BuildFirstSite
Web design & development · Australia
Several Australian agencies specialise exclusively in NDIS website design, and several generalists do the work well too. This compares who is operating in the space, the five questions that separate them, and where we sit — including what we cannot claim.
9 min read
How this list works
Build First Site is on this list. We are not going to rank ourselves first or pretend to be neutral — instead, everything below is stated as fact you can verify yourself, and we have flagged plainly where competitors are stronger than us.
What we did not do: invent review counts, rank companies we have not researched, or copy claims off their own homepages and present them as findings. Where we could not verify something, we say so.
The two kinds of NDIS web designer
Before any list is useful, understand the split. It explains most of the price difference.
NDIS specialists. Agencies whose entire business is NDIS providers, often with exact-match domains like ndiswebsitedesigns.com.au or participantconnect.com.au. They know the sector, the language and the referral journey. Some understand accessibility deeply; others are marketers who outsource the build and treat accessibility as a word on a page. The specialisation usually carries a premium of roughly $1,000 to $3,000.
Generalists with accessibility capability. Studios that build accessible sites across sectors. You lose some NDIS-specific fluency and gain, usually, better engineering and lower prices. Build First Site sits here.
Neither is automatically better. The question is which weakness you can live with.
Who is operating in this space
These are Australian agencies actively marketing NDIS website design, listed alphabetically rather than ranked. Details are what they publish about themselves — verify anything that matters to your decision.
We have not audited these sites, so this is not a quality ranking. Use the criteria below to assess any of them, including us.
The five questions that actually separate them
Ask every agency on your shortlist these. The answers sort the field faster than any list can.
- "Can you show me a WCAG 2.1 AA audit of a site you built?" This is the question. An agency that genuinely does accessibility has test output and will send it. One that treats it as marketing will change the subject or send a screenshot of a Lighthouse score, which is not the same thing.
- "Do we own the source code and hosting account?" Several Australian agencies build on proprietary systems you cannot leave without a rebuild. It is rarely disclosed before signing. Ask directly and watch how long the answer takes.
- "Is accessibility included, or a line item?" Built in from the start it costs close to nothing, because semantic HTML and proper contrast are how a site should be built anyway. Charged separately usually means it is being retrofitted.
- "Who writes the content, and at what reading level?" Participant-facing pages should sit around Year 7 to 9. Most provider websites are written for auditors, in language that excludes the people they are trying to reach.
- "What happens to the site if we stop paying you monthly?" If the answer is that it goes offline, you are renting.
What a good NDIS website has to do
Two audiences, different needs, one site. Support coordinators are assessing your credibility and service fit before they refer. Participants and families are working out whether you can help and how to reach you.
- Accessible to WCAG 2.1 AA — not as a badge, but because your users are more likely than most to rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation and high contrast
- A page per service rather than one combined services page — that is how you rank for what people actually search
- Plain English at Year 7 to 9 — write "we help you live independently", not "capacity building supports aligned to participant goals"
- Obvious next step — a referral form or phone number that does not require scrolling to find
- Fast on a phone — most first visits are mobile, and speed is both an accessibility and a ranking factor
Being straight about where we sit
Build First Site has not yet built a website for an NDIS provider. If deep sector experience is what you need most, one of the specialists above will serve you better and we would rather say so than win the job dishonestly.
What we can evidence is the capability that decides whether an NDIS site is any good: we build accessible, fast, semantic websites, and WCAG 2.1 AA is included in every build rather than priced as an extra. Our client work is at hsracegear.com and mobilearmour.com.au — none of it NDIS. Open them, run Lighthouse, and judge the build quality directly.
Our prices are published: $800 for three to five pages, $1,900 for up to ten, $3,500 unlimited. Details on the pricing page, and our NDIS website cost guide covers what the specialists charge.
Common questions
Who are the best NDIS website designers in Australia?
Several Australian agencies specialise exclusively in NDIS providers, including 2Brownies, NDIS Website Designs, Participant Connect and Velacore, alongside generalists like Aussify and Build First Site. There is no single best — the right choice depends on whether you value sector fluency or engineering and accessibility capability more. The fastest way to separate them is to ask each for a WCAG 2.1 AA audit of a site they built.
Should I use an NDIS-specialist agency or a generalist?
Specialists know the sector language, referral journeys and participant needs, and typically charge a premium of $1,000 to $3,000 for that focus. Generalists with genuine accessibility capability often build better and cost less but need more briefing on the sector. Neither is automatically right. Ask both for accessibility test output — that separates the ones doing the work from the ones marketing it.
How do I check if an NDIS web designer actually understands accessibility?
Ask for a WCAG 2.1 AA audit of a site they built. An agency doing the work will have it. Then check one of their live sites yourself — unplug your mouse and try to complete the contact form using only the keyboard. If you get stuck or cannot see where the focus is, they are not delivering accessibility regardless of what the sales page says.
How much should an NDIS website cost?
Between AU$800 and AU$4,500 for a standard provider website depending on scope. NDIS-specialist agencies commonly quote AU$3,000 to $8,000 for comparable work. The premium is only worth paying if they can evidence the specialisation with accessibility test results rather than just sector-specific marketing language.
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