Guide

Wix vs hiring a web designer: an honest guide for Australian small business

Should you build your own site on Wix, or pay someone to do it? Here is the honest version, including the parts that count against me, so you can pick what is actually right for your business.

How much does a Wix website really cost in Australia?

A builder like Wix advertises a low monthly price, and on the face of it that is hard to argue with. The catch is that the headline is not the real number. There is almost always more to add before you have the site a working business actually needs.

The hidden costs that are not in the headline

Here is what the advertised price usually leaves out, and it is the same shape on Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy:

• GST. The headline figure on the big builders is often shown before GST, so the real monthly cost in Australia is a bit higher than the number you first see.
• Business email. A proper mailbox on your own name, like hello@yourbusiness.com, is generally a separate paid add-on, not part of the plan.
• Your domain name. The free domain you get is usually for the first year only. After that it renews every year as an extra cost.
• A plan that can take payments. The cheapest plan usually will not take online payments, so a business that sells anything ends up a tier or two up.
• Add-on apps. Handy features like bookings or reviews are often paid apps stacked on top, and some cost more than the plan itself.

None of that includes anyone actually building the site or looking after it. That part is still you. So the honest version of the builder price is the headline, plus GST, plus email, plus the domain from year two, plus the higher plan, plus any apps, plus your own time. It adds up faster than it looks.

This reflects how the major builders price things as of June 2026. Plans change, so check the current pricing on their own sites before you decide.

What hiring someone really costs

So what does it cost to just pay someone instead? Broadly there are three routes:

• A freelancer. Roughly a thousand to a few thousand for a one-off build, and then you are usually on your own for hosting, the domain, email and updates.
• An agency. Several thousand and up, often more polish and process than a small local business actually needs.
• A productised service like mine. One fair fee to build it, then a low flat monthly that covers hosting, your domain, business email, your Google and Bing listing, and the ongoing upkeep.

I should be straight with you here: building sites for local business is what I do, so treat this as me showing my working, not a neutral umpire. For what it is worth, my build is $999, or $199 as a founding offer until 31 August 2026, then $20 a month for the everyday plan that handles the lot, or $99 a month if you also want me making your content changes for you. There is no lock-in. So yes, there is a build fee up front, and the hands-off content plan is the dearer one. I would rather you knew that than found out later.

Website builder vs web designer: the cost nobody prices in

The monthly headline is only part of the picture, and on a builder the bigger cost is the one that never shows up on an invoice: your time. Learning the editor. Wrestling the template into shape. Redoing it when it looks wrong on a phone. Keeping it updated. An evening here and a weekend there adds up quickly, and your time is worth a lot more spent on the tools or with customers than spent being your own unpaid web designer.

When you add the real monthly cost of a builder to the hours you pour into running it yourself, paying someone to handle the whole thing often comes out ahead, and you get those evenings back. That, more than any single line on a pricing page, is the honest difference.

What you give up with each

Every choice is a trade. With a builder, you spend less money up front and you keep full hands-on control, but you spend your own time, you live inside a template that thousands of other businesses also use, and, the big one, you usually cannot take the site with you. Wix says it plainly in their own help docs: a Wix site has to be hosted and run on Wix, and you cannot export it and move it elsewhere. Squarespace lets you export only a stripped-back version that drops your design, your styling and most of your pages. Either way, years of work end up living on rented land.

With someone building it for you, you spend more money and far less time, and the thing to watch is ownership. Make sure you actually own what you pay for. A site I build is a normal website, yours to keep and host anywhere you like, so you are never boxed in.

Is Wix worth it for small business? When a builder is the right call

Let me be fair, because builders are genuinely good at some things and Wix in particular has come a long way. A builder is the sensible choice when:

• You are testing an idea and just need something online this week.
• Your budget is genuinely near zero right now.
• You enjoy tinkering and do not mind it being a bit of a hobby project.
• You need a simple one-pager and nothing more.

If that sounds like you, use one, and do not let anyone, me included, talk you out of it.

Should I pay someone to build my website? When hiring is the right call

On the other hand, it is usually worth paying someone when:

• You need the phone ringing, with enquiries coming in from Google, and the site has a real job to do.
• You do not have spare evenings to learn web design and would rather be running the business.
• You want it to look like you, not like the same template as the cafe two suburbs over.
• You are growing and want it done properly once, by someone who keeps it working afterwards.

If the website is meant to bring in work, it is generally worth paying someone who does this every day, and who is still there to look after it next year.

Questions to ask anyone who builds your site

Whoever you go with, including me, ask these before you hand over a cent:

• Do I own the site, and can I move it elsewhere if we ever part ways?
• What exactly is included each month, and what costs extra?
• What happens to my domain name and email if I leave?
• Will it look right and work properly on a phone?
• Who keeps it updated and secure once it is live?

Straight up: I sell the pay-someone option, so I have a horse in this race. That is exactly why those questions matter, whoever you end up choosing. Good answers to them are what separate a site that serves you from one that quietly holds you hostage.

The bottom line

There is no single right answer here, there is the right answer for you. If the site is a hobby or a quick test, a builder is fine, and Wix will do the job. If the website has a real job to do and you would rather be doing yours, paying someone to build it and look after it is usually the better deal once you count the extras and your own time. Either way, make sure whatever you end up with is genuinely yours to keep.

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