Website builders in the UK, explained

By the ContractorUK Editorial Team · Fact-checked 8 November 2026

What a website builder is

A website needs three things: software that produces the pages, a server that keeps them online (hosting), and some way for you to change them. A website builder rolls all three into one subscription. You log in, edit what you see, press publish, and the provider looks after the servers, the security certificate and the software updates.

The older route is to rent hosting, install software such as WordPress and either learn it or pay someone. That still makes sense for big or unusual sites. For a sole trader, a contractor or a small firm, a builder takes away most of the technical jobs.

The three kinds of builder

Do it yourself

You choose a template and drag text, pictures and buttons into place. Wix and Squarespace are the familiar names. You place every element by hand, and you do all the work: writing, photos, layout and settings. Budget a few evenings for a simple site.

AI-drafted

You type a short description of the business and the builder generates pages, headings and copy for you to edit. Wix, GoDaddy and Hostinger all offer this now. The first draft arrives in minutes, but it can only be as accurate as what you told it, and AI work is often paid for in credits. Our guide to AI website builders covers what they get wrong.

Done for you

Someone else builds it: a freelancer, an agency, or a service that writes the site from your details for a monthly fee. It costs you the least time and gives you less hands-on control at the start; how much you can change yourself afterwards depends on the provider. ContractorUK vs a web design agency compares the monthly route with a one-off agency build.

What a builder plan includes

Nearly every paid plan gives you hosting, an https address, pages that adapt to phones and the option to use your own domain. The differences are in the parts a business relies on:

• a domain name, which is often included for the first year only, and sometimes only on yearly billing;
• taking payments or bookings, which entry-level plans frequently leave out;
• email at your own domain, usually sold separately, often as Google Workspace;
• the builder's own branding or adverts, which free plans tend to show;
• how you reach support, and when.

Why UK prices aren't what they first seem

Start with VAT. Many of the big builders show UK prices without it: Wix says its prices exclude tax, Squarespace's terms say its fees do, and WordPress.com and Hostinger label their prices as excluding tax or VAT. If you're charged VAT at 20%, a £10 plan is £12.

Then the billing period. A price shown per month is often a year's subscription divided by twelve and taken in one go. GoDaddy's cheapest paid plan is £7.49 a month on yearly billing and £14.99 on monthly. Hostinger's builder, on the Black Friday offer it was running when we checked, is £1.79 a month before VAT, but on a 48-month term paid on day one, and then £10.99 a month before VAT when it renews.

Finally, renewals. Introductory prices and free domains run for a set period, then the standard rate applies. When you compare builders, compare what you'd pay in year two.

Sources: wix.com/plans, squarespace.com/pricing, godaddy.com/en-uk/websites/website-builder, hostinger.com/uk/website-builder and wordpress.com/pricing, all in GBP, checked on 8 November 2026. These are examples of each kind, not a ranking. For that, see our shortlist of the best website builders in the UK.

The UK details no builder fills in for you

Builders give you a footer and a blank page. What goes in them is your responsibility, and a few things are required by UK law, not just good practice.

A limited company's site must show its registered name, company number, registered office and where it's registered, under the Companies Act 2006 and the 2015 trading disclosure regulations. If the site has a contact or quote form, UK GDPR means you need a privacy notice. Advertising cookies, and most other cookies that aren't essential, need consent first. And any prices should say whether VAT is included. Our guide to what a company website must show sets out each rule with its source.

Domains are the other UK decision. A .co.uk or .uk tells customers you're a UK business; a .com is better if you sell abroad. Whichever you pick, register it in your business's name rather than a designer's, so you can take it with you. Our guide to buying a domain name walks through it.

Choosing the kind that fits you

The real question isn't which brand. It's how much of the work you want to do.

Pick a DIY builder if you enjoy design, have a few evenings free and want to lay out every page by hand. Pick an AI builder if you want a draft quickly and you're willing to check and rewrite what it produces. Pick a done-for-you service if your time is better spent on paid work, or if you know you'll never get round to it. A good one still lets you change anything afterwards.

Whichever you choose, ask four questions before paying: who owns the domain, what happens to the site if you cancel, does the price include VAT, and what does it cost at renewal?

Where ContractorUK Websites fits

We're a done-for-you service with an AI builder doing the first draft. You describe your business in a few lines, or upload your CV, and we build the whole site on WordPress, usually within ten minutes. The builder is told not to add figures, client names or results you haven't given it, and it usually leaves a placeholder where a fact is missing. It doesn't always get that right, so you check every detail before the site goes live. Enter your company number and the footer pulls your registered details from Companies House.

It's £49 a month including VAT, billed monthly, with no setup fee and no minimum term. That includes hosting with https, contact and quote forms, and one new .co.uk, .uk or .com for the first year, registered to your business. You can change any part of it afterwards: ask the AI builder in plain English for a new page, section or layout, from an allowance in the plan, or click any text, picture or button and edit it in place. Help comes from a UK team by phone or email. You can see your first build free for 7 days without a card, and it's £49 a month including VAT if you decide to keep it.

Our advice

Decide how much of the work you want before you look at a single template. If you'd enjoy building it and the budget is tight, a DIY builder at around £10 to £20 a month with VAT is hard to beat. If the site needs to sell things online, choose a builder made for shops. If you want a proper business site live this week and won't miss the evenings of fiddling, that's what we built ContractorUK Websites for.