Guide

Having a website created 2026: what has changed

What is different when having a website created in 2026 compared to two years ago — legally, technically, and regarding what actually pays off for small businesses.

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Quote on request4 to 8 weeksAs of 2026

In short

Two things have changed for having a website created in 2026: the transparency requirements of the EU AI Act have been in force since August, and search is answering more and more questions directly in the results. Technically, reliability has improved above all — which doesn't mean every project makes sense.

01 — Current

What changed recently

Two developments shape the decision in 2026: First, the transparency requirements of the EU AI Act have been in effect since August — anyone communicating with an AI system must be able to recognize it. Second, search itself now answers more and more questions directly, which changes the value of having your own easily findable information source.

For having a website created, this means in practice: labeling is mandatory and not a stylistic choice, and the content the system works with is the same content that is also cited in search results and generated answers. If you prepare it cleanly once, you use it twice.

Technically, reliability has improved most of all. What was still an experiment two years ago is today a plannable implementation in many cases — which doesn't mean every project makes sense.

02 — Legal situation

EU AI Act: what applies

Since August 2026, the transparency requirements from Article 50 of the EU AI Act apply: Anyone communicating directly with an AI system must be able to recognize it. We build in the labeling as standard.

The AI Act doesn't distinguish by company size: A sole proprietorship with an AI system in customer contact is affected just as much as a corporation. What matters is purpose and risk, not headcount.

There's also the obligation to ensure adequate AI competence for the people working with it. That's not an examination requirement, but it should be documented — a training session with a participant list is the simplest proof.

03 — Benefits

What it actually delivers

Time that's missing elsewhere. Many company websites are digital brochures: pretty, slow, with no clear next step. Visitors read two paragraphs and leave.
Consistent quality. A system doesn't have a bad day and doesn't skip a step — regardless of who's currently in the office.
Traceability. What runs automatically is documented. That helps with handovers, vacation coverage, and in case of disputes.
Availability outside business hours. A significant portion of inquiries arise in the evening and on weekends — where until now no one was responding.
A side effect hardly anyone plans for: During setup, it regularly becomes apparent that processes in the business are unclear. Clarifying that is often more valuable than the automation itself.

04 — Questions

Frequently asked questions

What does a website cost in Austria?

There's no serious way to answer that as a flat rate — the market ranges are huge because a one-pager and a multilingual company site with twenty pages are completely different projects technically. What matters most is how much content has to be created from scratch — that's almost always the biggest line item, not the technology. Send us a quick note about what you have in mind, and you'll get a proposal that fits your scope.

Does our website have to be accessible?

Since 28 June 2025, the Accessibility Act (Barrierefreiheitsgesetz) applies in Austria. Mainly affected are online shops, bookings, e-ticketing, and banking services in consumer business; micro-enterprises are exempt for services. A pure information site generally doesn't fall under it — we still build to WCAG 2.1 AA because it makes the site better for everyone and the rules tend to get stricter.

Are there subsidies?

For digitalization projects in Austria, there are several funding programs, such as KMU.DIGITAL (kmudigital.at) or the aws digitalization subsidy (aws.at). Whether your project currently qualifies, we check individually — the application must be approved before awarding the contract in any case.

What does ongoing operation cost?

Hosting, domain, updates, and backups are ongoing costs — how much depends on the size and requirements of the site, and we state that transparently in the quote. Anyone who skimps on that skimps until the first security incident.

What happens to our old site?

The content is carried over as long as it's suitable, and old addresses are redirected to the new ones. Without these redirects, you lose the visibility built up over years — that's the most common mistake in a relaunch.

How long does it take?

Four to eight weeks is realistic if content and images arrive on time. The bottleneck is practically never development, but approval of texts and photos.

Can we manage the site ourselves?

Yes. You maintain texts, images, and simple pages yourself. For structural changes you get in touch — or not, that's not a dependency we build.

05 — Next

Having a website created by region

Next step

We'll look at your starting position.

Tell us what's eating up time today. That becomes an assessment with effort and benefit — and only then an offer.

Send inquiry ↗ office@pipeline-solutions.at OR +43 681 207 64 203