In these unusual times, we understand that time is money. That’s why we’ve done all the research for you – testing and comparing top website builders on price, ease of use, features, customer support, and more so you don’t have to. We’ve selected and reviewed our five favourite builders for businesses like yours – check out our quickfire comparison of those website builders here.
There are 1.4 million people working as freelancers in the UK today. However, what you can expect to pay for the services of a freelance web designer is still a mystery for many.
Freelancer rates vary depending on location, level of experience, and the quantity/quality of the work required.
But how much does a website cost? And how do you get the best deal for your business?
Or, for an alternative option…
Compared to hiring a professional web designer, using a DIY website builder is often a cheaper, easier way to create your own website.
Requiring no coding or technical knowledge, when using a website building platform, you simply choose a professional-looking design template; drag-and-drop your site copy, images, and videos into place; integrate the apps and tools that'll add the functionality you need; and voila – you have a website!
Below, we've listed our favourite website builders, and included their price ranges. Be sure to check them out before hiring a web designer!
| Website builder | Best for… | Price range (per month, billed annually) | Is a free plan available? | Check it out! |
 | Best all-round website builder | $13 – $49 | Yes! | Visit Wix |
 | Best for creative entrepreneurs | $12 – $40 | No | Visit Squarespace |
 | Best for total beginners | $6 – $26 | Yes! | Visit Weebly |
 | Best for ecommerce businesses | $29 – $299 | No | Visit Shopify |
 | Best for big growth ambitions | $29.95 – $269.96 | No | Visit BigCommerce |
Why Hire a Freelance Web Designer?
Convenience
Most people hire freelancers for the convenience. Having a temporary, no strings attached freelancer is less commitment than hiring a new employee.
One-to-One Service
Hiring a freelance web designer often means working with just one person.
You’ll also enjoy a more personalised service, with your web designer taking the time to fully understand your wants and needs. This is especially important when designing a website, as it will be the first port of call for your potential customers.
Wide Skillset
To ensure they receive work, many freelance web designers will enroll on courses to learn new skills. This makes them more versatile and able to offer a more bespoke end product.
Varied Experience
Freelance web designers often have a wider range of experience than your typical agency designer. Accepting commissions from different businesses in different sectors means freelancers can provide a more flexible and tailored service for your business.
Their Industry Contacts
Freelancers always know other freelancers. If they don’t know how to do something, you can guarantee that they have a friend or a contact that can help you out.
Aftercare
Web design agencies do offer aftercare services, but once a site is live and a project ‘finished’, you might find that you’re no longer the top priority.
However, with a freelancer you can expect a much quicker response time and a willingness to help. It’s all part of the one-to-one relationship you develop with them.
What Affects a Freelance Designer’s Rates?
There are many different factors that can affect the rate that a freelancer charges you. Below you’ll find a few examples of the factors that determine how much you might pay:
Knowing What you Want
When planning your website, think carefully about what you really want. Are you after a simple, no-frills website? If so you can expect to pay a much cheaper rate than for a website with forms, eCommerce functionality, several pages etc. Likewise, a site designed in HTML5 with dynamic components will cost more than a content-managed site.
Your freelancer will need to take all of this on-board, so knowing what you want up front can really save time and money later on.
The Length of the Project
Is it a quick fix or a big website re-design? Unsurprisingly these will cost a significantly different amount. For larger projects, it's best to agree a fee up front for the whole project. Otherwise you'll end up paying extra by the hour should the project overrun.
Their Skills and Experience
As with most industries, a freelance web designer’s experience and skills can massively affect the amount they charge. Expect to pay a lower rate for junior and inexperienced designers, and a higher one for experienced designers. You’ll find more information on rates and pricing below.
Tax
As self-employed workers, freelancers have to be acutely aware of paying their taxes. This can sometimes bump up your costs if freelancers increase their rate to negate the impact of tax and improve their overall take home pay. This is a pretty common practice, but is something to be aware of if working to a strict budget.
Pricing
As a general rule, the rate for an independent freelance web designer will be lower than that of a larger company. This is largely due to the fact that larger organisations typically have greater costs and overheads.
By Hour
The traditional way of hiring a freelancer was to pay them by the hour until they finished the job. This often proved quite costly with extra hours racking up quickly over time, especially if the client wasn't happy with the work. You should always consider the cost of potential reworks, edits, and additional extras before agreeing to an hourly rate.
By Day
If you want to hire a freelance web designer but need to them to work on-site where you can manage them more directly, then you may be charged by the day. However, many freelance web designers prefer to work at home or in a space of their own.
Paying by the day to have someone on-site can end up costing you more as freelancers won’t know their way around, will need internet access and firewall privileges, and could even be a disruptive presence for the rest of your team. All of these factors may hinder the project’s progress, costing you even more money.
By Project
This is generally the safest method of paying your freelance web designer. When searching for a web designer, you should consider how large you want your website to be.
For larger jobs, freelancers will typically charge by the project, which may seem more expensive at first but can be preferable to an hourly rate. Not only does paying by project mean you won’t have to pay extra for hours of overtime, but you can agree a much better up front ‘all-in-one’ package rate.
By Page
This is a slightly less common method of charging and is often associated with larger website projects. You pay a set rate per page, making large websites more expensive and smaller sites less so. More often though, you should expect to pay by the project for websites with many pages and by the hour for smaller jobs.
What are the UK web developer rates?
Web developers focus on the website's backend, building the site's core structure and fixing bugs, among many other tasks. There are web developers and UI developers, but overall freelance web developer rates in the UK depend on their level of experience, so check out our table below for an overview of the average hourly and daily rates…
Freelance Web Developer Level | Hourly rate | Daily rate |
|---|---|---|
Junior (0-3 years’ experience) | £10 – £35 | £70 – £250 |
Mid-weight (3-5 years’ experience) | £35 – £70 | £250 – £500 |
Senior (5-10+ years’ experience) | £70 – £100 | £500 – £750 |
Top-level (one of the world’s best) | n/a | £750+ |
Prices accurate as of January 2021.
These are just ballpark figures, however, and much will depend upon the complexity of your requirements. We know that finding the right web development company can be tricky, so use this handy guide to browse who we think are the very best in the UK.
Next Steps
Now that you know much you might expect to pay, it's time to find the right web designer.
To get that ball rolling, all you have to do is tell us what you need, and we'll match you up with web designers that best suit your requirements.
