Ask five web designers what a small business website costs and you'll get five different answers, often thousands of dollars apart. That isn't always overcharging. "A website" covers everything from a one-page site you build on a Sunday to an online store with three hundred products.
This guide breaks down what you actually pay for, what it costs to keep a site running, and how to avoid the two most common mistakes: paying for far more than you need, and paying too little for something that never brings in a customer.
The short answer
What you'll pay depends mostly on two things: how many pages you need, and who does the work. Here's how the main options compare, with our own prices as an example.
| Option | Who does the work | Good for | Workshown price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | You, on Wix or Squarespace | Very tight budgets, if you have the time | Not something we sell |
| Done-for-you small site | A designer, often with AI help | Trades, cafés, salons, clinics | $490 to $1,490 |
| Custom website | A designer or agency, by hand | Bigger sites, sites you edit yourself | From $2,500 |
| Online store | A designer or agency, by hand | Selling products online | From $4,000 |
Prices are one-off and in Australian dollars. Other studios charge more or less, but the pattern holds: the more pages and the more custom the design, the higher the price.
What you're actually paying for
Design and build
This is the part everyone pictures: the layout, colours and code. Using a proven layout costs much less than designing every page from scratch. For most small businesses, a well-made layout with your logo, photos and colours is all you need.
The words
This is the cost people forget. Many quotes assume you'll write every page yourself, and that's where a lot of projects stall for months. If the quote includes copywriting, it's worth a lot more than it looks. Our AI websites always include it.
Setup
Connecting your domain, setting up email forwarding, adding contact forms, submitting the site to Google and setting up your Google Business Profile. Each step is small, but together they add up to a few hours.
Changes
Most quotes include one or two rounds of changes. Ask how many, and what an extra round costs. Clear limits are a good sign, not a bad one.
Ongoing costs
The build is a one-off. These come every year or every month.
- Domain name. Usually tens of dollars a year. You'll need an ABN or other Australian business details to register a .com.au.
- Hosting. Anything from a few dollars a month to much more for busy sites. Cheap hosting can make a site slow, which costs you visitors.
- Maintenance. WordPress sites need regular updates to stay secure. Someone has to do them, and it shouldn't be nobody.
- Platform and app fees. Shopify, Webflow and Squarespace charge monthly plans, and Shopify stores often add paid apps on top.
- Edits. Changing your hours, prices or photos. Some designers charge by the hour, others include a set amount of time each month.
Our Care plan is $39 a month and covers hosting, SSL, backups and 30 minutes of edits each month. Whatever you choose, add up three years of running costs before comparing quotes. A cheap build with high monthly fees can end up costing more than a dearer one.
Where small businesses overspend
- Too many pages. A plumber doesn't need twenty pages to win local jobs. Three to five good ones, plus a strong Google Business Profile, usually do more.
- Features nobody uses. Live chat that nobody answers, a blog that never gets a second post, animations that slow the site down.
- Paying for "SEO packages" too early. Get the basics right first: clear service pages, good page titles, a fast site and a complete Google profile. Our local SEO checklist covers them.
Where they underspend
- No copywriting. A beautiful site with vague words doesn't convert. Paying someone to write clear copy is usually money well spent.
- No plan for changes. The site goes out of date within months because nobody can update it.
- Cheap hosting on a heavy site. If the site takes forever to load on a phone, people go back and call the next business.
Questions to ask before you pay
- Is the copy included, and for how many pages?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- What will I pay each year once the site is live?
- Who owns the domain and the content?
- What does it cost to make a change after launch?
If a quote doesn't answer these, ask. Our guide to choosing a web designer has more questions worth asking.
So what should you spend?
If you're a local service business that needs to be found and contacted, start small. A few clear pages, written well, with your Google profile set up properly. You can always add more once the site is bringing in work. Our AI websites are built for exactly this.
If you sell products online, publish often, or want to edit everything yourself, budget for a custom website. It costs more upfront, but it will fit how you work.
Common questions
Is a cheap website worth it?
It can be, if a person has checked and edited it. What matters is whether the site is clear, fast and written for your customers. Price alone tells you very little. Ask to see live examples before you pay.
Should I pay upfront or monthly?
Both work. Upfront usually costs less over time. Monthly plans spread the cost but often lock you in. Check what happens to the site if you stop paying.
Can I get a website for free?
Some builders have free plans, but they usually show their own branding and don't let you use your own domain name. For a business, a free plan is fine for testing an idea, not for winning customers.