A small business website in Australia can cost anything from a few hundred dollars a year to well over $10,000. The price depends on how many pages you need, who writes the words, what the site has to do, and what’s included after launch. This guide breaks down the real numbers, so you can work out what your business needs and what a fair price looks like.
The short answer
- Do it yourself with a website builder: about $20 to $50 a month, plus your own time.
- A one-page website, built for you: from around $1,000.
- A multi-page small business website: roughly $1,500 to $10,000, depending on who builds it.
- An online store: from around $5,000 with a small studio, and $10,000 to $50,000 or more with an agency.
- Running costs after launch: a domain name each year, plus hosting, email and maintenance from about $10 to $150 a month.
What makes one website cost more than another?
Two quotes for “a website” can be thousands of dollars apart because they’re often quoting on different jobs. These are the things that move the price the most:
- Number of pages. A single page that covers your services and contact details takes far less time than a site with a page for every service and suburb you work in.
- Who writes the words. Writing clear, persuasive copy is often the slowest part of a website project. Some quotes include it, others expect you to supply every word.
- Features. Online bookings, quote calculators, galleries you can update yourself and payment systems all add time to build and test.
- Selling online. A store needs products loaded, payments and shipping set up, and the checkout tested. That’s a much bigger job than a brochure site.
- Design approach. A design built around your business takes longer than dropping your logo into a ready-made template.
- What happens after launch. Hosting, security updates, backups and help with changes are either included, charged monthly or left to you.
Your three main options
1. Build it yourself with a website builder
Online website builders let you build a site from a template and pay a monthly subscription that covers hosting and security. Expect to pay about $20 to $50 a month, with higher plans costing more. Once you add a domain, email and paid extras, a do-it-yourself site usually works out at around $500 to $1,500 a year.
Good for: businesses that are just starting out, have time to spare and are comfortable writing their own content.
Keep in mind: the real cost is your time. You’ll be choosing layouts, writing every page, sourcing photos and working out how to get found on Google yourself.
2. A freelancer or small web studio
This is where most small businesses land. You get a site built for you at a lower price than an agency, usually with one person you deal with from start to finish. Freelance project prices in Australia commonly range from about $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the size of the job.
Good for: service businesses, tradies, clinics, cafés and shops that want a professional site without agency prices.
Keep in mind: check what’s included. Ask who writes the content, whether hosting is included and what happens if you need help after launch.
3. A web design agency
Agencies bring a larger team and suit bigger or more complex projects. Agency prices typically start around $3,000 to $10,000 for a small business site, and $10,000 to $50,000 or more for an online store.
Good for: larger businesses, multiple locations, custom systems or big online stores.
Keep in mind: ongoing agency support is often charged separately and can run to more than $1,000 a month.
The running costs people forget
The build is only part of the price. Every website has costs that keep going after it goes live:
| Ongoing cost | What it is | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Your web address, such as yourbusiness.com.au | About $15 to $50 a year |
| Hosting | The server your website lives on | About $10 to $150 a month, depending on speed and support |
| Business email | An address like you@yourbusiness.com.au | Often bundled with hosting, or charged per mailbox |
| Maintenance | Updates, security, backups and fixes | From $0 if you do it yourself to hundreds a month for managed care |
What we charge at ProWebDesigns
We publish our prices so you can see exactly where you’d sit before you talk to us. Every package includes the website copywriting, setup and a walkthrough so you can make your own updates. All prices include GST.
| Package | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Get Noticed | A one-page website with your services, trust points, an enquiry form and a click-to-call button | $990 |
| Get Connected | Up to 8 pages, with dedicated pages for your key services and service areas | $1,690 |
| Get Growing | Up to 16 pages, plus an online booking system or quote calculator and a blog | $2,990 |
| Get Selling | A WooCommerce online store with up to 50 products, payments and shipping set up | $4,790 |
Your domain is included for the first 12 months. After launch, an optional care plan covers Australian hosting, business email, SSL, updates and backups, starting at $49 a month. There are no lock-in contracts, and the website is yours. See the full details on our pricing page and care plans.
Questions to ask before you accept any quote
- Is the price inclusive of GST?
- Who writes the content for each page?
- How many pages are included, and what does an extra page cost?
- Is hosting included, and what does it cost after the first year?
- Who owns the website and the domain name?
- Can I make simple changes myself?
- Is there a lock-in contract?
- What does help cost if something breaks after launch?
Frequently asked questions
Is a cheap website a false economy?
Not always. A simple, well-written one-page site can bring in enquiries for a small business. What matters is that it loads quickly, works well on a phone, explains clearly what you do and makes it easy to call or enquire.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
A one-page website can usually be launched in one to two weeks. Larger sites take longer, mostly depending on how quickly content and photos are ready.
Do I need to pay monthly for a website?
You’ll always pay something each year for your domain and hosting. Whether you also pay for maintenance depends on whether you want someone to look after updates, security and backups for you.
Not sure what your business needs?
Get a free website audit and we’ll tell you what’s working, what isn’t and what it would cost to fix. There’s no obligation.