A small business website in Australia usually costs somewhere between a few hundred dollars a year (if you build it yourself) and $10,000 or more (if a professional builds it), with online stores and custom systems going well past that. The trouble is that two quotes for the “same” website can be thousands of dollars apart, and the cheapest one is often missing things you only notice after launch.
The number that matters is the total over two or three years: the build, plus the domain, hosting, updates and the changes you will need. Below are the published Australian ranges, the factors that move a quote up or down, and a worked first-year and three-year cost so you can compare quotes properly.
Key Takeaways
- Published Australian ranges put a professionally built small business site at roughly $3,000 to $10,000, and online stores at $10,000 and up.
- DIY builders are cheapest upfront, but your time, the monthly plan and add-ons are part of the real cost.
- The biggest price drivers are custom design versus a template, who writes the copy, and integrations such as CRM feeds, bookings or a store.
- Budget for running costs every year: a .com.au domain, hosting, and someone keeping the site updated and backed up.
- Before you sign, confirm in writing that you own the domain, the website files and your accounts.
What do Australian websites cost in 2026?
Most Australian guides put a professionally built small business website in the low thousands to low tens of thousands, and they disagree on the exact figures. That disagreement is normal, because “a website” covers everything from a five-page brochure site to a store with hundreds of products.
Here is what two Australian web agencies publish as market ranges:
| Website type | WP Creative (updated 28 Aug 2026) | WebAlive (10 Nov 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | $500 to $1,500 per year | Not listed |
| Basic or small business site | $3,000 to $10,000 | $1,500 to $5,000+ (basic), $5,000 to $10,000+ (standard) |
| Ecommerce store | $10,000 to $50,000+ | $10,000 to $25,000+ |
| Complex or custom build | $30,000 to $150,000+ (custom web app) | $10,000 to $30,000+ |
Both are agencies writing about their own market, so treat the figures as a guide to the spread, not a price list.
A third agency, Marketing Eye, puts DIY or template builds at $1,000 to $4,000 and a full website rebuild from $15,000, possibly more than $35,000.
What actually drives the price of a website?
The price of a website follows the amount of thinking, writing and building it needs, not the number of pages alone. A ten-page site using a template and your existing words can cost less than a five-page site with custom design, new copy and a booking system. These are the factors that move a quote the most.
Custom design versus a template
A template is a pre-made design you drop your content into. It is quicker and cheaper, and it can look fine. Custom design means the layout is planned around your customers and what you want them to do, which takes more design time. Ask any quote which one you are getting, because “custom” is used loosely.
Who writes the copy
Copy is the words on the page, and it is the most underestimated cost in a website project. If you write it yourself, the price drops, but the project often stalls while you find time. If the designer writes it, expect it to be a real line item. Good copy is what turns visitors into enquiries, so it is worth reading our guide to website copywriting before deciding.
Integrations and features
Anything that connects your website to another system adds cost, because it has to be set up, tested and maintained. Common examples:
- Property listings that sync from a real estate CRM
- Job listings that sync with recruitment software
- Online bookings or registrations
- An online store with payments, shipping and stock
These features are where quotes spread the most. Our real estate websites pull listings straight from CRMs like Reapit, Agentbox and Inspect Real Estate, and Indigeco’s recruitment site runs a two-way sync with Bullhorn. That work is a different job to a brochure site, and a quote that prices them the same is either padding the simple site or under-pricing the complex one.
Online stores
Ecommerce is its own category because every product, payment option and shipping rule has to work. The platform matters too: some, like Shopify, charge a monthly plan and card fees, while WooCommerce runs on your own hosting. Shopify’s Australian pricing page lists its Basic plan at $42 a month paid yearly or $56 paid monthly. See our ecommerce websites page if you are selling online.
Photos and content
Professional photography, video and stock images all cost money, and they are often left out of website quotes. Real photos of your team, work and premises usually beat stock images, so budget for a shoot if you do not have good ones.
SEO setup
Basic search foundations (page titles, descriptions, headings, speed, mobile layout, and a page for each main service) should be part of any decent build. Ongoing SEO work, such as new content and links over months, is a separate service with its own monthly cost.
DIY, freelancer or agency: what does each cost?
The three routes cost very different amounts upfront, and the gap narrows once you count your own time and the running costs.
DIY website builders
You pay a monthly or yearly plan, and you do the work. Squarespace’s pricing page, for example, lists its Basic plan at A$18.70 a month on annual billing and its Core plan at A$30.80 a month on annual billing, with higher prices if you pay monthly. Those prices, as at October 2026, include estimated GST. Wix shows prices by location, so check its plans page from Australia.
DIY suits a new business testing an idea, or a sole trader who mostly needs a phone number and a few photos online. The hidden cost is time: planning pages, writing copy, sourcing photos and learning the tool.
Freelancers
A freelancer is usually cheaper than an agency for the same scope, and a good one can do excellent work. The risk is coverage. One person may design well but not write copy, or build well but not set up tracking, and support depends on them being available.
Agencies and studios
An agency or studio costs more because more people and processes are involved: strategy, design, copy, development, testing and ongoing care. You should get a clearer process and someone to call when something breaks. You can also pay for things you do not need, so check that every line item has a reason.
For a fuller side-by-side, read DIY vs freelancer vs agency for a small business website.
What does a website cost in the first year and over three years?
The build is only the first bill. Every website also needs a domain, hosting, and updates for as long as it is live, so compare quotes on a two or three year total.
These are the running costs to plan for:
- Domain name. Under auDA’s rules, a .com.au licence can be registered for one to five years. VentraIP’s domain names page lists .com.au at a promotional $9.95 a year against a regular price of $22.95 a year.
- Hosting. Cheap hosting is often an introductory price. SiteGround’s entry plan is $4.99 a month for the first 12 months, then renews at $26.99 a month, AUD excluding GST.
- Updates, backups and security. Someone has to run plugin and theme updates, keep backups and fix things. You can do this yourself or pay for a care plan.
- Business email. Google Workspace Business Starter is A$9.90 per user per month on an annual commitment, excluding tax.
- Changes. New pages, new services and updated photos come up every year. Ask what they cost before you need them.
Our website hosting cost guide covers hosting and renewals in more detail.
A worked example
Here is how the totals look for two routes, using the prices above. These are illustrations built from published prices, not quotes.
| Cost | DIY on Squarespace Core (annual) | Professional build with a care plan |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Your time | Quoted to scope (pages, online store, copywriting, design complexity) |
| Plan or hosting, year one | A$369.60 (A$30.80 x 12) | $720 ex GST (Keener care from $60 a month x 12) |
| .com.au domain | $9.95 to $22.95 a year at VentraIP | $9.95 to $22.95 a year at VentraIP |
| Email, one user | A$118.80 a year (Google Workspace) | A$118.80 a year (Google Workspace) |
| Three-year running cost (excluding build) | About A$1,500 (plan, email and domain) | About $2,550 (care $2,160 ex GST, plus email and domain) |
The three-year running cost for the professional route is the care plan ($60 a month ex GST x 36 months = $2,160) plus three years of email (A$356.40) and domain. Keener’s website care plans start at $60 a month ex GST and include cloud hosting, weekly plugin and theme updates, uptime monitoring and daily backups stored in two places. The DIY figure is three years of Squarespace Core plus email and domain, and it does not count the hours you spend maintaining the site.
What are the red flags in a cheap website quote?
A low quote is not a problem on its own. The problem is a low quote that hides costs or takes control away from you. Watch for these.
You do not own the domain
The domain should be registered in your business name, with your ABN, in an account you can log into. If the designer registers it in their own name, moving away later can be hard. auDA’s renewal policy requires a .com.au holder to meet the eligibility rules for the whole licence period, so the details need to be yours.
You do not own the website
Some cheap offers are rentals. You pay monthly and the site belongs to the provider, so if you stop paying, it disappears. Ask in writing: “If I leave, do I get the website files and content?”
Lock-in contracts
A 24 or 36 month contract for a basic site can cost more than buying the site outright. Read the exit terms before you sign.
No tracking
If a quote does not mention conversion tracking (counting calls, forms and bookings), you will not know whether the site is working. This should be set up at launch, not added later.
No mention of copy, mobile or speed
If the quote says nothing about who writes the words, how the site works on a phone, or how fast it loads, assume those are not included.
How do you brief a web designer for an accurate quote?
A clear brief gets you comparable quotes, because every designer is pricing the same job. Write one page that covers:
- The goal. What should the site get people to do? Call, book, buy or enquire?
- The pages. List the pages you think you need, including one per main service.
- The copy. Will you supply the words, or do you need them written?
- Photos. Do you have good photos, or do you need a shoot or stock images?
- Features. Bookings, forms, a store, CRM feeds, member areas or anything else.
- Examples. Two or three websites you like, and why.
- Budget and timing. A range is fine. It helps the designer suggest the right scope.
The brief also tells you who is listening. When we plan a site, the page plan is agreed before any design starts, so the client knows exactly what they are paying for. Booms Up Civil Group had no website at all before working with us, and with a website, SEO and short-term ads it went to 350+ conversions in 12 months. That result came from knowing what each page had to do. Our tradie website design page shows how that plays out for trades.
Frequently asked questions
How expensive is a website?
A website can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars a year for a DIY builder to $10,000 or more for a professionally built small business site, and online stores often cost more again. Ranges published by Australian agencies put small business builds at roughly $3,000 to $10,000. Add domain, hosting and maintenance every year.
How much do web designers usually charge?
Web designers in Australia charge by the project or by the hour, and rates vary widely with experience and scope. As one published example, an Australian agency lists on-demand development at $150 an hour, or $125 an hour on a 12-month commitment. For a new site, ask for a fixed project price based on a written scope.
How much does it cost to create a website in Australia?
Creating a website in Australia costs a DIY plan fee plus your time, or a build fee if you hire someone, plus running costs. For example, Squarespace lists its Core plan at A$30.80 a month on annual billing, and a .com.au domain at VentraIP is $9.95 to $22.95 a year depending on promotions. A professional build is a separate one-off cost.
How much does a website cost per month?
Running a website usually costs tens of dollars to a few hundred dollars a month, depending on hosting, support and how much change you need. One Australian agency guide estimates overall running costs at $50 to $300 a month. Keener’s website care plans start at $60 a month ex GST, including hosting, updates, monitoring and backups.
What is the best free website hosting in Australia?
Free hosting mostly comes from website builders’ free plans, which put the builder’s branding on your site and usually do not let you use your own domain. Wix’s paid plans are what let you connect your own domain and remove Wix branding. For a business, a low-cost paid plan with your own .com.au domain looks more trustworthy and is easier to move later.
Get a quote you can compare
The fairest way to judge a website price is to compare full scopes and three-year totals, not headline numbers. If you would like a quote built that way, with the page plan, copy, tracking and running costs all spelled out, have a look at how we approach website design or talk to us about website design on the Central Coast. Keener quotes once we understand what the site needs to do. Four things drive the cost: the number of pages, whether the site includes an online store, whether we write the content or you supply it, and how complex the design is, from a clean static layout to custom graphics, animation and motion. We work through those with you, then give you a clear figure and exactly what it covers before any work starts. We also build for not-for-profits and community groups, where budgets and approvals work differently.
Most sites take 6 to 10 weeks from kickoff to launch. Simpler sites, such as a trade website with a handful of service pages, sit at the shorter end. Online stores, real estate sites with listing feeds, booking systems and large sites sit at the longer end. The biggest variable is usually content and feedback, because builds move fastest when photos, approvals and answers come back quickly.