A small business website can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 or more. So what should you actually pay?
If you've started looking for someone to build your business website, you've probably discovered that web design pricing is all over the place.
One person will offer you a website for $500.
Another will quote $3,000.
An agency might want $5,000, $10,000 or considerably more.
And then Wix or Squarespace will tell you that you can build it yourself for a relatively small monthly fee.
So what's the difference?
And more importantly, what does a small business or sole trader actually need?
What Does a Small Business Website Cost in Australia?
For a relatively straightforward small business website, a rough guide is:
Option Typical cost
DIY website builder Monthly subscription + your time
Cheap/offshore freelancer A few hundred dollars+
Local freelancer/web $1,500–$3,000+ designer
Small web design agency $3,000–$10,000+
Larger/custom agency $10,000+ project
Website built by me Generally under $1,000
These aren't hard rules. A five-page website for a local electrician is very different from an online store containing 5,000 products or a custom web application.
But for many small businesses and sole traders, you don't need a $10,000 website.
You need a good website that represents your business professionally, works properly, gets found and makes it easy for customers to contact you.
Why Can an Agency Website Cost $3,000 to $10,000 or More?
There's nothing inherently wrong with paying an agency $5,000 or $10,000.
Large projects sometimes need an entire team.
An agency may have designers, developers, copywriters, SEO specialists, project managers and account managers involved in a project.
You're paying for all of that expertise, but you're also paying for the structure required to provide it.
For a larger company, that can make sense.
For a small business or sole trader, it can be overkill.
The plumber, electrician, accountant, consultant, builder or local shop often doesn't need a team of ten people to build their website.
They need someone who understands websites.
AI Has Changed the Economics of Web Design
This is one reason I can build websites for considerably less than a traditional agency.
AI has changed what an experienced individual web designer can accomplish.
Work that once might have been divided between a designer, developer, copywriter, SEO person and technical specialist can increasingly be handled by one knowledgeable person using AI as a tool.
AI can accelerate coding, research, troubleshooting, content development, SEO work and repetitive technical tasks.
But you still need to know what you're doing.
AI can produce a website.
It can't guarantee that it's the right website.
Someone still needs to understand design, user experience, web technology, SEO, messaging, hosting, domains, security and how people actually use websites.
AI hasn't made experienced web designers obsolete. It has made a good independent web designer far more capable.
And that can bring the cost of professional web design down substantially.
Why Are My Websites Generally Under $1,000?
I deliberately focus on websites for small businesses and sole traders.
I'm not running a large agency with multiple layers of staff and overhead.
I combine my experience in web design and development with modern AI tools to work faster and handle tasks that previously would have taken considerably longer or involved several people.
That allows me to offer many standard small business websites for under $1,000.
Obviously, every website is different. If you need complex custom functionality, e-commerce, hundreds of pages or unusual integrations, the cost can increase.
But a typical small business shouldn't automatically assume it needs to spend $5,000 or $10,000 just to get a professional website.
What About Wix and Squarespace?
There's another option: build the website yourself.
Platforms such as Wix and Squarespace have made this easier than ever.
Squarespace, for example, currently advertises Australian website plans starting from AUD $17 per month when paid annually. These services provide the website builder and hosting together.
They're good products.
If you enjoy working on websites and have the time to learn, DIY can be a perfectly reasonable option.
But there's an important cost that's easy to overlook:
your time.
You still need to choose the design, structure the pages, write the content, source the images, configure everything, make it work properly on phones and learn enough about SEO and user experience to avoid obvious mistakes.
Then there's the ongoing work.
When something doesn't work, you need to work out why.
That's the trade-off.
My Hosting: $30 a Month or $360 a Year
After I build your website, I can also host it for $30 per month, or $360 per year, on Australian rented server infrastructure.
But I don't really think of what I'm offering as simply "hosting."
You're paying for an ongoing relationship with someone who knows your website.
My managed website hosting includes things such as:
Website hosting, monitoring, analytics, security, email support, suggestions and ongoing consulting.
If I notice something that could be improved, I can tell you.
If you have a question, you can email me.
If something goes wrong, you've got someone to contact.
There is value in that last point that is surprisingly difficult to put a price on.
You've Got Someone to Blame
I say this partly jokingly, but it's actually important.
You've got someone to blame when something goes wrong.
Your website stops working.
A form isn't sending.
Something looks strange.
You need to change something.
You're suddenly getting spam.
You don't understand your analytics.
You receive an email about your domain and have no idea whether it's legitimate.
Instead of Googling the problem, asking AI, searching through support documentation and trying twelve different solutions yourself, you can contact me.
For a small business owner, that's part of what you're paying for.
You're not just renting some disk space on a server.
You're getting someone responsible for helping look after your website.
Local Support Matters Too
You can almost certainly find someone overseas who will build your website more cheaply.
Sometimes you'll get a fantastic result.
There are extremely talented designers and developers all over the world.
But price isn't the only consideration.
When you're hiring someone remotely through a marketplace, it can be harder to know exactly who you're dealing with, what level of experience they actually have and what happens after the website has been delivered.
For businesses in my local and regional area, I offer something different.
I'm here.
You can email me.
You can call me.
And when appropriate, we can actually meet face to face.
I understand Australian small businesses and particularly enjoy working with businesses in regional communities.
You're dealing directly with the person who is actually working on your website.
No account manager.
No overseas support queue.
No wondering who you're going to speak to next.
Don't Compare Websites on Price Alone
If one website costs $700 and another costs $7,000, that doesn't automatically mean the $7,000 website is ten times better.
But the reverse is also true.
The cheapest website isn't necessarily the best value.
Ask what you're actually getting.
Who is designing it?
Who writes the content?
Is SEO considered?
Does it work properly on mobile?
Who hosts it?
Who maintains it?
What happens when something breaks?
Can you contact the person who built it six months from now?
And perhaps most importantly:
Will the website actually help your business?
A website isn't just another business expense.
It's often the first interaction a potential customer has with you.
So, How Much Should You Spend?
For most small businesses and sole traders, I don't think you need to spend a fortune.
If you're launching a major e-commerce business, building custom software or need extensive integrations, a larger budget and an agency team may be appropriate.
But if you need a professional small business website that explains what you do, establishes trust, helps people find you and generates enquiries, things have changed.
Modern technology and AI mean that an experienced independent web designer can now accomplish far more without the overhead of a traditional agency.
That's why I can build many small business websites for under $1,000, with managed Australian hosting available for $30 per month.
Not Sure What You Need?
Send me your existing website, or tell me a little about your business.
I'll give you a free website assessment and tell you what I think you actually need.
You might need a new website.
You might only need a few changes.
Or your current website might be perfectly fine.
Call or email me for a free website assessment and a straightforward chat about your options.