means your site is built around your brand, your audience, and your goals. That takes more time and skill.

SEO built in from day one. This is where most cheap websites fall apart. A site that doesn't rank on Google is just an expensive business card nobody reads. Proper SEO — keyword research, page structure, meta data, site speed, schema markup — needs to be baked in from the start, not bolted on later.

Content. Who's writing it? If the agency is writing your copy, expect to pay more. If you're providing it yourself, it'll be cheaper — but honestly, most business owners aren't copywriters. Bad copy kills good design.

Functionality. Contact forms are simple. A booking system, e-commerce checkout, CRM integration, or customer portal? That's development work, and it adds to the cost.

What Portsmouth Businesses Should Actually Spend

Let's get specific, because this is what matters to you.

If you're a plumber, electrician, builder, or tradesman covering Portsmouth and the surrounding areas — Cosham, Hilsea, Fareham, Gosport, Havant — a well-built 3–5 page website should cost you somewhere between £1,500 and £4,000. That gets you a custom design, service pages that rank locally, a mobile-friendly build, and proper on-page SEO.

That might sound like a lot compared to Wix at £13 a month. But ask yourself this: if your website brings in one extra job a month — one boiler install, one bathroom fit, one emergency callout — it's paid for itself inside a couple of months. Then it keeps working for you, every single month, while you're on site doing the actual work.

If you're a restaurant, café, or hospitality business in Southsea, Gunwharf Quays, or Old Portsmouth, you'll want a site that looks the part. High-quality photography, your menu, an easy way to book or order. Budget around £2,000–£5,000 depending on how much functionality you need.

If you're a service-based business — a dental practice, a law firm, a personal trainer, a cleaning company — you need a site that builds trust fast and drives enquiries. Think £2,500–£6,000 for something properly done, with landing pages, reviews integration, and a content strategy that pulls in local traffic.

Not sure what your business actually needs? I'm happy to have a quick, no-pressure conversation about it. Drop me a message here and I'll give you a straight answer — no jargon, no sales pitch.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About

This is where people get caught out. The website itself is one cost. But there's more to it.

Domain name: Around £10–£15 a year. Pick something clean — ideally yourbusiness.co.uk. Don't let anyone buy it on your behalf and keep it in their name. You want ownership.

Hosting: £5–£30 a month for most small business sites. Cheap hosting is slow hosting, and slow sites lose customers. A one-second delay in load time drops conversions noticeably.

SSL certificate: This is the padlock in the browser bar. Most hosts include it for free now. If yours doesn't, change hosts.

Ongoing maintenance: Websites aren't "set and forget." Software updates, security patches, speed checks, content updates. Budget £25–£100 a month, or do it yourself if you're comfortable.

Content and SEO: If you want your site to actually show up when someone in Portsmouth searches for what you do, you need ongoing content. Blog posts, service pages, local guides — this is what builds your authority over time. Some agencies include this. Most charge extra.

What to Watch Out For

I see the same traps catch Portsmouth business owners over and over again.

"Free" websites that cost you everything. The Wix and Squarespace free tiers are fine for a hobby blog. They're not fine for a business that wants to compete locally. You get limited customisation, their branding plastered everywhere, and SEO that's mediocre at best.

Agencies that lock you in. Some companies build your site on their own proprietary system so you can't leave without losing everything. Always make sure you own your domain, your content, and your website files. If you can't take your site with you, you don't own it.

"Pay monthly" website deals. You've seen the ads — "professional website for just £49/month, no upfront cost." Do the maths. Over two years, that's £1,176 for a template site you probably don't own. Over three years, it's £1,764. You'd have been better off investing that in a proper build you actually own outright.

Mates' rates. Getting your cousin's friend who "knows a bit of WordPress" to build your site will save you money upfront. It will also give you a site that looks like it was built by your cousin's friend who knows a bit of WordPress. Your website is your shopfront. Would you let someone unqualified fit your shopfront?

Ignoring mobile. Over two thirds of all web traffic is mobile. If your site doesn't look and work perfectly on a phone, you're invisible to most of your potential customers.

How to Get the Best Value

You don't need to spend a fortune. But you do need to spend wisely. Here's how to make sure every pound counts.

Start with your goals. Do you need more phone calls? More bookings? More foot traffic? Online sales? The answer shapes what kind of site you need and how much you should invest.

Get clear on what's included. Before you sign anything, ask: Is hosting included? Who writes the copy? Is SEO part of the build? What happens after launch — do I get support? How many rounds of revisions do I get?

Ask for local examples. If you're hiring a web designer in Portsmouth, ask to see work they've done for other local businesses. Can they show you a site that ranks well for a local keyword? That tells you more than any sales pitch. You can see some of our recent projects here.

Think about the return, not just the cost. A £3,000 website that brings in £1,000 of new business every month is a bargain. A £300 website that brings in nothing is a waste of £300.

Support Available for Portsmouth Businesses

If budget is a genuine concern, it's worth knowing that there's real support out there for Portsmouth businesses looking to invest in their digital presence.

Portsmouth City Council's Business Support Service has helped over 500 businesses across the PO1–PO6 area with funding, business planning, marketing advice, and start-up guidance. They run free training workshops and a mentoring programme — all fully funded.

The Portsmouth Match Fund, backed by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, has invested £140,000 into 46 local businesses since 2023. Grants range from £1,500 to £4,000 and can be used for things like developing a new website or e-commerce platform. That could cover a significant chunk of your build cost.

Shaping Portsmouth also partners with the council to deliver free business mentoring and networking opportunities — worth tapping into if you're at the stage where you know you need a better online presence but aren't sure where to start.

So, What Should You Do Next?

If you're a business owner in Portsmouth reading this, here's the honest advice.

If you're just getting started and cash is genuinely tight, a clean Squarespace site is better than nothing. Get yourself online, get a Google Business Profile set up, and start collecting reviews. That alone will put you ahead of a surprising number of local competitors.

If you're established, getting regular work, and ready to grow — invest in a properly built website. Not a template. Not a monthly subscription deal. A site designed around your business, your customers, and your area. One that ranks on Google when someone in Southsea, Cosham, or Fareham searches for what you do.

The businesses winning in Portsmouth right now aren't the ones with the biggest ad budgets. They're the ones with a clean, fast, professional website backed by solid local SEO and genuine content. That's it. No tricks, no shortcuts.

And if your current site loads slowly, looks outdated, or isn't showing up on Google — it's not helping you. It's costing you.

Want to know what a website would actually cost for your specific business? I'm happy to have a straight conversation about it Get in touch here.

Aurelo is a web design and SEO studio based in Portsmouth, building high-performance websites for local businesses ready to grow. From custom design and development to SEO, content, and brand identity — we build websites that get found, build trust, and convert.