How much does a website cost in Melbourne?
What decides the cost of a business website in Melbourne, why good designers quote per project, and what to ask for so the price is fixed up front.
Ezaan Khan ·
There is no single price for a website in Melbourne. A business website costs what the work requires: how many pages it has, how much design and writing is involved, whether it takes payments, and what you pay each month after it launches. The useful thing to ask any web designer for is one fixed price in writing, a list of exactly what it covers, and a separate list of the running costs.
That is also how we work at Situs. Every project is quoted to the business rather than sold as a package, because a three-page site for a sole trader and an online store with a product catalogue are different jobs. This guide explains what moves the price so you can compare quotes properly.
What changes the price of a website
- The number and type of pages. A simple site with a home page, a few service pages and a contact page is a smaller job than one with a catalogue, a booking system or a members area.
- Design. A layout built around your business and your customers takes more work than dropping your logo into a template, and it usually shows.
- Writing and photos. Someone has to write the words and supply the images. If you provide them, the job is smaller. If the studio writes and sources them, it is part of the quote.
- Features. Online payments, quote calculators, booking forms, connections to other tools and anything custom each add work.
- Search setup. Page titles, headings, structured data, a sitemap and Google Search Console should be part of the build. Check that they are included rather than sold later as an extra.
- Moving from an old site. A redesign has to carry across existing content and links so you do not lose the search visibility you already have.
One-off costs and running costs are different things
Most of the confusion about website pricing comes from mixing these two together. The build is usually a one-off cost. Running the site is ongoing. Ask about both before you sign.
- Build: design, development, setting up the pages and getting the site live.
- Domain: your web address, renewed on a regular schedule. It should be registered in your business's name.
- Hosting: where the site lives. Ask who pays for it, who manages it and what it costs to renew.
- Changes after launch: new photos, new opening hours, a new service. Ask whether these are included, charged per job, or covered by a monthly plan.
- Ongoing marketing: local SEO or Google Business Profile management is a separate service and should be scoped separately.
A low build price with expensive ongoing fees can cost more over a couple of years than a fair build with low running costs. Add up the first two years, not just the launch invoice.
Why quotes for the same website can look so different
Two quotes for what sounds like the same site often describe different work. One might include copywriting, photography direction, search setup and a month of support after launch. Another might be a template with your details filled in. Neither is automatically wrong, but they are not the same product, so comparing the totals alone will mislead you.
Line up the quotes against the same checklist: pages included, who writes the content, what search setup is covered, how many rounds of changes you get, who owns the site and the domain, and what happens after launch. The gaps usually explain the difference.
How to get a price you can rely on
- Write down what the site needs to do. Get enquiries? Sell products? Show your work? Be specific about the three most important actions a visitor should take.
- List the pages you expect and any features, such as payments or bookings.
- Ask for a fixed price in writing, not an hourly estimate that can grow.
- Ask what is not included, and what each of those things would cost.
- Ask who owns the finished site and the domain. The answer should be you.
- Ask to see live sites the designer has built, not just screenshots.
How Situs prices a website
Situs is a Melbourne web design studio based in Wollert. We do not publish a price table, because we do not sell fixed packages. You tell us what the site needs to do, and you get one fixed price up front covering the build and whichever hosting or support you choose. There is no hourly billing, and you own the finished site and your domain.
Before you commit to anything, you can ask for a free demo of your homepage, or book a free audit call about the site you have now. That way you see the work first and the quote second.