At The Artist Studio in Sherborne, our guide prices start at £900 for a landing page, £1,800 for a business website and £4,000 for an online shop. These are our prices, including VAT, rather than an average for every website provider in Dorset. The features, content and support in your brief determine the quote.
Three proposals for “the same website” can cover different work. Before choosing, compare the pages and customer journeys, who writes the copy, what happens to existing search traffic, and what you will pay after launch. Our website, branding and marketing price guide sets out the studio’s current ranges and exclusions.
By Chris at The Artist Studio. Updated by The Artist Studio, 15 October 2026.
What are the three ways to get a website built?
You can build it yourself, hire a freelancer or work with an agency. Choose around the work you need and the time you can give it.
Build it yourself. A website builder can be a sensible option for a small site if you can plan the pages, write the content and test the enquiries yourself. Budget for the subscription and your time, then check the limits on forms, products, editing and integrations. A template does not automatically make a site poor for search; useful content and a sound implementation still matter.
Hire a freelancer. A specialist can be a good fit for a defined brief. Ask who covers copy, design, development and testing, and what support is available if that person is away. Look at live work with similar requirements.
Work with an agency or studio. A team can coordinate several disciplines, such as branding, photography, copy, design and development. The proposal should show which of those you are buying, who will do the work and who will maintain it. The label “agency” does not tell you the scope.
What does a website cost at The Artist Studio?
- Landing page: £900–£3,500. A focused page for a campaign, service or offer.
- Business website: £1,800–£10,000. The number of pages, content work, design and functionality shape the price.
- Online shop: £4,000–£20,000. Product data, variations, payments, shipping and integrations need a clear brief.
These broad guide prices include VAT. Hosting, domains, apps, advertising spend and outside production are separate. Your proposal confirms the deliverables, exclusions and final price; a bespoke brief can sit outside the ranges.
A five-page site with supplied copy is a different project from five pages needing research, copywriting, photography and a booking integration. Ask for those differences to be itemised before comparing the total.
What running costs should I budget for after launch?
Ask for a twelve-month cost schedule alongside the build quote. Include the platform or hosting plan, domain renewal, paid apps, email services, maintenance and any agreed content support. For a shop, add the payment-processing and transaction charges that apply to your plan and payment method.
Check current provider prices rather than relying on a converted annual estimate. Webflow publishes its Site and Workspace plans in US dollars, with applicable taxes added. Shopify’s UK pricing page shows subscriptions and payment rates by plan. Billing frequency, currency, tax and app choices can change your total.
For your comparison, record the upfront fee, recurring charges and optional work separately. Show the first-year total and the renewal-year total using the same assumptions for every supplier. Mark an unconfirmed cost as unconfirmed.
Why do quotes vary so much for the same brief?
Ask each supplier to explain the work behind the price:
- Content: who writes, edits and uploads the text, photographs products and enters catalogue data?
- Design: how many page types are designed, which parts use a template and how are mobile layouts handled?
- Functionality: which forms, booking tools, payments and integrations are included, with what limits?
- Search: are existing URLs, redirects, page titles, internal links and indexing checks included?
- Testing: which devices, browsers, forms and checkout journeys will be checked, and who fixes problems?
- Handover: what training, access, documentation and support will you receive?
Our guide to what your quote should include explains how we scope a studio project, with a worksheet to discuss the details together. An attractive lower price can be the right choice when it covers the work you need; missing essentials need a cost before you decide.
Should you improve your current website or replace it?
Start with the problem. If customers cannot find the right service, complete a form or understand the offer, identify what is causing that before commissioning a rebuild. A targeted change to the structure, content or enquiry journey may be enough.
Our free website audit checks a public page with Google Lighthouse and presents automated performance, accessibility, SEO and best-practice findings. Use it as a first inspection, then test the important customer tasks yourself. It does not measure your whole site’s rankings, prove accessibility compliance or decide whether a rebuild is needed. Google explains what Lighthouse tests.
For a redesign, ask the supplier to inventory the pages and URLs you already have and agree what must be preserved. Google recommends involving an SEO early when planning a redesign or new site. Its guide to hiring an SEO also sets out questions about methods, results and communication.
What will you own and be able to move?
Have the proposal state who controls the domain, platform account, analytics and content, what rights you receive in the design and code, and how access will be handed over. Agree how third-party fonts, photographs, themes and apps are licensed.
Paying for commissioned creative work does not automatically transfer its copyright. The UK Intellectual Property Office explains that ownership needs to be agreed in writing. Ask the supplier to spell out assignment or usage rights, rather than relying on “you own everything”.
Platform ownership and portability are separate questions. For example, Webflow’s code-export guidance says its CMS and ecommerce functionality are not included in an exported site. If moving providers matters to you, ask what a transfer within the platform involves and what would need rebuilding elsewhere.
Website pricing questions
How much does a basic five-page website cost in Dorset?
There is no verified Dorset-wide average in this guide. Our broader business website range is £1,800–£10,000 including VAT. To compare a five-page brief, give each supplier the same pages, content, features and support requirements.
How long does a website take to build?
Ask for a schedule tied to the actual brief, with dates for content, design approval, testing and launch. Product imports, integrations and missing content can change the schedule. Agree what happens if either side misses a dependency.
Is Webflow more expensive than WordPress?
Compare the build and the same period of running costs. Include hosting or platform subscriptions, plugins, maintenance, support and any migration work. A platform name alone cannot tell you the total cost or quality.
What should an online shop quote include?
Specify the product and variant count, data import, shipping rules, tax configuration, payments, returns information, integrations and a tested checkout. Ask separately about ongoing apps and transaction charges.
Do I need an agency or will a freelancer do?
Choose around the expertise and capacity the brief requires. A defined build with supplied content may suit a freelancer; coordinated branding, content, ecommerce and development may benefit from a team. Check the named people, relevant live work and support arrangements.
Explore our web design services in Dorset and SEO and user-experience services, or send the studio your brief for a scoped quote.
Editorial responsibility: The Artist Studio. Studio guide prices and linked provider guidance checked 15 October 2026. Our buying recommendations are editorial judgement; they are not a survey of Dorset providers or a promise of commercial results.
