The three ways to get a site built
Freelancer: one person who designs and builds the site, usually for a one-off fee. Then you either host it yourself or pay them for hosting and updates.
Agency: a company with a team. Usually a bigger one-off fee, a set process and more say over the design. Hosting and support are often a separate monthly contract.
Pay monthly: a company builds the site and hosts it for a monthly fee, often with a small setup fee and a minimum term. Some changes are usually included. That's what we do. We also offer a one-off option.
What each one costs
Prices vary a lot, so we've used a published local guide rather than our own guesses. Bark's price guide for Wrexham, viewed in October 2026, puts a small business website of 5 to 10 pages at £240 to £1,200 and a custom business website at £1,200 to £3,900. It puts hosting at £5 to £50 a month, a domain at £10 to £50 a year and ongoing maintenance at £50 to £500 a month. Bark says these are estimates based on regional averages.
Using those ranges, here's what three years can look like. The freelancer and agency rows are worked examples picked from within Bark's ranges, not quotes.
| Option | Up front | Monthly | Total over 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer (example) | £700 | £10 hosting, plus about £15 a year for the domain. Changes charged extra | £1,105 plus any changes |
| Agency (example) | £2,500 | £50 hosting and support, plus about £15 a year for the domain | £4,345 |
| Our Starter plan | £199 | £39, domain and a small change each month included | £1,603 |
| Our Standard plan | £199 | £69, domain and up to an hour of changes included | £2,683 |
| Our Growth plan | £199 | £99, domain and up to two hours of changes included | £3,763 |
| Our one-off site, up to 5 pages | £695 | £20 hosting, domain and support | £1,415 |
Freelancer and agency rows are examples using Bark's Wrexham price ranges, October 2026, not real quotes. Our totals leave out any yearly price rise in line with inflation.
Costs people forget to add
The build price is only part of it. Bark's Wrexham guide lists several costs that often sit outside the quote. Check which of these are included, whoever you go with. With us, hosting, the secure padlock and a standard domain costing up to £20 a year are part of every plan. We don't use plugins and we write the words for you, so you won't need to buy those either.
- Domain renewal: Bark puts this at £10 to £50 a year
- Hosting: £5 to £50 a month, depending on what you need
- The secure padlock (SSL): often free, sometimes £50 to £200 a year
- Stock photos: £10 to £50 per image, unless you use your own or free ones
- Plugins and tools: £0 to £300 a year for paid features
- Ongoing maintenance: £50 to £500 a month for updates and support
Freelancer: good value, but it's one person
A good freelancer can be great value. You deal with the person doing the work, decisions are quick and you often get a lot for your money.
The risk is that it's one person. If they get ill, take a full-time job, move on or just stop answering, you can be left with a site nobody can change. The worst version is when the freelancer registered the domain in their own name and hosts the site on their own account. You then need them to hand it over. You can't make them pick up the phone.
- Make sure the domain is registered in your name, not theirs
- Get the logins for your hosting and domain, or written confirmation of who holds them
- Ask who updates the site and what each change costs
- Ask what happens if they stop trading
Agency: more process, higher price
An agency has a team, so there's usually someone to pick up the phone if one person leaves. You get a set process, more design options and often extras like photography or marketing.
The risk is mostly price. For a plumber or a cleaner who needs five clear pages, a full agency build can be more than the job needs. Support contracts add up too. Small changes may be charged by the hour. Read what the monthly fee covers before you sign.
Pay monthly: spread the cost, tied in for a while
Pay monthly gets you online without a big bill up front, with hosting, the domain and some changes rolled into one fee. There's always someone to send changes to.
The risk is lock-in. Some providers keep the domain in their own name, keep the design when you leave or charge an exit fee. Others have long contracts that renew automatically. And over enough years, you'll pay more than a one-off build would have cost.
Our version: £39, £69 or £99 a month plus £199 setup. A 12-month minimum term, then 30 days' notice. Your domain is in your name from day one. After your first 12 months you can leave and take your website files with you, with no exit fee. Within the first 12 months the site stays with us, because that first year is what pays for building it.
Which one suits you
- You've got money set aside and know a freelancer you trust: use a freelancer, with the domain in your name.
- You need something bigger or more complex, like online booking or a shop: an agency is worth the extra.
- You want it done for you, with no big bill and no website jobs on your list: pay monthly.
- You want to own it outright but not deal with hosting: a one-off build with paid hosting, like ours from £695 plus £20 a month.
Questions to ask whoever you choose
- Whose name will the domain be registered in?
- What do I get if I leave and when?
- Is there a minimum term, an exit fee or an automatic renewal?
- Who makes changes, how quickly and at what cost?
- What happens to my site if you stop trading?
- Can I see sites you've built for businesses like mine?