What a $1,588 AI-Built Website Includes (and What It Doesn’t)
Our $1,588 Starter website is a complete, working business site delivered in about seven days: unlimited pages, first-pass bilingual copy, and the structured data search engines and AI assistants use to read it. What it does not include is ongoing marketing, an online shop, AI live chat, or anyone writing new content for you every month after launch.
Cheap website prices usually hide their exclusions in the fine print. This is the opposite: the list of what is in, what is out, and what each missing piece would cost if you want it.
What is in the $1,588 Starter build
- Unlimited pages. Most studios price per page, which is why a fifteen-page site costs three times a five-page one. We do not, so you can have one page per service and one per suburb you actually cover — which is what search engines and AI assistants reward.
- Copy written for you, in two languages. A first pass in English and Chinese, drafted from a briefing with you. You review and correct it; you do not start from a blank page.
- Schema and FAQ structure. The behind-the-scenes markup that tells Google and AI tools what your business is, where it is and what it does. On many builds this is an extra or simply skipped.
- Delivery in around seven days. Most of that week is spent on your content, not on waiting. We covered how the week breaks down in our piece on launching in seven days.
The AI part is what makes that price possible. It handles layout, first drafts and the repetitive technical setup in hours, and a person spends the saved time on the parts a machine gets wrong: what you actually sell, which suburbs you serve, and whether every page answers a real customer question.
What you will be asked for is a briefing call, your logo and photos if you have them, and a round of review on the draft copy. The fastest projects are the ones where someone in the business can answer questions about services, suburbs and prices on the day, rather than a week later.
What it does not include
Being clear about this saves an awkward conversation three months later.
| Not in Starter | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Blog automation, AI live chat and a GA4 reporting dashboard | Business package, $2,688 |
| Online store, card / WeChat / Alipay payments, inventory | E-shop package, $3,588 |
| AI live chat on its own | Add-on, +$400 |
| A third language | Add-on, +$300 per language |
| Email marketing setup | Add-on, +$300 |
| Ongoing SEO and content after launch | Separate monthly plan, from $1,000 |
The last row matters most. A website on its own does not bring in customers; it gives the ones who find you somewhere good to land. Getting found is ongoing work, and we price it separately so it is never quietly buried inside a build quote. Our 2026 cost guide explains why studios that blur the two are usually hiding one inside the other.
When Starter is the right choice, and when it is not
Starter suits a business that has no site yet, or one whose current site is past repair, and that mainly needs to look credible and be findable for its own name, services and area. Trades, clinics, consultants and local service businesses usually fit here.
Step up to Business if you want the site to keep producing enquiries on its own through regular articles, or if a chat window on the site would save you phone time. Go straight to E-shop if you sell products online — adding a store to a Starter site later costs more than building it in from the start.
If you are currently on Wix or Squarespace and wondering whether any of this is worth leaving for, we compared the two approaches honestly in AI website vs Wix and Squarespace.
Questions to ask any studio, including us
- Is the price fixed, or per page? Per-page pricing turns every future page into a new invoice.
- Who writes the copy? If the answer is “you send it to us”, add weeks of your own evenings to the quote.
- Do I get full admin access and own the domain? If not, you are renting your own website.
- What happens after launch, and what does it cost? Hosting, updates and marketing should each have a number attached.
Melmel will give you a fixed price and a delivery date on the first call. Our Sydney web design page explains how a project runs from briefing to launch.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI-built website cost in Australia?
Prices vary widely. Ours start at $1,588 for a complete business site with unlimited pages, bilingual first-pass copy and structured data, $2,688 with blog automation, AI live chat and a GA4 dashboard, and $3,588 for an online store. Traditional Sydney studios typically quote more, often priced per page.
Is ongoing SEO included in the $1,588 price?
No. The build price covers designing, writing and launching the site. Ongoing SEO and content work is a separate monthly plan starting from $1,000. Keeping the two apart means you can see exactly what you are paying for, and you can launch the site first and decide on marketing later.
Can I upgrade from the Starter package later?
Yes. Blog automation, AI live chat or extra languages can be added to a Starter site later. The one exception worth planning for is an online store: if you know you will sell products online, building on the E-shop package from the start is cheaper than adding a store afterwards.
