Ask three web designers what a website costs and you'll get three very different answers. That isn't because anyone's being slippery (usually). It's because "a website" can mean anything from a template you fill in yourself to a fully bespoke build with copywriting, search research and ongoing support. Here's how to make sense of the numbers, whether you're in Glasgow, Inverness or anywhere in between.

The short answer

For a small business in Scotland, a professionally made website can cost anywhere from a few hundred pounds to several thousand, plus a monthly fee for hosting and looking after it. Where your project lands depends on four things: how the site is made, how many pages it needs, what it has to do, and what happens after launch.

What actually drives the price

1. Template or bespoke

A template site starts from a ready-made theme, with your logo and colours dropped in. It's quicker and usually cheaper, but you'll share a layout with thousands of other businesses, and heavy themes are often slow. A bespoke site is designed from a blank page around your business. It costs more to design, but it fits your customers, loads faster and looks like nobody else.

2. Number of pages

A five-page site (home, about, services, a contact page and maybe one more) is a very different job from a 20-page site with a page for every service and location. More pages mean more design, more content to shape and more to build and test.

3. What the site needs to do

Contact forms, galleries and links to your booking system are standard. An online shop, a full booking system, members' areas or connections to other software all add time and cost. A good designer will tell you upfront which of these you actually need.

4. Who writes the words

Content is the part that most often holds projects up. If you supply your own text and photos, the price is lower. Professional copywriting costs more, but it often makes the biggest difference to how many visitors get in touch.

5. Search and analytics

Basic on-page SEO (titles, descriptions, a clean structure) should come with any decent site. Keyword research, pages planned around real searches, structured data and enquiry tracking are extra work, and they're what help a site get found in a competitive area like Glasgow or Edinburgh.

6. After launch

Every website needs hosting, security updates, backups and someone to call when something needs changing. Some designers include this in a monthly fee, some charge by the hour, and some leave you to sort it yourself. It's worth asking, because it's a cost you'll pay for as long as you have the site.

What we charge

We publish our prices, and they're the same wherever you are in Scotland:

  • Starter, from £450: a clean, professional, custom-designed site of up to 5 pages, mobile-friendly, with a contact form, basic on-page SEO and a link to your Google Business Profile.
  • Growth, from £1,200: everything in Starter, plus local keyword research, up to 10 pages built around what customers search for, schema markup, analytics and enquiry tracking, a simple dashboard and a monthly insight report.
  • Premium, from £3,300: everything in Growth, plus unique art direction, advanced animation, professional copywriting, extended pages and priority support.

Every plan also includes hosting and care at £50 a month: fast, secure hosting with an SSL certificate, security and software updates, backups, uptime monitoring, small content changes and email support. You can compare the plans in full.

Prices are "from" because some projects need extras, such as more pages, an online shop or a booking system. When they do, we give you a clear quote before any work starts.

Cheap websites can cost more

A very low upfront price is tempting, and sometimes it's exactly right. But check what's left out. The usual gaps are slow template sites that struggle on phones, no SEO beyond the basics, hosting with no updates or backups, and no one to help when something breaks. Fixing those later, or replacing the site after a year, often costs more than doing it properly first time.

Questions to ask any web designer

  • Is the design bespoke, or based on a template?
  • How many pages are included, and what does an extra page cost?
  • Who writes the content, and who sources the photos?
  • What SEO is included: just the basics, or keyword research too?
  • What does the monthly fee cover, and what costs extra?
  • Who owns the domain and the content?
  • How long will it take, and what do you need from me?
  • What happens if I want to make changes after launch?

Does where you are in Scotland change the price?

It shouldn't make much difference. Most web design work happens on screens and calls, so a good designer can work with you wherever you are. We're based in Glasgow and work with businesses across the country, including web design in Glasgow, Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Dumfries and Galloway, all at the same prices.

The bottom line

Work out what your website needs to do for your business, get quotes that spell out exactly what's included, and factor in the monthly cost as well as the upfront one. If you'd like a clear price for your project, tell us about it and we'll come back with a fixed quote and no hard sell.