Build it yourself,or have it built? An honest comparison
We sell one of these two things, so read this knowing that. We have still tried to write the version we would want to read: what each option really costs, what it really takes, and when a builder is genuinely the better answer.
- £500once, if you pick us
- £13–£25a month, if you build it
- 3 yearswhere the two meet
Starting with the awkward bit
When you should use Wix or Squarespace instead of us
If one of these is you, a builder is the right answer and we would rather say so than take £500 off you.
Website builders are genuinely good now. Wix, Squarespace and the rest will give you something tidy if you are willing to sit down with them, and there is no shame in that route. It is not the cheap option people think it is, but it is a real one.
The thing nobody tells you is how much of it is writing. Choosing a template takes an evening. Working out what your home page should actually say, and then saying it in a way that makes a stranger pick up the phone, is the part that takes the weekend and the part most half-finished sites die on.
- You actually enjoy it. Some people find this fun. If that is you, you will do a better job than someone doing it grudgingly.
- You want to change it constantly. A menu that changes weekly, or an events list, is easier when you can edit it at midnight yourself.
- You are testing an idea. If the business might not exist in six months, do not spend £500 on it. Spend £15 and find out.
- You need a shop, today. Their checkout works out of the box. Ours is not part of the £500, and we will tell you that on the call.
- You have no photos and no budget for any. Their stock libraries are decent. We would rather send you out with a phone, but that takes your time too.
The three real options
What you are actually choosing between
Almost every small business website in Scotland comes from one of these three routes.
-
Build it yourself on a site builder
£13–£25 a monthWix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Shopify for a shop. You get a good editor and a template. You supply the words, the photos, the structure and the patience. The bill never stops, and if it does, the site goes down. Reckon on two or three evenings to something presentable and considerably longer to something you are proud of.
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A budget pay-monthly package
From £299 up front, then £20–£30 a monthSomeone builds it, you pay a small setup fee and then a direct debit, usually on a minimum term of twelve to eighteen months. Convenient, and the total is higher than it looks. Check three things before signing: the term, who owns the site at the end, and what happens to it if you stop paying.
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Pay once, have it built, own it
£500What we do. Five pages, every word written for you from one 20 minute phone call, your own domain, hosting and the Google setup. Half up front, half only when you have approved it. No contract, no minimum term, and the site and domain are yours outright. The only ongoing cost is about £20 a year for the domain, paid to the registrar rather than to us.
The arithmetic
Three years, side by side
Three years is the fair window. It is about how long a small business site lasts before it wants a refresh, and it is long enough for a monthly fee to show its true size.
| Feature | Savvy Website | Pay-monthly package | DIY site builder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up front | £500 | from £299 | £0 |
| Monthly fees | None you have to pay | £20–£30 a month | £13–£25 a month |
| Minimum term | None | Often 12 to 18 months | Rolling, but forever |
| Cost over 3 years | £540 | around £1,200 | around £700, and rising |
| Your time | A 20 minute call | A few emails | Two or three weekends |
| Who writes the words | We do | Usually you | You |
| Your own domain | Included, first year | Sometimes included | Paid extra |
| Who owns it | You, outright | Usually them | You rent it |
| If you stop paying | Nothing happens | Site comes down | Site comes down |
| Moving it elsewhere | Standard files, any developer | Usually a rebuild | Usually a rebuild |
Our three year figure is £500 plus roughly £20 a year for domain renewal after the first year. Builder figures are the advertised 2026 business tier range for the main platforms; the cheapest personal tiers are less but usually carry adverts or no custom domain. Pay-monthly figures are typical advertised UK prices for budget packages, and the minimum terms are the ones providers publish themselves. One like-for-like note: pay-monthly totals usually include an email inbox and ours does not. Email is an optional add-on, priced on request. We also offer optional care plans from £24.99 a month, which the figures above assume you do not take. Always check what your own quote includes.
How to decide
Four questions that settle it
Answer these honestly and the choice usually makes itself.
Have you got two free weekends?
Not evenings when you are shattered. Actual weekends, with the writing done as well as the layout. If the answer is no, a builder subscription becomes a monthly bill for a site that never got finished.
Do you want to write it?
This is where most DIY sites stall. If the thought of writing your own about page makes you put it off another month, that is your answer, and it is the single most common reason people ring us.
Does it matter that you own it?
For some people it genuinely does not. For anyone building something they intend to sell, hand on, or still be running in ten years, renting the shopfront is a strange choice.
Is it really just a website?
Shops, bookings, memberships and stock are development jobs. If that is what you need, neither a £500 build nor a template will do it properly, and anyone saying otherwise is selling.
Get a quote
Tell us what you do. We'll send back a price and a plan.
Two fields is enough to start. You'll have your price within one working day, and a free one-page plan for your business alongside it. If the job's bigger than the £500 build, we'll tell you straight and quote it properly.
- A free plan comes with it. One page: where you come up on Google for what you do, who is above you, and the three things costing you calls. Yours to keep, whether you use us or not.
- We reply within one working day. Usually much sooner.
- No obligation, and no chasing. If it's not for you, that's the end of it.
- Rather just talk? Call or text Michael directly on 07508 750017, or message on WhatsApp.
If we emailed you first, the easiest thing is simply to hit reply.
Questions
The things people ask when they are weighing this up
Is Wix or Squarespace good enough for a small business?
Yes, genuinely, for some people. If you enjoy that sort of thing, have a free weekend or two, and your business is simple enough to describe in a few paragraphs, a builder will get you a decent site. Plenty of good businesses run on one.
The catch is not quality, it is the work and the meter. You write the words, choose the layout, find the photos, and do the Google setup. Then you pay every month for as long as the site exists.
What does a website builder actually cost over three years?
Business plans on the main builders sit at roughly £13 to £25 a month in 2026, so three years lands somewhere around £470 to £900 before you add a domain. That is close to our one off £500, except at the end of it you are still renting.
Stop paying and the site comes down. That is the real difference, and it is worth more than the arithmetic.
What about the cheap pay-monthly website packages?
Read the term before the price. Budget packages locally advertise from about £299 to £350 up front and then add £20 to £30 a month, and a minimum term of twelve to eighteen months is common. One local firm states an eighteen month minimum in plain words on its own pricing page.
That is a perfectly legal way to sell websites and some people are happy with it. Just be sure you have added it up, and check who owns the site at the end.
How do I know if my business needs more than a five page site?
If you need to take payments, manage bookings and staff calendars, run a members area or handle stock, that is a development job rather than a website, and it costs real money. Anyone quoting you £500 for it is not going to finish it.
For most small businesses, what actually decides whether the phone rings is simpler: does the site say what you do, where you do it, and how to reach you, and does it load fast on a phone.
Can I move my site if I change my mind later?
From a builder, not easily. The design is tied to their platform, so moving usually means rebuilding. Your domain and your content come with you, the site itself does not.
From us, yes. The site is standard HTML and CSS, the domain is registered to your business, and we hand over every login. Any other developer can pick it up.