4 min read
It is the first question almost every business owner asks us, and the honest answer is that it depends on what the website needs to do. A five-page site for a tradie and an online store with 300 products are different jobs, priced differently.
This guide explains what actually drives the cost of a small business website in Sydney, the ongoing costs people often forget, and what we charge, so you can judge any quote you receive.
The short answer
For a professionally built small business website, the main things you are paying for are the number of pages, who writes the content, whether you need to sell online, and how much search engine work is included from day one. At Gumleaf Digital, a brochure website starts at $1,500 + GST for up to five pages, and $2,400 + GST for six to ten pages. An online store on Shopify starts at $1,800 + GST for the build.
Those are our actual prices, published on our services page, not a starting figure that climbs once you are on a call.
What drives the cost
| Factor | Why it changes the price |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | Every page needs layout, content and testing on phones. A home page, about page, a few service pages and a contact page is a very different job to 30 location and product pages. |
| Content | If you supply the words and photos, the job is faster. If the content needs to be written, structured for Google and checked with you, that takes time. |
| Selling online | Product pages, payments, shipping rules and stock all add work. Getting product data clean and consistent is often the biggest part of a store build. |
| Forms and features | Quote forms, booking tools, galleries and calculators each need building and testing, and forms need to actually reach your inbox. |
| Search engine setup | A site built with proper page titles, headings and structure from the start ranks better than one where SEO is bolted on later. |
| Rebuild or new build | Replacing an existing site means moving content and setting up redirects so you do not lose the Google rankings you already have. |
The ongoing costs people forget
The build is a one-off cost, but every website has a few running costs. Ask about these before you sign anything:
- Domain name. Your .com.au address renews every year or two. It is a small cost, but make sure it is registered in your name, not your web designer’s.
- Hosting. Where your website lives. Cheap hosting is often slow, and a slow site loses enquiries.
- Updates and security. WordPress sites need regular plugin and security updates. A neglected site is how malware gets in. We found exactly that on a kitchen renovation business’s website during an audit.
- Shopify fees. Online stores on Shopify pay a monthly plan fee to Shopify and payment processing fees on each sale.
- Changes. New services, price changes and seasonal updates. Find out whether you can edit the site yourself or have to pay for every change.
If you would rather not deal with any of this, our optional website upkeep is $550 + GST a month and covers updates, security and small changes.
Why the cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest
A low-priced website can be a good starting point. The problems usually show up later:
- It does not bring in enquiries. A site that looks fine but is not built for search, or has a contact form nobody tested, costs you work every week.
- You do not own it. Some builders keep the domain, hosting or design files in their account, which makes leaving expensive.
- It is slow. Large images and too many plugins make pages slow to load, especially on phones, and visitors leave before they read anything.
- It has to be rebuilt. Many of the sites we rebuild were only a couple of years old. Paying twice is the most expensive option.
From our work: when we rebuilt the Flooring House website, the job was not just a new design. It included 51 pages, product pages, suburb pages and redirects from the old site so existing Google rankings carried over. That is the kind of detail that separates a website that works from one that only looks good.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Is the price fixed, and exactly what is included?
- Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the website files?
- Is basic SEO included: page titles, descriptions, headings and a sitemap?
- Will the site be fast and work properly on phones?
- Who writes the content, and is that included in the price?
- What happens after launch? Who updates it and what does that cost?
- If I am replacing an old site, how will you protect my current Google rankings?
So, how much should you budget?
For most small service businesses in Sydney’s North West, a well-built five to ten page website is enough to start, and it should pay for itself through enquiries. If you sell products, budget for a store build plus the time to get your product information right.
If you already have a website and are not sure whether to fix it or replace it, start with an audit. Sometimes a few targeted fixes are all you need, and a rebuild is not necessary at all.
Read more about our web design and development, our Shopify store builds, or how website SEO helps a new site get found.