The convention in this industry is not to publish prices. The stated reason is that every project differs, so a number would be misleading.
That is true and it is not the actual reason. The actual reason is that without a published price there is room to sell — establish the budget first, then decide what to quote.
We publish instead: single-page from NZ$1,499, multi-page from NZ$2,499, functional builds from NZ$4,999, and NZ$299+GST a year for hosting and maintenance from year two. Here is why, and what it costs us.
1. Most enquiries are about price anyway
Look through past enquiries and the majority open with some version of “hi, how much for a website”.
Without a price on the site, what follows is: we ask what you need, you are not sure yet because you have not thought about it, we say we need details before quoting, you ask for a ballpark, we say it depends.
That exchange wastes both parties’ time. If the price is an order of magnitude away from expectations, nothing discussed afterwards matters. Settle that first and the remaining time is worth something.
2. It filters more than people who cannot afford it
This part we did not anticipate.
After publishing, the enquiries changed noticeably. People arrive knowing the range, so they ask what is included, whether a particular feature can be added, how long it takes. Those are specific questions from someone already considering it seriously.
People for whom the price does not work simply do not get in touch, which serves them too — a conversation that was never going to conclude did not happen.
Enquiry volume did fall. Conversion rose considerably. We care more about the second number.
3. AI now looks up prices on the customer’s behalf
Recently important, and not something we planned for.
More people skip opening ten websites and ask an assistant directly: what does a business website cost in New Zealand, which companies in Auckland build bilingual sites.
An assistant assembling an answer can only use what it can state. “Contact us for pricing” cannot be quoted — restating it conveys nothing. “Single-page sites from NZ$1,499 including first-year hosting” restates cleanly and remains useful.
So at this new entry point, companies that publish prices are structurally easier to mention. Not our original reason; a genuine benefit now.
4. It constrains us
With prices public, quoting cannot vary by who is asking. The same requirement costs the same regardless.
That sounds like self-restriction and mostly removes work: no assessing someone’s budget, no risk of two clients comparing notes, and none of the exploratory conversation that precedes a number.
What it costs
The drawbacks, or this becomes an advertisement.
Competitors can price against us directly. They can see our numbers and sit slightly below. This happens, and there is nothing to do about it.
Some suitable projects are deterred by the number. Someone sees “multi-page from 2,499”, decides it is too much, and does not ask — when their requirement was a single page at 1,499. That loss is real. We describe what each tier suits, and some people still read only the figure.
Price rises become public events. We raised prices once; the numbers on the site changed and existing clients could see. That needs explaining in advance, which is more work than quietly revising a quote template.
“From” gets overlooked. It says from 1,499 and people remember 1,499. When a requirement exceeds the base scope and the quote is higher, the difference has to be explained. We have not fully solved this and currently handle it by saying so explicitly in conversation.
What this means when choosing a supplier
Not publishing prices does not indicate a problem — companies doing large custom work genuinely cannot list a figure, and that is reasonable.
But there is a usable test: ask for a range and see whether they will give one.
“Roughly what band does something like this fall into” is a fair question. Anyone willing to answer generally knows their own numbers. Anyone who insists on knowing your budget before discussing theirs — you can draw your own conclusion about why.
Ours are on this page, annual fee included. Take the same question elsewhere and compare the answers.