How much does a cheap website cost for a small business in Australia?
The cheapest workable option is a DIY website builder, from A$17 a month on an annual Squarespace plan, where you do the building and writing yourself. A done-for-you starter site costs more upfront. MarketingOnWeb's starter package is $499 + GST for 5-8 pages, with copy, images, a contact form and basic SEO included.
Cheap is relative to what the site has to do. A plumber who gets most work from referrals needs a clear, fast site with a phone number and service list. An online store needs payments, shipping and product pages, which costs more to set up properly.
Count the ongoing costs too: domain renewal, hosting or builder plan, and maintenance. A cheap build with an expensive lock-in hosting deal is not cheap.
Source: Squarespace pricing page (AUD), checked October 2026.
What do you get at different price points?
At the free end you get a builder plan with platform ads and a subdomain. A paid builder plan removes ads and adds your own domain, but you still do the work. A low-cost designer package should include written copy, images, a contact form and basic SEO. Larger budgets buy more pages, planning and integrations.
The jump that matters most is from DIY to done-for-you. Most small business owners can drag blocks around a template. Far fewer enjoy writing clear service pages, and that writing is what turns visitors into enquiries.
Ask any designer for a written list of what is included at their price. If copy, images or a contact form cost extra, the cheap quote is not the real quote.
Source: Wix Help Center, Upgrading your Wix site; WordPress.com pricing page; Squarespace pricing page (AUD).
What are the red flags with cheap web design?
The biggest red flags are the designer registering the domain in their own name, hosting you cannot leave, no written scope, no mobile testing, and promises of first-page rankings. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking. Also be wary of anyone vague about what they will actually do.
Ownership is the one that hurts later. If the designer owns the domain or the only admin login, you cannot move your site without their help. Ask for the domain to be registered in your business's name and for your own admin access from day one.
Other warning signs: a template with your logo dropped in and placeholder text left behind, no contact form testing, stock images unrelated to your work, and a contract that lets them change the price or terms whenever they like.
Source: Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?
What does a sensible minimum small business website look like?
A sensible minimum is a mobile-friendly site on your own domain, with HTTPS, a page for each main service, clear contact details, a working enquiry form and page titles written for search. It should load quickly on a phone. Google indexes the mobile version of a site, so that is the version that counts.
Speed is measurable. Google treats a page as good when its main content loads within 2.5 seconds, it responds to a tap in under 200 milliseconds and the layout shift score stays below 0.1.
Five to eight pages covers most local service businesses: home, one page per core service, about, contact and perhaps a projects or reviews page. More pages only help if each one answers something customers actually search for.
Source: Google Search Central, Mobile-first indexing best practices; Google Search Central, Understanding Core Web Vitals.
Is affordable web design better than building it yourself?
It is better when your time is expensive or you dislike writing. A DIY builder costs less in cash but often takes a business owner many evenings, and the copy is usually the weak spot. If the site needs to bring in enquiries from the first month, affordable professional design is usually the better use of money.
DIY is a sensible choice when you are testing an idea, have a tiny budget, or genuinely enjoy the work. Squarespace and Wix both have free trials or free plans, so you can try before paying anyone.
If you go DIY, spend your effort on the words: what you do, where you do it, what it roughly costs and how to contact you. Design matters less than clarity.
What are your rights if a cheap website goes wrong?
Under Australian Consumer Law, services must be provided with acceptable care and skill, be fit for the purpose you made known, and be delivered within a reasonable time if no deadline was agreed. These guarantees do not cover services that cost more than $100,000 and are for commercial use, so most small website jobs are covered.
Small businesses also have protection from unfair terms in standard form contracts. Since 9 November 2023 that covers businesses with fewer than 100 employees or turnover under $10 million, and regulators can seek penalties against businesses that use unfair terms.
Your best protection is still a clear written quote listing pages, inclusions, timeframes and who owns what. Keep emails where the scope is agreed.
Source: Consumer Protection WA, Consumer rights for services; Treasury Ministers, Unfair contract terms banned from today (9 November 2023).
How do you keep a cheap website cheap after launch?
Own your domain and hosting, avoid paid plugins and apps you do not need, and choose a platform you can update yourself. Ask for ongoing costs in writing before the build starts. Domain renewal, hosting and maintenance are where a cheap website quietly becomes an expensive one.
Find out who renews the domain and when. auDA lets .au direct licences run for one to five years, though providers differ in the terms they offer.
MarketingOnWeb quotes hosting and maintenance per site, and clients own their site and domain, so they can move it if they choose. Whoever you use, ask what it costs to leave.
Source: auDA, .au direct domain names.
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