Guide, updated November 2026
How much does a small business website cost in Australia?
Anywhere from a few hundred dollars to well over $20,000, plus ongoing costs every year. The range is huge because “a website” can mean a weekend on a website builder or months of work by an agency. Here’s what each option really costs, what you’re paying for, and the costs that catch people out later.
The short answer
These are typical ranges for a small business site of around five to ten pages. Quotes vary a lot, so treat them as a guide, not a price list.
- Do it yourself with a website builder (Wix, Squarespace and similar): usually $20 to $60 a month in plan fees, so roughly $250 to $700 a year, plus your own time to design, write and maintain it.
- A freelancer: commonly $1,500 to $5,000 for a small business site, depending on their experience and what you need.
- A web agency: commonly $5,000 to $20,000 or more, with strategy, copywriting and project management built in.
- Launch Corner: $499 for Basic Web or $699 for Business Fundamentals, paid once, with optional hosting at $24.99 a month.
What you’re actually paying for
A website price is mostly time. Someone has to plan the pages, design them, write or edit the words, prepare the photos, build it so it works on every phone, set it up for Google and test the forms. A builder hands all of that to you. A freelancer or agency does it for you, which is why the price climbs with experience and hours.
Features add to the cost too. A simple brochure site is the cheapest. Online bookings, a shop with payments, member logins or anything custom built takes more work and more money.
The ongoing costs people forget
The build is only part of it. Budget for these every year:
- Domain name: a .com.au is typically $15 to $40 a year, depending on the registrar.
- Hosting: usually $10 to $50 a month for a small business site. Some builders and studios include it in a monthly plan.
- Business email: services like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 charge per person, per month.
- Updates: if you can’t edit the site yourself, every change costs money. Developers commonly charge $80 to $150 an hour.
- Plugins and apps: booking systems, forms and other add ons often carry their own monthly fees.
What makes a website cost more
- More pages, and more words to write for them.
- An online shop, bookings or other features that do things.
- Custom illustrations, photography or video.
- Copywriting, if you’d rather not write it yourself.
- Rushed timelines and lots of rounds of changes.
How to avoid overpaying
Before you agree to anything, ask these five questions:
- Is this a fixed price, and what exactly is included?
- What will I pay every month or year after launch?
- Can I make simple changes myself, like prices and opening hours?
- Who owns the website, and can I take it with me if I leave?
- Can I see examples of sites you’ve built for businesses like mine?
Where Launch Corner fits
We use AI to do the slow parts of building a website, and pass the savings on. You tell us about your business, see a free mockup of your site in minutes, and only pay if you like it: $499 for Basic Web or $699 for Business Fundamentals, paid once. Host it with Launch Corner Members for $24.99 a month, with unlimited updates included, or download it and host it yourself. All prices are in Australian dollars. Launch Corner is not registered for GST, so no GST is charged.
Questions
Is a cheap website worth it?
It can be, if it’s fast, works on phones, says clearly what you do and makes it easy to contact you. Plenty of expensive websites fail at those basics. Judge a website on what it does for customers, not what it cost.
Do I have to pay monthly for a website?
You’ll always pay something ongoing for the domain and hosting, because the website has to live somewhere. Some providers bundle that into a monthly plan; others charge it separately. Ask for the yearly total so you can compare properly.
How long does a website take to build?
A freelancer or agency usually takes a few weeks to a few months. A builder takes as long as you spend on it. With Launch Corner, your mockup is ready in minutes and a hosted site goes live as soon as you pay.