The short answer: A small business website redesign in the UK typically costs £2,000 to £15,000, depending on the size of the site, how much is custom-built and who builds it. If your site only needs fixing rather than rebuilding, it can cost less. Northern publishes fixed prices for website packages: a Refresh of your existing site is £1,500, a full rebuild is £3,500, a rebuild with CRM and automation is £6,500, and bespoke or e-commerce work starts from £10,000. Hosting is extra and starts at £20 a month.
What does a website redesign typically cost?
These are typical UK market ranges from published guides. They're useful for checking whether a quote is in the right area.
- LOW/CODE, an agency that tracks redesign costs, puts the average small business redesign at £2,000 to £15,000. It says a properly designed 10 to 25 page site with a working content management system, mobile optimisation and SEO set-up usually falls between £5,000 and £12,000 (LOW/CODE: Small business website redesign cost).
- ProfileTree's guide to WordPress costs puts a freelancer build at £700 to £4,000 and an agency custom build at £3,500 to £12,000, with yearly running costs of £150 to £3,000 (ProfileTree: UK website design costs).
- Refresh: £1,500, about two weeks, plus £20 a month hosting. For a site that works but needs fixing: broken navigation, no clear calls to action, poor mobile layout. We audit it, fix the structure and move it to our UK hosting.
- Standard: £3,500, about three weeks, plus £25 a month hosting. A full rebuild from scratch with a bespoke design, up to 8 pages and 3 templates, local landing pages, SEO foundations and lead forms. This is the right choice for most small businesses.
- Premium: £6,500, about five weeks. Everything in Standard, up to 20 pages, plus CRM, automated lead follow-up, online booking and email and SMS marketing, set up from day one.
- Bespoke: from £10,000, six weeks or more. For e-commerce, multiple locations, custom integrations or anything that doesn't fit a package.
- the site is built on a platform you're happy with
- the design is dated but the structure makes sense
- the main problems are slow pages, poor mobile layout or weak calls to action
- you're getting traffic but not enough enquiries
- your business has changed and the site no longer describes what you do
- the site is hard or impossible to update yourself
- it's built on old technology that's slow or insecure
- you've rebranded and the site doesn't match
- you need new features like booking, a shop or a client area
- Hosting and maintenance: monthly fees for hosting, security updates, backups and fixes.
- Plugins and licences: some themes and plugins charge yearly.
- Changes after launch: how much does it cost to add a page or change some copy?
- Ownership and exit fees: do you own the domain and the code? Can you leave without paying a penalty?
- List what's wrong now. What does the site fail to do? Be specific.
- Decide what success looks like. More enquiries, more bookings, less admin?
- Count your pages and features. Which pages stay, which go, what's new?
- Say who provides content. Will you write the copy and supply photos, or do you need help?
- Ask every agency the same questions. That way you can compare like with like.
Both sources are agencies, so treat the ranges as a guide, not a rule. The point is that the range is wide for real reasons, which we cover below.
What does Northern charge for a website redesign?
We show our prices because most agencies don't. All prices are fixed, paid 50% up front and 50% on completion. Northern isn't currently VAT registered, so there's no VAT to add.
If your registered office is in the North of Tyne area, you may be able to claim back 40 to 50% of the one-off cost through the NBSL Business Support Fund. We're a registered supplier and can help with the paperwork. See our web design service for more on how we work.
Do I need a full redesign or just a refresh?
Not every tired website needs rebuilding. Ask yourself these questions.
A refresh is often enough if:
A full redesign makes sense if:
If you're not sure, start with an audit. It's cheaper to find out what's wrong than to rebuild and keep the same problems. We wrote about the warning signs in 5 signs your website is costing you leads.
What makes a website redesign cost more?
Number of pages and templates
A 5-page site costs less than a 30-page site. But templates matter more than pages. A site with 40 blog posts using one template costs less than one with 10 completely different page layouts.
Custom design versus a theme
A ready-made theme is cheaper up front but looks like other sites and can be slow. A bespoke design costs more but fits your brand and your customers.
Content
Copywriting, photography and video are often left out of quotes. If you need new words and pictures, budget for them. LOW/CODE estimates extras like copy, photography, hosting and maintenance can add 20 to 40% to the base price.
Features and integrations
Online booking, payments, a CRM, a members' area or a link to your stock system all add time and cost.
E-commerce
Online shops need product pages, payments, delivery rules and stock management. They almost always cost more than a brochure site.
Moving existing content and rankings
If your current site ranks well on Google, the redesign must keep those rankings. That means mapping old pages to new ones with redirects. Skipping this step is the most common way a redesign loses traffic.
What are the hidden costs of a website redesign?
Ask about these before you sign:
With Northern, your domain stays in your name, you get the code on launch, and you can leave with 30 days' notice and no exit fee.
How do I get an accurate redesign quote?
You can also try our website cost calculator for a quick estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to redesign a small business website in the UK?
Typical UK ranges are £2,000 to £15,000 for a small business redesign. Northern's fixed prices start at £1,500 for a Refresh of your existing site and £3,500 for a full rebuild.
How long does a website redesign take?
A refresh can take about two weeks. A full rebuild of a small business site usually takes three to five weeks with Northern. Larger bespoke or e-commerce projects take six weeks or more.
Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?
It can if it's done badly. Keep pages that rank, redirect any old addresses to the new ones, and keep your SEO basics in place. Done properly, a redesign often improves rankings.
Is it cheaper to refresh my website than rebuild it?
Usually, yes. If the structure and platform are sound, fixing the problems costs less than starting again. Our Refresh package is £1,500.
How often should I redesign my website?
There's no fixed rule. Redesign when the site no longer does its job: when it's hard to update, slow, out of date or not bringing in enquiries. Small improvements in between keep it working for longer.
Do website prices include VAT?
Check each quote. Northern isn't currently VAT registered, so our prices have no VAT added.
Want a fixed price for your redesign?
We build websites for businesses in Sunderland, Newcastle and across the UK. Ask for a free website audit and we'll tell you whether you need a refresh or a rebuild, and what it will cost.
