January energy is a real thing, and it doesn’t last long.
For about three weeks, people actually follow through on the stuff they’ve been putting off. The gym gets used. The accountant gets called. The website that’s been embarrassing you since August finally gets sorted.
And then February hits, and everyone goes back to “I’ll get to it eventually.”
If you’re going to sort your website, sort it now. Not because I’m trying to manufacture urgency - but because you know yourself. The thing you don’t fix in January doesn’t get fixed until next January. That’s just how it works.
What You’re Probably Paying Now
Let’s talk about what small business websites actually cost, because I think most people don’t realise how much they’re spending for how little they’re getting.
If you’re on WordPress with “managed hosting,” you’re probably paying somewhere between £30 and £50 a month for the hosting itself, plus another £20 to £30 for themes and plugins (or annual fees that work out the same), and then there’s the “maintenance” - another £50 to £100 a month if you’re paying someone to keep it running. Add it all up and you’re looking at £100 to £180 a month, and for that you get 3-second load times, weekly plugin updates that sometimes break things, and a site that needs “optimising” every few months because it’s somehow got slow again.
If you’re on Wix, you’re paying £31 a month for a site that loads slowly and looks like every other Wix site. Plus you’ve got the Wix branding unless you pay more, and the platform lock-in when you eventually want to leave.
And if you’ve had an agency quote recently, you already know the story: £1,500 to £3,000 setup, £100+ monthly ongoing, 6-8 week timeline, and somehow the site still takes 3 seconds to load.
That’s the landscape. That’s what “normal” looks like right now.
What £49/Month Actually Gets You
Here’s what I’ve been building for clients since October, and why the economics work completely differently.
The infrastructure is Astro static site generation - the same tech stack that powers major tech companies - deployed on Netlify’s global CDN. What that means in practice is your site loads in under a second, anywhere in the world. SSL certificate included (the padlock thing), and zero database vulnerabilities because there’s no database to hack in the first place.
The ongoing cost includes hosting (no separate bill), unlimited updates (you email me, I make changes), and no platform lock-in because you own the code. There’s no “upgrade your plan” conversation because there’s nothing to upgrade to - you’re already on the good infrastructure.
What’s not included: e-commerce (Shopify is genuinely better for selling products), ongoing SEO campaigns (that’s a different service entirely), and complex web applications (different requirements, different approach).
This is for businesses that need a professional web presence that loads fast and costs sensibly - the plumber, the consultant, the manufacturer, the artist. People who need a website that works, not a software platform.
The Proof
You’re reading this on a site built with the same infrastructure. webuildstores.co.uk runs on Astro and Netlify - sub-second loading, 50+ pages, and it handles everything I need without breaking a sweat.
escudero-auto.com is a client site - a 3D printing manufacturer doing industrial additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping. Same stack, same performance, same £49 a month.
Open either on your phone. Watch how fast they load. Then open your own website and compare. That’s the difference.
Why This Works (And Why Agencies Hate It)
Traditional web agencies need to charge £100+ a month because their business model requires it. WordPress needs database servers, security plugins, performance optimisation, and developer time to keep the whole precarious stack from falling over when WordPress releases its weekly update.
The Astro model eliminated all of that overhead.
Static site generation means there’s no database to secure, no plugins to update, and no performance to optimise - the site is pre-generated and sitting on a CDN, ready to serve. The infrastructure overhead that justifies agency pricing simply doesn’t exist anymore.
That’s why £49 a month works.
Agencies will tell you static sites “aren’t suitable for business needs.” They’re telling you that while their WordPress builds load in 3 seconds and need monthly maintenance windows. The truth is that static sites are better for 90% of business websites - faster, more secure, and dramatically cheaper to run.
The January Offer
Timeline: From our first conversation to your live site in one week.
Reply with “JANUARY” and tell me three things:
- What does your business do?
- What’s your current website situation - existing site, no site, what platform?
- What’s the one thing you want visitors to do when they land on your site?
I’ll reply with an honest assessment. If £49/month Astro makes sense for your situation, I’ll show you exactly what your site would look like. And if your current setup is genuinely better for your needs, I’ll tell you that instead - there’s no point building something that doesn’t serve you better than what you’ve got.
No setup fee. No contract. Cancel anytime.
The new year window closes when February hits and everyone goes back to “eventually.” If the website’s been on your list, this is the week to sort it.
Tony Cooper
We Build Stores - Where 27 Years of Experience Delivers in One Hour What 27 Hours of Not Knowing Cannot
tony.cooper@webuildstores.co.uk
07963 242210
P.S. Open escudero-auto.com on your phone right now. Count how fast it loads. Then open your own website. That gap is what £49 a month fixes.
