How much does a tradesman website cost in the UK? (2026 prices)
Real 2026 prices for trade websites — DIY builders, freelancers, agencies and subscriptions compared, plus the hidden costs nobody puts on the quote.
Ask three web companies for a quote and you’ll get three numbers that look like they’re for three different products. One says £300, one says £3,000, one says “£45 a month, forever”. None of them explain what happens after you pay.
Here’s the honest breakdown — what each route really costs a UK trade business in 2026, including the bits that never make it onto the quote.
The four ways to get a website (and what they really cost)
| Route | Up-front | Ongoing | Your time | Total over 3 years* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | £0 | £10–£30/mo | 20–60 hrs | ~£900 + your evenings |
| Freelancer | £500–£1,500 | Hosting + changes billed hourly | Low | ~£1,500–£3,000 |
| Agency | £2,000–£5,000+ | £50–£150/mo care plan | Low | ~£4,500–£9,000 |
| Subscription (like Toolbelt) | £0–£400 | £60–£120/mo all-in | None | ~£2,200–£4,300 |
* Typical middle-of-range totals including domain, hosting and a realistic number of content changes.
The hidden costs nobody quotes
The DIY tax. Website builders advertise the monthly fee, not the 40 evenings it takes to fight the editor, write the copy and work out why Google can’t see you. Price your own time at even half your day rate and the “free” option is the most expensive one on the list.
The one-off trap. A £900 freelancer build feels cheap until you need the phone number changed in March, new photos in June, and a “do you do bathrooms?” page in September — at £60–£90 an hour. Three years later the site is stale because every change costs money, and stale sites slide down Google.
The agency care plan. Agencies do beautiful work, but most of their pricing is built for companies with a marketing budget, not a van and a diary. A £3,500 build plus £100 a month maintenance is £7,100 over three years.
Domains, hosting, email. Whoever builds it, something has to keep it online: a domain (£10–£20 a year), hosting (£5–£30 a month), an email address that isn’t @gmail.com. One-off quotes usually leave all this as “your problem”.
What a trade website actually needs to earn its keep
Whatever you pay, the site only matters if it does three jobs:
- Gets found — proper local SEO, fast loading, one page per service and area you cover.
- Gets trusted — real job photos, Google reviews on the page, your accreditations (Gas Safe, NICEIC, TrustMark) visible without scrolling.
- Gets the enquiry — tap-to-call on mobile, a short booking form, and a fast reply.
If a quote doesn’t mention Google, reviews or mobile, you’re buying a brochure, not a salesperson.
Where Toolbelt lands
We built Toolbelt’s pricing for how trades actually work: £0 to build while our pilot is open (usually £399), then £79 a month with everything in it — design, hosting, domain, changes done for you same-day, and the SEO handled. Over three years that’s £2,844, with none of your evenings in it.
That’s more than a DIY builder subscription. It’s a lot less than an agency. And unlike the one-off build, it never goes stale — you message us from the van, we make the change.
Want to see what yours would look like before spending anything? Get a free mockup — if you don’t love it, you walk away and it cost you a 15-minute phone call.
Quick answers
How much should a small trade business pay for a website?
For a professionally built site with hosting, a domain and ongoing updates, expect the equivalent of £60–£120 a month. A one-off build from a freelancer typically costs £500–£1,500 up front, an agency £2,000–£5,000+, and DIY builders £10–£30 a month plus your own evenings.
Are cheap £5-a-month website builders good enough for a tradesman?
They can get you online, but you do all the work: design, copy, SEO setup and upkeep. Most tradespeople's DIY sites never get finished or updated, and a half-finished site can cost more work than it wins.
What ongoing costs does a website have?
Domain renewal (£10–£20 a year), hosting (£5–£30 a month), email, security updates and content changes. One-off builds often quote none of these — then charge £50–£90 an hour for every change later.
How long does a trade website take to build?
A DIY builder site takes as long as your patience lasts. A freelancer usually needs 2–6 weeks, agencies 4–12 weeks. Toolbelt puts a free mockup in your inbox within days and most sites live inside two weeks.