Website Design for Australian Small Businesses: Prices, .com.au, GST and What to Ask

Key takeaways

• A five-page small business site is advertised at roughly $1,000 to $3,500 in Australia. The Australian studios we checked on 7 October 2026 publish 5 to 10 page packages from $990 to $3,500, several of them plus GST. Independent site Finder puts a freelancer-built custom WordPress site at $2,000 to $5,000.
• Read every price as two numbers: the build and the running cost. Hosting, a domain renewal and any monthly care plan are often quoted separately, and they are what you pay in year two.
• GST is 10%, and it only changes your own price list once you register. Registration is required at $75,000 of GST turnover, or $150,000 for a non-profit. An advertised price must show the total including GST.
• A .com.au domain needs an Australian connection and a link to your business. You provide an ABN, ACN or trade mark, and the name must relate to your business, which can be its name, an acronym, a trade mark or a service you offer.
• Most small businesses are exempt from the Privacy Act, with exceptions. Under $3 million turnover, but health service providers and a few other kinds of business stay covered. A privacy page on your site is still good practice.
• The best brief fits on one page. It says who the site is for, the one action you want, what you will edit yourself and when you need it live. Every studio quotes better against that brief.

What a small business website costs in Australia

Prices change, and many studios publish a "from" figure. These are the packages shown on each studio's own pricing page on 7 October 2026, in Australian dollars. Where a page says plus GST, we say so.

Independent guidance is thinner. Finder Australia says a basic site can cost less than $50 in hosting and a .com.au domain if you build it yourself, and that hiring a freelancer for a custom WordPress site typically runs from $2,000 to $5,000. Online shops cost more. Agency blogs quote wider ranges, but those pages come from sellers, so we leave them out of the table.

What the pattern tells you:

• Under about $1,500 usually means a template, a short page count and your own copy and photos. It can be a good start for a sole trader with a simple offer.
• $2,000 to $3,500 is where custom design, written copy and basic SEO setup usually appear in the package.
• Above that, the price follows the page count, the number of things the site must do (booking, quotes, payments) and how many people need to edit it.

Quotes in US dollars from overseas studios, including ours when the project is international, are a separate comparison. Ask for one figure in Australian dollars with GST stated, and compare studios on that. For the platform itself, our three-country platform guide lists Shopify's Australian plan prices beside the US and UK ones.

What is usually in the price, and what is not

Ask each studio to list these in writing. Two quotes with the same headline price can include very different things.

• Pages and content. How many pages, and who writes the words. Copywriting is the item most often missing from a low price.
• Design. A template with your logo, or a design made for your business. Both are valid. The point is to know which you are buying.
• Platform. WordPress, Webflow, Framer, Shopify or a proprietary builder. Whether you can move later depends on the answer. We explain the trade in our post on Webflow vs a static site, and the same logic holds for any platform.
• Mobile and speed. Every site should work on a phone. Ask which pages the studio will test on a real handset.
• Basic SEO. Page titles, descriptions, a sitemap and a Google Business Profile link. Our post on how to build a high-converting website lists the parts that matter.
• Forms. Where enquiries go, and what happens if the email fails.
• Editing. Whether you can change a price or a photo yourself, and how long a handover takes.
• Running costs. Hosting, domain renewal, backups, updates and support, as a monthly or annual figure. VisualWeb, for example, lists managed hosting from $59 a month plus GST.
• Revisions and timing. How many rounds of changes are included and when the site goes live.

Your .com.au domain

A .com.au domain is the default choice for an Australian business, and it has rules.

• Who can hold one. auDA says .com.au names are for businesses with a connection to Australia, held by commercial entities registered to trade in Australia or that hold an Australian trade mark. At registration you provide your ABN, ACN or trade mark details. A business without an ABN or ACN can qualify with an ARBN or an Australian trade mark.
• The name has to connect to your business. auDA lists qualifying connections as your business or personal name, an acronym of your business name, a match with your trade mark, or a service or product you offer.
• What it costs. Published first-year prices for a .com.au domain are around $10 to $21 at several registrars, with renewals around $23 to $30, and some registrars advertise a promotional first year. Check the renewal price before you register, since it is what you pay every year after.
• Whose name it is in. Register the domain in your own name or your company's name, on your own account, and give the studio access to manage DNS. When we build a site we set the domain up on the client's own account, so you always own it.

If you do not have an ABN yet, it is free to register one through the Australian Business Register. Beware of third-party sites that charge a fee to do it for you.

GST and your website

GST has two sides for a small business: what you pay for the website, and what you show on it.

• What you pay. The rate is 10%. If a studio's price says plus GST, add a tenth. If it says GST included, you pay the number shown. If it says nothing, ask. If you are registered for GST, you can usually claim the GST you pay on the build as a credit, and your accountant will confirm how that works for you.
• When you must register. The business.gov.au guidance says you register for GST once your GST turnover is $75,000 or more, or $150,000 or more for a non-profit organisation, and you register within 21 days of becoming aware you will go over the threshold.
• What you show. If you sell to the public, the total price you display must include all charges, taxes and fees such as GST, and a part price must not be more prominent than the total. For a site that lists prices, this affects product pages, quote calculators and booking forms.
• Overseas customers. Services supplied to a customer outside Australia can be GST-free in some cases. This depends on your situation, so check with your accountant or the Australian Taxation Office.

None of this is tax advice. It is the shape of the rules, so you can ask the right question of your accountant.

Hosting in Australia

Where a site is hosted matters less than it used to, and most modern hosts serve pages from a network of data centres around the world, which makes them quick for Australian visitors. These are the questions worth asking:

• Is there a free or paid plan, and what does it cover? Static sites can be hosted free on services such as Cloudflare Pages. A CMS site usually has a monthly hosting fee.
• Who looks after updates and backups? On WordPress, updates and security patches need a person every month. On a hosted builder such as Webflow or Framer, the platform does it as part of the plan.
• Where is your data stored? If you have customers who care that data stays in Australia, ask about Australian data centres for your forms and any customer lists.
• What happens if the studio disappears? You should hold the login for the host and the domain, with the studio added as a user.

Our WordPress and Webflow builds follow the same rule: your accounts, your logins, our access. See our WordPress development and Webflow development pages.

Privacy, email sign-ups and accessibility

Three areas that matter even for a small site. Agents in New South Wales have extra price rules, set out in our agent website guide.

Privacy. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says a small business is one with annual turnover of $3 million or less, and many small businesses are exempt from the Privacy Act. The exceptions that stay covered include health service providers, businesses that trade in personal information, businesses providing services to government agencies, and businesses related to a larger body corporate that is covered. If any of those describes you, ask the studio to include a privacy policy and a sensible approach to how forms store data. Even if you are exempt, a short plain-English privacy page builds trust.

Email sign-ups. The Spam Act 2003 applies to commercial electronic messages. Based on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's guidance, you need consent from the person receiving them, you must identify your business, and every message needs a working unsubscribe. If your site has a newsletter form, make the consent wording clear and keep a record of when someone signed up.

Accessibility. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to websites, and WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 level AA is the standard most studios and buyers point to. A site that works with a keyboard, has readable contrast, and has descriptions on images reaches more customers and is safer. Our guide to NDIS website agencies has a practical keyboard test you can run on any site.

A one-page brief that gets better quotes

Send this to three studios and compare what comes back.

1. Who the site is for. A line about your best customer and where they are.
2. The one action you want. A call, a booking, a quote request or a purchase. Every page points at it.
3. Pages you expect. Home, services, about, contact and any case studies. A landing page structure that converts is the shape for a single-offer page.
4. What exists. Logo, photos, written content, a current site, a domain.
5. Who edits and how often. Just you, or a team, weekly or twice a year.
6. Budget range and live date. A range gets a better answer than silence.
7. Anything the site must connect to. Booking software, a payment provider, an email list.

If you want help with the brief, talk to us. It is part of how we begin every project.

How to choose who builds it

Our full guide to choosing a web design agency has 15 questions with what a good answer sounds like. The short version: For WordPress studios in particular, see what six Australian agencies publish about price, timeline and ownership in best WordPress agencies for service businesses in Australia.

• Open three of their live client sites on your phone. Tap through to an inner page and fill in a contact form with a test message.
• Ask who you deal with. A named person who stays on your project is worth more than a bigger logo.
• Ask what a change costs six months after launch. The honest answers range from "included" to an hourly rate.
• Ask about copy. The studio that helps you write the words will usually deliver the better site, and our guide to writing high-converting website copy shows what to hand over.
• Ask what you own at the end. Domain, hosting, design files, content and logins.
• Check how they communicate. Prompt replies in the first week usually predict the rest.

How Amariq works with Australian small businesses

Amariq is a founder-led web design studio. Rahat Khondokar, a certified Webflow developer, builds each project himself, and one person is accountable for your site from the first call to launch. We build on Webflow, WordPress, Shopify and Framer, and as fast static sites, and we choose the platform with you based on who edits the site and what it needs to do.

Our team works hours that overlap with the Australian morning and evening, so calls and reviews happen at times that suit you. We quote a fixed price per project after a short call, can show it in Australian dollars with GST stated, and set up your domain and hosting on your accounts. Our services include web design and UI/UX, WordPress development, Webflow development, Shopify development and conversion-focused redesign. If you are comparing Australian studios on Webflow, our guide to the 12 best Webflow agencies in Australia shows how we compare them.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a small business website cost in Australia?

The Australian studios we checked publish 5 to 10 page packages from $990 to $3,500, with several listing GST separately. Finder says a freelancer-built custom WordPress site typically runs $2,000 to $5,000, and online shops cost more. If the site already exists, our guide to website redesign cost has the Australian dollar ranges for refreshes, standard redesigns and migrations.

Is a $1,000 website good enough?

It can be, for a sole trader with a clear offer, their own photos and words, and a short page count. Check what it includes: copywriting, mobile testing, SEO setup and how you edit it. At that price, the template usually decides the look.

What is the cheapest way to get a website in Australia?

Build it yourself. Finder says it could cost less than $50 if you buy affordable hosting and a .com.au domain. The trade is your time and a design that is harder to make stand out.

Do I need an ABN for a .com.au domain?

You need an ABN, an ACN, or an Australian trade mark. Some entities can use an ARBN. An ABN is free to register through the Australian Business Register.

Can my domain name be anything I like?

For a .com.au, the name has to connect to your business. auDA lists your business or personal name, an acronym of your business name, a trade mark match, or a service or product you offer.

When do I have to charge GST on my services?

When your GST turnover reaches $75,000, or $150,000 for a non-profit, you register, within 21 days of knowing you will cross the threshold. Check your own case with your accountant.

Does my website have to show prices including GST?

If you display prices to the public, the total price must include taxes such as GST, and a part price should not be more prominent than the total. Ask your studio to build price displays that way.

Does a small business need a privacy policy?

Many small businesses with turnover under $3 million are exempt from the Privacy Act, but health service providers and a few other kinds of business are not. Even if you are exempt, a short plain-English privacy page is worth having where you collect enquiries.

What does the Spam Act mean for a newsletter sign-up form?

You need consent from the person, your business must be identified in each message, and every message needs an unsubscribe that works. Keep a record of when and how someone signed up.

How long does a small business website take?

One studio lists a typical build at two to six weeks. Writing and photos are what usually set the schedule, so prepare them before the design starts.

WordPress, Webflow, Framer or a website builder: which should I choose?

Choose by who edits and what the site must do. WordPress suits sites that need plugins, Webflow and Framer suit design-led marketing sites, and a simple hosted builder suits a very small site. Our Framer development and WordPress development pages explain the fit, and Webflow vs WordPress compares plan prices and upkeep, Elementor vs Divi vs a custom theme covers WordPress builders, and Shopify vs WooCommerce covers online shops.

Can an overseas studio build a site for an Australian business?

Yes. What matters is the process: a named person, a fixed written scope, calls at times that suit you, and your own accounts for the domain and hosting. If you are in the UK, our UK website redesign guide covers VAT, cookies and prices in pounds. We work with Australian businesses from a remote team, with hours that overlap the Australian day. Our ten checks for hiring an offshore agency cover the contract, the payment steps and the time overlap in more detail.