You’ve got two quotes for a small business website. One says £299, the other says £600. The cheaper one seems obvious. But which one actually costs more over two years?
The answer might surprise you. A low build price often comes with mandatory monthly fees, paid add-ons for basic features, and extra charges for things you’d assume were included. By the end of Year 1, the “cheap” option can cost more — and from Year 2 onwards, the gap only widens.
Quick answer. The build fee is only half the cost of a website. Mandatory care plans, per-update content charges, and business-email add-ons can add £25–£70/month to a low-headline quote. Always compare the all-in Year 1 cost and Year 2+ ongoing — and ask exactly what’s bundled before you sign anything.
The build price is only half the story
Most web designers charge two things: a one-off build fee and an ongoing monthly fee for hosting, maintenance, or a “care plan.” The build price is the headline number that gets your attention. The monthly fee is where the real cost lives.
Some providers keep the build price low to get you through the door, then charge separately for content updates, business email, security monitoring, and support. These aren’t optional extras — they’re things every business website needs. When you add them up, that bargain build starts looking expensive.
10 questions to ask before you sign up
Before committing to any web designer, ask these questions. The answers will tell you exactly what you’re paying for.
1. Is there a mandatory monthly fee, and what does it cover?
Many providers require a monthly “care plan” or maintenance fee. That’s normal — hosting and maintenance cost money. But check what’s actually included. Some base plans cover only technical maintenance (software updates, SSL renewal, backups) and nothing else.
2. Are content updates included?
If you need to change a phone number, update your opening hours, swap an image, or add a blog post — is that included in your monthly fee, or will you be charged by the hour? Some providers charge £35–£65/month extra for even minor content updates.
3. Is business email included?
A professional email address (you@yourbusiness.co.uk) should be standard. Some providers charge £5–£8/month extra for it. Over a year, that’s another £60–£96 on top of everything else.
4. What kind of backups are performed?
“Regular backups” is vague. Ask: are they daily? Weekly? Automated? Can your site be restored quickly if something goes wrong? Daily automated backups should be the minimum.
5. Is there active security monitoring?
An SSL certificate (the padlock icon) is the bare minimum — every site should have one. But is there active security monitoring? Firewall protection? Threat detection? Or just an SSL and hope for the best?
6. Do I own my website?
If you stop paying, what happens? With some providers, your site disappears because you never owned the code. Ask: can I export my website files and take them to another provider if I choose to leave?
7. What technology is your site built with?
There’s a big difference between a site assembled from pre-built blocks in a drag-and-drop page builder and one that’s custom-coded from scratch. Page builders are faster to assemble but produce heavier, slower sites with more maintenance overhead. Custom code is leaner, faster, and gives you more control.
8. What infrastructure hosts my site?
Is your site on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure (AWS, Google Cloud), or on cheap shared hosting where hundreds of sites share the same server? The hosting infrastructure directly affects your site’s speed, reliability, and security. We unpack the practical differences in shared hosting vs managed AWS hosting.
9. What happens at 9pm on a Sunday?
When something goes wrong outside business hours, who do you contact? Is there a ticket system, a generic support email, or do you have direct access to the person who built your site?
10. What’s the total Year 1 cost, and what’s the Year 2+ cost?
This is the question that reveals everything. Add up the build fee plus 12 months of every mandatory and optional fee. Then calculate what Year 2 costs (no build fee, just the ongoing monthly). That’s your true cost of ownership.
A worked example
Let’s compare two real pricing models side by side (numbers based on typical UK market rates, not any specific provider). For a fuller breakdown of what each price tier delivers, see our pricing post — and for the same maths in a Glasgow-trades framing, A Facebook Page Isn’t a Website (And a £299 Quote Isn’t £299 Either).
| Provider A — low build, modular monthly fees | Provider B — higher build, all-inclusive monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Build (one-off) | £299 | £600 |
| Monthly hosting / care plan | £26/mo (tech only) | £20/mo (everything) |
| Content updates | + £36/mo add-on | Included |
| Business email | + £8/mo add-on | Included |
| Total monthly | £70/mo | £20/mo |
| Year 1 all-in | £1,139 | £840 |
| Year 2+ /year | £840 | £240 |
Provider A’s £299 build looked like a bargain. But by Year 1, Provider B is already £299 cheaper. By the end of Year 2, the gap is £1,979 vs £1,080 — Provider A has cost £899 more for the same service.
And from Year 3 onwards, you’re paying £840/year vs £240/year. That’s 3.5x more, every year, indefinitely.
What “all-inclusive” means at GrantOps
Our managed hosting plans start at £20/month and include:
- Content updates — email us changes and we update your site. No hourly charges.
- Business email — professional email addresses at your domain, included.
- Daily automated backups — your site can be restored quickly if anything goes wrong.
- Security monitoring — active monitoring, firewall protection, and SSL certificate management.
- Cloudflare CDN — your site served from the nearest global edge server for fast load times.
- Direct access — you contact the engineer who built your site, not a support ticket queue.
One monthly fee. No add-ons. No surprises.
The bottom line
A low build price isn’t a bargain if it comes with expensive monthly fees for features that should be standard. Before you sign up with any web designer, add up the total Year 1 cost and the Year 2+ cost. That’s the number that matters.
For a concrete example of an all-inclusive build delivered end-to-end, see the KAP Joinery case study — a Glasgow joiner with a brochure-tier site on AWS, all-inclusive hosting from day one.
Ready to see transparent pricing with everything included? View our packages or use the package builder to get an instant quote.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare two web design quotes fairly?
Put both quotes onto the same total-cost-of-ownership basis: build fee + 12 months of any mandatory care plan + add-ons (content updates, business email, SSL). The cheaper headline can lose by Year 1 once monthly fees stack up. Compare the all-in Year 1 number AND the Year 2+ ongoing cost — and what you actually own at the end.
What hidden costs typically aren't in a £299 website quote?
Mandatory monthly care plans (£25–£70/mo on top of the build), per-update content charges, business email as a paid add-on (£5–£8/mo), and sometimes SSL certificates billed separately. Over Year 1, a £299 build with these add-ons typically costs ~£1,139 — more than a £600 custom build with all-inclusive £20/mo hosting (£840).
Should I get a website built on AWS or shared hosting?
AWS managed hosting (£20–£75/mo) costs more than shared hosting (£3–£10/mo) but it isolates your site from neighbour issues, includes proper backups and security monitoring, and delivers faster page loads. Shared hosting works for static content with predictable traffic; managed cloud is the right call for sites where downtime, speed, or security failures cost the business real money.
What's a fair monthly cost for a small business website?
Across the UK market, £20–£75/month is typical for a small business with proper managed hosting. Below £20/mo usually means shared hosting with extras stripped out; above £75/mo should come with active management or e-commerce features. The all-in number — including content updates and business email — matters more than the headline monthly rate.
What's the single most important question to ask a web designer?
'What's the all-in Year 2 cost?' Add up the build fee plus 12 months of every mandatory and optional fee, then strip out the build fee for Year 2. That single number is your true cost of ownership and reveals whether a low headline price is a real saving or a loss-leader for expensive add-ons.