Ask three agencies to quote for the same law firm website and you may receive figures of £4,000, £18,000 and £60,000. All three may be honest. They are simply pricing different things: different amounts of strategy, writing, design, build quality and support, often described in similar language.
This guide explains what law firm website design costs in the UK, what actually drives the figure, what firms should expect to pay after launch and how to compare quotes so that the lowest price is not mistaken for the best value, or the highest for the best work.
The short answer: typical UK budgets
Published UK pricing for law firm websites varies widely, but most projects fall into one of four broad bands. The figures below are indicative, exclude VAT and reflect the ranges agencies commonly quote in the UK market.
| Type of website | Typical firm | Indicative cost (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Template or subscription site | Sole practitioner or small high street firm, 5–15 pages | £1,500–£6,000 upfront, or a set-up fee plus a monthly subscription |
| Adapted design on an established CMS | Small to mid-sized firm, 15–40 pages, full people pages | £6,000–£20,000 |
| Strategic custom build | Mid-sized or growing firm, 40–150 pages, several practice areas, insight hub | £20,000–£50,000 |
| Complex or multi-office build | Large regional, national or international firm, integrations, multilingual content | £50,000 to well into six figures |
Two points matter more than the bands themselves:
- Where your firm sits is determined by complexity, not headcount alone. A ten-lawyer international arbitration boutique can need more strategic work than a forty-lawyer high street practice.
- Most of the difference between bands is not design. It is strategy, content, people pages, integrations and the level of care taken over migration and search.
Why quotes for the same website vary so much
When partners compare proposals, the headline figure often hides very different scopes. The most common reasons law firm website pricing diverges are:
- Who writes the content. Some quotes assume the firm supplies every word. Others include interviews with partners, practice page copy and profile rewrites. Writing is frequently the single largest difference between two proposals.
- How much strategy is included. A proposal that begins with design mock-ups skips the work of deciding who the site is for, how practices are structured and what each page must achieve.
- Template versus bespoke. A premium theme adapted to your brand costs a fraction of a design system built from scratch.
- Build quality. Speed, accessibility and a CMS your team can actually use cost more to get right, and cost far more to fix later.
- Migration and search protection. Moving an existing site without losing rankings requires redirect mapping and testing. Cheaper quotes often leave it out.
- What happens after launch. Some prices include hosting, security and support. Others end on launch day.
Before comparing numbers, make sure you are comparing the same scope.
What drives the cost of a law firm website
Strategy and structure
The first phase of a well-run project decides who the site is for, how services should be organised and what the firm wants to be known for. For law firms, that includes practice and sector architecture, people page structure and how insight connects to services.
Expect this to account for a meaningful share of a strategic project. It is also the phase most often cut from low-cost quotes, and the one most responsible for whether the finished site works. Our guide to what makes a good law firm website sets out what this phase should produce.
Content and copywriting
Practice area pages, sector pages, the home page and "about" content all need to be written, or rewritten, for clients rather than for the firm. Good legal copywriting requires someone who understands both the law and the buyer, and it usually involves interviews with partners.
Firms that plan to write everything in-house should be realistic. Partner time is the scarcest resource in the building, and content is the most common reason law firm website projects overrun.
People pages and photography
People pages are among the most visited on any law firm site, so they deserve budget. Costs here include profile writing or editing, structuring profiles so they can be filtered by practice and sector, and professional photography. A consistent photography day across offices is a modest cost compared with the credibility it adds.
Design: template, adapted or bespoke
- Template: fastest and cheapest, but the firm will look like others using the same theme.
- Adapted: a proven framework styled to the firm's brand. A sensible middle ground for many firms.
- Bespoke: a design system created for the firm, often alongside brand positioning work. Justified when the site must differentiate a firm in a crowded market.
Build and CMS
Most UK law firm sites are built on WordPress, another established CMS or a modern framework with a headless CMS. The right choice depends on who will update the site and how often. A cheaper build that only the developer can edit becomes an expensive site to run.
Integrations
Each integration adds cost: CRM and enquiry routing, case management or intake tools, online booking, client portals, live chat, event registration and newsletter platforms. Tracking which pages generate enquiries is also part of the build, and ties directly to CRM and marketing automation.
Compliance and accessibility
For SRA-regulated firms, the site must carry the SRA digital badge, the complaints procedure and, for specified services, price and service information. Building clear, well-structured transparency pages takes time. So does meeting WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards properly rather than as an afterthought.
Migration and search protection
If your current site ranks for valuable searches, moving it carelessly can lose that visibility. A proper migration includes a URL inventory, redirect mapping, metadata transfer, structured data and post-launch monitoring. This is where law firm SEO expertise pays for itself.
Ongoing costs after launch
The build fee is only part of the law firm website cost. Firms should budget for these ongoing items:
| Ongoing item | What it covers | Indicative range (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Secure, managed hosting with backups | £20–£200 per month |
| Maintenance and security | Updates, monitoring, fixes, small changes | £75–£500 per month |
| Licences | Premium plugins, CMS, forms, cookie consent, fonts | Varies; often a few hundred pounds a year |
| Content and SEO | Insight, practice page improvements, technical SEO | From several hundred to several thousand pounds per month, depending on ambition |
| Periodic refresh | Design and structural review | Every three to five years for most firms |
The most expensive website is often the one that is launched and left alone. Profiles go out of date, lawyers leave and news pages stall. Within two years the firm is paying for a rebuild that steady maintenance would have deferred.
Buying models: project fee, subscription or retainer
Law firms usually encounter three pricing models.
Fixed project fee. A defined scope for a fixed price, often paid in stages. It gives budget certainty, provided the scope is written clearly. Check how change requests are priced.
Subscription. Some legal-specialist providers offer a website for a set-up fee plus a monthly charge covering hosting and support. It lowers the upfront cost, but read the terms carefully. Who owns the design, content and code? What happens if you leave? Is there a minimum term?
Build plus retainer. A project fee for the build, followed by a monthly retainer for content, SEO and improvements. This suits firms that treat the website as an ongoing business development channel rather than a one-off purchase.
Whichever model you choose, make sure the firm owns its domain, content and, ideally, the site itself, and that hosting and analytics accounts sit in the firm's name.
Three illustrative scenarios
These examples are illustrative, not quotes. They show how scope, rather than firm size, shapes the budget.
A six-partner private client and conveyancing firm. The priorities are clarity, reassurance, easy contact and fully compliant price and service pages. An adapted design on an established CMS, around 25 pages, professional photography and help writing the transparency pages would typically sit in the £8,000–£15,000 range, with modest ongoing maintenance.
A 40-lawyer regional commercial firm. Several practice and sector areas, 30 or more lawyer profiles, an insight hub and CRM integration. With a strategy phase, partner interviews, content rewriting and careful migration, a realistic budget is £25,000–£45,000, plus a content and SEO retainer if the firm wants the site to generate enquiries.
A cross-border disputes boutique. Few pages, but a high bar for credibility. International clients and referrers judge the firm on partner profiles, matters and thought leadership. The spend concentrates on positioning, bespoke design and writing rather than page count. A budget of £20,000–£35,000 is common for this kind of project.
Hidden costs law firms often miss
- Partner time. Reviewing copy, approving profiles and signing off matters takes more hours than most firms plan for.
- Content rewriting. Migrating old copy "as is" usually means launching a new design with old problems.
- Photography. Mismatched headshots undermine an otherwise premium site.
- Redirects and SEO recovery. Skipping migration planning can cost months of lost visibility.
- Compliance pages. Transparency information must be accurate and kept up to date, not written once and forgotten.
- Licences and renewals. Premium plugins, fonts and tools carry annual fees.
- VAT. Most agency quotes exclude VAT. Confirm before comparing.
- Exit costs. Subscription models can make moving to another provider slow or expensive.
How to compare quotes: questions to ask
When comparing proposals for law firm website design, ask each agency:
- What strategy and discovery work is included before design begins?
- Who writes the content, and how many pages are included?
- How will you handle partner and lawyer profiles?
- Is the design bespoke, adapted or based on a template?
- Which CMS will you use, and can our team update it without you?
- How will you meet SRA transparency and accessibility requirements?
- What does migration include: redirects, metadata, testing and monitoring?
- Which integrations are included, and which are extra?
- How many rounds of revisions are included?
- What is included after launch, and for how long?
- Who owns the domain, design, content, code and hosting account?
- Have you worked with law firms, and can we speak to one?
The answers usually explain the price difference more clearly than the proposals do.
Setting a sensible budget
Rather than starting with a number, start with what the website must do.
- If the site mainly needs to confirm referrals, invest in positioning, people pages and evidence. Page count can stay modest.
- If the site needs to generate new enquiries, budget for practice page content, search visibility and tracking, and plan for ongoing content work after launch.
- If the firm is repositioning, merging or rebranding, budget for strategy and design as well as build. The website will carry the new position into the market.
It also helps to compare the investment with the value of the work it supports. For many firms, a single well-matched commercial instruction or a handful of private client matters will exceed the cost of a well-built site. That is not a reason to overspend. It is a reason to judge proposals on whether they will change how the firm is found and chosen, not on price alone.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a law firm website cost in the UK?
Most UK law firms spend between about £6,000 and £50,000 on a new website, excluding VAT. Small firms using templates or subscription sites can spend less. Large, multi-office or international firms often spend considerably more. The biggest drivers are strategy, content, people pages, integrations and migration, not page count alone.
What is a realistic solicitor website design cost for a small firm?
For a small firm that needs a professional, compliant site with good profiles and clear practice pages, £6,000–£15,000 is a realistic range for an adapted design on an established CMS. Template or subscription sites cost less upfront but offer less differentiation and flexibility.
How much does a law firm website cost to run each month?
Hosting, maintenance and security typically cost from under £100 to around £700 a month combined, depending on the site and the level of support. Content and SEO work is an additional, optional cost that depends on the firm's growth goals.
How long does a law firm website take to build?
Smaller projects can launch in six to ten weeks. Strategic custom builds usually take three to six months. Content sign-off by partners is the most common cause of delay.
Is a template website good enough for a law firm?
It can be, particularly for a small firm with a simple offer. The risks are looking like other firms using the same theme and being limited by the template's structure. If the site needs to differentiate the firm or support several practice areas, an adapted or custom design is usually better value over time.
Should SEO be included in the website price?
Foundational SEO should be: clean structure, page titles, headings, redirects, structured data and speed. Ongoing SEO, such as new content and visibility work, is usually a separate service. Be wary of any proposal that promises rankings.
Who should own a law firm's website?
The firm should. Make sure the domain, content, design files, code and hosting and analytics accounts are in the firm's name, or can be transferred without penalty.
Planning a new website?
If you are budgeting for a new website, or trying to make sense of proposals you have already received, we can help. Legal Verge works only with law firms. We start with positioning, structure and content before design, so the budget goes where it will make a difference.
Book a strategy call to talk through your plans, or read more about our law firm website design service.