How to Tell If Your Web Developer Is Ripping You Off

A blunt guide for small business owners who suspect they're overpaying for their website. What things actually cost, what the common scams look like, and how to protect yourself.

I talk to small business owners every week who are paying too much for their websites. Some of them know it. Most don't — because they've never been told what things actually cost. The web industry relies on that gap between what clients know and what developers know. Some developers use it honestly. Others don't.

This guide is for the ones who have a nagging feeling they're being taken for a ride. If you read this and realise everything's fine, great. If you read this and feel sick, at least now you know.

Red flag #1: You don't own your own domain

This is the single biggest warning sign, and it's more common than you'd think. Your domain name (yourbusiness.co.uk) should be registered in your name, with your email, at a registrar you can log into. If your developer registered it under their account and won't hand over the credentials, you have a problem.

Why? Because if they go out of business, ghost you, or you decide to move to someone else, you might not be able to take your own web address with you. I've seen businesses lose domain names they'd been using for years because their developer held all the cards.

Red flag #2: You're being overcharged for hosting

Here's what hosting actually costs if you buy it yourself:

• Basic shared hosting: £3–£12/month
• Managed WordPress hosting: £5–£25/month
• VPS hosting (for bigger sites): £15–£50/month

If your web developer is charging you £50, £80, or £100+ per month for hosting a basic brochure site, they're almost certainly reselling a £5/month plan at a massive markup. Some agencies charge £600 a year for hosting that costs them £60. That's a 900% margin and they're hoping you never Google it.

Ask them: who is the actual hosting provider, and what plan am I on? If they won't tell you, you already know why.

Red flag #3: Monthly "maintenance" with nothing to show for it

Legitimate website maintenance is a real thing. WordPress needs updates. Plugins need patching. Backups need checking. Security needs monitoring. A fair price for this on a small business site is £30–£100 per month.

The scam version looks like this: you pay £100–£300 per month for "maintenance and support," and when you ask what was actually done last month, you get vague answers. No update logs. No backup confirmations. No report of any kind. Just an invoice.

Good developers keep records. They can tell you exactly which plugins were updated, when backups ran, and whether any security issues were flagged. If yours can't, you're paying for fresh air.

Red flag #4: "SEO" that's just a plugin

This one makes me genuinely angry on behalf of the business owners I meet. Someone is charging them £200–£500 per month for "SEO services" and all they've done is install Yoast (a free plugin) and fill in a few meta descriptions. That's not SEO. That's ten minutes of work on day one and then nothing.

Real SEO involves:

• Researching what your customers actually search for
• Creating or rewriting content around those terms
• Fixing technical issues (site speed, mobile usability, crawl errors)
• Building links from other reputable sites
• Tracking your rankings month by month and reporting the results

If your "SEO person" can't show you a report with actual keyword rankings, actual traffic numbers, and actual work they did this month — they're not doing SEO. They're collecting a standing order.

Red flag #5: The unnecessary redesign

Some agencies push a full website redesign every two to three years. They'll tell you your site "looks dated" or "needs refreshing" and quote you £3,000–£8,000 for a rebuild. Sometimes this is legitimate. Often it isn't.

A well-built website doesn't need rebuilding every few years. It needs maintaining, updating, and occasionally extending. If your site still loads fast, works on mobile, ranks in search, and converts visitors into customers, it doesn't need a redesign just because your developer needs a new project to bill for.

The question to ask: what specifically is wrong with the current site that can't be fixed without a full rebuild? If they can't give you concrete, measurable answers, they're selling you work you don't need.

Red flag #6: Vague invoices

A professional invoice should tell you what you're paying for. Line items. Hours (if billing hourly). Descriptions of work done. If your invoices just say "website services — £500" or "monthly retainer — £300" with no breakdown, that's not professional. That's deliberate opacity.

You wouldn't accept that from a plumber. Don't accept it from a web developer.

What things actually cost: a reality check

These are honest UK price ranges for 2026. If you're paying significantly more than the high end for any of these, ask questions.

Website builds

• Simple brochure site (5–10 pages): £800–£3,000
• WordPress site with blog and contact forms: £1,500–£4,000
• E-commerce site (WooCommerce/Shopify): £2,500–£8,000
• Custom web application: £5,000–£25,000+

Ongoing costs

• Domain name: £8–£15/year
• Hosting: £3–£25/month
• SSL certificate: Free (Let's Encrypt) to £50/year
• Monthly maintenance: £30–£100/month
• SEO (actual work, not just a plugin): £300–£1,000/month

Common one-off tasks

• Adding a new page: £50–£200
• Setting up Google Analytics: £50–£150
• Speed optimisation: £150–£500
• Security hardening: £100–£400
• GDPR/cookie compliance: £100–£300
• Email setup (business email): £50–£150

If someone's quoting you double or triple these numbers for a straightforward small business site, get a second quote. And a third.

How to protect yourself

You don't need to become a web expert. You just need to do a few things:

• Own your domain. Register it yourself at Namecheap, 123 Reg, or GoDaddy. It takes five minutes and costs about £10/year.
• Have your own hosting account. Even if your developer manages it, make sure you can log in independently.
• Ask for itemised invoices. Every single time.
• Request monthly reports. If you're paying for maintenance or SEO, you should see evidence of work done.
• Get a second opinion. If something feels expensive, ask another developer what they'd charge. Most will give you a ballpark for free.
• Keep your own backups. Or at least confirm that backups exist and that you could access them if needed.