One number, and it comes back.
Ara Hiko publishes one price, because it is the only one honestly the same for every business: the Opportunity Map, $950 fixed, a day that finds what is worth fixing and puts a price beside each finding. Everything after that is quoted for your specific job, agreed in writing before work starts, never hourly and never open-ended. Commission any build and the full $950 comes off it.
Three ways to get a website working.
A new practice earns its prices in the market, not at a desk: the map costs the same for every business because it is the same day of work, and what follows is priced job by job, always fixed and agreed in writing before it starts.
| Comparison category | Do it yourselfSquarespace, Wix and friends | The Ara Hiko build | With the partnership |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | A subscription, forever | A fixed quote, agreed in writing; the $950 map comes off it | A fixed monthly amount, no lock-in |
| Who does the work | You, after hours | Me; live style versions before you commit | Me, month after month |
| Being found on Google | A template and hope | Entity setup, schema, Business Profile, directories | Kept consistent as things change |
| AI answers (ChatGPT, Gemini) | Not built for it | Structured so machines can verify and cite you | Watched as the answers shift |
| Knowing what worked | Visits, at best | Real enquiries counted from day one | A plain-English read every month |
| The busywork | Still yours | Quick wins wired in where they pay | Kept running and adjusted |
| Who owns it | Their platform, your rent | Your domain, your accounts | Still yours; leave any time |
| When something breaks | A help centre | Me | Me, and I already know your setup |
If the first column covers what your business needs, take it. That is the honest recommendation, and it is free.
What moves a quote up or down.
Fixed does not mean one-size-fits-all. It means the number is agreed before work starts and does not move afterwards. Here is what makes that number bigger or smaller, so a quote never feels like it came out of thin air.
Moves it up
- Many distinct services, each needing its own page
- Copy written from scratch, from conversations, not tidied from what you have
- Booking, payment or job-software integrations, wired in and tested
- An old platform holding your content or domain hostage
- Automations built alongside the site
Keeps it down
- A handful of clearly defined services, on a few strong pages
- Words and photos ready to go; rough is fine
- Nothing to integrate beyond a contact form and a counted phone number
- A domain and accounts already in your own name
- Starting with the Opportunity Map, which scopes the job and comes off the price
Every quote names what is included, what is not, and what would change the number if you added it later. If two quotes would do, you get both and the difference explained.
When this is not the right answer.
Cheaper to find out here than on a call, and much cheaper than finding out after a build.
You are big enough to have an IT department
Then you want a firm with a team behind it: redundancy, a service desk, someone on deck when someone else is on leave. One person in Wellington is the wrong shape for you, however good the work is.
You want a large online store
Hundreds of products, inventory, freight rules and payment edge cases are specialist platform work that people do all day, every day. I would be learning parts of it on your money, so the honest answer is to go to them.
You want someone to run your social media
Content calendars and community management are an agency service. What Ara Hiko does instead is measurement: telling you which channels actually produce enquiries, so whoever runs them, you know what is working.
Start with the map, not a leap of faith.
One day, one fixed fee, and a plain-English map of what is worth doing, what it costs, and what to leave well alone. The $950 comes off your first build, whatever the map says it should be.