The Best Web Design Companies in Australia

Web design on a computer

In the smartphone-loving, internet-focused era we currently find ourselves in, every business needs a website. Of course, if you don’t have the technical know-how to put a website together yourself, the idea of doing so can seem incomprehensible.

Fortunately, that’s what professional web design companies are for. Working alongside you, they’re here to build the website of your dreams under your direction. But how do you find and choose which one to work with? Well, that’s what we’re here for.

Reviewing the top web design agencies operating across some of Australia’s major business hotspots – Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne – we bring you the best web design Australia has to offer!


The best web design companies in Australia

The best web design in Australia
MyWorkBrisbaneBest for: Providing comprehensive web services
Excite MediaBrisbaneBest for: Working towards your KPIs
Digital8BrisbaneBest for: Affordable packages
AlykaPerthBest for: Being totally honest with you
BirdbrainPerthBest for: Bringing two’ decades experience to the table
HavealookSydneyBest for: Transparency and simplicity
jimmywebSydneyBest for: Integrating sleek UX (user experience)
Small Business Web DesignsSydneyBest for: Supporting inexperienced business owners
WebAliveMelbourneBest for: Collaborating with you on equal terms
Digital RescueMelbourneBest for: Supercharging existing websites
Compare prices from leading web design agencies

The Best Web Design Companies in Brisbane


MyWork

Best for: Providing comprehensive web services

MyWork doesn’t just help SMEs set up their own mobile-optimised websites and online shops. It also offers handy additional services, like logo design and copywriting, to help you create a cohesive brand identity and social media presence. And since 2009, the company has helped over 6,000 businesses to do just this – an impressive number for one of the younger businesses on our list. Focused on making a complex process as easy for you as possible, MyWork uses WordPress – an open source Content Management System (CMS) – to build your site, meaning you can take over control when the company’s work is done.

Pros

  • Five-star Google rating from 80 reviews
  • Builds with WordPress so you retain control
  • Shopify experts for ecommerce
  • Small business specialists

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request

Excite Media

Best for: Working towards your KPIs

Beyond just building a website and putting it out there, Excite Media’s aim is to help your business achieve a specific goal. Whether that’s generating leads, making sales, growing your subscriber list, or something else, Excite does so by creating a site that’s optimised for UX, with your business’ KPIs in mind. As well as your website, Excite Media can help fine tune the other aspects of your online presence – including branding, online advertising and email marketing – to offer a comprehensive service. You’ll be in experienced hands with this company – Excite has been going since 2003, making it positively seasoned in all things web design.

Pros

  • You get a dedicated project manager
  • Efficient customer support
  • Builds with WordPress so you retain control

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request
  • Few external reviews for reading real customers’ experiences

Digital8

Best for: Offering affordable packages

Building responsive websites, ecommerce sites and apps, Brisbane’s Digital8 bases its designs on real-world data in order to get the best results. Unlike many other web designers, Digital8 won’t limit you to a pre-decided framework – it uses WordPress, Kentico, Drupal, Shopify, Magento, and tonnes more, so each business gets to work with the right platform for them. Notably, Digital8 offers a comprehensive web design package called ClubD8, which includes the building of your website plus hosting, SEO management, and strategic support. You’ll also get exclusive discounts with external branding, content and PR firms to help you elevate your business further.

Pros

  • Can build with WordPress, Drupal, Kentico, Shopify, and more
  • Offers comprehensive packages with additional services included
  • Affordable – packages start at $490 a month

Cons

  • No external reviews for reading real customers’ experiences

The Best Web Design Companies in Perth


Alyka

Best for: Being completely honest with you

Alyka prides itself on authenticity, reliability, and integrity – or what this Perth-based agency refers to as “the Genuine Factor”. In other words, Alyka says its staff are honest about what they can achieve, keep their promises to you, and don’t feed you frustrating excuses if they make a mistake. With this philosophy in mind, Alyka builds stylish websites designed to engage your customers, and also offers a comprehensive range of web marketing services. Though younger than many of the companies on this list, Alyka has scooped plenty of awards in recent years, including being listed in 2017’s AFR Fast 100 and reaching Kentico Gold Partner status.

Pros

  • Award-winning
  • Focus on quality customer service
  • Offers a free evaluation of your current website
  • Focus on small business owners

Cons

  • Fewer years of experience
  • Unclear pricing – only available on request

Birdbrain

Best for: Bringing two decades’ experience to the table

While the phrase bird brain might conjure images of ditziness, this agency is anything but feather-brained. Born in 1995 on the cusp of the digital age – before Google had even processed its first search – Birdbrain boasts over two decades’ experience in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing. Integrating SEO, AdWords and social media services, Birdbrain creates modern, intuitive websites that “perform on every level”. And with a 24/7 client portal, you’ll be able to see how your project is progressing in real-time, whenever you like – instead of having to wait for the team to report back to you.

Pros

  • Builds with WordPress so you retain control
  • No contracts
  • Five-star Google review rating
  • 24/7 project reporting

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request

Compare prices from leading web design agencies

The Best Web Design Companies in Sydney


Havealook

Best for: Transparency and simplicity

Offering a series of crystal clear price plans, Havealook is a rapidly-growing, Sydney-based web design company that’s known for its affordability and transparency. This is an approach that has proved popular – since starting in 2005, the company now serves a whopping 7,000-plus small to medium businesses across the entire country, helping them build and maintain websites and online shops that are optimised for desktop and mobile screens. With a focus on free, efficient customer service and an approach to web building that keeps things uncomplicated for you, Havealook could be the perfect choice for young start-ups on tight budgets.

Pros

  • No hidden fees
  • Free phone and email customer support
  • 4.7-star Google review rating
  • Affordable – prices start at $795 (including GST and hosting costs)

Cons

  • Its site designs are simpler
  • In-house hosting and CMS means you’re locked in
  • Contracts auto-renew

jimmyweb

Best for: Integrating sleek UX

Having started in 2003, boutique agency jimmyweb has clocked up over 15 years’ web design experience – making it one of the most seasoned companies on this list. jimmyweb says its focus is on creating websites that achieve your marketing goals, and attract long-term customers to your business. To do so, it places great importance on designing and building a beautiful, engaging site that’s customised to your unique requirements. The company highlights its experience in building websites for travel, fashion and retail businesses, but the team can turn their hands to a range of focuses outside of these sectors.

Pros

  • Builds majority of websites on WordPress, WooCommerce and Shopify
  • You get your own web developer to work with directly
  • Managed hosting service and site speed optimisation
  • Five-star Google review rating

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request

Small Business Web Designs

Best for: Supporting inexperienced business owners

If ever there was a company that does what it says on the tin, Small Business Web Designs is it. With over 5,000 SME clients across Australia, this agency aims to make great websites accessible, affordable and “hassle-free” to small businesses who may not have much online experience. Using a unique guided email process, SBWD’s small, friendly team will hold your hand throughout. The company always uses its own templates and images rather than any bespoke graphics, meaning it can build sites at breathtaking speed for low prices – although this also means your site may not be 100% tailored to your vision.

Pros

  • Four-star Trustpilot review
  • Clear pricing with no hidden costs
  • 15-day turnaround for initial drafts
  • Very affordable – packages start at $599
  • No contracts

Cons

  • In-house CMS means you’re locked in
  • Limited capabilities for ecommerce websites – up to 10 products allowed
  • Has less of a focus on SEO than other designers

The Best Web Designers in Melbourne


WebAlive

Best for: Collaborating with you on equal terms

WebAlive has been building websites for businesses in Melbourne since 2003, and has also expanded throughout Australia, the UK, Canada, the Middle East and China. As well as its primary calling – the creation of websites – the company also specialises in app development and marketing consultancy. While building websites for clients – it’s worth noting that this company can take on projects of all sizes – WebAlive promises to forge a collaborative relationship, in which both the WebAlive team and the business it’s working with can share feedback, thoughts and ideas honestly, and on equal terms.

Pros

  • Experienced customer service
  • Focus on digital marketing
  • Partnered with Google and Microsoft

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request
  • Customers report hidden costs

Digital Rescue

Best for: Supercharging existing websites

As its name might imply, Digital Rescue aims to help small to medium sized businesses with poor websites to drastically improve them. First, it’ll carry out an in-depth ‘rescue audit’ of your site (and your business) in order to understand your goals, and create a web strategy that’ll turn your lacklustre online presence into a lead-generating machine. In fact, Digital Rescue says its clients experience up to a 600% increase in online conversions thanks to its services. Of course, Digital Rescue helps businesses without websites to build one from scratch, too – and implement winning online strategies for success.

Pros

  • Builds with WordPress so you retain control
  • Can conduct a detailed audit of your current website
  • Consultative approach, tells you what your priorities should be

Cons

  • Unclear pricing – only available on request

Compare prices from leading web design agencies

FAQs

What are the different types of websites?

With over a billion websites currently in existence, there are also countless different types of websites out there.

In order to better understand the different types available, websites can be categorised and defined in one of three ways: either by their functionality (what they do), their design (what they look like and how they work), or their content (what they contain).

For example, if you choose to define websites by their functionality, you might say the different types include portals, brochures, ecommerce, and more. If you’re defining by design, different types include static, dynamic, responsive, etc.

Check out our detailed guide to the different types of websites to learn more about this!


How much do websites cost?

How much your website costs to build will depend on a number of factors – from how big and complex you’d like it to be, to whether you’ll be using it for ecommerce or not, to whether you want to hire a web design agency or go all DIY with a website building tool.

Beyond the initial cost to create your site, you’ll also need to consider the ongoing costs, like monthly hosting fees, yearly domain name renewal, and anything you need to pay to have content produced for your site (if you don’t do that yourself).

Our guide to how much a website will cost you explores all of these factors and more, breaking them down into cost estimates depending on your needs.


How do I maintain my website, and how much will this cost?

After your website has been built, it’ll need continuous maintenance to prevent glitches, viruses, and even hacking. And this, like anything else, will come at a cost to you.

Of course, how much your web maintenance costs will depend on a number of factors, such as how complex your website is. Costs will also vary depending on whether you choose to pay for a maintenance package from a web design company, or decide to carry out the maintenance yourself, in-house.

For a run-down of what you’ll need to do to keep your site up to scratch, alongside the average costs involved, take a look at our thorough guide to website maintenance costs!


How can I find the right web design company for my business?

Here at Expert Market, we hope to make it easy for you to find the best web design option for your business. To that end, we’d advise you to try out our quick and easy quote finder – simply fill out a few details about your business’ needs, and you’ll receive bespoke quotes from the companies that can meet them.

Written by:
Dan’s a Senior Writer at Expert Market, specialising in digital marketing, web design, and photocopiers, amongst other topics.
Reviewed by:
Robyn Summers-Emler, Grow Online Editor, Profile Picture
Robyn started working on Expert Market in 2021 as a specialist in business websites and digital marketing. As the Grow Online Editor, she ideates, commissions and optimizes content on Expert Market that helps businesses thrive in online spaces and maximize their ecommerce potential. Covering everything from choosing a website builder to scaling a social media marketing strategy - Robyn uses her expertise to help startups, SMBs, and larger businesses realize digital growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.