Your studio's reel buffers on Squarespace and government clients need WCAG before they'll sign
A custom website for a Wellington studio, agency, or government-facing firm runs NZD 25,000 to 140,000 over 2 to 6 months. Build custom when you need real media performance, WCAG accessibility, or integration with your own systems. Wix and Squarespace are fine for a simple brochure site. They struggle when a creative studio's reel needs to load instantly and a government client won't sign until the site meets the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard.
Your Wellington studio lives or dies on the reel, and on Squarespace it buffers, the gallery is slow, and the design template fights the bold, crafted look the work deserves. Then a government or public-sector client asks for WCAG 2.1 AA and the NZ Web Accessibility Standard before they'll engage, and a template builder gives you no real control over the markup that compliance depends on.
Wix and Squarespace optimise for getting anyone live fast, which is the opposite of what a design-aware capital studio needs: fast media, exact craft, and accessibility you can certify. The site that's meant to win the work is quietly losing it.
The problems nobody warns you about
- The reel and gallery buffer on a template builder, undermining the one thing the site must do
- Government and public-sector clients require WCAG 2.1 AA and the NZ accessibility standard you can't fully control on Wix
- Template constraints fight the crafted, design-led look Wellington's creative sector expects
- No clean integration to your CRM (Customer Relationship Management), booking, or project tools, so the site is an island
The case for owning your website
A custom website gives you exact control over performance, markup, and design, so the reel loads instantly, the craft is pixel-honest, and you can certify WCAG and the NZ accessibility standard a government client will demand. It integrates with your CRM, booking, and project tools instead of standing alone, and it represents a design-led Wellington studio the way the work deserves.
Budgeting a website build in Wellington
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Custom marketing site with CMS | $25k to $55k | 2 to 3 months |
| Performance and accessibility-certified build | $55k to $95k | 3 to 5 months |
| Site with system integrations | $95k to $140k | 4 to 6 months |
What your build should include
Wellington website: the full scope
Digital Heroes builds the full website stack for Wellington teams. Typical engagements cover custom website development, web design, Next.js development, React development, responsive web design, landing page development and CMS development.
Exactly what you get
A site where the reel loads instantly, the design matches your craft, and the accessibility is certifiable for government clients. It runs on a CMS your team can edit safely and connects to your CRM, booking software, and project management software so a contact form becomes a tracked lead, not an orphaned email. The website starts winning the work instead of quietly losing it.
How to choose a developer in Wellington
Choose a developer who treats accessibility and media performance as engineering, not afterthoughts, because government clients and a design-aware market will both test you on them. Ask to see a prior site certified to WCAG 2.1 AA and a reel that loads fast on a phone. Wellington's standards are high, so the work should prove it can meet them.
- !They treat accessibility as a checkbox plugin. Ask how they'd certify WCAG 2.1 AA and the NZ standard.
- !No plan for media performance. Ask how they'd make a heavy reel load in under two seconds.
- !They push a template builder for a design-led studio. Ask what control you'd lose.
- !No CMS strategy. Ask how non-technical staff edit content without breaking accessibility.
- !They ignore integrations. Ask how the site connects to your CRM and booking tools.
If website is on the roadmap, hr, accounting, business intelligence dashboards usually follow within the year. Budget them as one conversation.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just use Squarespace or Wix?
They're great for simple brochure sites but limit media performance, markup control, and certifiable accessibility. A Wellington studio needs a fast-loading reel and WCAG compliance government clients require, which template builders can't fully deliver.
What accessibility standard do NZ government clients require?
Typically WCAG 2.1 AA and the NZ Government Web Accessibility Standard. Meeting it reliably needs control over the underlying markup, which is hard to guarantee on a template builder and straightforward on a custom build.
Can our team still edit the site?
Yes. A custom build pairs with a CMS chosen for your team, so non-technical staff update content without breaking the design or the accessibility compliance. The CMS choice is part of discovery.
What does a custom website cost in Wellington?
NZD 25,000 to 140,000 depending on media performance needs, accessibility certification, and integration to your CRM, booking, and project tools.
How does the site connect to our other systems?
A custom build integrates with your CRM, booking software, and project management software, so form submissions become tracked leads and enquiries flow into the tools your team already uses instead of dying in an inbox.