Your defence-supplier website is hosted on Wix, and the prime's procurement team just noticed
A custom website for a Portsmouth defence or marine-engineering firm runs £8,000 to £45,000 over 1 to 4 months. Wix and Squarespace are fine for a cafe. For a defence-linked supplier whose buyers run security questionnaires and judge credibility hard, a templated site on shared consumer hosting quietly undercuts you before the first call.
Your customers are MoD primes and security-aware procurement teams, and they form a judgment about your seriousness from your website before they ever speak to you. A Squarespace template that looks like a hundred other sites, hosted on shared consumer infrastructure, signals 'small and casual' to exactly the buyer who needs to see 'capable and secure'.
Wix and Squarespace also can't give you control over hosting location, security headers, and the data-handling posture a defence questionnaire asks about, nor a structure that presents capabilities, accreditations, and case studies the way a serious procurement reader scans them. You're not just buying a prettier site; you're buying credibility with a cautious buyer.
What breaks first in Portsmouth
- Security-aware procurement teams judge credibility from your site, and a generic template undercuts it
- Wix and Squarespace limit control over hosting, security headers, and data-handling a defence questionnaire probes
- Accreditations, capabilities, and case studies don't fit the template structures a procurement reader scans
- A templated look identical to consumer businesses signals the wrong scale to a naval prime
The fix: website built for Portsmouth, not rented
A custom website gives you control over hosting, security posture, and structure, so you present as the capable, secure supplier a defence prime is looking for. Capabilities, accreditations, and case studies are laid out the way procurement reads them, the hosting and security headers stand up to a questionnaire, and the whole thing signals the seriousness your buyers need before they'll shortlist you.
What website costs in Portsmouth
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Custom marketing site, controlled hosting | £8k to £18k | 1 to 2 months |
| Plus capability/case-study structure and CMS | £18k to £30k | 2 to 3 months |
| Plus secure portal foundations and integrations | £30k to £45k | 3 to 4 months |
The capability list that earns its budget
Portsmouth website: the full scope
Everything a website build here can cover: web design, Next.js development, React development, responsive web design, landing page development, CMS development and Jamstack.
Exactly what you get
A custom website that presents you as the capable, secure supplier a defence prime wants to shortlist. Controlled hosting and security headers stand up to a procurement questionnaire, capabilities and accreditations are structured the way buyers scan them, and the design signals the right scale. Your team can update content safely, and the foundations let you add a secure portal or document area later without rebuilding.
How to choose a developer in Portsmouth
Choose a developer who understands B2B and regulated-buyer credibility, not just visual polish. Ask how they'd handle hosting and security headers for a defence questionnaire and how they'd structure capabilities for a procurement reader. A good partner asks who your buyers are and what they scrutinise. One that reaches straight for a template hasn't grasped that your website is a trust signal to a cautious customer.
- !They default to a Squarespace template. Ask how it answers a security questionnaire
- !No control over hosting. Ask where the site lives and how security headers are set
- !Generic agency portfolio only. Ask for a B2B or regulated-supplier reference
- !They ignore accessibility. Ask how the site meets modern standards
- !No maintenance plan. Ask who patches and updates after launch
Most Portsmouth teams pricing website end up comparing notes on hr, accounting, business intelligence dashboards too; the systems share one data spine.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't Squarespace fine for a small supplier?
For many businesses, yes. But if your buyers are security-aware defence primes who run questionnaires and judge credibility hard, a generic template on shared consumer hosting undercuts you before the first conversation.
What does a security questionnaire actually check?
It probes where data is hosted, what security headers and protections are in place, and how you handle information. A custom site on controlled hosting lets you answer those questions confidently, where a template platform limits your control.
Can we update content ourselves?
Yes. A custom build includes a content management setup so your team edits text, case studies, and capabilities without breaking the design or needing a developer for every change.