A DIY website is cheaper in cash, roughly £9 to £25 a month plus VAT on builders like Wix or Squarespace, but you build, write and promote it yourself. A done-for-you website costs more, from £45 a month at Scalesites with no VAT, and someone else builds it, handles local SEO and makes changes.
The short answer
Go DIY if you have more time than money and you will enjoy the job. Go done-for-you if your time is better spent on paid work and you want the site to bring in enquiries without you managing it. The website itself matters less than who keeps working on it after launch.
The three routes, compared
There are three common ways for a UK trade to get a website, and they differ most on who does the work.
| DIY builder | Done-for-you monthly | Agency build | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Wix, Squarespace | Scalesites Scale Start or Scale Up | Local web design agency |
| Typical cost | £9 to £25/mo paid yearly, plus VAT | £45 or £79/mo, no VAT | Varies, often a one-off build fee plus hosting |
| Upfront | A year upfront for the lowest prices | £0 | Usually a deposit or full build fee |
| Who builds and writes it | You | Them | Them |
| Local SEO and Google Business Profile | You | Included and managed | Often an extra |
| Changes after launch | You | Included | Often charged per change |
| Your time | The most | The least | Some, at the start |
DIY prices from wix.com/plans (Light £9, Core £16, Business £25 a month, billed yearly) and squarespace.com/pricing (£12 to £25 a month billed yearly), UK prices checked live 27 September 2026, both excluding VAT. Agency pricing varies too widely to quote a single figure.
What DIY really costs
DIY costs less money and more time. Year one on Wix Light is £108 before VAT, and Squarespace Basic is £144 paid annually before VAT. Add 20% VAT unless you are VAT-registered.
The time is the part people underestimate. A decent trade site needs every page written, real job photos chosen and cropped, contact forms tested on a phone, local SEO set up and a Google Business Profile kept active. Then it needs updating as your services, prices and areas change.
What done-for-you really costs
Done-for-you costs more money and very little time. At Scalesites, Scale Start is £45 a month and Scale Up is £79 a month, £0 upfront and no VAT to add. Both run on a 12-month minimum term, then month to month, which is what pays for the build with nothing upfront. That makes year one £540 on Scale Start or £948 on Scale Up. See our pricing page for what each includes.
Your part is a short conversation about your business, some photos of your work and checking a free preview, which you get within 48 hours. Most sites go live within 2 weeks of approval. You own the site, the content and the domain.
When DIY is the right call
- You are just starting out and need to keep every pound.
- You enjoy design and would do the job properly, not half-finish it.
- You are comfortable learning the basics of local SEO and keeping your Google Business Profile active.
- Most of your work comes from word of mouth and the site is mainly there to look credible.
When done-for-you is the right call
- Your evenings are already full with quotes, invoices and family.
- You have started a DIY site before and it never went live, or went live and was never updated.
- You want to be found for your trade in the towns you cover, not only by people who already know your name.
- You would rather check and approve than build.
A built-for-you site also starts from how your trade wins work. Our websites for builders lead with a project gallery and capture each enquiry's budget and timeframe, and our websites for heating engineers put boiler breakdowns, servicing and Gas Safe registration up front.
A simple test
Estimate how many hours a DIY site would take you, then multiply by your day rate. If that number is bigger than the price difference for a year, done-for-you is the cheaper option in practice. If it's smaller and you will enjoy it, build it yourself.
In summary
DIY is cheaper in cash, roughly £9 to £25 a month plus VAT on Wix or Squarespace, but you build, write and promote the site yourself. Done-for-you costs more, from £45 a month at Scalesites with no VAT, £0 upfront and a 12-month minimum term, and someone else does the building, local SEO and changes. Pick the route that matches your time, not just your budget.
Found this useful? Add Scalesites as a preferred source and Google shows you more of our guides when you search.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to build my own website?
+
In cash, yes. DIY builders like Wix and Squarespace cost roughly £9 to £25 a month paid yearly, plus VAT, checked 27 September 2026. Done-for-you plans cost more because someone else does the work. Whether DIY is cheaper overall depends on how many hours it takes you and what those hours are worth.
How long does a DIY website take to build?
+
It depends on you. A simple page can go up in an afternoon, but a proper trade site with written service pages, real photos, local SEO and a set-up Google Business Profile usually takes much longer, and the updates never stop. With Scalesites you get a free preview within 48 hours and most sites go live within 2 weeks.
What does done-for-you actually include at Scalesites?
+
Scale Start (£45/mo) includes a website of up to 10 pages, UK hosting, SSL, a .co.uk domain, business email, on-page local SEO, Google Business Profile set-up and monthly posts, review monitoring, a monthly visibility report and ongoing changes. Scale Up (£79/mo) adds blog posts, local area pages, social posts and more. £0 upfront, no VAT, 12-month minimum term then month to month.
Can I start with DIY and switch later?
+
Yes, many trades do. Bear in mind that sites built on Wix can't be moved to another host, and Squarespace only exports some content, so switching usually means a rebuild. Your domain, words and photos can come with you.
Do I own a done-for-you website?
+
With Scalesites, yes. You own the site, the content and the domain. Check the terms with any provider before you sign, because some rent you the site rather than hand it over.
More insights
- Squarespace vs a custom website: which is right for your trade?Squarespace is £12 to £25 a month paid yearly, plus VAT, and you build it yourself. How it compares with a custom trade website built for you, with UK prices checked live.
- Wix vs a custom website: which suits a UK trade?Wix is £9 to £25 a month plus VAT, paid a year upfront, and you build it yourself. How that compares with a custom trade website built for you, with UK prices checked live.
- What makes a good landscaper website? 7 essentialsLandscaping is bought on inspiration. The 7 things a landscaper website needs to turn that inspiration into booked quotes, not just visits.