Small website work is hard to price from the outside because the visible problem and the actual work are often unrelated. A misaligned button can be a one-line style fix, or the first sign that a theme update has broken the whole layout system. A developer who cannot tell which yet has two choices: charge by the hour, or add a buffer to a fixed price.
Typical ranges
For context, these are the ranges on our own pricing page. Other developers and studios will differ, but the shape is common across the industry.
- Defined bug fixes: From $250 for a defined fix. Most bug jobs land between $250 and $1,200.
- Shopify and WordPress changes: From $250 per defined fix. Most lists land between $250 and $2,000.
- Connecting tools and APIs: From $600. Most integrations land between $600 and $3,500.
- AI-built app rescue: Paid diagnostic from $350. Most rescue fixes land between $500 and $4,000.
Hourly rates for independent developers in Australia vary widely by experience and specialty. A small job priced hourly often ends up costing more than expected, not because anyone is padding the bill but because diagnosing the cause takes longer than the fix itself.
What actually moves the price
How clearly the problem can be reproduced. “The checkout fails on iPhone when a discount code is used” can be fixed. “The site is sometimes slow” has to be investigated first.
Access. If the developer has to wait days for hosting logins, or nobody knows who controls the domain, the job stretches. Sorting out access before you ask for quotes saves real money. Our article on giving a developer access without sending passwords covers how.
How many systems are involved. A fix inside one WordPress theme is simpler than one that touches the site, a booking platform and a CRM, because each handoff has to be tested.
The state of what is already there. Years of unapplied updates, an abandoned page builder or a site nobody has documented all add time. That is not a criticism of whoever built it. It is just the work.
Testing and release. A change to a live store needs testing on a copy first and releasing at a quiet time. That is part of the job, not an extra.
Fixed price or paid diagnostic
When the cause is obvious, you should be able to get a single fixed price before work starts. When it is not, a sensible approach is a small paid diagnostic: a fixed amount to find the cause and write it up, followed by a fixed quote for the fix. You can take that written finding to anyone. It is fairer than either an open-ended hourly bill or a fixed price with a large buffer built in.
How to get a tighter quote
- Describe one problem per request, with the exact page and steps to see it.
- Say what “fixed” looks like, so there is no argument at the end.
- Include screenshots or a short screen recording.
- List the platform and any plugins, apps or services involved, if you know them.
- Confirm you can grant access to hosting, the CMS and anything else relevant.
We wrote a longer guide on reporting a bug so it gets fixed the first time. A clear brief is the single biggest thing you control in the price.
When small is the wrong size
If the list of fixes keeps growing, or each fix breaks something else, a series of small jobs may cost more than a planned rebuild. A good developer should tell you when that point arrives rather than keep taking the small jobs. For us, work above about $4,000 is usually better served by a studio with a full team, and we will say so.
