Are you thinking about a new website, but have no idea what you should actually be spending?

You are not alone. Most people I speak to either massively underestimate it, or have no benchmark at all.
So instead of throwing random numbers at you, I’ve put together a simple way to work it out based on your business.

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A quick way to calculate your website budget

Rather than asking “how much does a website cost?”, a better question is:

👉 what should your business invest in one?

Here are two simple ways to figure it out.

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Revenue-based approach

A good rule of thumb:

👉 1–5% of your annual revenue

So for example:

• £100k business → £1k–£5k website
• £500k business → £5k–£25k website
• £1m+ business → £10k–£50k+ website

This keeps your investment proportional to your business size.‍

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ROI-based approach (this is the important one)

Ask yourself:
👉 What is one new client worth to you?
Then:
👉 How many clients would your website need to generate to pay for itself?

For example:

• If a client is worth £1,000
• And your website costs £5,000

You need 5 clients to break even. That’s it.‍

Why budgets vary so much

This is where people get confused.

You’ll see one business spend £2k and another spend £50k+

It’s not random.

It comes down to:‍

1. Your pricing

If you charge £50 per service, your website has to work a lot harder to pay itself off.

If you charge £5,000 per project, it doesn’t.

2. How your business gets clients

• Word of mouth → lower website dependency
• Online leads → higher website dependency

The more your website drives your business, the more it’s worth investing in.

3. Your growth stage

• Just starting → keep it lean
• Growing → invest in conversion
• Scaling → invest in systems and performance

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So… what should you spend?

Here’s a simple way to sanity check it:

• If your website is just there to “exist” → keep it lean
• If your website needs to bring in leads → invest properly
• If your website is a core sales tool → treat it like one

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A quick reality check

A website isn’t just a design cost.
It’s:

• your first impression
• your sales tool
• your credibility
• your conversion funnel

So the question isn’t really:
👉 “what’s the cheapest I can get this for?”
It’s:
👉 “what level of investment actually makes sense for my business?”‍

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If you’re not sure where you sit

If you’re planning a new website but stuck on what budget is realistic, I’m always happy to talk it through.

No pressure, no hard sell. Just helping you get clear before you invest.

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For typical UK price ranges by project type, this guide breaks them down. You can see what the different levels look like in practice in the case studies, or read more about what I offer.