We checked 12 UK pay monthly website providers. Three mention a DPA.
A pay monthly website is a contract, not a purchase. We checked what twelve UK providers publish before you sign, and set out the ten questions to ask any of them, including us.
A pay monthly website is a contract, not a purchase. We checked twelve UK providers on 28 July 2026 to see what they publish before you sign. Eight published terms and conditions. Nine published a privacy notice. Three mentioned a Data Processing Agreement. Three showed a company registration number.
None of those numbers is an accusation. Every one of them is something you can check yourself in about five minutes, and this article shows you how.
Why the contract matters more than the monthly price
The monthly figure is the part providers compete on, so it is the part they make easy to compare. Between roughly £30 and £150 a month is where the UK market sits, and at that spread the difference over two years is real but survivable.
The contract is where the money actually moves. A minimum term you did not notice, a buyout price that was never a number, a price increase clause that does not exist so nothing stops one, and the question of who owns the site if you leave. Those decide what the arrangement costs you, and they are all knowable before you sign.
What we checked, and how
We took twelve UK providers offering pay monthly or subscription websites to small businesses, and requested the common locations for legal documents on each: the home page, terms, terms and conditions, privacy, privacy policy, legal, cookie policy, and data processing agreement paths. We recorded whether each document was reachable, and whether the text mentioned a Data Processing Agreement, a company registration number, or the Information Commissioner's Office.
The limits of that method, stated plainly. This is an automated check of published pages on one day. A provider may hold a Data Processing Agreement and simply not publish it, and will often send you one on request. Our pattern for company registration numbers is strict and will undercount anyone who formats theirs unusually. Absence of publication is not absence of the document, and nothing here says any provider is breaking the law. We are not naming individual providers, because the point is not who scores worst. The point is that you can run this check yourself before you sign.
What we found
| Published on the public site | Providers, out of 12 |
|---|---|
| Terms and conditions | 8 |
| Privacy notice | 9 |
| Any mention of a Data Processing Agreement | 3 |
| Company registration number | 3 |
Two of those rows are worth sitting with.
Three of twelve mentioned a Data Processing Agreement. If your website has an enquiry form, a booking system or a patient contact form, your provider is processing personal data on your behalf. Under UK GDPR Article 28 that relationship is supposed to be governed by a written contract. If you are a dental practice, a clinic, an accountant or a solicitor, this is also the document your insurer or your own client due diligence will eventually ask you for.
Nine of twelve showed no company registration number. The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 require a UK company trading online to identify itself, including its registered number. It is a small thing, and it is also the cheapest possible signal of whether someone intends to be findable later.
Ten questions to ask any provider
Send these to whoever you are considering, including us. The answers take a competent supplier ten minutes.
- What is the minimum term, in months, and what notice do I give to leave?
- If I leave, what do I pay? Give me a number, not a process.
- Does the buyout price reduce as I pay, or is it fixed?
- Who owns the design, the code and the content when the contract ends?
- Is there a price increase clause? If not, what stops the price rising?
- Will you sign a Data Processing Agreement? Can I see it now?
- Where is the site hosted, and in which country is the data held?
- How many content changes are included per month, and what is your turnaround in working days?
- What happens to my site on the day a payment fails?
- What is your company registration number?
If a provider cannot answer question 2 with a figure or question 6 with a document, that is your answer.
Our own answers, including the ones that do not flatter us
It would be dishonest to publish that checklist and then dodge it.
We publish our Master Services Agreement, the schedules and our Data Processing Agreement. Our company number is 08355850, registered as TOTAL TOOLS LTD, trading as Oxwyn Studio and filing since 2013. Our hosting and database are in the UK and EU regions. Our buyout price is published in pounds.
Now the parts where a cheaper provider beats us.
Our minimum term is longer than a rolling contract. Several providers in this market offer 30 day rolling terms. If your priority is the freedom to walk next month, they are a better fit than we are, and you should take it.
Our included change allowance is smaller than an unlimited one. Some providers include unlimited edits with same day turnaround. We include a set number a month with a stated turnaround, because we would rather commit to a number we can hold than a word we cannot.
We cost more. Materially more than the cheapest plans in this market. If your website is a brochure that will not change and does not take personal data, paying us is poor value and we will say so on a call.
Where we are worth it is narrower and more specific: you handle personal data, someone is going to ask you for a security or compliance answer, and you would rather that answer came from a certified auditor than from a support inbox.
The one thing to take away
The monthly price is the easiest thing to compare and the least important. Ask the ten questions. Any provider worth your money will answer all ten in writing, and the ones who will not have told you something useful.
Put this to work