Independent design & development
AE STUDIO SPACE.
We design and build websites,
apps and digital products.
For businesses, founders and teams turning an idea into something useful.
Learn more about design and our projectsWhat we do
- Websites
- Design and development for businesses with something to say. Clear content, thoughtful layouts and a useful next step.
- Apps & digital products
- Product design, computational design and working software. User journeys, interactive prototypes and responsive interfaces, from a first idea to an existing product.
- AI & data
- Data science, data engineering and practical AI workflows. From exploratory analysis and data visualisation to dashboards, connected systems and decision support.
- Digital growth
- Search, Google Ads and workflow automation. Connecting your digital presence with the way your business works.
Let’s make something useful.
We start with people: what they need to understand, decide and do. We bring a clear visual voice to the interface, then connect it to the data and technology that make it work.
We listen, prototype and refine. Thoughtful details and working software belong together.
Tell us what you want to build or improve.
Australia, Hong Kong & Tokyo. Remote enquiries welcome.
Discuss your project
Notes & insights
How much do Google Ads cost?
Google bills the clicks. Looking after the account is a separate fee.
In Australia people ask how much Google Ads cost and how they work. There is no menu price for a click. A busy trade in a capital city and a narrow B2B service can pay very different amounts for the same kind of ad.
On Search you usually pay when someone clicks. Shopping, Performance Max, YouTube, and remarketing sit in the same account, and bidding can aim at calls, forms, or sales. Google bills that media on the card attached to the account. The account should be in your name.
What moves the media bill is the service, the cities you actually cover, how tight the keywords are, and whether the page after the click matches the ad. “Google Ads Sydney”, “Melbourne”, and “Brisbane” are common searches because city competition is real. Run ads only for places you serve.
AE STUDIO SPACE’s published paid-ads setup is A$1,500. Example media budgets on the quote start around A$500 a month and go to Google or Meta, not to the studio. After launch, the useful number is cost per enquiry, not impressions.
How much does SEO cost in Australia?
A one-off tidy of titles is a smaller job than a year of local pages and measurement.
People search “how much does SEO cost”, “how much does SEO cost in Australia”, and “how much does SEO cost for a small business”. There is no single national price. The bill follows the site you already have and the cities you serve.
- Pages Google can index: one clear topic, a title, and headings.
- Technical fixes: speed, links, a sitemap, and Search Console issues fixed in the site.
- Local coverage: suburbs and cities you actually serve, not every postcode.
- A monthly look at which queries produced enquiries.
Local SEO is how a practice, installer, school, or shop shows up for the suburb and service it covers. That includes Google Business Profile and a consistent name, address, and phone where you have a real premises. A Melbourne page only helps if you take work in Melbourne.
Technical SEO is whether Google can fetch the pages: titles, internal links, speed, and mobile layout. It belongs in the build or the migration, not as a plugin added afterwards. AE STUDIO SPACE’s published organic add-on starts at A$800 for the default plan. We do not sell rented backlink packages.
How much does a website cost in Australia?
The price follows what the site must do: enquire, book, show a range, or take payment.
“How much does a website cost in Australia” does not have one answer. A one-page enquire site and a catalogue with payments are different jobs. AE STUDIO SPACE publishes a starting website at A$1,000: home, services or collection, item detail, about, and contact, with enquire or booking paths, a catalogue of up to 50 items, a way for staff to update items, and go-live on Google Cloud.
Start from the action you want. Enquire or book needs one next step. A short range needs item pages that match how buyers browse. Payments should be only for items you are ready to sell. A portal or admin screen is a separate job when a brochure is not enough.
Payments, a larger catalogue, ads setup, and Google Workspace are add-ons. Hosting on a major cloud is part of the website plan, not a second shared-hosting invoice. If the current site is on cPanel or old WordPress hosting, move it as part of the same job rather than paying for a redesign that stays on the old server.
How much is Google Workspace?
Google charges per seat. Setup on your domain is a separate job.
Google Workspace is business Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet on your own domain. Staff use addresses such as info@yourdomain. Files stay with the organisation when someone leaves.
Google sells seats. You pay Google per user on the edition you choose. The current seat price is on Google’s pricing page, and Australian billing can differ from a US screenshot. Extra storage and archived users can sit on top of the seat price.
AE STUDIO SPACE’s published Workspace setup is A$600: the account on your domain, staff accounts, and basic mail and calendar. Google’s subscription stays on Google’s invoice. Ongoing help with mail and with adding or removing people is published from A$80 a month.
- Keep admin and recovery in the organisation’s name.
- Switch DNS in a window when someone can watch the inbox.
- List aliases and shared inboxes before the switch.
- Turn on two-step verification so one departure does not lock the domain.
How to migrate a website off cPanel or WordPress
The move is the site, the database, the domain, and usually the email.
A migration keeps the addresses people already know and changes host in a planned window. Many Australian sites sit on cPanel at Crucial, VentraIP, Crazy Domains, or a global host such as GoDaddy. “WordPress migration” is the narrower case where the site is WordPress today.
cPanel is the control panel for that kind of shared hosting. You need it only while the site still lives there. A move to Google Cloud, Azure, or AWS does not require another cPanel licence.
- Pages, files, and the database if the site has orders or accounts.
- DNS, changed only after the new site is ready.
- Mail, because inboxes often live on the same host. Forgetting MX records is how mail stops.
- Redirects for old URLs that already rank or appear on printed material.
Keeping WordPress and only changing the server is one job. Replacing WordPress when the theme and plugins are why the site is fragile is the other. Copy the content you still want, check forms on the new site, then change DNS. If mail moves to Google at the same time, have the seat plan ready before the MX records change.
How much do Google Ads cost in Hong Kong?
Google bills the clicks in the account currency. Account care is a separate fee.
Hong Kong search runs in English and Traditional Chinese. A click for a Central professional service and a click for a Kowloon trade are not the same price. There is no fixed cost per click.
On Search you usually pay when someone clicks. The media bill is Google’s, on the card attached to the account, in the currency of that account. The account should be in your name so you keep the history if the engagement ends.
Write ads in the language people use to search, and send them to a page in that same language. Add districts only where you actually work — Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin — not a list of every MTR station. Broad keywords without negatives spend the budget on people who were never going to buy.
AE STUDIO SPACE’s published ads setup is A$1,500. Media budgets on the quote are examples in Australian dollars and are paid to Google or Meta. A Hong Kong account may be billed in HKD. The quote separates that media from the setup fee.
How much does SEO cost in Hong Kong?
The cost follows the languages you serve and the districts you actually cover.
Hong Kong SEO is not an Australian page with the city name swapped. Customers search in English, Traditional Chinese, or both. Each language needs its own titles, headings, and page, not a machine-translated duplicate of the other.
- One topic per page, in the language of the search.
- Speed, links, and a sitemap so Google can fetch the pages.
- District pages only for places you serve.
- Google Business Profile where you have a real premises, with a consistent name, address, and phone.
A page for a district you do not cover does not help. It reads as a fake office. Technical work — titles, internal links, mobile layout — belongs in the build or the migration.
AE STUDIO SPACE’s published organic add-on starts at A$800 for the default plan. The figure is Australian dollars. A Hong Kong brief is scoped the same way: pages, languages, and districts, then a written quote. We do not sell rented backlink packages.
How much does a website cost in Hong Kong?
Price follows the job: enquire, book, show a range, or take payment — in the languages your customers use.
A bilingual Hong Kong site is more work than a single-language page, because navigation, forms, and item names have to work in both. AE STUDIO SPACE’s published starting website is A$1,000: home, services or collection, item detail, about, and contact, with enquire or booking paths, a catalogue of up to 50 items, staff updates, and go-live on Google Cloud.
That starting figure is the Australian published plan. A Hong Kong site uses the same scope questions. Payments, a larger catalogue, ads, and Workspace are add-ons. Card payments should be only for items you are ready to sell.
If the current site is on cPanel or WordPress at a Hong Kong or overseas host, include the move in the same job. A redesign that stays on the old server leaves the mail and the outages where they were.
How much is Google Workspace in Hong Kong?
Google charges per user. Putting the domain and the mail on Workspace is separate.
Workspace is Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet on your domain, so the company address is not a personal Gmail. Google’s seat price is on Google’s pricing page. Hong Kong billing can differ from a price copied from another country, so use that page for the current edition.
What changes Google’s invoice is the number of users, the edition, and extras such as storage. Aliases such as info@ are not always the same as a full seat. Check that before you count people.
AE STUDIO SPACE’s published setup is A$600 for the account, domain, and basic mail and calendar. Google bills the seats. Ongoing help with users is published from A$80 a month. Both figures are Australian dollars; the quote states the currency for a Hong Kong engagement.
- Admin and recovery stay with the organisation.
- Change MX records when someone can watch incoming mail.
- List shared inboxes and aliases first.
- Turn on two-step verification before anyone leaves.
How to migrate a Hong Kong website off cPanel or WordPress
Move the site, the database, the domain, and the mail in one planned window.
Hong Kong sites on shared hosting often use cPanel, whether the server is in Hong Kong or with a global host. WordPress is a common layer on top. A migration keeps the public addresses and changes where the site and the inbox live.
cPanel is only required while you stay on a host that uses it. Google Cloud, Azure, or AWS does not need another cPanel licence. The new setup needs logs, backups, and a way to deploy.
- Pages, files, and the database.
- DNS after the new site answers correctly.
- Mail records, so a site move does not stop the inbox.
- Redirects for URLs already printed or indexed, in each language the site uses.
If the site is in English and Traditional Chinese, both have to resolve after the switch, including forms. Check a test email to each important alias before you treat the cutover as finished. If mail is moving to Workspace, choose the seats before the MX change.
Questions about working together
What is computational design, and how does AE STUDIO SPACE use it?
Computational design uses code, rules and parameters to shape a visual experience. AE STUDIO SPACE applies it to procedural graphics, interactive typography, real-time materials and responsive motion. Our playground lets you explore shape, colour, light and pointer-driven interactions directly in the browser.
Can you build interactive graphics with Three.js, WebGPU and shaders?
Yes. We build browser experiments with Three.js and Three.js Shading Language (TSL), including a WebGPU sculpture playground and a fluted-glass refraction study. We also use SVG for interactive type and line drawings. Delivery includes controls, reduced-motion behaviour and browser fallbacks suited to the experience. The Line lab integrates Hairline by Lucas Marques, with a link to the original library.
What data science and data engineering work can you help with?
We can scope exploratory data analysis, forecasting, data modelling, pipelines and data quality checks around a specific business question. Data visualisation and dashboards make the findings usable. We agree source access, assumptions and evaluation criteria before selecting an approach or connecting it to a production workflow.
How do computational design and data visualisation work together?
Computational design supplies the rules and interaction behind a visual system; data visualisation uses visual encodings to explain actual information. We can bring them together in interactive charts, exploratory interfaces and dashboards, with clear units, source context and uncertainty. The playground demonstrates interaction techniques; it does not present a scientific dataset or measured client results.
What is AE STUDIO SPACE’s design philosophy?
Our philosophy is “Design like an artist, build like an engineer.” We combine a distinctive visual voice with clear user journeys and working software. Design starts with what people need to understand, decide and do, especially when an interface brings together complex data or AI.
What is the difference between UI and UX design?
User experience (UX) design considers the journey, information structure and tasks people need to complete. User interface (UI) design shapes the screens, typography, visual hierarchy and controls used along that journey. AE STUDIO SPACE brings both together in websites, apps and dashboards.
What design services does AE STUDIO SPACE offer?
We offer website design and development, web and mobile application interfaces, and product design and iteration. The scope can include information architecture, user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, visual systems, reusable components and usability review.
Can you design dashboards and data-heavy products?
Yes. We design dashboards and internal tools around the decisions a team needs to make. We consider information hierarchy, traceable source data, missing records and useful next actions, and can scope the data pipelines and APIs behind the interface.
How do you design interfaces for AI products?
We start with a defined task and the people using the result. The interface should make model limits, review points and exceptions understandable. We can connect retrieval, tools and business systems, then evaluate the experience against representative tasks before production delivery.
Can you redesign an existing website or app?
Yes. We can review existing user journeys, content and interfaces, then scope practical improvements. A redesign may focus on information architecture, visual consistency, responsive layouts or a difficult workflow, with prototypes and feedback guiding the next iteration.
Can you create a design system or reusable UI components?
Yes. Product design can include a visual system and reusable components so related screens remain consistent. We agree the necessary patterns and component scope around the product, its existing technology and the team that will maintain it.
Do you consider accessibility and responsive design?
Yes. Website scope includes responsive layouts and accessibility, and app interfaces are designed around the screens and tasks people use. Specific accessibility requirements and verification are agreed in the brief.
Can we start with a prototype before building the whole product?
Yes. User flows, wireframes and an interactive prototype can help clarify an idea and test the experience. We agree what the prototype should answer before deciding which integrations and production work come next.
How much does a design project cost, and how long does it take?
Cost and timing depend on the pages or screens, content, integrations, data access and delivery requirements. Share your goals, current product, constraints and target date so we can define a first deliverable and agree the scope before work starts.
Do you work with clients outside Australia?
Yes. AE STUDIO SPACE works with teams in Australia, Hong Kong and Tokyo, and welcomes remote enquiries. Calls are arranged in Australian Eastern Time.
What should I include in a design brief?
Tell us who the experience is for, the problem to solve, the main user task and how you will judge success. Include your existing website or app, content, brand references, data sources, required integrations, budget constraints and target date. We use this to scope a useful first outcome.
Where should we start?
Start with one workflow, data question or product problem. We scope a first deliverable, the data and access it needs, and how we will judge whether it works.
Do you build prototypes or production systems?
Both. A prototype helps test the approach. Production delivery adds integrations, access controls, evaluation, monitoring and a handover suited to your team.
Can you work with our existing tools and cloud?
Yes. We assess the systems you already use and connect to them where practical. Cloud work can run on Google Cloud, Azure or AWS, with accounts and access agreed in the scope.
Can an agent take actions for our team?
When that is part of the brief. We define which tools it can use, which actions need review and how exceptions reach a person. The workflow determines the permissions.
Do you still offer websites, SEO and advertising?
Yes. Web and app design is our second service area, with SEO, GEO and advertising as the third. They can support an AI or cloud project, or be scoped on their own.
Who owns the accounts and data?
You retain your business, cloud and advertising accounts and data. Ownership, access and handover are agreed in the scope. Cloud providers and advertising platforms bill their usage separately.