The Real Cost of a Cheap Website

A cheap website can look like a bargain, but the real cost often appears later.

A very low price can look like a bargain. However, the trouble often starts after the invoice. Before you pick the cheapest option, it helps to know where the extra costs hide.

Where hidden costs appear

Cheap sites tend to cut corners in places you cannot see at first. For example, you may find:

• A generic template with no thought for your customers.
• Slow hosting that makes visitors leave.
• No basic SEO, so nobody finds the site.
• Charges for every small change.
• Poor security, which can lead to repairs later.
• No hand-over, so you cannot edit anything yourself.

The cost of starting again

If the site does not work, you pay twice. Firstly, you lose the money you spent. Secondly, you lose the customers who never found you. Eventually, many owners rebuild from scratch, which costs more than doing it well the first time.

Cheap and good value are different

Value means what you get for what you pay. So compare quotes by listing what each one includes. Look at the number of pages, the SEO work, the hosting, the support and the time to launch.

When cheap is fine

Sometimes a simple page is all you need. A new business might want a single page with contact details, and that is a sensible start. You can add more later, once you know what works.

What our prices include

Our one-page website starts at £599 ex VAT, and a multi-page, SEO-enhanced website starts at £899 ex VAT. Hosting starts at £9.99 a month ex VAT. We keep prices fixed, so you know the total before you begin.

If you already have a site elsewhere, moving it to GBD hosting costs a one-off £80 set-up fee.

Questions to ask any provider

• Who will build my site, and how long will it take?
• What happens if I want changes after launch?
• Who owns the domain and the content?
• Does the price include basic SEO?

You can see our full range on the web design page, or contact us for an honest view of what you need.

A cheap website often skips the later stages

Your website is where most of the customer journey happens. It has to explain what you do, build trust, make the next step obvious and handle the sale. A very cheap site is often only a brochure that covers the first of those jobs.

The missing pieces tend to be the ones that matter most: clear calls to action, a way to follow up with people who enquire, basic tracking so you know what works and a route for happy customers to leave reviews. Adding them later usually costs more than building them in from the start.

When you compare prices, compare what each site does for your customers, not just how it looks. Our 12-stage customer journey guide shows the stages a good website should support.

Ready to put this into practice?

Build a fixed-price package online in minutes, or talk it through with us first. Either way you get plain-English advice and one team looking after the work.