You have the time and you do not mind the work
If a few quiet evenings on your own site sounds fine, a builder will do the job and cost you less. You will also understand your own setup afterwards, which is worth something.
The honest comparison
Looking for a DIY website builder alternative?
Website builders are good software and they are not the problem. The problem is that they hand you a blank page and assume you have got the time, the words and the patience to fill it. This page is an honest comparison, including the cases where you should just build it yourself and save the money. SiteDone is the done-for-you option: you send one voice note, we build and host it from $89 a month, live within 7 working days.
$0 setup fee, 2 of 3 build slots open right now.
Straight up
When you should just build it yourself
We would rather lose the sale than have you sign up for something you did not need. These are the cases where DIY is the better answer.
You need something up this week for very little
If the goal is simply to exist online while you get going, a one-page DIY site plus a properly completed Google Business Profile is a sensible and cheap starting point.
Your site already works
Fast on a phone, easy for you to update, and people are finding you? Then you do not have a website problem, and replacing it would cost money for no return.
You want to control every detail yourself
Some people want their hands on it. If changing the layout at 11pm on a whim matters to you, a builder gives you that and we do not.
The real cost
What building it yourself actually costs
Almost never the subscription. It is the hours, the unfinished bits and the part nobody tells you about.
Your time, at your real rate
The subscription is the visible cost and usually the smaller one. Multiply the evenings by what an hour of your work is genuinely worth and you have the actual number.
The eighty per cent problem
The usual ending is not a bad site, it is an unfinished one. The pages exist, a few still say Coming Soon, and the contact form goes to an inbox nobody checks. It quietly costs enquiries you never hear about.
The writing is the hard part
A builder gives you layouts, not words. Most people stall at the blank page, and the copy that eventually goes up is the copy they could face writing rather than the copy that would work.
Being findable is a separate skill
Page structure, headings, local signals and schema decide whether anyone arrives at all. A builder does not do that part for you, and it is the part with the most impact.
Side by side
What's actually different
Not a stitch-up. The column on the left is what a DIY builder genuinely gives you.
| Doing it yourself | SiteDone | |
|---|---|---|
| Up-front cost | Low. A subscription plus your own hours. | $0 setup right now, then from $89 a month. |
| Who builds it | You do, in the evenings. | We do, from one voice note. |
| Time from starting to live | However long you can give it. | 7 working days from your details reaching us. |
| Who writes the words | You do. | We write them, you review with two rounds of changes. |
| Search setup | Yours to learn and do. | Structure, headings, local signals and schema done during the build. |
| Hosting and backups | Usually included in the plan. | Included, on Cloudflare's network. |
| Making a change later | You do it, whenever you get to it. | Send a voice note. 20 to 60 minutes included monthly by tier. |
| Who owns the domain | You, if you registered it yourself. | You, from day one, in your name. |
| If nothing comes of it | You have spent the hours either way. | On the Core Hub and Local Dominator plans, billing pauses if no real lead in 90 days. |
| Getting out | Stop paying. You keep what you built. | 3 months to start, then month to month. 30 days' notice, no exit fee. Domain yours from day one. Site handover after 9 paid months, no fee. |
We have deliberately not quoted any builder's prices or plan features here, because they change often and we have not verified them. Check them yourself before deciding.
What it costs
What you'd pay here
Three plans, one flat monthly fee, and the rate you start on is the rate you keep.
Plans are $89, $129 and $199 a month, setup is $0 at the moment, and every plan covers the build, hosting, SSL, backups and a set allowance of content changes each month. Your site is live within 7 working days of your details reaching us, and if it has not brought you a real lead within 90 days, your billing pauses until it does (on the Core Hub and Local Dominator plans).
Starter
$89/mo
Locked-in rate · standard $99/mo
$0 setup right now
Standard $179 one-off
A sole trader who needs to be findable and reachable, fast.
Three to five pages
20 min of changes a month
Want the 90-day lead guarantee? Choose Core Hub, or upgrade later.
Claim Starter →Core Hub
$129/mo
Locked-in rate · standard $149/mo
$0 setup right now
Standard $269 one-off
A small team covering a few suburbs or a few distinct services.
Five to eight pages in total, including two or three suburb or service pages
40 min of changes a month
✓ 90-day lead guaranteeNeeds a Google Business Profile. We help you set one up and walk you through Google's verification.
Claim Core Hub →Local Dominator
$199/mo
Locked-in rate · standard $249/mo
$0 setup right now
Standard $399 one-off
An established business chasing a wider service area.
Ten to fifteen pages in total, including five to ten suburb or service pages
60 min of changes a month
✓ 90-day lead guaranteeNeeds a Google Business Profile. We help you set one up and walk you through Google's verification.
Claim Local Dominator →No long-term contract. 3 months to start, then month to month.
Prices are in AUD and charged monthly. We're not currently registered for GST, so none is added. The $49 domain registration and any add-ons are separate.
Full comparison and the fine print are on the pricing page, and all five guarantees are on the guarantee page.
FAQs
Questions people ask before deciding
More on the full FAQ page if yours is not here.
What is the actual alternative to a DIY builder?
Someone builds and maintains the site for you instead. With SiteDone that means one voice note about your business, then we write, build, host and update it from $89 a month, with no meetings at any point.
Is this just a builder with someone else clicking the buttons?
No. The sites are static builds served from Cloudflare's network rather than pages inside a builder, which is why they load quickly. You also own the domain and the content outright.
I already started building one. Is that wasted?
Not at all, and it is genuinely useful. Send us what you have, because the structure and words you have already sorted out give us a head start and mean fewer questions for you.
What if I want to go back to doing it myself?
After your first 3 months you can cancel with 30 days' notice and no exit fee. The domain is yours either way. Your site stays live until your paid month ends, then we keep it in backup for 6 months so you can restore it. After 9 paid months you can take the site with you at no charge.
How do I know which is right for me?
Be honest about the hours. If you will genuinely sit down and finish it, build it yourself and keep the money. If it will sit at eighty per cent for six months, that unfinished site is costing you more than the subscription would.
Everything else is on the full FAQ page, or start from the full directory.
Rather someone else just did it?
From $89 a month. One voice note, live within 7 working days. No monthly fees until your site is live. The $49 domain registration is separate.
$0 setup fee, 2 of 3 build slots open right now. 90-day lead guarantee on Core Hub and Local Dominator, in writing.