How Much Does A Website Cost in Australia?

How much should your website cost?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions in the web design industry, but the answer isn’t as simple as it seems.

There are two reasons why it is difficult to answer this question in a straightforward way:

1. Websites vary a lot in terms of their design and functionality. The type of site you’re after makes a big difference.
2. The rate varies from agency to agency. An Australia-based company will charge you very differently than an overseas provider. But even in Australia, pricing can vary greatly.

The main element that determines the cost of your website will be your requirements. If you aren’t very familiar with the web design industry, the pricing can appear very confusing.

If you focus just on low prices, cheap website builders or freelancers may seem like a good choice to design your website because they charge less. But cheap website designs have many drawbacks. That’s why most business owners choose a web design agency to design their website.

This step-by-step guide can provide you with a ballpark figure of how much your website design project will cost if you hire an agency.

Step 1: Determining the type of website you need

Simply stated, we can classify a business website into four types:

(a) Simple, small business website:

If your business has just a few services or products that you don’t intend to sell online, a simple website will do. The site will work as your online business card, where visitors will come and look at your services and find out about your business. This type of site is ideal for small local businesses.

(b) Conversion-focused business site:

If you are planning on using the website to attract a steady flow of new business, you’ll need a more polished website that is set up to convert visitors and displays your previous work in an engaging way. These sites are good for service-focused small businesses.

(c) Basic ecommerce site:

If you want to sell your products or services online and take payment on your website, you require an ecommerce site. An ecommerce site has various features that put it in a specific category of websites. These include a product database, shopping cart functionality, payment gateway and configuration of a shipping matrix.

(d) Custom feature-rich site:

If you run a large business, you may want to stand out from the crowd with a custom design and site-specific features. Your site may need to incorporate specially-made plugins, enterprise-level database integration, or an innovative web app, depending on your business.

Of course, this is not a rigid classification. But having read this, you can get a sense of the kind of website your business requires.

Step 2: Getting a domain name

The first thing you need for a website is a domain name, assuming you don’t already have one. A domain name is the address of your site on the web. The price of a domain varies a lot. Usually, it will cost you between $10 to $50. Plus, you have to renew your domain subscription every year.

You should have an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate installed after getting your domain and setting up your site. If you are an ecommerce site or your website deals with a lot of sensitive information like credit card information, usernames, and passwords, then SSL is a must.

When buying the SSL certificate, you can choose from 3 different types. These are – Domain SSL for fast issuance, Organisational SSL for businesses, and Extended SSL. For the domain and organisation SSL, your website visitors will see the padlock and https protocol beside your URL.

But if you want a green address bar with your company name, then you need to subscribe to the Extended Validation SSL. In addition, you need to renew the SSL certificate after your subscription expires. If all of these sounds complicated, ask your web design agency for help.

Step 3: Choosing a web host

Website hosting costs can be around $55 per month for standard websites and much more if you’re hosting large or complex sites or web applications.

The ideal price and package will depend on the type of site you want, how many daily visitors you have, your storage requirements, and various other factors. Some key factors to consider are security, performance, support (including the availability of phone support), and maintenance service.

Your design agency will usually help you in selecting the right hosting service for your website.

Step 4: Choosing a template or custom development

If you don’t have much experience in web development, you might want to leave this step to your agency.

A website based on a simple template with a few pages will not cost much. In fact, many popular CMSs are free to install, though there is usually a set-up cost.

The more you want to customise your site, the more your designer, developer or agency will charge you. The cost can range anywhere between $500 and $10,000 +. An interactive web app or advanced features like database integration is likely to require an even larger budget.

In the web design industry, there are many different options and technologies available, many of which do the same thing and solve the same kind of problems. It all comes down to your specific requirements as to which is the most appropriate. Your web development agency should find the best solution that balances your requirements and budget.

Step 5: Copywriting and SEO service

Search Engine Optimisation is no longer just an option; it has become mandatory for any business website that wants to remain competitive. It is a service that helps improve your visibility in search engines to reach your target customers more efficiently.

Here the cost depends on what type of business you have, the provider you’re working with, and the package you’re on.

You might want professional writers to create the initial page content for you, which should be SEO-optimised. The cost of copywriting depends on many different factors. Your SEO package may include some copywriting, as the content is very important for your rank in Google.

Regardless of the size or industry of your business, having a strong online presence is going to benefit you. So SEO is certainly worth looking into as soon as your website is up and running. SEO services are ongoing in nature and can cost you from $300 to $10,000 monthly, often being packaged with other marketing and website design services.

Step 6: Design and Multimedia integration

A very important part of the project is developing appealing aesthetics and a positive user experience. Thus, there are two aspects of the design. One is the visual language of the site. Another is its usability.

Like in the development phase, there are numerous ways to create visual content and present information on your website, whether static images, video or interactive elements. The cost varies entirely on how you want your site to look. Here, your agency will help you to come up with effective ideas that align with your business goals. The cost ranges from $300 to $10,000+.

Step 7: Ongoing maintenance

Even after your agency finishes developing your website and hands the key over to you, the process isn’t over. Any modern site will require maintenance to keep it relevant and technologically up to date.

Unless your site is really simple or you have a certain level of technical know-how, you may need to allocate a monthly maintenance budget for your website. Regular maintenance will cost you from as little as $50 to as much as $200 per month, depending on what changes are required.

Final web design cost

Now you know what you should be considering to help you determine the budget of your web design project. Finally, here is a rough estimate of the total cost based on the type of site:

• A simple site for small business: Around $3,000
• Conversion-focused business site: $3,000 to $6,000
• Ecommerce site: $6000 to $15,000
• Custom feature-rich site: Above $15,000

Again, these figures can vary greatly, so take these estimates with a grain of salt!

Do you want to get a specific personalised estimate of your site? Contact us today for a free quote.