Do tradies need a website? What it costs and what it must say
For businesses
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7 min read
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Short answer: not every tradie needs a big website. But almost every one needs a page that states, in plain text, your services, the areas you cover, your licence number, rough prices and how to get a quote. In Queensland, the QBCC counts a website as advertising, so it must show your licensed name and licence number. Every price guide we found comes from a business selling websites or web-design leads. A cost-guide site that sells leads to agencies says most small businesses pay $2,000 to $6,000 for a 5 to 10 page site, or $800 to $3,000 for a landing page. Squarespace, a DIY builder, starts at A$17 a month, billed yearly.
Who can get by without one
A free Google Business Profile puts you on Maps. Whether you also need a site depends on where your work comes from and what a job is worth.
Your situation | What you probably need | Why |
|---|---|---|
Booked out from referrals and repeat work | A verified Google Business Profile, plus one page with your services, licence and contact details | People you’re referred to still look you up |
Mostly subcontracting to builders | A Google Business Profile; a site is optional | Your work comes from people who know you |
One trade, small jobs, a tight local area | A Google Business Profile plus a one-page site | Customers want the basics fast |
Several services, a wide area or bigger jobs | A site with one page per service | Customers compare more before a big job |
An appointment business, such as a salon or physio clinic | A page with services, prices and hours, plus a booking link | Customers want to compare and book without ringing |
The same applies to salons, clinics and other appointment businesses, not just trades. A wedding photographer’s site is mostly a portfolio, but it still needs the packages, travel area and how to book, in words.
The minimum page every tradie needs
Put these in text, not only in a photo, a PDF or a Facebook post, so customers, search engines and AI assistants can read them.
What to state | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Services, and what you don’t do | “Blocked drains, hot water, gas fitting. No new builds.” | Customers match their job to this |
Areas you cover | “Gold Coast, Logan and Tweed Heads” | Customers need to know you cover them; a map image isn’t text |
Licence name and number | “[Licensed name], QBCC licence no. [number]” | QBCC and NSW rules (below) |
Price guidance | A call-out fee, a “most jobs fall between” range, or “free quotes” | It’s the first question most customers ask |
How to get a quote | Phone, a form, and what to send (photos, address, timing) | Fewer calls back and forth |
Contact details and hours | The same as on your Google profile | Mismatched details confuse customers |
Photos of real jobs | A line of text beside each | Google says to place images “near text that’s relevant to the image” |
Prices. If you show a price, show the full one. The ACCC says a displayed price must be the “minimum total cost”, including any taxes, so a call-out fee should include GST.
Writing it. Google’s SEO starter guide says there are “no secrets” that will rank a site first automatically, and that content people find “compelling and useful” will likely matter more than anything else in the guide. For a tradie, that means plain answers to what customers ask before they ring.
Queensland. The QBCC’s list of advertising starts with “websites”. Your ads must contain the name you’re licensed under and “state you are licensed under the QBCC Act, and your licensee number”. The details must be “easily legible and reasonably prominent”. The maximum penalty for a licensee is 35 penalty units, which the QBCC puts at $6,044 for individuals and $30,222 for companies.
New South Wales. “The licensee’s name and licence number must be shown in all advertising,” including on the internet. NSW Fair Trading also asks for the licence number “with correct category of work” and a business phone number.
If you aren’t a licensed trade, the licence row may not apply. The rest does.
Google Business Profile vs a website vs a directory profile
Google Business Profile | Your own website | A directory profile | |
|---|---|---|---|
Cost | Free (Google) | A build plus hosting, or a builder subscription | Depends on the directory |
Who controls the page | You | The directory | |
Limits | Google sets the format | Costs money and needs updating | The directory sets the format and rules |
Google says local results are “mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”, and that prominence is partly “based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.” You can add your website to your profile. If you don’t serve customers at your address, Google says to remove it; you can set up to 20 service areas.
The profile gets you on the map; the website link on it is where customers go for detail. Our SEO for tradies guide covers both, including what AI assistants read. To compare these with lead sites and ads by cost per won job, see marketing for tradies.
What a tradie website costs
We couldn’t find an independent survey of what Australian tradies pay. The published guides come from businesses that sell websites, or sell leads to those that do, so read them as asking prices. The figures below are from one such guide.
Source (and its interest) | Published figures | GST | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
What’s The Damage?, a cost-guide site run by Focus Search Pty Ltd that sells agencies a paid lead placement | Says most small businesses pay $2,000 to $6,000 for a 5 to 10 page site. Landing page $800 to $3,000. Ongoing $75 to $400 a month. A .com.au domain $15 to $30 a year | Not stated | Updated October 2026 |
When you compare quotes, check three things:
GST. The guide doesn’t say whether its figures include GST. Ask for the total including GST.
Ongoing fees. Hosting, care plans and domain renewals continue after launch. Add a year of them to the build price.
Ownership. What’s The Damage? says the domain should be in your name. Ask what happens to the site if you stop paying.
DIY builders vs a web designer
business.gov.au describes two routes. A cloud-based content management system includes hosting and templates, which suits doing it yourself. A self-hosted one is more flexible but takes “more work to set up and maintain”; you can buy a template or pay a web designer. Either way, register a domain name through an accredited registrar or reseller, keep the software updated, and turn on two-factor authentication.
Squarespace publishes Australian-dollar prices (checked 12 October 2026):
Squarespace plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
Basic | A$17 a month | A$24 a month |
Core | A$28 a month | A$39 a month |
All plans include hosting, and yearly plans include a free custom domain for the first year. There’s a 14-day free trial but no free plan. The pricing page doesn’t say whether GST is included. The Plus and Advanced plans (A$49 and A$109 a month, billed yearly) add selling tools most tradies won’t need.
Wix and Framer showed US-dollar prices when we checked, so we haven’t listed them. Wix calls its US prices “for reference only” and says they exclude taxes. Both have free plans, but you pay to use your own domain, and Framer says its free plan is “ideal for non-commercial use”.
DIY costs less upfront, but the hours are yours. A designer suits a business with several services, or an owner with no time.
Questions to ask a web designer
What’s the total including GST, and what do I pay each month after launch?
Will the domain be registered in my name?
If I stop paying for hosting or care, do I keep the site and its content?
Can I change text, prices and photos myself?
Will every service, area and my licence number be in text?
How many pages, and why? Our SEO guide explains why near-identical suburb pages are a risk, and which AI search crawlers to let in.
Where Localdex fits
Localdex is our product, so weigh this section with that in mind. It’s a directory of local service businesses, trades and others, built for AI assistants as well as people.
A Localdex profile isn’t a replacement for a website. It’s a structured profile that AI agents can read: your services, areas, pricing and contact details in set fields.
Its free website check scores how much an AI assistant can learn from your site, out of 35.
A free profile can earn up to 65 more as you add structured details.
Customers, or their assistants, send quote requests. The customer approves each request before it goes out, to at most three businesses.
It’s free to list during the pilot.
It covers South East Queensland and Northern Rivers NSW.
We can’t promise leads, rankings or AI recommendations. And put your licence number on your profile, as you would on your website.
Already have a site? Check what an AI assistant can read from it, free · How Localdex works for businesses
FAQ
Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile? Not always. The profile is free and gets you on Maps, which may be enough if referrals keep you busy. But Google sets the format. A one-page site, linked from the profile, lets you state your services, areas, prices and licence in full.
How much does a tradie website cost? The published guides come from sellers. What’s The Damage?, which sells leads to agencies, says most small businesses pay $2,000 to $6,000 for a 5 to 10 page site and $800 to $3,000 for a landing page, plus $75 to $400 a month ongoing. A DIY builder such as Squarespace starts at A$17 a month billed yearly. Check GST.
Does my licence number have to be on my website? In Queensland, yes: the QBCC lists websites as advertising, which must show your licensed name and licence number. In NSW, they must be shown in all advertising, including online.
Can I build my own tradie website? Yes. Builders such as Squarespace include hosting and templates, from A$17 a month billed yearly. Budget your time, and register the domain in your name.
Is a directory profile enough? It’s a start, but the directory owns the page. It works best alongside a page you control, with the same details on both.
Sources
QBCC, advertising (last published 30 June 2025; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/node/331
NSW Government, building trade advertisements (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.nsw.gov.au/business-and-economy/running-a-business/advertising-laws-and-your-business/building-trade-advertisements
ACCC, price displays (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.accc.gov.au/business/pricing/price-displays
business.gov.au, set up a business website (undated; checked 12 October 2026): https://business.gov.au/online-and-digital/business-website/set-up-a-business-website
Google Search Central, SEO starter guide (last updated 10 December 2025; checked 12 October 2026): https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
Google Business Profile Help, tips to improve your local ranking on Google (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091
Google Business Profile Help, manage your service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481
Google Business Profile Help, edit your Business Profile (checked 12 October 2026): https://support.google.com/business/answer/14368911
Google, Business Profile for Australia and New Zealand (checked 12 October 2026): https://business.google.com/aunz/business-profile/
What’s The Damage?, web design cost Australia (cost-guide site that sells agency lead placements; updated October 2026; GST not stated; checked 12 October 2026): https://whatsthedamage.com.au/web-design-cost/
Squarespace, pricing (AUD; GST not stated; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.squarespace.com/pricing
Wix, plans and pricing (shown in USD; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.wix.com/plans
Framer, pricing (shown in USD; checked 12 October 2026): https://www.framer.com/pricing
Current as of 12 October 2026.
Written by Localdex