A website in Australia costs what its scope requires: the number of page layouts, the features, who supplies the content and whether the design is made for your business. No published source gives reliable Australian price ranges, so the useful comparison is between written quotes for the same scope, with the ongoing costs listed separately.
This guide explains what a build includes, what drives the price, which costs continue after launch and how to compare quotes. It does not give price ranges: we have not found a published source for Australian website prices that we would rely on. Our website design service page shows what a standard build includes.
What a website build includes
A quote should say which of these parts are included. Two quotes for the same site can differ mostly because one leaves some of them out.
- Design: page layouts, typography, colours and how the site works on phones and desktops.
- Build: the pages, the content management system your team edits, and any forms, bookings or payments.
- Content: entering the copy and images you supply, or writing and sourcing them if that is quoted.
- Search foundations: page titles, meta descriptions, headings and structured data that search engines and AI assistants can read.
- Testing: checks on phones, tablets and the main browsers, and on every form and integration.
- Launch and handover: connecting the domain, moving the site live, and handing over access and the code made for you.
What drives the price
Page layouts
The number of different page layouts matters more than the number of pages. Pages that share a layout are quicker to build than pages that each need their own.
Features
Online payments, bookings, member logins and connections to other systems each add design, build and testing work.
Content
If you supply the copy and photos, there is less to produce. Copywriting and photography are often quoted as separate items.
Design
A design made for your business takes longer than adapting a template, and the quote should say which one you are getting.
Builder, template or custom
A website builder. You pay a subscription and build the site yourself in the builder's editor. It suits a small site you are happy to maintain yourself, within what the builder's layouts allow. Current plan prices are on each builder's own pricing page: Wix, Squarespace and Shopify. For an online store, our online store builds and Shopify developer pages explain what a store adds to the work.
A template. A developer adapts a ready-made theme, often on WordPress. It costs less to design than a site made from scratch, and the layouts follow the template, so check how much of it can change before you choose one.
A custom site. A studio designs and builds the site for your business and its content. It suits a business whose site needs its own structure, integrations or design, and it is quoted against a written scope.
Our Wix vs custom website and WordPress vs custom comparisons cover the trade-offs of each platform in more detail.
One-off costs and ongoing costs
One-off costs are paid for the build: design, development, content entry, any copywriting or photography quoted separately, and moving content from an old site.
Ongoing costs continue for as long as the site runs: domain name registration, hosting, builder or software subscriptions, and maintenance such as updates, backups and content changes. A .au domain is registered through a domain name provider, and auDA, which administers .au, lists those providers. Ask each provider which ongoing costs are in its quote and which you pay directly.
With us, domain registration, hosting and similar third-party costs are yours, and any ongoing support is written into the project document.
How to compare website quotes
- Send every provider the same brief, so each quote prices the same pages and features.
- Ask for itemised costs, so you can see which items differ.
- Check which parts of the build list above each quote includes, especially content and testing.
- List the ongoing costs from each quote side by side: domain, hosting, subscriptions and support.
- Check who will own the code, design and content at handover, and whose name the accounts are in.
- Compare the start and finish dates, and how changes and extra revisions are priced.
What a written quote should include
A quote is more than a price. business.gov.au notes that if a customer accepts a quote, it becomes a legally binding contract.
- A clear description of the work, including the pages and features
- Itemised and total costs, with GST shown if it applies
- Start and finish dates
- How changes and extra revisions are handled
- When the quote expires
- Who owns the code, design and content at handover
How we quote
We quote each website against a written scope that lists the pages, features and integrations. Our pricing page explains how we quote, and how it works explains the 48-hour process for standard websites.
For web apps, mobile apps and custom software, see our guide to custom software and app development costs. To see what a website project with us covers, read about our custom website design work, or web design and development in Melbourne.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business pay for a website in Australia?
It depends on the pages, features and content the site needs, so the useful comparison is between written quotes for the same scope. Ask each provider to itemise the work and to list the costs that continue after launch.
Are website builders cheaper than a custom website?
They cost less to start, because you pay a subscription and build the site yourself. You keep paying the subscription for as long as the site runs, and a site built on Wix cannot be moved to another host, so compare the total over the years you expect to run the site.
How much does website maintenance cost?
It depends on what the maintenance covers: software updates, backups, content changes or monitoring. Ask for the scope of any maintenance arrangement in writing, as you would for the build.
What ongoing costs does a website have?
The usual ongoing costs are domain name registration, hosting, any builder or software subscriptions, and maintenance such as updates, backups and content changes. Some are paid to the provider that built the site and some directly to other companies, so ask each provider to list them in writing alongside the build price.
Is a template cheaper than a custom website?
A template usually costs less to design, because the layouts already exist and the developer adapts them. The trade-off is that the site follows the template's structure. A custom site is designed for your business and its content, so it costs more to design. Compare the two on the total over the years you expect to run the site.