Funding for your website in Austria 2026: what still works

Short answer: the federal digitalisation funding that many Austrian small businesses used for their website has ended, and new applications are not possible. Regional programmes may still fit, but many exclude a website as a stand-alone project. Whatever you apply for, the most important rule stays the same: apply before the project starts.

We have run more than 300 funding consultations with Austrian small businesses and self-employed people, so we get this question constantly: "Can I still get funding for my new website?" The honest answer is: sometimes, but rarely for a website on its own. Here is what that means in practice.

Current status: is there still website funding?

The federal programme for small-business digitalisation has run out of budget and will not be continued. Funds there were always granted in the order complete applications arrived, until the money ran out, and there was never a legal right to funding. So anyone promising you federal digitalisation money for a new project today should be able to show you where that budget is coming from.

If you already have an approval from an earlier round, check your dates: funded projects usually have to be carried out and paid within a fixed period after the application, and the final statement has to reach the funding body within a short deadline after completion. Miss it and the grant can be lost.

What funders typically expect

Programmes differ in detail, but most Austrian digitalisation funding follows the same logic. Typically:

• the applicant is a small or medium-sized business in the sense of the EU SME definition, with a registered office or place of business in Austria (often in the specific province),
• the project is a real digitalisation project, not just a new look: bookings, a shop, CRM or ERP connection, automation,
• the costs come from external providers, not your own work,
• the project has not started when you apply, so nothing is ordered or invoiced beforehand,
• there is a clear scope and a quote from your provider.

Usually not eligible: a website update that only changes content or design, search engine advertising such as Google Ads, basic IT equipment like laptops and standard software, and ongoing operating costs such as staff.

Regional programmes in 2026

With the federal programme closed, it is worth looking at regional programmes. Check the conditions carefully, because they differ a lot:

• Vienna (Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, funding for digitalisation): for SMEs active in Vienna for at least a year, with a minimum project size and a jury decision per deadline. Important: building or renewing a website or web shop as a stand-alone measure is not funded. It has to be part of a broader digitalisation project.
• Lower Austria (digi4Wirtschaft): according to WKO Lower Austria, among other things a free "digi Kickstart" workshop, the "digi Assistent" consulting support and "digi Investition DATA" for investment projects.
• Other provinces: programmes change often. Your regional chamber of commerce (WKO) or the provincial business agency knows what is currently open.

And sometimes the honest answer is: no programme fits a simple website. Then the better question is how to make the website pay for itself through enquiries. Our article on website cost in Austria shows realistic budgets and running costs.

Common mistakes that cost the funding

From our funding consultations, these are the errors we see most often. They apply to almost every Austrian funding programme:

When you should not wait for funding

Funding is a nice bonus, but it is rarely a good reason to delay a website that is losing you customers today. Do not wait if:

• your current site is actively costing enquiries (slow, not mobile-friendly, invisible on Google or in ChatGPT),
• the project is below the minimum size of a regional programme anyway,
• it is a pure website project that the available programmes exclude,
• the time spent on applications and waiting for a jury decision costs more than the grant is worth.

If funding is available, it should support a good project, not shape a worse one. Our funding page and the website with funding package show how we combine both when it makes sense, and on our website service page you see what a project includes.

What you can do now

1. Already approved? Note the implementation and settlement deadlines, and keep every invoice and proof of payment in one folder.
2. Planning a website now? Write down what the site has to do besides look good: bookings, enquiries, shop, CRM connection. That decides whether any regional programme can apply.
3. Check regional options before you sign. Ask your regional chamber of commerce or a funding advisor which programme is open and whether a website qualifies there.
4. Get a fixed quote either way. A clear scope and price is needed for every application and helps you decide whether the project makes sense without funding too.

Written byChristoph SpeiserProject lead & sales

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