Guides · UK buyers

Monthly website retainer vs one-off build.

A one-off build pays for launch. A retainer pays for launch plus hosting, fixes and edits every month. If your hours, menu or services change often, retainers usually cost less stress than repeated project fees.

How the three services help

Websites

Websites retainers from £500/mo ex VAT with hosting and monthly edits.

  • +Starter for credible mobile sites
  • +Growth for orders, bookings and a monthly SEO page
  • +Scale for multi-branch lead engines

Search

Search from £500/mo ex VAT with no ranking guarantee.

  • +Starter for one location
  • +Multi-site tier for several towns
  • +llms.txt and sitemap maintenance

Books

Books from £299/mo ex VAT for month-end rhythm.

  • +One office, several branches and multi-entity tiers
  • +Handoffs for your accountant
  • +Not tax advice

Guide

When a one-off project is enough

Static brochure sites with rarely changing services and an internal person who can fix broken links may survive on a freelancer project.

Even then, someone must renew hosting, monitor certificates and apply security updates.

When a retainer fits better

Hospitality, clinics, salons and agents change offers frequently. Growth Website tier at £2,500/mo targets ordering and booking flows, not just aesthetics.

Twelve-month minimums align incentives: we keep the site earning instead of chasing the next redesign sale.

Pairing with Search

Search Starter from £500/mo adds ongoing SEO labour. One-off audits without monthly execution rarely defend local rankings against active rivals.

No ranking guarantee applies to Search anywhere on this site.

Published prices

Prices before VAT. 12-month minimum on Websites and Search retainers. Scoped on a call before anything is charged.

Starter

£500/mo

Site live, hosted and edited each month. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Growth

£2,500/mo

Orders or bookings, monthly SEO page, report. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Scale

£4,000/mo

Multi-branch or lead engine. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Book a call about Websites

Starter

£500/mo

Starter, one location. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Growth

£1,250/mo

Growth. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Multi-site

£2,250/mo

Multi-site, several locations. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Scale

£4,250/mo

Scale. Ex VAT, 12-month minimum.

Book a call about Search

One office

£299/mo

one office

Several branches

£899/mo

several branches

Multi-entity

£1,299/mo

only for multi-entity

Book a call about Books