Free vs paid web design: what UK roofers should actually know

“Free” is a strong word. Wix lets you build a site without paying. So does Google Sites and Squarespace's trial tier. At the other end, agency builds for roofers start around £2,500 and can hit £6,000. Performance partnerships sit in between: zero upfront, but a percentage of work the site brings in.

The headline cost is the easy bit. The real comparison is what each model actually costs you over a year, in lost work, in your own time, and in flexibility. Here is the honest version.

Free DIY (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy)

What it costs: £0 to start, £10–£25/month from month two, plus £10–£15/year for a domain. Total first year: roughly £200.

What you give up:The site is built on a shared template used by thousands of other businesses, which makes it functionally impossible to rank competitively for “roofer [your town]” queries — the underlying code is identical to your competitors', and Google does not differentiate. The mobile experience varies between mediocre and bad, depending on which template you pick. Speed scores on Google PageSpeed are typically in the 30-50 range out of 100. Most contact forms convert at 0.5-1% (vs 3-5% on a properly built site).

What it actually costs you:Over 12 months, a DIY template site for an established roofer in a competitive area produces almost no new enquiries — usually under one per month. If a single roofing job is worth £2,000-£5,000, “free” has cost you 10-30 jobs you did not get. That is £20,000-£150,000 of lost revenue in a year.

Where it works: If you are brand new, have no real competition locally, and just need to look real for the next 6 months while word-of-mouth gets going. As a long-term lead generator: no.

Paid freelancer build

What it costs:£600–£1,800 one-off, depending on scope and the freelancer's level. Usually built on WordPress, sometimes Wix or Squarespace.

What you get: A custom design (in theory — quality varies), a basic CMS so you can edit your own content, usually 5-7 pages, hosting and domain typically separate from the build cost.

What can go wrong: Freelancer quality varies enormously. Some build sites that convert at 3-5% and rank well locally; others hand you a template with your logo swapped in and call it custom. The structural SEO (LocalBusiness schema, per-area pages, performance optimisation) is often skipped because it adds hours the freelancer cannot bill for. Long- term support is hit and miss — many freelancers vanish 6 months after launch.

How to make it work:Look at three of their previous roofer sites before you sign. Pull each one up on your phone. Search “[that roofer's town] roofer” on Google and see if their previous client ranks. Ask the freelancer what their post-launch support looks like and get the answer in writing.

Paid agency build

What it costs:£2,500–£6,000 one-off for a roofer in the UK in 2026, depending on the agency's reputation, the scope, and the location. Often includes a 30-day post-launch tweak window. Care plans (small ongoing maintenance, content updates) typically add £50-£200/month.

What you get: A properly engineered site (usually built on a modern framework like Next.js rather than a page builder), proper local SEO baked in, mobile-first design, real performance optimisation, and someone you can phone when something breaks. For an established roofer in a real market, this pays back inside 12 months from added quote volume.

The risk:The agency charges before they have proven anything. If the site turns out to underperform, you have paid £3,000+ either way. The agency's incentives end at delivery — they have already been paid, and the ongoing improvement work falls back on you. Many agencies are excellent at this; many simply ship and disappear.

Performance partnership (rev-share)

What it costs:£0 upfront. A percentage of new work the site brings in — typically 15-25% in the UK, depending on the agency. We charge 20%. Some agencies cap this; others don't.

What you get:The site itself, the SEO setup, hosting, ongoing optimisation — all included. The agency's incentives are aligned with yours by design: they only earn if the site produces, so they have to actually build something that works rather than just something that looks good. The trade-off is a longer-term commercial relationship, usually with a minimum partnership length (we use 12 months from first qualifying lead).

The trade-off:Over 5 years, a performance partnership can cost more than a one-off paid build — that is the agency's upside for carrying the upfront risk. But the maths line up for both sides when the site genuinely performs, and for a roofer who does not have £3,000 of spare cash to spend on a maybe, the model removes the financial gamble.

How to actually choose

The question is not “which is cheapest” — “free” is the most expensive option for any roofer with a real business. The question is which model aligns with where you are and what you can carry.

• No cashflow for £3,000 upfront, but want a serious site: performance partnership
• Comfortable spending £3,000-£6,000 upfront, want full ownership day one: agency build
• Want a custom site on a budget, will personally vet the freelancer: paid freelancer
• Brand new, no budget, no urgency: DIY template for the first 6 months

What we offer

ClearPath runs the performance-partnership model for UK roofers. £0 upfront, 20% of new work the site brings in, nothing if it brings nothing. 12-month minimum partnership, then you own everything outright. Full terms, tracking mechanics, and the live reference build are on our roofer page.

See the full partnership terms →