Last month, I drove out to see a café owner in Watchet who'd just spent £2,000 on a website that didn't work on mobile phones. In 2024. She'd paid a "web designer" from Craigslist who vanished the moment the final invoice was paid. Now she was paying me to fix it — and learning an expensive lesson about website pricing.

After building websites for Devon businesses since the 1980s, I've seen every pricing model imaginable. From the plumber in Taunton who built his own site for £50 and wondered why nobody called, to the B&B in Minehead that spent £10,000 on a site that looked like it was designed in 1995.

So what should you actually pay? Let me break it down properly.

The Real Cost Breakdown: What You Get at Each Price Point

Website pricing is like buying a van for your business. You can get a rusty old banger for £500 that'll break down every week, or invest in something reliable that actually helps you make money.

£0-£500: The DIY Route

This covers website builders like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.com. You're doing everything yourself — design, content, SEO, the lot. It's fine if you've got time to learn and don't mind a generic-looking site.

But here's what I tell customers: "A loose nut behind the wheel and something's going to break." I see it constantly. A shop owner in Bridgwater built his own Wix site six months ago. Looked decent enough, but he didn't know about image optimisation. His homepage took 15 seconds to load. Google buried him on page 10.

Reality check: DIY sites work for some people, but factor in 50-100 hours of your time learning, building, and fixing problems. What's your time worth?

£500-£1,500: Template-Based Professional Sites

This is where most small Devon businesses should start looking. You're getting a professional who'll take a good template and customise it for your business. They'll handle the technical bits, basic SEO, and make sure it works on all devices.

At this price, you're typically getting: - Professional template customisation - Mobile-responsive design - Basic on-page SEO - Contact forms that actually work - SSL certificate setup - Basic training on how to update content

A few weeks ago, I built a site in this range for a holiday cottage near Exmoor. Simple five-page site, beautiful photos, integrated booking calendar. They're now ranking on page one for "holiday cottage Exmoor" and bookings are up 40%.

£1,500-£5,000: Custom-Designed Sites

Now we're talking proper custom work. This is for businesses that need something specific — maybe you're a restaurant wanting online ordering, or a shop needing e-commerce.

Earlier this year, I worked with a farm shop near Taunton. They needed: - Custom design matching their brand - E-commerce for 200+ products - Click-and-collect system - Integration with their till system - Local delivery postcodes setup

That's not template territory. That's custom development, and it's worth every penny when done right.

87% of consumers

research businesses online before visiting or buying — your website is your most important employee

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Here's what those London agencies won't tell you about the real cost of a website:

Ongoing Maintenance: £30-£100/month

Websites aren't like shop signs — you can't just put them up and forget about them. They need updates, security patches, backups. I charge my clients £50/month for maintenance, and that includes me checking their site weekly, updating plugins, and being on call when something goes wrong.

A B&B owner in Porlock learned this the hard way. No maintenance for two years, then their site got hacked. Lost three weeks of bookings while we rebuilt everything.

Content Updates: £50-£150/hour

Unless you're learning to do it yourself, you'll need someone to update your content. New products, seasonal offers, blog posts — it all takes time. Most of my clients need 2-3 hours of updates per month.

SEO and Marketing: £200-£500/month

A website without traffic is like a shop in the middle of Exmoor with no signposts. You need ongoing SEO work to stay visible. This isn't optional anymore — it's how customers find you.

Red Flags: When Cheap Becomes Expensive

In my 40 years doing this, I've seen every scam and shortcut. Here's what to watch out for:

The £99 Website Special
Usually from overseas companies. You'll get a template site with stolen images and Lorem Ipsum text. Good luck getting support when it breaks.

No Contract or Unclear Ownership
About six months ago, a retailer in Williton called me in tears. The company that built her site wouldn't give her the login details. They claimed they owned it. Always get ownership in writing.

"SEO Included" Claims
Real SEO takes time and expertise. If someone's offering a £500 website with "full SEO included", they're either lying or don't understand SEO. Probably both.

No Local References
I can give you phone numbers for businesses in Minehead, Taunton, Bridgwater — anywhere across Somerset and Devon. If your web designer can't, ask why.

Trust your gut: If a deal seems too good to be true, it is. I've never seen a £200 website that actually helped a business grow.

What Devon Businesses Actually Need

After visiting hundreds of local businesses, here's what actually matters:

Mobile-First Design
Over 70% of local searches happen on phones. If your site doesn't work perfectly on mobile, you're losing customers. I test every site on at least five different devices.

Fast Loading Times
Google's PageSpeed Insights tool is free — use it. Anything under 50/100 and you're in trouble. A pottery shop in Dulverton was scoring 15/100. We rebuilt it, hit 85/100, and their online orders doubled.

Local SEO
You're not competing with Amazon. You're competing with other Devon businesses. That means local SEO — Google My Business, local keywords, proper schema markup.

Security
This is my pet subject. Every site needs SSL, regular updates, proper passwords. I tell every client: "If you get a dodgy email, forward it to me." The scammers are getting cleverer every day.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

So what should you spend? Here's my honest advice:

If you're just starting out and genuinely have no budget, learn WordPress yourself. It'll take time, but you'll understand your site. Budget £50/month for decent hosting and security.

If you're an established business, budget £1,500-£2,500 for a professional site. This gets you something that actually works, looks professional, and helps you compete.

If you need e-commerce or complex features, start at £3,000. Yes, it's a lot. But it's less than you'd spend on a delivery van, and it'll bring in more business.

Remember: your website works 24/7. It's your hardest-working employee. A customer of mine in Taunton — runs a plumbing business — told me last month his website brings in £3,000 of work monthly. His site cost £2,000. You do the maths.

Want to know what your specific business needs? Give me a ring. I'll drive out, we'll have a proper chat over a cuppa, and I'll tell you exactly what would work for you. No London agency does that — but after 40 years in Somerset, it's how I've always worked.

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About the Author: Marcus Knapman has been working with computers and building websites since the mid-1980s. Based in Somerset, he runs Exmoorweb from Williton — personally visiting customers across Minehead, Watchet, Taunton, Bridgwater, and the wider South West. With a BSc (Hons) and over 40 years of hands-on experience, he combines technical expertise with practical, no-nonsense advice.