What is the best type of site for your business?
Whether you want to build it yourself, or have us handle everything, Owl Web gives Australian small businesses a smarter, simpler path to getting online and staying there.
No overseas call centres. No confusing jargon. Just real support from a team that has been helping Australian businesses thrive online for over two decades.
Ready to get started? Tell us what you need, and we will point you in the right direction.
You're in good hands.
Built for Aussie small businesses, designed to win you more customers.
Running your small business is full on.
That's where we come in.
At Owl Web, we believe that launching your website is just the beginning of our relationship, not the end. Unlike many web design companies that deliver your site and then move on to the next project, we remain your dedicated digital partner for the long haul. Our full-service approach means we handle everything from initial concept and design through development, testing, and launch, but our commitment doesn’t stop there. We provide ongoing maintenance, security updates, content management, and technical support to ensure your website continues to perform at its best and evolve with your business needs.
Your Success is Our Ongoing Mission
We understand that your website is a living, breathing part of your business that requires continuous attention and optimization. That’s why our team stays actively engaged with every client, providing regular performance monitoring, analytics reporting, and strategic recommendations to help your site achieve better results over time. Whether you need quick content updates, technical troubleshooting, SEO improvements, or feature enhancements, we’re here to respond promptly and professionally. Our clients appreciate having a reliable web partner they can count on, rather than being left to figure things out on their own after their site goes live.
Proudly supporting businesses Australia Wide. We are located in Lismore NSW, part of the beautiful Northern Rivers region
What's the best fit for your new website?
With the options of Do It Yourself, Done WITH you, or Built FOR You.
Whether you're a tradie, café owner, consultant or creative, you'll have everything you need to look the part and grow your business, backed by local Aussie support whenever you need a hand.
Your website should do more than just exist; it should work for you. Our website builder makes it easy for Australian small businesses to create a stunning, professional online presence in hours, not weeks, with no tech skills required.
Showcase your work with beautiful galleries, share your story, and let glowing customer reviews do the talking. Every site is built to turn visitors into enquiries, with click-to-call buttons, smart contact forms, and Google-friendly design that helps local customers find you first.
Turn your products into profits with an online store that sells around the clock.
Selling online shouldn't be complicated. Our ecommerce platform makes it simple for Australian small businesses to launch a beautiful online store and start taking orders fast.
No coding, no stress. Showcase your products with stunning galleries, manage your inventory with ease, and give customers a smooth checkout experience with secure payments, Afterpay, and all the options Aussie shoppers expect. From automatic shipping calculations to abandoned cart recovery, every feature is designed to do one thing: turn browsers into buyers.
Whether you're selling handmade goods, fashion, food or anything in between, you'll have a store that looks amazing, works flawlessly on any device, and keeps selling while you sleep — all backed by friendly local support.
Some businesses need more from a website. They need a website as unique as they are. At Owl Web Design, our experienced team has spent over 20 years designing custom websites for Australian businesses of every shape and size, and we bring all of that know-how to your.
We take the time to understand your business, your customers and your goals, then design and build a website that's crafted around them — from the layout and look, right down to the words and the way it wins you customers. No DIY, no cookie-cutter themes, no guesswork. Just a dedicated team of designers who handle everything for you, and a finished website you'll be proud to send customers to.
With two decades of experience behind every project, you're in safe hands from first chat to launch day — and beyond.
Keep Your Website Running Smoothly — Without the Stress
Your website is one of your most important business assets. But keeping it up to date, secure, and looking its best takes time you may not always have. That's where our Website Support Plans come in.
We offer flexible, pre-paid annual support packages designed to give you peace of mind and a dedicated team ready to jump in whenever you need us. Whether it's a quick text change, swapping out an image, or making sure your WordPress installation is patched and protected — we've got you covered.
What's included in your support hours:
- Design tweaks and minor layout adjustments
- Content updates — text, images, PDFs and documents
- WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates
- General site monitoring and performance checks
- New page creation or existing page restructuring
Choose the plan that suits your needs:
Annual Plans Start From $495/year
Hours are available throughout the year.
Not sure how many hours you need? Let's chat. We'll take a look at your site, understand your typical update frequency, and recommend the right plan for you. No lock-in contracts, simple annual renewals, no surprise invoices, just reliable, professional support whenever your website needs attention.
More enquiries. Less hassle. Get a website that brings customers to your door.
PERSONALISED Website Options
We will work for you to create the site that you want for your business, organisation, or project.
Starter
Great Value for money
$995
+gst
For people starting their online presence or needing to refresh an existing site.
This type of site suits many small businesses that are looking to get a professional looking site with minimal fuss and without paying a fortune.
- Responsive Web Design
- Email Accounts
- Basic SEO
- Content Management
- Contact forms and details
- Annual Hosting and Ongoing Support starts at only $1.25 a day
Growth
Get more pages and more exposure
$1550
+gst
For business needing more pages, booking options, or complex forms.
You get a professionally designed site that attracts customers and gives your business or organisation real web presence with all the design work completed by our experienced team.
- All included in the Starter PLUS
- Complex Forms like Quotation Request options
- Booking Options
- On-website initial SEO
- Annual Hosting and Ongoing Support starts at only $1.50 per day
Online Store
The heavy lifting done for you.
Starting from
$4950
+gst
Successfully sell your items online!
Sell anything from physical products, services, appointments, digital downloads, membership subscriptions. Anything is possible. Accept multiple types of payments. Enjoy full admin control over your online store.
- Custom Design
- Initial Product Creation
- Full Sales Dashboard
- On-website initial SEO
- Client Management
- Annual Hosting and Ongoing Support starts at only $1.65 per day
DIY Business Website Options
Business Starter
Great Value
$29
1 website
Additional site $25/mo
Premium hosting on AWS
Advanced SEO tools
Australian Content Delivery
1 Workspace
Plus GST
Business Growth
$49
Owl AI Builder Included
Have up to 5 team members
3 websites included
Additional Websites only $20 per month
Advanced SEO tools
GDPR compliance
Built-in reports & analytics
Email Support
Plus GST
Enterprise
Contact Us
Let's have a chat to understand your business needs.
Do you need multiple sites? Franchisee sites? Property sites for multiple addresses?
We can tailor a solution that will make creating multiple sites with multiple team members a breeze.
Starter
$40
1 website
Over 275 optimised templates
Premium hosting on AWS
Australian Content Delivery
Access to Ecommerce Addon (free trial)
1 Workspace
Unlimited team members
Plus GST
Growth
$65
AI Builder Included
Have up to 5 team members
3 websites included
Over 275 optimised templates
Advanced SEO tools
Access to Ecommerce Addon (free trial)
GDPR compliance
Built-in reports & analytics
Email Support
Plus GST
Enterprise
Contact Us
Let's have a chat to understand your business needs.
Do you need multiple sites? Franchisee sites? Property sites for multiple addresses?
We can tailor a solution that will make creating multiple sites with multiple team members a breeze.
DIY Ecommerce Online Store Options
Shop Venture
Fully featured upgrade to the business site builder
$40
100 products + digital Products
Add on to your Owl Web Business Builder Site
Beautiful eCommerce templates
Selling on Instagram & Facebook
Discount coupons
Advanced SEO tools
GDPR compliance
Built-in reports & analytics
Email Support
NOTE: Builder Site $29 charged additionally
Plus GST
Shop Business
Best Value Option
Fully featured upgrade to the business site builder
$95
Everything in VENTURE plus:
Add on to your Owl Web Business Builder Site
2,500 products
Selling on marketplaces
Selling subscriptions
Abandoned carts recovery
Product Variations
Promotions & sales events (3)
Automated email marketing
Advanced reports & analytics
NOTE: Builder Site $29 charged additionally
Plus GST
Shop Ultimate
Fully featured upgrade to the business site builder
$175
Everything in BUSINESS PLUS:
AI Builder Included
Unlimited products
Sell in-person (POS integration)
Promotions & sales events (500)
Priority email support
NOTE: Builder Site $29 charged additionally
Plus GST
Shop Venture
Fully featured addon to the business site builder
$55
100 products + digital products
Add on to your Owl Web Business Builder Site Beautiful eCommerce templates
Selling on Instagram & Facebook
Discount coupons
Advanced SEO tools
GDPR compliance
Built-in reports & analytics
Email Support
NOTE: Builder Site $40 charged additionally
Plus GST
Shop Business
Fully featured addon to the business site builder
$105
Everything in Start plus:
2,500 products
Selling on marketplaces
Selling subscriptions
Abandoned carts recovery
Multi-lingual store
Promotions & sales events (3)
Automated email marketing
Advanced reports & analytics
NOTE: Builder Site $40 charged additionally
Plus GST
Shop Ultimate
Fully featured addon to the business site builder
$215
Everything in GROWTH PLUS:
Unlimited products
Sell in-person (POS integration)
Promotions & sales events (500)
Priority email support
NOTE: Builder Site $40 charged additionally
Plus GST
Just a small sample of websites and happy clients.
Full Circle IT Services
Allen Agri Solutions
Hinterland Metal Roofing
Kaths Kleaning
Keith Graham Law
Ngunya Jarjum
Wicca Warehouse
Limosa Centre Org
Owl Web Design — Small Business Website FAQs (Australia)
Most small business websites in Australia range from $1,500 to $3,000 for a simple brochure-style site, $3,000 to $8,000 for a custom-designed multi-page site, and $8,000+ for e-commerce or sites with custom functionality. Cost depends on the number of pages, whether content and copywriting are included, custom design versus templates, and ongoing features like booking systems or online stores.
For those on a budget or are more "hands on", DIY builders such as ours can cost as little as $20–$50/month but will require more of your own time.
A straightforward brochure website typically takes 2 to 4 weeks from kick-off to launch. More complex sites with e-commerce, custom design, or large amounts of content can take 6 to 12 weeks. Timelines mostly depend on how quickly you provide content, images, and feedback. Delays on the client side are the most common cause of project slowdowns, not the build itself.
Yes. Social media accounts are rented space, the platform controls visibility, can change algorithms overnight, and can suspend accounts without warning. A website is an asset you own that works as your searchable, permanent home base, supports SEO so people can find you on Google, and gives you full control over branding, layout and customer data. Most successful small businesses use social media to drive traffic to their website, not as a replacement for one.
Website builders (like Wix or GoDaddy) use pre-made templates you customise yourself, are faster and cheaper to set up, but can be very limiting in design flexibility and scalability. Owl Web's builder has one of the most flexible and creative builders on the market today.
Custom-built websites are designed and coded specifically for your business, offering more flexibility, better long-term SEO performance, and easier scaling, but at a higher upfront cost. WordPress is the perfect platform for these types of sites and it's a platform that powers almost half of the world's websites.
For most small businesses, the right choice depends on budget, growth plans, complexity and how much the site needs to integrate with other business systems.
Basic hosting for a small business site typically costs $100 to $300 per year. More robust hosting with better speed, security, and support (often bundled with maintenance plans) can run $400 to $1,500+ per year. Domain registration is separate and usually costs $30 to $50 per year through an Australian registrar.
Beware of unusually cheap hosting — slow or unreliable hosting directly hurts SEO and customer experience.
This depends entirely on your contract, so it should always be clarified before work begins. Reputable agencies hand over full ownership of the website files, domain, and hosting account once paid in full. Be cautious of designers who build sites on accounts you can't access — always insist on owning your domain name, having admin access to your hosting, and receiving a copy of your website files.
WordPress suits businesses wanting flexibility, strong SEO control, and a large ecosystem of plugins. Shopify is purpose-built for online stores and handles payments, shipping, and inventory well. Squarespace and Wix suit simple sites where the owner can make small edits themselves without technical knowledge. Owl AI provides a mix of easy-to-build drop & drag auto builder, with ecommerce also available. Custom-coded sites suit businesses with unique functionality needs or very specific performance and design requirements. The right platform depends on whether you're selling products, how much you'll update the site yourself, and your budget for ongoing development.
Common reasons include a website that's too new (Google takes time to index and trust new sites), missing or incomplete SEO fundamentals like page titles, meta descriptions, and header tags, a Google Business Profile that's unclaimed or incomplete, slow site speed, lack of quality backlinks, or thin/duplicate content. It's worth checking whether your site is even indexed at all by searching "site:yourdomain.com.au" on Google — if nothing appears, there may be a technical block preventing indexing entirely. A regularly updated site will generally rank higher than a site that's just left static and untouched. That's where SEO is important.
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the practice of improving a website, so it ranks higher in search results for relevant terms, without paying for ads. For small businesses, SEO is one of the highest-value long-term investments because it brings in free, ongoing traffic from people actively searching for what you offer. It's not essential for every business model (some rely entirely on referrals or paid ads), but for most local and service-based businesses in Australia, appearing in local search results is critical to being found.
SEO is a medium-to-long-term strategy. Most businesses start seeing meaningful movement in rankings within 3 to 6 months, with stronger results typically building over 6 to 12 months. Highly competitive industries or keywords can take longer. Anyone promising page one rankings in two weeks should be treated with caution as that timeline is not realistic for genuine, sustainable SEO.
SEO is free traffic earned over time through organic rankings; Google Ads is paid traffic that appears instantly but stops the moment you stop paying. Google Ads is useful for immediate visibility, testing which keywords convert, or short-term promotions. SEO is better for sustainable, long-term growth. Many small businesses run both in parallel: ads for immediate leads while SEO builds in the background, eventually reducing reliance on paid spend.
Not strictly, but a well-maintained blog significantly helps SEO by giving Google more relevant content to index, targeting a wider range of search terms (especially question-based searches), and establishing your business as knowledgeable in your field. For service businesses, even a small number of well-written, genuinely useful articles can outperform having none at all. Quality and relevance matter far more than posting frequency.
Very important. Google reviews are one of the strongest local SEO ranking factors, especially for near me searches and Google Maps results (the local pack). Both the quantity and recency of reviews matter, as does how you respond to them. Businesses that reply to reviews (positive and negative) within 48 hours tend to perform better and build more customer trust. Actively asking happy customers for reviews is one of the most effective, low-cost local SEO tactics available.
A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free listing that displays your business name, address, hours, phone number, reviews, and photos directly in Google Search and Maps. It's often the first thing potential customers see, even before clicking through to your website, and it's essential for appearing in local search results. Keeping it complete, accurate, and regularly updated (with posts, photos, and review responses) directly supports your website's local SEO performance.
This usually happens when a site wasn't built or tested with responsive design, that is, a layout that automatically adapts to different screen sizes. Common culprits include fixed-width elements, images that don't resize, text that's too small to read, or buttons too close together to tap accurately. Since the majority of Australian web traffic now comes from mobile devices, and Google ranks sites based on their mobile version first (mobile-first indexing), a poor mobile experience directly damages both customer experience and search rankings.
Hosting is the server space where your website's files live so it can be accessed online. A domain name is the web address (e.g., yourbusiness.com.au) that points to that hosting. Domains are typically registered for 1 to 2 years at a time and must be renewed before expiry, or you risk losing it entirely — sometimes to another buyer. Setting up auto-renewal and keeping registration details current (with a real email address you check) prevents accidental domain loss, which is a surprisingly common and costly mistake. Monthly hosting can present its own problems if your auto renew fails and then your website is possibly gone for good.
A domain name is your website's address on the internet (what people type into the browser). Hosting is the physical server space that stores your website's files and makes it accessible. They are often purchased from the same provider but are technically separate services, and can even be bought from different companies. Think of the domain as your shopfront address and the hosting as the building behind it, you need both for a website to function.
Yes, every website needs an SSL certificate. It encrypts data between your website and visitors (essential for any site with forms, logins, or payments), removes the Not Secure browser warning that scares visitors away, and is a confirmed Google ranking factor. Most hosting providers now include a free SSL certificate by default, but it's worth checking, a site without one will actively damage trust and conversions.
Most small businesses are well served by 5 to 8 core pages: Home, About, Services/Products, individual service pages if relevant, Contact, and possibly a Blog or FAQ page. The right number depends on the complexity of what you offer — a single-service tradesperson may need fewer, while a business offering multiple distinct services benefits from a dedicated page per service for both SEO and clarity. More pages aren't automatically better as each page should serve a clear purpose.
This depends on your industry and business model. Showing prices (or at least starting prices/ranges) builds trust, filters out unsuitable leads, and can improve conversion rates, since many customers abandon enquiries with businesses that hide pricing. However, businesses with highly variable, quote-based work (such as custom building or complex consulting) often prefer to display from pricing or indicative ranges rather than fixed numbers. Hiding pricing entirely is increasingly viewed with suspicion by Australian consumers.
If you sell standardised products that customers can purchase without a conversation, an online store with e-commerce functionality is usually worth the investment. If your business is service-based or relies on quotes, consultations, or bookings, a website with strong contact forms, click-to-call buttons, and a booking system is typically more effective and far less costly to build and maintain than full e-commerce.
Most Australian e-commerce sites offer credit/debit card payments (via Stripe or similar), Square, and increasingly Buy Now Pay Later options like Afterpay or Zip, which are popular with Australian shoppers and can increase average order value. Offering at least two to three payment options reduces cart abandonment, since customers will leave if their preferred method isn't available. Direct bank transfer is also common for B2B or higher-value purchases.
Businesses with an annual turnover over $3 million are legally required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act, but even smaller businesses are expected to handle customer data responsibly and should generally have a privacy policy regardless. Websites must also comply with the Australian Consumer Law around accurate advertising, clear pricing, and no misleading claims. This is general information, not legal advice — businesses with specific compliance concerns should consult a lawyer familiar with privacy and consumer law.
A privacy policy is strongly recommended for virtually every website, especially if you collect any personal information through contact forms, newsletter sign-ups, or e-commerce checkouts. A terms of use (or terms and conditions) page is particularly important for e-commerce sites, booking systems, or any business with specific service conditions, returns policies, or liability considerations. These pages also help build visitor trust and are often expected by both customers and payment providers.
Key accessibility practices include using sufficient colour contrast between text and backgrounds, adding descriptive "alt text" to images for screen readers, ensuring the site can be navigated by keyboard alone, using clear heading structures, and captioning any video content. Beyond being good practice and expanding your potential customer base, web accessibility is increasingly a legal consideration in Australia under the Disability Discrimination Act, and accessible sites also tend to perform better in search rankings.
Beyond hosting and domain renewal, ongoing maintenance typically includes software and security updates, regular backups, content updates, and monitoring for broken links or downtime. Many agencies offer maintenance plans ranging from $50 to $300+ per month depending on the level of support and how actively the site needs updating. Skipping maintenance is a common false economy as neglected websites become security risks and slowly lose search rankings.
At minimum, core information like opening hours, contact details, and service offerings should be reviewed every few months to ensure accuracy. For SEO benefit, businesses that publish new content (blog posts, updated service pages, fresh testimonials) every month or two tend to perform better than those that leave a site completely static for years. Search engines favour sites that show ongoing signs of activity and relevance.
Common causes of slow websites include unoptimised images, low-quality or overloaded hosting, excessive plugins or scripts, and poorly written code. Site speed matters enormously. Australian studies and global data consistently show that visitors abandon slow-loading pages within seconds, and Google explicitly uses page speed (via Core Web Vitals) as a ranking factor. A faster website generally means better user experience, lower bounce rates, and improved search visibility — all from the same fix.