Free website builder or a website from £100? What each really costs over three years

Comparing website prices by the first payment is misleading. A builder subscription looks cheap each month, a freelancer quote looks expensive upfront, and neither tells you what you will have spent by the time the website has done three years of work. Three years is a fair test: it is roughly how long a small business site runs before it needs a proper refresh.

Here is how to work it out for each option, using the real prices you are quoted.

How to work out the three-year cost

• DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace and similar): the monthly price of a plan that lets you use your own domain, times 36, plus the domain once any free first year ends. You supply the design, words, photos and upkeep.
• Freelancer or agency: the build quote, plus 36 months of hosting, plus whatever changes after launch will cost. Ask for all three in writing.
• A built website from us: builds from £100, plus hosting from £20 a month, so from £820 over three years. Hosting covers security, backups, updates and a person to contact for changes.

Is there such a thing as a free website?

Plenty of people in Jersey search for free website design, so it is worth being straight about what free means in practice.

• Free builder plans, where they exist, usually show the builder’s own adverts and give you an address like yourname.wixsite.com. Using your own domain means moving to a paid plan, which is the plan to price up.
• Google’s free business websites, the ones made from a Google Business Profile at a business.site address, were shut down in 2024. If you had one, those links no longer work, and your Business Profile needs a new website address. Our business.site closure page explains what to do, and our guide to business.site alternatives compares the replacements.
• A free build from a designer usually moves the cost into the monthly fee or a contract. That can be a fair deal, but compare the three-year total and check who owns the domain, just as you would with any other quote.

What the numbers leave out

• Your time. A builder is cheapest in cash, but most owners spend a weekend or two getting a site live and more hours keeping it current. If your time is worth more than a few pounds an hour, that changes the sum.
• Upkeep. Someone has to keep the site secure, backed up and working. With a builder that is you; with a freelancer it is often an extra charge; with our hosting it is included.
• Moving later. Most hosted builders do not let you take the finished site elsewhere, so leaving usually means rebuilding. Whoever builds your site, make sure the domain is registered in your name.
• The result. A template set up in an afternoon tends to look like one. For a new business, looking established can be worth more than the difference in price.

When a website builder is the right choice

If you enjoy doing it yourself, have the time, and need something very simple for a hobby or a short-term project, a builder is a sensible, low-cost choice. There is no shame in starting there.

When a built website makes more sense

If the website needs to bring in customers, you would rather spend your time running the business, and you want someone to call when something needs changing, a built site with maintained hosting usually costs about the same over three years and does more of the work for you.

Whichever way you go, compare total cost over the same period, check who owns the domain and the content, and ask what happens after launch. Our guide to website costs in Jersey covers the costs people forget to budget for.

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