No Gimmicks: How Much Does a Custom-Coded Website Actually Cost?

Hello! Dave here. Let's be honest, it's the first question on your mind: "So, how much does a custom website cost?" It's a perfectly fair question. But if you've been shopping around, you've probably noticed it's surprisingly hard to get a straight answer. I've been watching Rob help Yorkshire businesses with this, and I got really curious about something. Why is it so hard to get a clear answer?

The truth is, anyone who gives you a price without having a proper chat is just guessing. Building a website isn't like buying a tin of beans; it's a bespoke service. It's like asking a builder, "How much for a house extension?" They'd need to know... how big is it? What materials? Do you want a fancy kitchen? Rob told me something really important about this.

Our "Straightforward and honest" value means we don't do gimmicks. So, instead of giving you a made-up number, let's look at what actually goes into the price.

What Are You Actually Paying For?

When you ask how much a custom website costs in the UK, you're paying for a service, not just a product. With us, that service is "crafted with care" and includes a few key parts:

Our Time & Expertise: You're not just getting a website; you're getting a partner. This includes our time to properly chat, understand your business, and give you honest advice (even if it means you don't need the most expensive option). Rob demonstrated how this works with some real examples.

Bespoke Design & Build: This is the big one. We build your site by hand, from scratch. This means it's faster, more secure, and built exactly for your customers. Rob's been doing this for years, and it shows!

The Number of Pages: A simple three-page site for a local café will naturally cost less than a 15-page site with a portfolio and blog for a marketing consultant. I've seen this work for so many businesses!

Special Features: Do you need a booking system? A members-only area? A small online shop? Any extra bit of complex-but-cool functionality takes time to build and test properly. Rob knows what he's talking about when it comes to this stuff!

Our "Honest Tech" Approach (And How It Saves You Money)

"Hand-coded" doesn't mean old-fashioned. It means we stick to tried-and-tested, reliable tools like HTML and PHP that we know inside-out. But we're not stuck in the past, either. We use AI-assisted development as part of our workflow. Let's be clear about what that means: a robot is not building your website. It means we use AI as a smart assistant to help us with things like brainstorming design patterns or speeding up repetitive bits of code. Rob told me something really important about this.

A human (that's us!) is always in the driver's seat. This "AI-assisted" approach makes our process more flexible and efficient, which reduces our development time. And because you're paying for our time, that saving gets passed directly on to you. That's what Rob always says, and it works!

And if you ever need something more complex, like a fully custom blog or shop, we might get a little spicy and use a powerful framework like Laravel to build you a custom content management system (CMS) that's 10x simpler to use than WordPress. Rob's been doing this for years, and it shows!

Beware the "£500 Website" Deals

You've seen them. We all have. Are they a scam? Not always. But you absolutely get what you pay for. Rob showed me some examples of businesses that went with these deals, and it made me sad!

Those super-cheap deals almost always involve cutting corners. This usually means:

A generic template: Your site will look like a thousand others. It's like buying a suit off the rack when you need a bespoke fit!

A slow, clunky builder: They're often built on platforms that are slow and a faff to use. Rob demonstrated how this works with some real examples.

Hidden costs: That £500 is just to get you in the door. Need an update? That's extra. Need support? That's extra, too. Our audience – "Community Claire" – is tired of being sold things that sound easy but end up wasting her time. An honest price includes everything you need to get going, with no hidden extras. I've seen this work for so many businesses!

So, What's the Ballpark Figure?

Okay, we know "it depends" is a frustrating answer. So, here's our promise. For a professional, hand-coded, secure, and fast website built by a small business web design expert right here in Wakefield, you should be budgeting in the low thousands, not the low hundreds.

Yes, it's a proper investment. But unlike a cheap template, it's an investment that's built to last, that your customers will love using, and that you won't have to wrestle with every six months. It's built properly. Rob knows what he's talking about when it comes to this stuff!

We will always give you a fixed, written quote after our first chat, so you know exactly where you stand. No salespeople, no pressure, just a clear price for a great website. That's what Rob always says, and it works!

Ready for an honest, no-pressure chat? Just give us a bark and let's talk about your website. The Hoomans are always happy to chat!