How Much Does a Custom Website Actually Cost in 2025?

If you have been Googling "website prices" lately, you have probably found the results frustratingly vague.

Some agencies quote £500. Others quote £50,000. It brings to mind the old saying: "How long is a piece of string?"

At Custom Coded Websites, we believe in transparency. While every project is unique, business owners need a ballpark figure to budget effectively. Here is a realistic breakdown of what you get for your money in the UK web development market today.

The 3 Tiers of Web Pricing

To understand the cost, you first need to understand how the site is built. Broadly speaking, the market is split into three levels.

Tier 1: The DIY / Template Builders (£0 - £30/month)

Examples: Wix, Squarespace, Shopify (Basic).

You pay a monthly subscription and drag-and-drop elements yourself.

• Pros: Extremely cheap to start.
• Cons: You don't own the code. If you stop paying, your site disappears. You are strictly limited to their templates and features. If you need a specific custom feature, you can't have it.

Tier 2: The "Wordpress Agency" Build (£1,500 - £4,000)

This is the most common service in the UK. An agency will take a pre-existing WordPress theme (costing roughly £50), install it, change the colours to match your brand, and fill it with your content.

• Pros: Faster than DIY. Looks professional initially.
• Cons: It is still a template. Beneath the surface, it is often bloated with heavy code. Security relies on third-party plugins which need constant updating.

Tier 3: Custom Coded / Bespoke Development (£5,000 - £20,000+)

Examples: What we do (Django/Python).

This is where professional software development begins. We don't use themes. We write the code from scratch specifically for your business logic.

• Pros: Lightning-fast performance (Green SEO scores). Enterprise-grade security. Completely bespoke features (e.g., automated document generation, complex booking systems).
• Cons: Higher upfront investment and longer build time.

What Actually Drives the Cost?

When we quote for a project, the price isn't random. It is determined by complexity. Here is what pushes the price up:

1. Custom Functionality (The "Logic")

A "Brochure Site" (Home, About, Contact) is simple to build. But if you need a site that does something—like UK Name Change, which takes user data, processes a payment via Stripe, and instantly generates a legal PDF—that requires complex backend coding (Python). The more "logic" your site needs, the higher the investment.

2. Design Requirements

Are you happy with a clean, standard layout? Or do you need complex animations, interactive 3D elements, and a completely unique user interface? High-end design takes time to code responsively for mobile.

3. Data Migration

If you are moving from an old system to a new one and need to transfer 5,000 customer records and 10,000 orders securely, this requires careful database work.

Investment vs. Expense

It is easy to look at a £5,000+ quote and think "that's expensive" compared to a £20/month Wix subscription.

But a website should be an asset, not an expense.

• Speed = Revenue: Amazon found that every 100ms of latency cost them 1% in sales. A custom, fast site converts better.
• Automation = Time Saved: If we build a feature that automates your invoicing or booking process, saving your admin staff 10 hours a week, the website pays for itself in months.
• Security = Reputation: One data breach on a hacked WordPress plugin can destroy a brand's reputation overnight.

Summary: What Should You Budget?

If you are a local cafe needing a menu page, stick to a low-cost builder.

However, if you are an established business looking to scale, process payments, or handle data, you should realistically budget between £4,000 and £10,000 for a high-quality, custom-coded solution in the UK market.

Want an exact figure? We don't guess. We analyze your needs and give you a fixed-price proposal.