Three ways to pay
The three ways websites are sold
1. Pay monthly, no build fee
One monthly fee covers the build, hosting and support, with little or nothing upfront. Watch the contract: two of the four UK pay-monthly designers we checked on 13 November 2026 had minimum terms, of 12 and 36 months. What happens to the site when you stop paying depends on the contract.
2. One-off build, then you arrange the rest
You pay once for the build, then separately for hosting, the domain and maintenance. Fasthosts, a UK hosting company, puts a web designer’s build of a small to medium website at about £1,000 to £5,000, hosting at £3 to £50 a month and “ongoing costs” at £100 to £1,000 a year. Someone still has to maintain the site.
3. Build fee plus monthly care
A build fee upfront, then a monthly fee for hosting, maintenance and support. This is how Millwards Digital charges: £249, £599 or £1,099 to build, plus £39, £69 or £99 a month, with no VAT added and no minimum term on care beyond the month you’ve paid for.
Not sure which you’re offered?
Ask for three numbers in writing: what’s due today, what’s due each month, and what you’d have paid in total if you left after 12 months.
What each model costs over 1, 3 and 5 years
Illustrative totals: pay-monthly prices from our check of four UK designers, one-off figures from the ends of Fasthosts’ ranges, then our own packages. No row includes price rises, a domain or email.
| Model | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | How it’s worked out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay monthly, lower price | about £240 | about £720 | about £1,200 | £19.99 a month, before any VAT |
| Pay monthly, higher price | £600 | £1,800 | £3,000 | £50 a month, before any VAT |
| One-off build, low end | £1,136 | £1,408 | £1,680 | £1,000 build + £3 a month hosting + £100 a year ongoing costs |
| One-off build, high end | £6,600 | £9,800 | £13,000 | £5,000 build + £50 a month hosting + £1,000 a year ongoing costs |
| Millwards Launch (one page) | £717 | £1,653 | £2,589 | £249 + £39 a month, no VAT added |
| Millwards Business (up to five pages) | £1,427 | £3,083 | £4,739 | £599 + £69 a month, no VAT added |
| Millwards Growth (up to ten pages) | £2,287 | £4,663 | £7,039 | £1,099 + £99 a month, no VAT added |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
- The sites aren’t the same size. Fasthosts’ ranges are for a small to medium website and Launch is one page. Compare quotes for the same pages and features.
- VAT may be extra. Fasthosts and the pay-monthly designers didn’t say whether their prices include VAT. At 20%, £50 a month becomes £60.
- The one-off rows are rough. Fasthosts doesn’t say what its “ongoing costs” cover, so they may overlap with hosting.
- Some costs are left out. For the one-off route Fasthosts also lists a theme (£50 to £200), a domain (£10 or more a year) and SSL (£50 or more a year). Millwards care includes SSL; a new domain is extra.
Run your own quotes through the small-business website cost calculator, or follow the worked three-year example.
When does paying for the build work out cheaper?
A build fee pays for itself once the lower monthly cost has covered it. Keep the site longer than that and the option with the build fee costs less.
The break-even sum
Months to break even = build fee ÷ (pay-monthly price − the other option’s monthly cost)
If the other option costs as much each month or more, the pay-monthly plan stays cheaper while its price holds.
- Launch against £50 a month: £249 ÷ (£50 − £39) = about 23 months, or about 12 months if the £50 has VAT added (£60).
- Launch against £19.99 a month: Launch never catches up, because its £39 care costs more each month. Check what the cheaper plan includes and its minimum term.
- A £1,000 one-off build against £50 a month: low-end running costs are about £11.33 a month (£3 hosting plus £100 a year ongoing costs), so £1,000 ÷ (£50 − £11.33) = about 26 months. Against £19.99 a month, it’s about 115 months, nearly 10 years.
So the monthly price matters as much as the build fee.
Contract checks before you sign
These terms decide what leaving costs. Get the answers in writing, not only on a sales call.
| Check | Ask | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum term, notice and early exit | How long is the minimum term? Does it renew for another fixed term? How do I give notice, and what do I pay to leave early? | An exit cost you can live with and a simple way to cancel, such as an email. If you must pay the remaining months, leaving a 36-month plan at £50 a month after one year would cost £1,200. |
| The domain | Whose name is it registered in? Who pays the renewal? Can I move it if I leave? | Your business as the registrant. See who owns my website and domain. |
| The site itself | If I leave, do I get the website files or only my words and photos? Is there a buyout fee? | A written answer covering the design, content, images and licences. Paying isn’t enough: the creator of a commissioned work owns the copyright unless you agree otherwise in writing (GOV.UK guidance). |
| “Unlimited changes” | What counts as a change? Is there a fair-use limit? How quickly are changes made? | A written list or allowance, and prices for new pages, features and redesigns. |
| Price rises | Can the price go up during the term, by how much, and with what notice? | A fixed price or a cap, written notice, and the right to leave if you don’t accept a rise. |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Ask whether prices include VAT. The standard rate is 20%, and a business must register once its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, so a smaller designer may not add it. If you’re VAT-registered, you can usually reclaim VAT on business purchases with a valid VAT invoice (not on most purchases under the Flat Rate Scheme), so compare prices before VAT. If you’re not, compare full prices.
Buying for your business? There’s usually no 14-day cooling-off period
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give a consumer 14 days to cancel a service bought online or by phone. That right applies to contracts between a trader and a consumer, and a consumer is “an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession” (regulation 4).
Buying a website for your business usually means you aren’t a consumer for that purchase, even as a sole trader. Then the 14-day right won’t help you, and the contract’s own minimum term, exit fees and notice period will usually decide whether and how you can leave. Read and save the full terms before you sign. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which model suits you
- Pay monthly, no build fee: you can’t or don’t want to pay a build fee, or you’re testing an idea, and can accept the minimum term. Check the exit terms and domain first.
- A one-off build: you have the budget upfront, want the site files, expect few changes for several years, and have someone to keep it hosted, updated and secure.
- A build fee plus monthly care: you want the site built and looked after, can pay something upfront, and want a monthly part you can stop without a long tie-in.
If you’d rather have it done for you
Millwards Digital uses the build fee plus care model. Here’s what our terms and care page say:
- Price: £249, £599 or £1,099 to build, plus £39, £69 or £99 a month, no VAT added. Every package includes its monthly care.
- Leaving: care renews monthly, with no minimum term beyond the month already paid for. To cancel, email support@millwards.shop before the next billing date. There’s no separate cancellation fee; hosting, maintenance and support stop when the paid care period ends. Cancelling care doesn’t refund build work already supplied or in progress.
- Ownership: you keep ownership of the material you give us. Once the build fee is paid, you may use the final website made specifically for your business; reusable code, tools and third-party assets stay with their owners under their licences. When care ends and agreed amounts are paid, we’ll reasonably help transfer content you own and transferable services.
- Domain: a domain you already own stays registered to you. A new one we register lists you as the legal registrant, managed through our registrar account, which you don’t get a login to. Its yearly renewal is billed separately, with at least 30 days’ notice of the amount; a rise of more than 20% needs your approval.
- Changes: care includes an agreed allowance of content changes, not unlimited changes. New features and larger redesigns are priced before work begins.
Our online checkout is for business orders only. If you cancel the build before work begins, our terms say we refund amounts not yet earned or committed.
Common questions about pay-monthly websites
Is a pay-monthly website cheaper than paying for a build?
In the first year, usually, because there’s no build fee. Over three to five years it depends on the monthly price: in our example a £50-a-month plan costs more than a £249 build plus £39 a month after about 23 months.
Do I own my website if I pay monthly?
Not automatically. GOV.UK’s copyright guidance says the creator of a commissioned work owns the copyright unless you agree otherwise in writing, so get ownership of the design and content in writing and make sure your business is the domain’s registrant.
Can I cancel a website contract within 14 days?
Probably not, if you bought it for your business. The 14-day cancellation right in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 is for consumers, so a business customer relies on what the contract says.
What does “unlimited changes” mean on a website plan?
Whatever the provider’s terms say, which may differ from the advert. Ask what counts as a change, whether there’s a fair-use limit and what new pages or features cost.
Does Millwards Digital have a minimum contract term?
Not beyond the month you’ve paid for. You pay the build fee and first month of care upfront, then care renews monthly and you can cancel by email before the next billing date, with no separate cancellation fee.
Where the numbers come from
We read every linked source on 14 November 2026. The £19.99 and £50 prices are the lowest and highest published by four UK pay-monthly web designers we checked on 13 November 2026; we don’t name them because offers change often. The one-off figures are the ends of Fasthosts’ approximate ranges, updated 16 April 2026. Fasthosts sells hosting and we sell websites, so treat every figure as a guide, not a quote. If something has changed, email info@millwards.shop.