The short answer
For a small Australian business, a professionally built website usually costs somewhere between a few hundred dollars a year if you build it yourself, and tens of thousands if you hire a large agency. Most local businesses land in the middle: a custom site from a freelancer or small studio, plus a modest monthly cost to keep it running.
The figures below are typical ranges to help you get your bearings, not fixed prices. Always get a written quote that spells out exactly what's included.
Option 1: Build it yourself
Website builders like Wix, Squarespace and Shopify let you build a site from a template with no code. You pay a monthly subscription, usually tens of dollars a month depending on the plan and whether you sell online.
- Good for: very new businesses on a tight budget, or people who enjoy tinkering.
- The real cost: your time. Most owners spend days getting a template to look right, and many sites end up slow, generic or half-finished.
Option 2: A freelancer or small studio
This is where most local businesses go. A small business site built properly, with custom design, mobile testing and basic SEO, commonly costs from around $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the number of pages and features.
- Good for: trades, cafés, clinics and service businesses that want a professional site without agency overheads.
- Watch for: who owns the site and domain, what happens if you want changes later, and whether hosting is included.
Option 3: A larger agency
Agencies with teams of designers, developers and strategists often quote $10,000 and up for a custom build, and much more for large or complex sites.
- Good for: bigger businesses, complex online shops or sites that need custom software.
- Watch for: paying for layers of account management you don't need.
The ongoing costs people forget
- Domain name: a .com.au address is usually a small yearly cost.
- Hosting: where your site lives. Anywhere from a few dollars to around fifty dollars a month for a small business.
- Updates and security: software needs updating, backups need running and forms need checking.
- Changes: new photos, prices, services and opening hours. Find out whether these cost extra.
What makes a website cost more?
- More pages, especially if each needs unique writing and design
- Online booking, quote systems or an online shop
- Copywriting and photography
- Custom animation, 3D or interactive features
- Local SEO work so you rank in several towns
What Tidemark charges
I keep pricing public so you can compare. A Starter site (up to 3 pages) begins at $1,900 and a full business site at $3,900, with no GST added. If you'd rather not pay upfront, the monthly plan is from $149 a month and includes hosting and small edits. The quote builder gives you an exact price in about a minute.
The cheapest website is the one that brings in work
A $500 site that never gets a phone call is more expensive than a $3,000 site that books two jobs a week. When you compare quotes, ask each person how the site will help customers find you, trust you and contact you. That answer matters more than the price.