The verdict in three sentences
When a small business receives three redesign quotes at £6,000, £14,500 and £30,000, it is not comparing three prices but three different scopes. Convert each offer into person-days, a day rate and a list of deliverables, then add what is missing (content, SEO migration, testing, maintenance) to get the real cost. In most cases the cheapest offer ends up the most expensive over 24 months.
Break each quote down into person-days
A London web agency day rate sits, in 2026, between £500 and £900. In Montpellier the equivalent is EUR 400 to 700. Dividing the total by the stated or estimated day rate shows how much work is actually being sold.
| Item | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total (London) | £6,000 | £14,500 | £30,000 |
| Total (Montpellier equivalent) | EUR 4,800 | EUR 11,500 | EUR 23,000 |
| Stated or estimated day rate | £500 | £690 | £860 |
| Person-days sold | 12 | 21 | 35 |
| Mock-ups | 1 home page (theme) | 3 custom templates | 6 templates + design system |
| Pages delivered | 8 | 15 | 25 |
| Copywriting | No | 5 pages | 25 pages + 4 articles |
| SEO migration (301 redirects) | Not mentioned | Yes | Yes + audit and 3-month follow-up |
| QA and mobile testing | Not specified | 2 days | 5 days + accessibility |
Twelve days for a full redesign usually means a purchased theme, configured, without design work. That is not necessarily a problem, as long as you know it.
The normalisation grid: compare like for like
Add to each quote the market cost of what it leaves out, to reach an identical scope: 15 pages, 3 custom templates, 5 pages of copy, SEO migration, QA, 12 months of maintenance.
| Missing or adjusted item | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial total | £6,000 | £14,500 | £30,000 |
| Design of 3 custom templates | + £3,500 | included | included (beyond) |
| 7 extra pages | + £1,800 | included | included |
| Copywriting for 5 pages | + £2,000 | included | included |
| SEO migration and redirects | + £1,500 | included | included |
| Mobile and browser QA | + £1,000 | included | included |
| 12 months of maintenance | + £2,400 | + £1,600 | included |
| Normalised cost | £18,200 | £16,100 | £30,000 |
On equal scope, A actually costs more than B. C buys more: a design system, content at volume, SEO follow-up. The question then becomes whether you need it.
The clauses that change everything
Beyond price, check four contract points. Ownership of code and designs: transferred on delivery or retained by the agency. Hosting: in your name or the vendor's, with what exit cost. Revision rounds included per mock-up (2 is standard, beyond that expect £400 to £800). Payment schedule: 30 % on signature, 40 % on design sign-off, 30 % at launch is a healthy balance.
Mini case study
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Nathalie runs an 18-person firm in Montpellier and receives the three quotes. Her current site brings 22 quote requests a month from 2,300 organic visits. Without SEO migration, a redesign typically loses 20 to 40 % of traffic for 3 to 6 months. With raw quote A: 30 % loss × 22 requests × 5 months = 33 lost requests. At a 15 % close rate and an average deal of EUR 3,000, that is EUR 14,850 of lost revenue. She picks quote B, which includes SEO migration from the start. A London firm with the same traffic faces the same risk, at higher deal values.
FAQ
What is a normal price for a business website redesign in London in 2026?
As an order of magnitude, £8,000 to £20,000 for 10 to 20 pages with custom design, and EUR 6,000 to 15,000 in Montpellier. Below £6,000 it is almost always an adapted theme.
What should we ask before signing?
How many person-days, at what day rate, how many mock-ups and revision rounds, who writes the copy, what 301 redirect plan and who owns the code. Get a written answer to each.
Should we always pick the most complete offer?
No. If your site gets little traffic and your content is ready, an offer around £10,000 is often enough.
Is maintenance essential?
For a WordPress or Next.js site in production, yes: security updates, backups and monitoring cost £100 to £300 a month.
How long does a redesign take?
Six to 12 weeks depending on page count and how fast your content is ready, which is the first cause of delay.
Let's scope your project. Send us the quotes you received and your current site, and we will return a normalised grid and a like-for-like priced proposal deliverable in 6 to 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
