Why I quote fixed instead of by the hour
Hourly billing is bad for both sides. The buyer doesn't know what they'll pay until the project is over. I don't get rewarded for working efficiently — I get rewarded for taking longer.
Fixed-quote means we agree the scope, agree the price, and the price doesn't move unless the scope does. If I underestimate the work, that's my problem, not yours.
The trade-off is that the scope has to be tight before we sign. That's what the discovery call is for. I won't quote on a vague brief — I'll come back with questions first.
Starter — £1,500
For owner-managed firms, sole traders, contractors and single-clinic practices.
Pages: 5 — Home, About, Services, Contact, plus one of your choice (FAQ, Pricing, Testimonials, or one Service detail page).
Included:
- Custom design in Figma, signed off before development
- WordPress build on Astra or GeneratePress with a custom child theme
- Mobile-first responsive
- Rank Math SEO configured
- Schema markup — Organization + LocalBusiness
- GA4 setup
- Sitemap and robots.txt
- Contact form with email notifications
- Basic accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA targets)
- Core Web Vitals green at launch
- Thirty days of post-launch bug fixes
- Twelve months of free minor edits (small text changes, phone number updates, image swaps)
Timeline: 2-4 weeks once content is provided.
Best for: New websites for businesses up to about five employees. Service businesses, contractors, single-location clinics, sole-trader consultancies.
Standard — £2,000
For most UK service businesses. The package I default to when in doubt.
Pages: 5-8 — everything in Starter, plus a blog template, testimonials page, FAQ page, or additional service pages.
Included as standard, plus:
- Full topical SEO architecture — internal linking designed for authority flow
- Schema markup expanded — Service, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList
- Rank Math configured with topic clusters
- Custom blog template if needed
- GA4 with conversion tracking on the contact form
- One round of post-launch on-page SEO refinement after thirty days
- All Starter inclusions
Timeline: 3-5 weeks once content is provided.
Best for: Established service businesses, consultancies, small agencies, professional services, healthcare clinics with multiple services.
Growth — £2,750+
For competitive markets, multi-service firms, and businesses where the website is a primary lead-gen channel.
Pages: 8-15+ — full service architecture, location pages where appropriate, supporting blog posts.
Included as standard, plus:
- Bespoke design (not built on a starter theme child)
- Custom WordPress theme
- Full schema graph — Organization, LocalBusiness, Service per offering, FAQPage, Article, BreadcrumbList
- Topical map for the cluster — designed using my topical authority methodology
- Conversion-led design — heatmap-informed CTAs, sticky elements, scroll triggers
- A/B testable hero variants
- Three months of post-launch on-page SEO refinement
- Custom integrations — CRM webhook, Calendly, payment processing, etc.
Timeline: 5-8 weeks once content is provided.
Best for: Established firms in competitive markets — law firms, multi-location healthcare, B2B SaaS, mid-market ecommerce.
Pricing scales with scope: a fifteen-page Growth build with custom integrations runs £3,500-£5,000.
What's included as standard in every package
| Starter | Standard | Growth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Figma design | Yes | Yes | Yes (bespoke) |
| Mobile responsive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pages | 5 | 5-8 | 8-15+ |
| WordPress build | Astra/GP base | Astra/GP base | Custom theme |
| Schema markup | Org + Local | + Service, FAQ, Breadcrumb | Full graph |
| On-page SEO | Basic | Full topical | Topical map + cluster |
| Internal linking | Standard | Architectural | Designed for authority flow |
| GA4 | Setup | + conversions | + conversions + heatmaps |
| Core Web Vitals | Green at launch | Green at launch | Green at launch |
| Post-launch refinement | 30 days bug fixes | + 30-day SEO refresh | + 90-day SEO refresh |
| Free minor edits | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Approximate price | £1,500 | £2,000 | £2,750+ |
What's not included (and what each one costs to add)
The packages are intentionally clean. Common add-ons:
| Add-on | Approximate price |
|---|---|
| Copywriting (per page) | £80 |
| Logo design | £150-£400 |
| Stock photography licensing | At cost |
| Bespoke photography brief (you hire the photographer) | £0 — I'll spec it |
| Extra page beyond package | £150 |
| WooCommerce setup | £500-£1,500 |
| Multilingual (WPML/Polylang) | £500-£1,200 |
| Custom integration (CRM, calendar, payment) | £150-£800 |
| Hosting setup and migration | £100 |
| Domain transfer | £50 |
| One-day training session | £300 |
| Ongoing SEO retainer | From £600/month |
| Monthly maintenance | £40/month |
Add-ons — extra pages, content, ongoing SEO
The two add-ons most clients take:
Copywriting at £80/page. Saves four to six weeks of back-and-forth. I write the body copy from a structured interview and your existing materials. You review and edit. Most owners take this for at least the home and services pages.
Monthly maintenance at £40/month. Plugin updates, security checks, backup verification, ten minutes of small content tweaks. If you don't want to think about WordPress after launch, this is the cheapest insurance available.
The SEO retainer is separate — starting at £600/month — and isn't bundled because not every business needs it from day one.
Timeline
- Starter: 2-4 weeks from content received to launch.
- Standard: 3-5 weeks.
- Growth: 5-8 weeks.
The biggest variable is content. If you have copy ready or commission the copywriting add-on, builds run at the lower end. If content is being drafted in parallel, expect the upper end.
How payment works
Fifty per cent deposit on signed quote. Balance due on launch. No retainer, no monthly lock-in, no automatic renewals.
Bank transfer (Wise or HSBC), Stripe, or PayPal. UK businesses get a VAT invoice. International clients get a zero-rated invoice.
FAQs
Why is your Starter cheaper than the agency quotes I've had? Two reasons. One: I'm one person. There's no account manager, no business development team, no London office, no agency markup. Two: I work efficiently because I've built this exact structure dozens of times. Less risk, less waste, less padding.
Why is your Growth more expensive than the £999 web designer down the road? Different product. The £999 builders use templates, no custom design, no SEO architecture, no schema, no Core Web Vitals targets. They work for some businesses. They don't work for businesses that need the website to actually generate leads.
Can I upgrade from Starter to Standard later? Yes. The build is the same WordPress foundation — extra pages, schema and internal linking can be added for £400-£600.
Can I downgrade Growth to Standard if my budget changes mid-project? Before development starts, yes. After design sign-off, the work is mostly done so a downgrade refunds little.
What if I want something not in any package? Most projects do. Tell me what you need on the discovery call and I'll quote it as a custom build. The packages are a starting point, not a cage.
Do you offer payment plans? Three-month payment plans (deposit + 2 monthly instalments) on request, no surcharge.
Are these prices ex-VAT or inc-VAT? Ex-VAT. UK businesses are usually VAT-registered and reclaim it. Sole traders below the threshold pay 20% on top.
Get a quote
Pick the package that fits and I'll come back with a fixed quote and a timeline. Message me at Hello@SunnyPatel.co.uk or call 073055 23333. Same working day response.
← Back to website design | WordPress builds → | Redesign quote →