If you’ve started ringing around for quotes on a new website you’ll already know the problem. One person says $500. The next says $5,000. A third one says “it depends” and won’t tell you anything more without a phone call. So what does a small business website actually cost in 2026, and what should you expect for your money?
This guide breaks down the real prices for Hervey Bay and Fraser Coast businesses, what drives the cost up or down and which “extras” you can quietly skip without hurting the result.
The short answer
A small business website built professionally in Hervey Bay sits somewhere in this range, all GST inclusive:
- $880 for a clean single page site
- $2,200 for a multi-page site (the most common build for tradies, retail and service businesses)
- $3,300 for an advanced site with an online shop, member area or other custom function
- $5,000+ if you need a complex booking system, multiple integrations or ongoing custom development
Add $280 to $400 a year for hosting and $22 a year for the domain. Maintenance is optional and runs $19 to $189 a month depending on how hands off you want to be.
That’s the headline. Now let’s dig into why those numbers vary so much and what actually changes the price.
What drives the cost up or down
Five things move the needle.
1. Number of pages and depth of content
A one page site for a sole trader takes a handful of hours of design plus the same again of build, photo work and content polish. A site with services, a portfolio, location pages, an about page and a contact page is roughly 5 to 8 pages and triples the build time.
If you only need to tell visitors who you are, what you do and how to get in touch, a single page is fine and saves real money.
2. Custom design vs cookie cutter
A template site loaded into WordPress in an afternoon is cheap. A custom designed site that matches your branding, has your colours used properly across the layout and feels like your business is where most of the time goes. Anyone quoting under $500 for a custom website is either using a template, planning to walk away post launch or about to disappoint you.
3. Functionality
Bolting an online shop, customer login system, booking calendar or membership area onto a website adds development time. The Advanced Website tier at $3,300 covers most of these. Truly custom integrations push the price into the $5,000+ range.
4. Hosting choice
Hosting can be $5 a month from a budget overseas provider or $70 a month from a managed Australian provider with daily backups, security monitoring and automatic plugin updates. The cheap option costs less now and more in the long run when something breaks. For Hervey Bay small businesses, $280 a year on a reliable Australian managed host is the sweet spot.
5. Content creation
Copywriting and photography are usually billed separately. If you can write your own service descriptions, that saves you $400 to $1,500 depending on length. If you have decent phone photos of your work, that saves $300 to $1,200 on a photographer.
The three tiers explained
Single Page Website ($880)
Best for tradies, sole operators and brand new businesses that need a clean professional online presence without paying for pages they won’t fill.
You get one scrollable page covering your services, gallery, contact details and a contact form. Plus mobile responsive layout, Google Analytics 4, basic on-page SEO and Google review embeds. First year of WordPress maintenance is included.
When this fits: you’re starting out, you don’t have a long list of services and your customers mostly come from referrals or Google Maps and just need a place to confirm you’re real.
Complete Website ($2,200)
Best for established small businesses with multiple service lines, a portfolio worth showing and content that needs its own pages.
You get a multi-page site with a proper navigation menu, custom design, conversion tracking in GA4, contact form, embedded Google Map, on-page SEO across the site and the same first year of maintenance included.
When this fits: you have services that each deserve their own page, a portfolio, an about page that tells your story properly and you want to actually rank in Google for terms like “[your service] hervey bay”.
Advanced Website ($3,300)
Best for businesses adding an online shop, customer logins, member areas or other custom functionality.
This is everything in Complete plus the extra build needed for ecommerce or membership. WooCommerce shops, paid member areas, course platforms, downloadable resources and online course delivery all fit here.
Hidden costs nobody tells you about
These don’t always show up in the headline price. Worth knowing.
Premium themes and templates. A “free” template often comes with a $50 to $200 a year licence to keep getting updates. Skip themes that nag you about premium upgrades.
Plugin renewals. Many WordPress plugins are subscription only. Yoast Premium, WPForms Pro, the right backup plugin, a security plugin and a caching plugin can stack to $300 a year if you choose poorly.
Stock photos. Quality stock images can cost $20 to $80 each. A site with 15 stock images suddenly costs an extra $300 to $1,200 on top of design fees. Most small businesses are better off with a half day of photography of their actual work.
Email hosting. Your website hosting usually doesn’t include business email. Google Workspace at around $10 a user a month or Microsoft 365 at similar rates is a separate line item.
Form spam. Without a basic spam filter your contact form will start getting hammered after a few months. Look for a build that includes a free option like Cloudflare Turnstile.
SSL certificate. Should be free with any modern host. If a quote tries to charge you $100+ a year for “SSL security”, that’s a red flag.
DIY platforms vs hiring locally
You have options. Here’s an honest look.
Wix or Squarespace ($25 to $50 a month)
Cheap to start. Easy first time setup. The look is fine for a basic site. The trade off is that you don’t really own anything (you can’t move the site to another platform without rebuilding) and SEO is harder than on WordPress because the templates are heavy and the URL structure is rigid. For a sole trader who isn’t fussed about ranking, Wix works. For anyone serious about generating leads from Google, it’s a tax you pay forever.
National agency ($5,000 to $15,000+)
You’ll get a slick website and a project manager who answers your emails on Brisbane or Sydney time. The work is usually solid. The cost reflects overhead you’d rather not subsidise: account managers, sales people, fancy offices. Good fit for businesses with $50,000+ marketing budgets. Overkill for most local Hervey Bay tradies.
Local freelance / small studio ($800 to $5,000)
You deal with the person doing the actual work. Quotes are honest because there’s no commission layer. Communication is faster because there’s no middle manager. Aftercare is usually better because they live in the same town and your reviews matter to them.
Why local matters
A web designer who knows that Pialba and Urangan and Scarness are all suburbs of Hervey Bay will write your location-targeted content properly. One who’s never been here might miss it. The same goes for understanding which Fraser Coast suburbs your customers actually live in, which industries trade on which days and which local businesses you’re competing with for Google rankings.
If you’d rather not have to explain that “Tin Can Bay” isn’t a typo, hire local. The price is similar or lower than national agencies and the result tends to fit your market better.
For a deeper look at how location targeted pages help local rankings, see the Bundaberg and Fraser Coast hubs as examples of how each town can have its own dedicated set of service pages.
What to ask before signing a quote
Five questions that will save you money and headaches:
- Is hosting and domain included for the first year? Some quotes hide these. Ask outright.
- Who owns the website at the end? You should have full admin access. Run away from anyone who keeps the keys.
- What’s the maintenance situation after launch? Confirm whether you can update yourself, whether they offer a maintenance plan and what it costs.
- What plugins are being used and which are paid? A build that quietly relies on $400 a year of premium plugins surprises you in year two.
- Can I see at least three live websites you have built? Look for variety. If everything looks like the same template you’ll end up looking like everyone else.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a website take to build?
Do I have to use WordPress?
Can I update the website myself?
What if my budget is tighter than $880?
Is SEO included with the website?
What about ongoing costs?
Ready to get a quote?
If you’d like a clear price for your specific situation rather than a range, you have two next steps.
Want the full price list across web design, SEO, Google Ads and maintenance? See the pricing page for every tier in one place.
Want a quote tailored to your project? Send a quick message describing what you do and what you need. You’ll get a real number back within one business day, no pushy sales.
If you’d rather see what gets built in practice, the recent portfolio shows live websites for Hervey Bay tradies, retailers and service businesses.