What Does It Actually Cost to Get Your Small Business Online in 2026?
- Melanie Johnstone
- Apr 19
- 5 min read
Last week I asked a straightforward question: do you actually need a website? The honest answer was — probably yes, but not necessarily an expensive one.
So this week I want to follow through on what I promised: a clear breakdown of options, what each one costs, and what you're really getting for your money.
No vague "it depends." Real numbers based on my current service offerings.
First, a Quick Reality Check on DIY
Before we get to professional options, let's talk about the free (or near-free) path — because it's a legitimate one for some businesses, and I'd rather be upfront about it than pretend it doesn't exist.
Wix lets you build your own website. The platform itself is genuinely good. If you have time, some design instinct, and patience for trial and error, you can build something functional without paying a designer.
The actual costs of a DIY Wix website are:
Wix plan: from $21/month to cover site hosting once ready to live
Domain name: around $20–$30/year
Your time: typically a minimum of 20–40 hours for a first build of a simple one page site
That last one is the real cost. If you're a tradie charging $90/hr, 30 hours of your own time is $2,700 of lost income — plus you end up with a website instead of a professional one. If you have spare time and you enjoy learning new tools, DIY is worth considering. If you're already stretched, it's often a false economy.
I've written two posts that will help if you want to explore this path seriously — DIY or Hire a Web Designer? and How to Use Wix Studio Templates Without It Looking Generic. Both walk you through the process honestly.
But if your time is limited or your website needs to actively bring in work — read on.
Option 1 — Starter Site | From $550
Best for: Sole traders and service businesses that need something professional and live, fast.
This is a single-page scroll website. One page, clean layout, contact form, mobile responsive, connected to Google so it can be indexed. Built on a pre-defined structure so the turnaround is quick.
It is a simple professional website that covers the basics: who you are, what you do, and how to reach you. It won't rank highly in Google search on its own — that takes more content and more pages — but it gets you off Facebook-only and onto something you actually own.
What's included:
Single-page scroll layout
Contact form
Mobile responsive design
Domain connection and Google indexing
Optional: 30-minute Zoom handover so you know how to manage it yourself (+$165)
Honest take: If you're one of the 38% of local businesses I found with no web presence at all, this gets you sorted without a big outlay. It's not the complete solution, but it's a real one.
Option 2 — The Growth Website | From $2,200
Best for: Service businesses ready to be found by people who don't know them yet.
This is the option most local businesses in Wollondilly actually need. Four pages — Home, About, Services, Contact — custom designed to your brand, with professional copywriting included. This means I write the words for you, structured to explain what you do, who you serve, and why someone should choose you over the next result in Google.
It also includes your Google Business Profile (GBP) — because your website and your Google listing need to work together. A well-built site with a neglected GBP is a missed opportunity. Getting both right at the same time is how you start showing up when someone searches "electrician Picton" or "bookkeeper Tahmoor."
What's included:
4-page website (Home, About, Services, Contact)
Custom design aligned to your brand
Website copywriting
SEO foundations (structured pages, headings, meta tags, indexing)
Google Business Profile setup or full optimisation
1:1 training session
1 month post-launch support
Honest take: At $2,200 this is meaningfully less than most comparable agencies charge — many agencies price from $3,495 for a similar scope. The difference is you're working directly with me, not a team with overheads. That keeps the price down and the communication straightforward.
Option 3 — The Complete Build | Custom Pricing
Best for: Established businesses that want their website to actively generate leads, not just exist.
This is a scoped conversation, not a fixed price — because the right solution varies too much to quote upfront. A business needing 8 service area pages and a booking system is a different project to one needing a blog content strategy and a 6-page site. Both fall into this tier. Both get built around where the business is going, not just where it is now.
Can include:
6+ page websites
Booking systems or advanced enquiry flows
Service area pages for local SEO
Blog setup and content strategy
Ongoing SEO or content support
Website maintenance and growth retainers
A Quick Side-by-Side
DIY Wix | Starter Site | Growth Website | Complete Build | |
Design cost | Your time | From $550 | From $2,200 | Custom |
Pages | However many you build | 1 | 4 | 6+ |
Copywriting | You write it | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
SEO foundations | Easy to miss | Basic | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
GBP setup | More of your time | Not included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
Time required from you | 20-40+ hours | Low | Low | Low |
Best for | Time-rich, budget-tight | Get online fast | Most local businesses | Scaling businesses |
How to Know Which One Is Right for You
If you're not sure, here's a simple way to think about it:
Go DIY if you have time, enjoy learning tools, and your website is mainly there to confirm you exist rather than win new clients.
Go Starter Site if you need something live quickly, your budget is tight, and a clean single-page presence is genuinely enough for where your business is right now.
Go Growth Website if you want to show up in Google, you want customers who don't know you yet to find and trust you, and you want it done properly without spending your own time on it.
Go Complete Build if your website needs to do serious work — generating leads, supporting multiple services or locations, or functioning as the primary driver of your business growth.
If you're still not sure, book a free 15-minute call. I'll tell you honestly which option fits — including if DIY is the right move for your situation.
TL;DR
There’s no one-size-fits-all price — but there is a right fit for where your business is at. Start simple if you need to, invest properly when you're ready to grow.
What's Next
Over the next few weeks I'll be covering what actually changes when a local business gets properly set up online, and what the businesses doing it right have in common. If you've been following along since the Wollondilly audit, this is where it starts getting practical.
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