The quick price guide
There are four ways to end up with a website, and the only number that matters is the one you are still paying in three years:
- DIY website builder. A monthly fee plus a lot of your evenings. Free tiers exist and usually look it. I have checked what the free plans leave out.
- Subscription "trade website" service. A monthly fee that does not stop. Convenient, but you rarely own the site and often do not own the domain either. Ask them directly who the domain is registered to.
- One-off professional one page site. Paid once, nothing after. This is what I do, for £299.
- Agency multi-page website. The most expensive option, sometimes with a support retainer on top. Right if you need a shop or dozens of pages, overkill if you want the phone to ring.
Whatever you are quoted, work out the three year cost before you decide. Monthly figure times 36, or the one-off figure and nothing else. That single sum settles most of this argument.
How much does a tradesman website cost in the UK in 2026?
The fairest way to compare is the three year total, because that is where a monthly plan and a one-off fee meet. These are the figures from my 3 year cost comparison, taken from each provider's official price page in September 2026 (sources and VAT notes are on that page). I added Here Is My Work, Websites 4 Trades and Trustmark Trades from their own pages in November 2026:
| Option | How you pay | 3 year total |
|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy Starter | £7.49 a month, billed annually | £269.64 |
| Tradewebsite.uk | £299 once, hosting included | £299 (plus a domain if you want one, about £24 to £45) |
| Squarespace Basic | £12 a month, paid annually | £432 |
| UENI Website Launch | £15.83 +VAT a month on yearly, plus £599 +VAT setup | £1,168.88 +VAT |
| Yell Amplify | Starting at £299 a month | £10,764 minimum |
| Here Is My Work Premium | £100 a year (there is also a free plan on a shared address) | £300 |
| Trustmark Trades (a marketing agency) | £100 upfront, £900 on completion | £1,000. Its page says no monthly or yearly charges "for 2025 only", so ask what applies now |
| Websites 4 Trades | £30 a month flat fee, domain bought separately | £1,080 |
| Freelancer or agency | Quoted per job | Get two quotes and ask about monthly hosting and support fees |
Two things change the answer. The DIY builders cost your evenings as well as the fee, and every monthly option keeps billing in year four, while a one-off fee does not.
Why the price varies so much
The cost of a trade website comes down to four things: how many pages it has, whether the design is custom or templated, whether you're renting it monthly or buying it outright, and whether ongoing support or SEO is bundled in. A national firm needing online booking and dozens of service pages genuinely needs to spend more. A local plumber, electrician or gardener who mainly wants the phone to ring does not.
One-off fee vs monthly subscription
This is the biggest decision, and it is arithmetic rather than opinion. Take the monthly figure you have been quoted and multiply it by 60. That is what five years costs, and at the end of it you usually stop having a website the moment you stop paying. A one-off build costs more on day one and nothing after, and the site is yours to keep. For a steady local trade business the one-off wins on total cost at some point; the multiplication tells you exactly when. I have done that sum for named pay monthly companies in one-off vs pay monthly websites for trades, including who owns the site when you stop paying.
What about the domain and hosting?
With my £299 build, hosting and a free subdomain (yourbusiness.tradewebsite.uk) are included in the price, there's nothing extra to arrange or pay for to get your site live. If you'd rather use your own domain (e.g. yourname.co.uk), I connect it free of charge; a domain costs a few pounds a year and you buy it yourself, from a registrar, in your own name. Check the current price at any registrar before you take my word for it.
Ask any provider quoting you a monthly fee to itemise what the fee covers. Hosting for a one page site is a very small part of it.
What a tradesperson actually needs
Most local trade customers find you on their phone and decide in seconds. To win that customer your website really only needs to: load fast, look trustworthy, clearly state what you do and where, and make it one tap to call or message you. A single well-built page does all of that. Extra pages and features are nice-to-haves, not the thing that gets you booked.
What I charge, and why
Tradewebsite.uk is a clean, mobile-friendly one page website for a £299 one-off fee with no monthly costs. It includes your services, your area, your accreditations and tap-to-message (WhatsApp) and email buttons, and I put it live on your own address within 24 hours of payment, with hosting and a free subdomain (yourbusiness.tradewebsite.uk) included in the price. If you have your own domain, I connect it free of charge. Best of all, you build it yourself free in about 2 minutes and use it free for 1 month before you pay anything. If you do not pay, it is switched off and nothing is charged. I picked one-off pricing on purpose: a sole trader or small firm shouldn't carry a monthly bill forever for a simple website.
If you'd like to see how this applies to your trade, I have written specific pages for plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers and gardeners. Not sure you need one yet? Read do tradespeople need a website? Ready to start? See how to make a website for your trade business.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a trade website cost in the UK?
It depends mostly on whether you buy the site once or rent it every month. Tradewebsite.uk costs £299 once for a one page trade website, with hosting included and no monthly fee, and you build it free and use it free for 1 month before you pay. For anyone else, get two quotes and ask each one the same two questions: what do I pay today, and what do I pay every month after that.
Are there ongoing monthly costs for a trade website?
It depends on the provider. A subscription builder charges every month for as long as you have the site, so take whatever monthly figure you are quoted and multiply it by 36 to see the three year cost. A one-off build like mine has no monthly fee at all: hosting and a free subdomain (yourbusiness.tradewebsite.uk) are included in the £299. If you would prefer your own domain I connect it free of charge, and you buy the domain from a registrar in your own name.
Why are some trade websites so expensive?
Higher prices usually pay for multiple pages, custom design, e-commerce, booking systems, ongoing support contracts or monthly SEO. Most tradespeople winning local work don't need all that, a single clear page that loads fast and makes it easy to contact you does the job.
What is the cheapest way to get a trade website?
The cheapest route is building it yourself on a free tier, but it costs your time and often looks it. The best value is usually a low-cost one-off professional build with no monthly fees, so you get a site that looks credible without an open-ended bill.
How much does a tradesman website cost per year?
A trade website on a monthly plan costs its monthly fee times 12 every year, for as long as you keep it. On official prices I checked in September 2026 that was £89.88 a year for GoDaddy Starter (annual billing) and £144 a year for Squarespace Basic (paid annually), before a domain. Tradewebsite.uk costs £299 in the first year and nothing for the website after that; the only yearly cost is a domain name if you want one, about £8 to £15 a year.
Can I pay once for a website with no monthly fee in the UK?
Yes. Tradewebsite.uk costs £299 once with hosting included and no monthly fee, and you build it free and use it free for 1 month first. Trustmark Trades lists a £1,000 one-off build, though its page limits the no monthly charge wording to 2025, so ask what applies now. With any one-off price, ask who pays for hosting after the build, because that is where the catch usually sits.