In 60 seconds
- Do-it-yourself website builders cost roughly US$10 to US$40 a month, plus your time.
- Some builders won't let you take your site with you if you leave. Wix and Framer sites can't be exported; Squarespace and Webflow only partly.
- Watch cheap hosting deals: some headline prices need a four-year upfront term and roughly triple when they renew.
- Own your domain name, in your name, with your own login. In Australia a .com.au costs about A$23 a year.
Three ways to get a website
- Build it yourself on a website builder (Wix, Squarespace and the like). Cheapest in cash, most expensive in your time: most people spend forty-odd hours, spread over months.
- WordPress, the software behind a large share of the world's websites. Flexible and yours to keep, but someone has to keep it updated.
- Have someone build it for you. Anything from a template shop to a strategist who works out what your site should say before building it. Ask the questions at the bottom of this guide whoever you choose.
The builders, side by side
| Platform | Cheapest plan with your own domain, then the main business plan (US$/month, billed yearly) | Can you take it with you? | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Light $17, Business $39. Only Core ($29) and above take payments. | No. Only the domain can move. | All-in-one DIY |
| Squarespace | Basic $19, Core $29 | Partly: text and images export to WordPress; styling and shop don't | Design-led service businesses |
| WordPress.com | Personal $4, Business $25 | Yes. Full backup on Business. | WordPress without running your own hosting |
| Self-hosted WordPress | From about $3 on a four-year term; about $11 to $26 when it renews (Hostinger) | Yes, you own every file | Control, if someone maintains it |
| Shopify | Basic $29, Grow $79, plus card fees | Partly: products export as a spreadsheet | Selling products |
| Webflow | Basic $15, Premium $25 | Code export on paid workspace plans only; blog, forms and shop stop working once exported | Sites built by a designer |
| Framer | Basic $10, Pro $30 | No | Modern, animated brochure sites |
| Durable (AI builder) | Launch $22, Grow $41 | The domain, yes; the site itself isn't stated | A basic site in minutes |
Prices from each company's own pricing page, in US dollars. Most show a different price in Australia and the UK, and monthly billing costs more.
AI website builders
Wix, Hostinger and Durable will now draft a whole site from a few answers in minutes. It's a useful start. The catch is the same as with any AI draft: the words are generic until someone rewrites them to sound like you and to say what your customers need to hear. A site that reads like everyone else's won't win you the work.
Your domain name: the part you must own
- Register it in your own name, with your own login, and switch on auto-renew. If a web designer holds it for you, ask them to transfer it.
- Cost: a .com.au is about A$23 a year and a .com about A$25 at Australian registrars such as VentraIP; a .com is about US$11 at cheaper US registrars. The wholesale price of .com goes up on 1 November 2026.
- .com.au rules: you need an "Australian presence" (an ABN, ACN or Australian trade mark), and the name must match your business name or trade mark, or describe what you sell or do. auDA has approved in principle removing the "what you sell or do" option, with no start date yet, so choose a name that matches your business name if you can.
The costs people don't see coming
- Renewal prices. The advertised price is often a first-term deal.
- Add-ons. When I compared Australian small-business web providers in September 2026, a logo was typically a A$715 add-on, website copy started at A$385, and hosting was A$95 a month once the free period ended.
- Payment fees if you sell online.
- Your time, which is the biggest one.
Six questions to ask anyone who builds your site
- Is the domain registered in my name, with my login?
- Do I get all the logins when it's finished?
- Is there a monthly fee, and exactly what does it pay for?
- If I leave, can I take the site with me?
- What happens if you're not around next year?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
What I buildPlain, fast pages hosted on Cloudflare, with the domain and logins in the client's name. No monthly hosting fee to me, and nothing to stop them moving it.
Rather hand it over?
That's what I'm for. Book a free 30-minute call and you'll leave with a plan for your website and marketing, whether or not you hire me.
Book your free call More guidesSources (14) · facts and prices checked 27 September 2026
- Wix plans
- Wix: exporting a site
- Squarespace pricing
- WordPress.com pricing
- Hostinger WordPress hosting
- Shopify pricing
- Webflow pricing
- Framer pricing
- Framer: HTML export
- Durable pricing
- VentraIP domain pricing
- auDA licensing rules
- auDA licensing rules review, Sep 2026
- Domain Name Wire: .com price rise
Prices change often and vary by country. Always check the company's own page before you buy.