Guide

Having a website built: what alternatives exist

Not every problem needs a website. What simpler paths exist, where ready-made standard solutions are enough and when the right answer is: do nothing at all.

Request assessment ↗Having a website created

Quote on request4 to 8 weeksAs of 2026

In short

Before a website comes into question, it's worth looking at simpler paths: a more clearly written page, a different phone protocol, a streamlined process. Ready-made standard solutions cover some cases and hit their limits where custom data and integrations come into play. Doing nothing is also a legitimate answer.

01 — Alternatives

What else is out there

Before a website comes into question, it's worth looking at simpler paths. Sometimes a clearly written page, a different phone protocol or a streamlined process solves the same problem without any system at all.

Ready-made standard solutions cover part of the use cases and are quickly available. Their limit lies where your own processes, your own data, or integrations come into play — and in the question of who ultimately owns the data.

The third option is to do nothing. That's a legitimate answer when the process in question happens rarely or when the real bottleneck lies elsewhere. We'll say so if that's the case.

02 — Boundaries

When we advise against it

The process is still changing. As long as you're adjusting the process itself, manual work is more flexible and cheaper.
Exceptions outweigh standard cases. Then you're automating exceptions, and that gets expensive.
There's no data foundation. Without digitally available source data, the basis is missing.
Volume is too low. With five transactions a month, no system pays off — not even an affordable one.
The real bottleneck lies elsewhere. If you don't have enough inquiries, you don't need faster processing.

03 — Criteria

How quotes differ

What exactly is included. Two quotes with the same total can cover completely different deliverables. Ask for scope as a list, not as running text.
Who delivers what. Content, images, data, access — if it's not specified, it becomes a point of conflict later.
What operation costs. Calculated over three years, including licenses, hosting, and support.
What happens if you want to switch. Do you get access, data, and documentation? The answer to this question says more about a provider than any reference.
Who actually does the work. With small providers this matters: who sits in the meeting, and who then does it.

04 — Questions

Frequently asked questions

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.

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 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.

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.

WordPress or something else?

Depends on the case. WordPress makes sense when many people manage content and standard features are enough. Where speed, security, or custom functions matter, we build leaner. We don't recommend what we like building most, but what you can still operate in three years.

05 — Next

Having a website created by region

Next step

Initial assessment, no obligation.

Briefly describe what you need. You'll get an honest answer about what's realistic and what it will roughly cost.

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