Key takeaways
- A small business website in Perth usually costs from a few hundred dollars a year (DIY) to $5,000–$20,000+ (custom studio build), depending on who builds it and what's included.
- The build is only part of the cost. Hosting, updates, photos and changes keep costing money every year, and most sites need a rebuild every three to five years.
- The biggest price drivers are custom design, copywriting, photography, features and what happens after launch.
- Compare quotes on what's included over three years, not the headline price.
If you’ve asked three Perth web designers for a quote, you’ve probably had three very different numbers back. That’s rarely because someone is ripping you off. It’s because “a website” can mean a template you fill in yourself or a custom site with strategy, copywriting, photography and someone looking after it for years.
This guide breaks down what Perth businesses typically pay, what moves the price up or down, the costs that come after launch, and the questions to ask so you can compare quotes properly.
How much does a website cost in Perth? The short answer
For a small or medium business in Perth, here’s roughly where the market sits in 2027. These are the ranges we see in quotes clients bring to us, not a price list.
| Option | Typical cost | What you usually get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Squarespace, Wix, Shopify) | A few hundred dollars a year in subscriptions | A template, your own words and photos, your own time | Side projects, very early businesses |
| Freelancer | About $1,500 to $6,000 | A template-based site of 5 to 10 pages, light changes | Simple sites with content ready to go |
| Studio or agency (one-off) | About $5,000 to $20,000+ | Custom design, copywriting, often photography | Businesses whose website wins them work |
| Monthly website plan | A monthly fee, often with no upfront invoice | The build plus ongoing changes, hosting and support | Businesses that want the site kept current |
Our own Website Subscription is $1,995 + GST a month on a 12-month first term. It covers a custom site of up to 10 pages, a launch photo shoot at your business, hosting, and up to 8 hours of website work every month after launch.
The rest of this guide explains why the ranges are so wide.
What changes the price of a website?
Five things account for most of the difference between a $2,000 quote and a $15,000 one.
1. Custom design or a template
A template is a design made for thousands of businesses. You choose one and fill in the blanks. A custom design is made around your business: how your customers decide, what they need to see first, and how you want to come across.
Templates are cheaper and faster. Custom design is how you stop looking like every other business in your industry. If customers compare you with two or three competitors before they call (most do), looking different and more credible is worth paying for.
2. Who writes the words
Copywriting is the line most quotes leave out. If a quote says “client to supply content”, you’re writing every page yourself. That’s often weeks of work, and it’s the part that decides whether a visitor understands what you do and calls you.
Good website copy answers the questions a customer has before they buy: what you do, who it’s for, what it costs or how pricing works, why you, and what to do next.
3. Photos and video
Stock photos are cheap and customers can tell. A professional shoot adds cost, but real photos of your team, your space and your work build trust in a way no design choice can.
If you already have recent professional photos, you’ll save money. If your photos are years old or taken on a phone under fluorescent light, budget for a shoot.
4. Features and integrations
A brochure site with a contact form sits at the cheaper end. Each of these adds time:
- Online booking or appointment systems
- Payments and online stores
- Member logins or client portals
- Connections to your CRM, booking or accounting software
- Multiple languages
- Large product or property catalogues
If you need an online store or a custom portal, expect a separate quote. Most service businesses only need a fast site, a clear enquiry form and a booking link.
5. What happens after launch
This is the cost most people forget, and over a few years it’s often the biggest one. Someone has to host the site, keep it secure, update your hours and prices, add new services, fix things that break and keep improving it for Google. Ask every designer what’s included after launch, and what extra work costs per hour.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
Whoever builds your site, these costs keep coming:
- Domain name: usually tens of dollars a year for a .com.au.
- Hosting: from about $10 to $50+ a month for a typical small business site, more for busy or complex sites.
- Updates and security: software, plugins and forms need looking after, especially on WordPress.
- Changes: new pages, new photos, updated prices and team members. Often billed by the hour.
- Improvements for Google: titles, descriptions, speed, new content and local pages.
- The rebuild: most one-off sites look dated within three to five years and get rebuilt.
A cheap build with expensive hourly changes can cost more over three years than a dearer build that includes them.
The cost nobody quotes you: a site that goes stale
Most websites peak on launch day. Then the business changes, the photos date, a form quietly breaks, and nobody has time to fix it. Two or three years later the site is embarrassing enough that you stop sending people to it, and you pay for a whole new one.
That’s why we moved to a subscription. We build your site, then the same team keeps improving it every month: new pages, blog posts, search improvements and fixes that turn more visitors into enquiries. You can read the full comparison in website subscription vs one-off build, and why we think a website should never be “finished”.
How to compare Perth website quotes
Put every quote side by side and check each one against this list:
- Design: custom, or a template with your logo on it?
- Pages: how many, and which ones?
- Words: who writes them, and is that included?
- Photos: professional, stock, or yours?
- Phone: is it designed and tested on phones, where most of your visitors are?
- Search basics: page titles, descriptions, speed, Google Business Profile links and a sitemap?
- After launch: what’s included each month, and what does extra work cost?
- Hosting: who hosts it, how fast is it, and who fixes it when it breaks?
- Ownership: do you own the site, the files and the domain if you leave?
- Timeline: how long until it’s live, and what do they need from you?
- GST: is the price shown plus or including GST?
The cheapest quote often looks cheapest because it leaves things out. The fairest comparison is the total cost of having a website that works for your business over three years.
A worked example: three years of costs
Here’s how the same small business might compare options. The numbers are illustrative, to show the shape of the decision, not quotes.
- Freelancer build at $4,000, then about 3 hours a month of changes at $100 an hour, plus hosting. Over three years that’s roughly $4,000 + $10,800 + hosting, and the site may still need a refresh at the end.
- Studio build at $12,000 with no ongoing work. Cheaper over three years, but the site is likely to be out of date well before then.
- Monthly plan where the build and ongoing work are in one fee. More predictable, and the site improves every month instead of ageing.
Whichever you choose, decide up front who will keep the site current. That decision matters more than the build price.
What we’d recommend
If your website is how customers decide whether to call you, treat it like a member of staff, not a brochure. Budget for the build and for someone to keep it working. Get at least three quotes, compare them on the checklist above, and ask each provider to show you sites they built two or three years ago and still look after.
Want a straight answer for your business? See our Website Subscription, or if you want your socials handled too, see how Get Online™ works.
FAQs
How much does a website cost in Perth?
Roughly a few hundred dollars a year for a DIY builder, $1,500 to $6,000 for a freelancer's template site, and $5,000 to $20,000 or more for a custom studio build with copywriting and photography. Monthly website plans cover the build and ongoing work for a set monthly fee instead.
Is a $500 website worth it?
For a hobby or a placeholder, maybe. For a business that relies on enquiries, a template you fill in yourself often costs more in lost work and your own time than it saves.
What are the ongoing costs of a website?
A domain name, hosting, security and software updates, small changes, new pages and the occasional fix. Ask every designer what's included after launch and what extra work costs per hour.
Do I own my website if I pay monthly?
You should. Ask before you sign. At IROcreative you own your website and everything we make for you once it's paid for.
How long does a website take to build?
Most small business sites take four to eight weeks from the first meeting. Ours go live within four weeks of the photo shoot at your business.
Are website quotes in Australia GST inclusive?
Not always. Business-to-business quotes are often shown plus GST, so check before comparing. All IROcreative prices are shown plus GST.
