How much does a website cost in Australia
The cost of a website varies depending on many factors, such as the complexity of the design, what program you’re using to build it and the features required. With this article, we’re going to give you an insight into everything you need to know about website pricing, looking at different prices ranging from $500 to $100,000 and more.
Whether you’re looking for a simple website for a small business or a large-scale e-commerce platform, we’ve got you covered.
Website Costs
For most small and medium-sized businesses, website costs are between $500 and $5,000. But if you’re looking for something more complex, like an e-commerce platform or a custom-built website, the price can go up to $100,000 or more.
Basic sites (eg, small news sites) can cost between $500-$5000
Business sites for example multi-page business sites can cost between $3000-$15000
E-commerce sites can cost between $5000 – $50000
Custom Web Application or Enterprise Websites will cost between $20,000 – $100,000
Why is the scope so large? The total cost depends on various factors such as the complexity of the design, the features you need and the people you hire to implement it.
Factors Affecting Website Costs
Many factors affect the cost of your website, for example, if you decide to use a website builder like Wix or Squarespace and do it yourself, it can be less expensive. From $15 to $70 per month. While this may seem like a cost-effective option, it often lacks the customization and scalability that most businesses are looking for. On the other hand, hiring a freelancer or agency may result in higher initial costs but better professional results.
The type of website you’re building can and will also affect the price. A website for simple information is cheaper than a large-scale e-commerce platform. Websites with custom features such as payment access or integrations will cost more.
SEO optimization features, its important to note that SEO is important if you want to rank well in search engines. Some design agencies offer a basic SEO package, while others charge extra for more advanced, ongoing SEO services. For a comprehensive SEO setup, expect to budget between $500 and $2,000.
Content Management System (CMS)also play an effect in pricing, your choice of CMS will affect costs greatly. WordPress is a great free CMS tool, but you may have to pay extra for installation fees or developer fees and additional plugins. More expensive CMS platforms like HubSpot or Shopify cost from $29 to $300 per month, depending on the plan.
As stated previously, Freelancers and Agencies also come at different prices. The people you hire to design your website will greatly affect the cost and quality of the final product. Freelancers often times will cost less than agencies, with projects ranging from $500 to $10,000 depending on their experience and complexity of your website. Some advantages include the fact freelancers are cheaper, provide more of a personal service and are often times more flexible than an agency.On the other side, some disadvantages could be limited resources, lack of skills/knowledge for more complex projects, and availability concerns.
Whereas Web design agencies will be expensive, especially for large and complex sites, with fees starting at $3,000 and going up to $100,000 For a medium sized web design agency, prices start at $8,000.
You should also consider your needs, if you need a lot of customization you will have to pay more and look for specialised development companies that can better meet these needs. Agencies often offer a variety of services from web design to SEO and content creation. Advantages of an agency include higher levels of expertise across a team of people, better resources and better project management. Disadvantages include the fact prices are much higher, customer service standards may be lower and communication gaps can be larger.
Outsourcing to overseas developers
Outsourcing website design to international companies or freelancers is attractive because of the generally lower prices, from $300 to $3000 (sometimes even cheaper). But the price being less does not always mean the results will be better, in fact often times they’re far from it. Many companies that go this route run into incredible communication problems, lower quality of work and delays, and many additional costs/expenses to fix these problems, when you eventually realise you will require another agencies assistance to repair them. If you plan to outsource, do your research on who you’re working with, ask for examples of previous work (such as case studies, actual client websites etc) and set clear expectations to minimise potential risks.
For larger companies, hiring an in-house developer could be largely beneficial. Web developers in Australia earn between $80,000 and $120,000 per year. Although this may seem like a large cost upfront, having an in-house developer ensures that updates and maintenance are quick and efficient, and that their direct focus is completely on your website.
Other Costs can present themself, and its important to keep this in mind. In addition to the cost of design and development, there are many other costs associated with setting up a website, this includes the domain name. The registration of a new domain fee is between $10 and $50 per year, though premium domains and keyword specific domains can cost significantly more, sometimes even reaching thousands of dollars. Web Hosting is another factor alongside this, hosting plans vary, with prices ranging from $5 to $100 per month. The type of hosting (shared, VPS or dedicated hosting) affects the price, and other services such as managed hosting for WordPress, can add additional costs. Not to mention the importance of ongoing Maintenance. After your website is up and running, you need to make regular maintenance updates to keep everything running smoothly. This can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 per month if outsourced. Maintenance is essential to keeping your website secure, up-to-date and functional. Plugins and Integrations for WordPress sites, plugins and other resources can range from free to hundreds of dollars for advanced options. If you need custom installation or advanced features, these features will be added to the final price.
Why not just do it myself?
Doing it yourself (DIY) will save you money, but it requires a large scale time investment, a lot of trial and error, and a willingness to learn. Depending on your web design skills and the complexity of the website, designing and building a website can take anywhere from 40 to 100 hours for the initial setup. On the other hand, hiring a professional will save you time and effort, but it will cost more. Web designers and agencies charge hourly rates ranging from $50 to $200 per hour, depending on their expertise.
