We should declare the obvious: we are a studio that works with UK clients, so we have an interest in how you read this. The way to handle that is to write the version we would want if we were hiring, including the questions that are uncomfortable for a supplier like us.
What UK WordPress work actually costs
Three distinct markets, and the difference is not only quality.
- UK agency: roughly four hundred to a thousand pounds a day, or five thousand to fifty thousand for a project. You are buying a team, process, contracts under UK law and someone accountable in your timezone.
- UK freelancer: roughly two hundred and fifty to five hundred a day. Direct access to the person doing the work, less process, no redundancy.
- Offshore studio or freelancer: commonly a third to a half of UK rates. The saving is real and so are the trade offs: timezone overlap, contract enforceability, and a wider quality range that you have to filter yourself.
None of these is the right answer generally. A twenty thousand pound site from a London agency and a four thousand pound site from a good offshore studio can both be correct, for different businesses.
The seven questions
1. Can I have three live URLs I can open right now?
Not screenshots, not a PDF. Live sites you can load on your own phone and test. Run one through a speed test yourself.
2. Is every theme and plugin properly licensed, and under whose licence?
Ask directly. Downloading only from the official WordPress plugin directory or the developer site matters here: nulled premium plugins are the single most common source of compromise on sites we are asked to rescue, and the malware usually sits in the code that bypasses the licence check. If licences are under the developer account rather than yours, establish what happens to updates when the relationship ends.
3. Whose name are the domain and hosting in?
Yours, with your own logins, in writing. A domain registered under a developer account leaves you unable to move hosting or recover the site if things go wrong, and recovering a domain someone else controls is slow and occasionally impossible.
4. What happens after launch, and what does it cost?
A website is not finished when it goes live. Get the ongoing arrangement in writing before you sign, not after. Our guide to what a maintenance plan should include is the checklist for this conversation.
5. What is the scope, in a document, with what is excluded?
The exclusions matter more than the inclusions. Copywriting, photography, migrations, integrations and training are the five that usually turn out to be extra.
6. How do payments work?
UK suppliers are also covered by late payment legislation, which cuts both ways. Thirty to fifty percent deposit is standard. Full payment upfront is not, because it removes every piece of leverage you have if the project stalls. Tie payments to milestones rather than dates.
7. What happens when you are unavailable?
The question most suppliers dislike and the one that tells you most. A freelancer with an honest answer has thought about your risk. One who says it never happens has not.
Three answers that should end the conversation
- Guaranteed first page on Google. Nobody controls the algorithm. This is either inexperience or dishonesty.
- Unlimited revisions. Either it is not true or the price already assumes you will not use it.
- Vagueness about licences. A professional knows exactly what is licensed and to whom.
On hiring offshore, honestly
We are based in Pakistan and work with UK clients, so here is the fair framing. The saving is genuine. The risks are timezone overlap for urgent issues, contracts that are harder to enforce across borders, and a much wider quality distribution than the UK market, meaning you have to do more filtering yourself.
Mitigate it the way you would any supplier: insist on live references, start with a small paid piece of work before a large one, keep every account in your own name, and pay in milestones. If a supplier resists any of those, that is your answer regardless of where they are.
The way we work with UK clients is set out separately if it is useful, and what a WordPress site actually costs covers the build side.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a WordPress developer cost in the UK?
UK agencies typically charge four hundred to a thousand pounds a day or five to fifty thousand per project. UK freelancers run around two hundred and fifty to five hundred a day. Offshore studios commonly quote a third to a half of UK rates, with different trade offs rather than simply lower quality.
Should I hire a UK developer or go offshore?
It depends on how much timezone overlap and contract enforceability matter to you. Offshore saves real money and the quality range is wider, so you carry more of the filtering burden. Mitigate with live references, a small paid trial first, accounts in your own name and milestone payments.
What should I never accept from a web developer?
A guarantee of first page Google rankings, since nobody controls the algorithm. Full payment upfront, since it removes your leverage. And any vagueness about whether plugins and themes are properly licensed, since nulled software is the leading cause of compromise on the sites we are asked to rescue.
Who should own the domain and hosting for my website?
You, with your own registrar and hosting logins, confirmed in writing before any deposit. Accounts held under a developer name leave you unable to move hosting or recover your site if the relationship ends, and reclaiming a domain someone else controls is slow and sometimes impossible.
How much deposit is normal for a website project?
Thirty to fifty percent is standard and reasonable. Tie the remainder to milestones such as design approval and staging delivery rather than to calendar dates, so payment tracks actual progress rather than elapsed time.