Many local business owners have fallen victim to shady practices when it comes to getting a new website built. When asking around for website cost Peterborough, business owners are presented with very conflicting information. One agency may try to sell you a website for just 300 pounds while another may inflate the price to 5,000.
It can be difficult to determine what the real going rate for website design Peterborough is. I have seen it happen too many times with local tradesmen, retailers and consultants, that because they don’t have a good understanding of the real cost of a website, they end up with a poorly performing website that generates little to no phone calls. Compounded with ongoing hidden fees, this can be extremely frustrating.
When trying to understand where your money is going, it helps to know the realistic breakdown of website design fees, web maintenance and ecommerce costs.
Website Design Peterborough Cost: Short Version
If you’re looking for a quick response to the question, How much does a website cost in Peterborough? this is a good place to start:
For a small business website built from a freelancer, rates normally start from £300, £1,000. You might anticipate to pay between £1,000 and £3,000 for a medium-sized website developed by a seasoned freelancer. Local agencies charge higher rates due to the increased overheads, standard small business packages normally start from £2,000, £7,000. In general, the going rate for standard project fees across the UK range from £500-£5,000 for non-enterprise level builds. This may increase substantially for bespoke builds with additional features.
What is the Real Cost of Web Design Peterborough?
Before finalising any payment for your new website build, its important to understand who will be designing your website. The gap between a freelancer and agency is largely responsible for price variations.
Freelancer Vs Local Agency: Web Design Peterborough Cost
When analysing web design Peterborough cost, the most obvious difference is the team structure. Local agencies have higher overheads compared to a freelance developer. Agencies offer a collaborative team approach which includes experts in fields such as interface design, content creation and search engine optimisation (SEO). You also get the benefit of face to face meetings and an in-depth local understanding of the Cambridge market.
Freelancers or offshore developers charge less as they only employ one person. The rate depends on whether the freelancer charges an hourly rate or a project-based fee. According to research conducted by Clutch.co, average hourly rates charged by UK-based developers range from £35, over £150 per hour. Offshore developers charge less due to reduced overheads. You should however be aware that a single developer may not offer the same level of expertise as a specialised agency team.
DIY Builders: Lowest New Website Peterborough Cost?
On some occasions, the new website Peterborough cost can be zero. By using website builders such as Wix and Squarespace, you can build your own website without any assistance from a web designer.
Whilst you can create a decent looking template yourself, there is normally a trade off. You will sacrifice your time to learn the new software and setup the website. Another disadvantage is that websites built from scratch require additional technical optimisations to meet SEO standards, something a professional website design Peterborough company will be able to do for you.
New Website Peterborough Cost: Breaking it Down
The reality is that not every business owner needs an enterprise level website. It helps to understand the different types of websites and their corresponding costs:
Website Cost UK: Brochure Websites for Local Tradesmen
For most local tradesmen and consultants, a basic brochure website tends to be sufficient. On average, you should expect to pay between £1,000 and £2,500 to design a basic website for your local business. A simple local business site normally takes 2-4 weeks to build and consists of 5 core pages. It includes standard CMS and SEO optimisations so that the website can be easily found by local customers.
Ecommerce Website Cost: Online Retailers in Peterborough
Include the ecommerce website cost in your budget if you intend to open an online store to sell things. Website design Peterborough for ecommerce purposes normally cost £2,000-£5,000 for a freelance build and £5,000-£15,000+ for an agency build. Website design Peterborough normally costs more due to the additional development hours required to meet security standards and set up individual product pages.
Shopify generally costs between £1,500 and £5,000, WooCommerce between £2,000 and £8,000, and BigCommerce between £3,000 and £10,000. An ecommerce build normally takes 6, 12 months to complete depending on the complexity and product catalogue.
Website Design Peterborough: Additional Hidden Fees
One of the biggest mistakes local businesses make is budgeting only for the initial build. When you analyse a realistic website design cost breakdown UK, there are a number of additional yearly fees that should be factored in:
Web Hosting, Domains & Maintenance
Your domain name is your unique web address (e.g example.co.uk). On average, you can expect to pay £3.5 for a .uk domain on Nominet, the official registry for uk domains. Web hosting is extremely competitive, you should only be charged £5, £50 per month for standard shared hosting. For companies who need a lot of traffic, there are more premium plans to choose from.
The type of website you own determines how much it will cost to maintain. For a standard local business site, you should budget £5, £50 per month for hosting, £10, £20 per year for domain renewal and £15, £50 per month for maintenance packages. If you are using a managed platform such as Shopify, you can expect to pay £25, £300 per month for subscriptions. Ecommerce businesses also incur credit card processing fees which normally range between 1.5%, 2%.
There are also optional additional costs for plugins, stock photography, post launch technical support and monthly retainers for SEO.
Local Web Developer Pricing: Why do Quotes Vary so Much?
When asking how much does a website cost Peterborough, you may get presented with widely varying quotes. One reason for this discrepancy is that some designers charge more due to their experience whilst others offer cheaper rates for their limited skill sets.
Some web design quotes tend to be cheaper as they only include a very basic template. More expensive quotes on the other hand tend to include additional features such as bespoke UI/UX design, content creation, mobile optimisation and SEO.
You should always be wary of cheap web design quotes as they may not always include certain optimisations such as mobile responsive design. This can adversely affect your search engine rankings and overall online presence. Some cheap quotes also tend to miss out on clear terms and conditions regarding content creation and copyright ownership. Always ensure that there is a clearly defined scope of work and project budget before beginning any design work.
How Does Tekscrum Help Local Business Owners Get Value for Money?
In my experience, opting for the lowest web design quote normally ends up costing business owners more in the long run. A few months ago, we helped a local property maintenance company based in Cambridgeshire. They hired a foreign freelancer to build their website for £400. The website looked fine on desktop but was completely unusable on mobile devices. Due to the majority of their emergency phone calls coming from mobile Google searches, they were ultimately losing thousands of pounds every year due to bad web design.
We were able to help rebuild their website presence by offering a competitive local web design Peterborough service. We developed a mobile responsive theme specifically for the Cambridgeshire market. Not only did we deliver on time, but we were also able to help increase their organic traffic by 300% within 3 months. If you want to see how Tekscrum can help you get better value for your money, you can view our process breakdown here
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the realistic starting price for a business website?
For a standard small business website built from a freelancer, prices normally start from £300-£1,000. For standard website design Peterborough from a local agency, you can expect to pay £2,000-£7,000 for standard business packages. The UK average tends to range between £500-£5,000.
What are some of the local annual costs I should be aware of?
Apart from the initial build, you should also consider additional yearly web costs. These range between £5-£50 per month for web hosting, £10-£20 per year for domain renewals and optional additional costs for plugins or maintenance.
How much extra does ecommerce cost?
Ecommerce development requires additional development hours due to the enhanced features required. A freelance ecommerce build normally costs between £2,000-£5,000. An agency-level ecommerce build on the other hand normally costs between £5,000-£15,000.
Why do website design quotes vary so much?
Quotes tend to vary depending on the billing structure used by the agency. It also depends on the overheads charged by the agency – the higher the overheads, the higher the price will be. In most cases however, higher quotes tend to reflect additional features such as content creation, bespoke mobile responsive design and SEO.
What are some of the red flags in cheap web design quotes?
When looking for affordable web design quotes, it’s important to be wary of companies who don’t provide a comprehensive scope of work, remove mobile responsive design, and/or optimise for search engines. Other red flags also include the absence of terms and conditions regarding content creation and copyright ownership.
Ready to Elevate your Local Business Presence?
Getting a website built should be an exciting time for any local business owner. It helps to understand the realistic cost of a business website in Peterborough. You should always strive to get value for your money by choosing a web design company that offers transparent billing with no hidden fees.
