The short answer: anywhere from £0 to £80,000. The honest answer: for most UK and Nordic SMBs, the right price sits between £600 and £4,000. Here's why — and what you actually get for each price tag.
| Option | One-off | Monthly | Your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. DIY template (Squarespace/Wix) | £0 | £20–50 | 40–80 hours |
| 2. Framer/Webflow DIY | £0 | £25–70 | 40–100 hours |
| 3. Freelancer / small studio (us) | £1,190–3,090 | £0–59 | 3–6 hours |
| 4. Mid-size London agency | £5,000–12,000 | £150–500 | 15–30 hours |
| 5. Large agency (Hugo & Cat / Made / Wonderland) | £20,000–80,000+ | retainer from £2,500 | 40+ hours |
Cheapest on paper — £0 upfront. You pay £20–50/month to use the platform and pick from thousands of templates. You do everything yourself: write copy, find images, adjust design, connect payments.
When this is right: if you have 40–80 hours to spend, very simple needs, and don't mind looking like a thousand other businesses. Eg: personal blog, hobby project, salon with one extremely simple service.
When this isn't: if you run a business that actually needs to compete on quality and impression. Templates look like templates — to your customers too.
More flexible than Squarespace, more design control, but steep learning curve. You pay £25–70/month and spend 40–100 hours learning the platform plus building.
When this is right: if you're a designer or developer yourself, want full control, and have time. You end up with something beautiful — but it took four weekends of work.
The middle price tier. You pay £1,190–3,090 once and get hand-crafted design without spending 80 hours yourself. You work with one person or a small team taking the project from start to finish.
Velanor sits in this category:
When this is right: for 80% of UK and Nordic SMBs. You get something beautiful, fast, at a price that doesn't break the budget. You own everything.
Price: £5,000–12,000 for a standard business website, plus £150–500/month for hosting and small fixes. You work with a team of 3–6 people over 2–4 months.
You get more process — discovery, workshops, strategy documents, multiple revision rounds. Right if you're a mid-size business with 20+ employees and multiple departments need to be involved.
When this isn't: if you run a restaurant, salon, clinic or solo business. You're paying for overhead you don't need.
Price: £20,000–80,000+ one-off, often with retainer from £2,500/month. You work with a team of 6–15 people over 3–6 months.
These agencies are great. Excellent. They work with brands like ASOS, Innocent, Marks & Spencer. They have strategy departments, brand experts, motion designers, copywriters.
When this is right: if you're a large brand with multi-million marketing budget and brand identity is strategically critical. When this isn't: if you're anything else. You're paying 10× for things you don't need.
This is where many quotes trip you up. Always check:
The most common trap: hosting and small fixes not included, and the agency owns your domain. They can hold it as "leverage" if you want to switch.
"We paid £8,500 to an agency, and two years later they wanted £1,500/year to 'maintain' a domain we thought we owned. We owned nothing." — Real feedback from a client who later switched to us.
For 80% of UK and Nordic SMBs with 1–20 employees, the right answer sits between £600 and £4,000 one-off. More than that is overkill. Less means you're doing the work yourself.
Always check ownership, hosting, and what's actually included. Demand fixed price, not hourly. Require a concrete delivery date. Get an offboarding document with all passwords.
Book 15 min — we'll ask about your business and give you exact price and delivery date the same day.