Does a Small Business Really Need a £500 Website?

For a lot of small businesses, a website is the only interaction a stranger has with the business before deciding whether to actually call. That's a bigger deal than a "just get something up" website usually accounts for, and it's exactly the gap The Launch is built to close.

A fixed price of £500 +VAT covers up to 5 custom pages, a working contact form, basic SEO configuration and mobile optimisation. Fixed means fixed, it's quoted upfront, so a first website doesn't quietly turn into an open-ended invoice once "just one more page" requests start.

Most Starter builds go live in 1 to 2 weeks from signed brief to launch. For a small business or sole trader, that's the difference between being online while an opportunity (a new season, a local event, a bit of press) is still fresh, versus missing the window entirely waiting on a slower build.

A lot of budget website options are WordPress with a theme and a stack of plugins, which loads slower and needs constant theme updates just to stay secure. The Launch is built on Next.js as standard instead, the same modern stack used across every tier here, so a starter site doesn't come with a maintenance headache baked in from day one.

Hosting, domain and SSL are part of the build itself, not something left for the client to sort separately. An optional maintenance retainer from £50/month covers server patching, backups and content updates if handling that in-house isn't the plan.

For a handful of static pages, a clear service offering, and no need for bookings or a content management system, yes. The moment a business needs to take bookings, manage its own content regularly, or sell online, that's a sign to look at the next tier up rather than stretch a Starter build past what it's built for.