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Pay monthly web design, and the clause to read first

Pay monthly web design means no build fee up front and a single monthly figure covering the site, the hosting and usually the changes. In the United Kingdom it typically runs £30 to £200 a month. 2 clauses decide whether it is a good deal: whether changes are included or billed on top, and who owns the site if you leave. Sitesmiths charges from £47 a month with VAT included, changes in it, and builds the whole site before it takes a card.

Last measured
September 2026
Keyword
pay monthly web design
Searches a month
790

Why the model exists

A one-off build has a problem nobody fixes: the day it is handed over, nobody pays the person who can change it. So it is not changed, and a website that is not changed is worth less every month. Monthly aligns the 2 sides for as long as the arrangement lasts, which is the honest argument for it.

The 2 clauses

  • Are changes included, or is the monthly fee hosting with a support rate on top? This is where most of the difference in price hides. Ask for a specific answer about a price change and a new service page.
  • What happens if you leave? Some suppliers hand over the files, some hand over nothing because the site only runs on their platform. Neither is dishonest, but you should know which you are buying before you sign.

Monthly against paying once

Over 5 years an agency build at £2,500, plus hosting at £150 a year, plus 6 billed changes a year at an hour each, lands around £4,500. 5 years of our cheapest plan is £2820 with every change in it. The gap is real but it is not the main point: the monthly route puts nothing at risk before you have seen the thing you are buying.

What to be careful of

A long minimum term with a large exit fee, quoted before you have seen any work, is the version of this model to walk away from. Our own terms are on the pricing section of the front page and say the same thing in one line: yearly has no exit fee, monthly carries one month.

Questions people ask us

Still deciding? Have the site built and see.

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Over 5 years it is usually cheaper than an agency build plus hosting plus billed changes, and considerably cheaper than a rebuild. Over one year, a one-off build is cheaper if you never change anything.

Want to see what we would build you?

Talk into your phone for 5 minutes. We build the whole site, then send it over finished. Nothing is charged until you have seen it and said yes.

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Tell us what you need.

Answer 6 questions via talk or text. Share any logos, images, or references, and your email so we can send you the website. No call, no card info, and nothing to sign.

All 6 questions 1 / 3

Talk us through your business.

Press record once and answer the 6 below. Take as long as you like.

  • What do you do, and who for? Example: I run a salon. Cuts and colour, mostly regulars, walk-ins when we can.
  • Where are you, and who comes to you? The street you are on, the towns people travel in from, anywhere you go out to.
  • What do you want more of? Your business goals and what you want the website to achieve.
  • Why do people come back to you? Loyal clientele? Competitive prices? Tell us what makes your business stand out.
  • What should someone do when they land on your site? Ring you, book a slot themselves, or send a message?
  • Anything you want it to look like? A site you like, the colours in the shop, or nothing at all.

Any order is fine. Say something twice, come back to a thing you forgot, stop to think. It all stays in one recording and we sort it out at our end.