What it costs
What a design agency website should cost
A business choosing a design agency is picking a partner to shape how it looks. The site's job is to present the brand work that wins that. Here is what it costs.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Design agency website cost
The short answer on cost
A design agency website cost starts from £297 for a spec-built site on your own domain, live within seven days, with the first three months of care included, then £49 a month you can stop whenever. That sits below the agency quotes and above the throwaway builders, both of which mislead you. But for a design agency the number matters less than what a business is choosing when it hires you. It is picking a partner to shape its identity, how it looks, how it is perceived, which is a considered, high-stakes decision, so it does not choose on a services list, it chooses on your portfolio of brand projects and whether your approach fits its business. It looks at the brand work you have delivered, and the thinking behind it, to decide whether it can trust you as a design partner. So the site’s job is to present that work and that thinking. Set against the value of a brand project, a few hundred pounds is trivial.
What the money buys: your brand work and your thinking
The value here is presenting the work that wins a partner’s role, not decoration. That price buys a site that presents your portfolio of brand and identity projects, with the thinking behind each, so a business can see not just what you produced but how you approached the problem, and judge whether you are the partner to shape its brand. That matters because the client is entrusting you with how its business is seen, so it wants more than pretty pictures, it wants evidence you understand brand problems and solve them, which case studies of your projects provide. A site that presents your brand work and your approach convinces a client you can be trusted with their identity, which a bare services page never could, so it wins the considered decision to make you their design partner. What you are paying for is to present the brand work, and the thinking, that earn a client’s trust with their identity.
Why cheaper and dearer both mislead
The large-studio spend signals scale, but a lean site that presents your brand work and approach does the real job for a fraction of the price, so matching a big studio’s budget is unnecessary. The near-free DIY builders go the other way, producing thin, generic sites that suggest an agency a business would not trust with its brand. Both miss the point. A design agency needs a site that presents its brand portfolio and thinking well, which is a specific thing to get right, so a big budget is overkill and a cheap DIY job undercuts the impression a design partner must make.
Paid off by one client your work wins
Brand projects are valuable, so the maths is quick. A single client, won because your site presented your brand work and thinking and they trusted you as their design partner, covers the build many times over, and because your portfolio keeps presenting your capability, it keeps winning the next client choosing a partner for their brand. Set against the value of the brand projects a portfolio-led site wins, the modest cost is an easy decision for an agency whose work, presented with its thinking, is what earns a client’s trust with their identity.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a design site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
How much does a design agency website cost?
From £297 as a one-off, live on your own domain within seven days, then £49 a month for hosting and small edits you can stop any time, with the first three months included. For an agency where a single brand project is valuable, that is a small price for a site that presents your brand work and wins clients choosing a design partner.
What am I really paying for with a design agency website?
A way to present brand work and win a partner's role. A business choosing a design agency is picking a partner to shape its identity and how it is perceived, so they choose on your portfolio of brand projects and whether your approach fits. You are paying for a site that presents that work with the thinking behind it, so a client sees a design partner they can trust with their brand.
Why does presenting brand work drive the value?
Because a client is entrusting you with how their business looks and is perceived, a considered, high-stakes choice, so they judge you on the brand projects you have delivered. A site that presents your portfolio, and the thinking behind each project, is what convinces a client you can shape their identity, which a bare services list cannot, so its value is in winning that partner's role.
Why do some design agency websites cost thousands?
Large studios spend heavily to signal scale, but a lean site that presents your brand work and your approach does the real job for a fraction of the price. So the big spend is unnecessary for an agency whose task is to show strong brand projects and the thinking behind them, not to match a large studio's budget.
Is a cheap DIY design agency website good enough?
Usually not. A business entrusting you with its brand is reassured by a site that presents your work considerately and looks like the work of a capable studio, and a thin, generic one suggests otherwise. You need a site that presents your brand portfolio and approach well, and a cheap DIY job undercuts the impression a design partner needs to make.
Are there ongoing costs beyond the build?
The domain is about ten to fifteen pounds a year and stays yours. The £49 monthly plan covers hosting, backups and two small edits, so you can add new brand projects to your portfolio without a separate bill. A static site has almost nothing to break, so there are no surprise maintenance invoices.
How quickly does a design agency website pay for itself?
Very fast, because brand projects are valuable, so a single client won because your site presented your brand work covers the build many times over. Win one client you would otherwise have missed and the site has more than paid for itself.
Do I own the design agency website or rent it?
You own it outright. The domain is in your name and the site is yours to keep even if you stop the monthly plan. I do not lock people in, because the site that presents your work should belong to you, not be rented back every month.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a design site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read What a website costs, see the full pricing, or get in touch.