Ten years ago, getting a website built meant a quote in the thousands and a long wait. Today most UK tradesmen are offered a pay monthly website instead: a fixed fee, nothing big upfront, and someone else looking after the technical side. It is a better model for most small trades. But the plans sold under that name vary enormously, and the differences are usually in the small print rather than the headline price.
1. What a pay monthly website actually is
The idea is simple. Instead of paying an agency a lump sum to build a site and then paying separately for hosting, a domain, updates and marketing, you pay one monthly fee and the agency handles all of it. You are effectively subscribing to a working website rather than buying a one-off build.
For a tradesman, this suits how the business actually runs. Cash flow is monthly. The van is on finance. The phone contract is monthly. A website that costs the same as a tank of diesel every month and brings in work is an easy decision; a three-thousand-pound invoice before a single enquiry is not.
The catch is that "pay monthly" describes how you pay, not what you get. Two plans at the same monthly price can be completely different products.
2. What a fair plan should include
If a plan is going to replace every other website cost, it needs to cover every other website cost. Here is the list to check against:
- The domain, registered in your business name, not the agency's
- Design and build of the site itself
- Hosting, SSL certificate and security updates
- Content changes when your prices, services or team change
- Ongoing local SEO work, not just a one-time setup
- A clear exit: what happens to the site and domain if you cancel
The last item matters more than it looks. A plan that is excellent while you are paying but leaves you with nothing the day you stop is not a bad plan, but you should know that going in rather than finding out later.
3. Four hidden-fee patterns to check for
None of these are necessarily dishonest. They are just places where the real cost of a plan tends to hide, so they are worth asking about directly.
The setup fee that isn't in the headline price
The advert says £49 a month. The contract says £49 a month plus a £495 "onboarding" or "design" fee. Neither is wrong, but one of them is the real cost of year one. Always ask for the total you will have paid after 12 months.
The domain you don't own
Some providers register the domain in their own name. That means if you leave, you lose the web address your van, your business cards and your Google Business Profile all point to. Ask who the registrant is. It should be you.
The minimum term dressed up as monthly
"Pay monthly" sometimes means "pay in monthly instalments on a 24- or 36-month contract." That is a finance agreement, not a subscription. Check the notice period and whether you can leave without paying out the remainder.
"SEO included" that means nothing specific
If a plan says it includes SEO, ask what is actually done each month. A meta description written once at launch is not ongoing SEO. Look for Google Business Profile work, local content and review handling, and ask how progress is reported.
4. When paying upfront is the better deal
It would be easy to write this article as if pay monthly were always right. It is not. If you want a simple site that will not change much, you are happy to sort your own hosting and domain, and you do not need anyone doing SEO for you, then buying the build outright is cheaper over a long enough period. You pay once and the running costs are a few pounds a month.
Pay monthly wins when the plan includes work you would otherwise have to pay for separately, when you would rather not tie up cash before the site has earned anything, or when you know from experience that a website left alone for two years quietly stops working. We offer both options for exactly this reason, and we will tell you which one fits when you ask.
5. Five questions to ask before you sign
- What is the total I will have paid after 12 months? This surfaces any setup fee instantly.
- Whose name is the domain registered in? The only acceptable answer is yours.
- What is the notice period, and is there a minimum term? "Rolling monthly with 30 days notice" and "24 months" are very different.
- What SEO work is done each month, specifically?If the answer is vague, assume the answer is "none."
- What happens to the site and domain if I cancel? You should get a clear answer, not a shrug.
6. How our plan answers them
Since we are asking you to interrogate everyone else, it is only fair to answer the same questions ourselves.
| Total after 12 months | £1,188 (12 × £99). No setup fee. |
| Domain registrant | You. We register it in your business name. |
| Minimum term | None. Rolling monthly, cancel with 30 days notice. |
| Monthly SEO work | Google Business Profile management, local content and on-page work every month. |
| If you cancel | The domain is registered in your name and goes with you. We will not hold it hostage. |
Honest caveat: a £99 plan is affordable precisely because the design work is spread over the subscription rather than charged upfront. If owning the build outright from day one matters more to you than cash flow, our one-off option is the right choice, and we will say so when you ask.
Want the pay monthly plan without the small print?
Domain, website, hosting and monthly local SEO for £99/month. No setup fee, cancel with 30 days notice.