Do Tradies Need a Website?

Plenty of tradies keep a full diary without one. Whether you need a site comes down to where your work comes from and what customers do before they pick up the phone. Here's how to work it out for your own business, including when it's fine to skip it.

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The short answer

If homeowners, landlords or property managers find you and then choose between you and a couple of other quotes, a website usually earns its keep. If every job comes from one or two builders who already have your number, it probably doesn't, at least for now.

Most trade businesses sit between those two. Work arrives through referrals, calls from the signwriting on the ute, a lead app, a repeat customer and the odd stranger on Google. For that mix, a site's main job isn't pulling in people who've never heard of you. It's backing up everything else: the neighbour's referral who wants to check you out before ringing, or the property manager's office that needs your licence number before adding you to the list of contractors they call.

That's a modest job, and it doesn't need a big site. One page carrying your trade, the suburbs you travel to, your licence, real job photos and a quote form covers it for most sole traders and small crews.

How many trade businesses are online at all

Going without is common in the trades. The ABS asked Australian businesses about their online presence for the year to 30 June 2025. Construction, the industry group that takes in builders and most specialist trades, sat well under the average on every measure:

Online presence by industry, year ended 30 June 2025 (ABS)
Measure	Construction	All industries
Own website or app	39.8%	55.1%
Social media presence	40.9%	50.9%
Any online presence, including third-party platforms	58.0%	71.0%
Took orders through an online ordering facility on their own website or app	5.3%	21.0%

Turn the third row around and about 42% of construction businesses had no online presence of any kind: no site, no social page, no listing on a platform. So a tradie without a website is far from unusual. The flip side is that a plain, accurate site still puts you ahead of a big share of the businesses a customer might compare you with.

The last row is worth noticing too. Only about one construction business in twenty took orders through its own site, against about one in five across all industries. Nobody adds a switchboard upgrade to a shopping cart. A trade site exists to get the phone ringing or a quote request in, which is a large part of why it can stay small and cheap.

What homeowners are told to check before they hire

Government consumer agencies give homeowners much the same list of checks before hiring a tradie. Three examples:

New South Wales. The NSW Government's step-by-step guide to choosing a tradesperson or builder tells people to verify the licence, check the business's ABN, ask to see reviews or references from previous clients, and confirm insurance, including Home Building Compensation Fund cover on projects over $20,000.
Western Australia. Consumer Protection tells people to check the licence register, look at reviews and recent work references, get at least three written quotes, and ask whether GST is included and whether call-out fees apply.
Queensland. The QBCC tells homeowners to check a contractor's licence status before hiring, using its free licensee register.

Each of those checks has the customer going looking for you. A website is the one place where you can answer them before they ask: your licence number written out in full, your ABN, photos of jobs you've actually done, and reviews from real customers. Someone who can tick those boxes in two minutes is more likely to put you on their shortlist of three. Someone who finds nothing has to take you on trust, or try the next name they can check.

Which kind of trade business are you?

The answer shifts with where your work comes from. Find the row that sounds most like your last six months:

Does your trade business need a website?
Where most of your work comes from	Verdict	Why
Subcontracting for one or two builders	Not yet	The builders already know your work. A site starts to matter once you want clients of your own.
Urgent call-outs from householders: burst pipes, power faults, lockouts, storm damage	Yes	People ring the first business that looks trustworthy. They need a number to tap and proof of your licence on the first screen.
Planned jobs picked on looks: decks, paving, tiling, painting, landscaping	Yes	Customers compare finished work before they compare prices. Your photos do most of the selling.
Property managers, strata managers and small commercial clients	Yes	Office staff want your licence, ABN and contact details in one place, and a link is easy to forward to a colleague.
Lead apps and quote marketplaces	Useful	A customer who found you on a platform can come straight back to you for the next job, and tell friends where to find you.
Word of mouth only, booked months ahead	Can wait	Set up the free listings and look again when the diary has gaps.

If you're in the first or last row, waiting is a sensible call. Anyone in the middle rows is likely to get more from a simple site than it costs, though nobody can tell you in advance how many jobs it will bring. Our guide to the cost of not having a website has a break-even table you can fill in with your own profit per job.

What a website does that your other channels can't

A site doesn't replace the places you already get work from. It holds the details those places have no room for.

Signwriting on the ute. People see your name at the lights or parked outside a neighbour's place. Plenty won't ring on the spot; they'll search your business name that night. What turns up decides whether they call.
Google Business Profile. Free, and worth setting up whatever else you do. It gives you a map pin, reviews and a call button. Google asks a plumber running the business from home to clear the home address from the profile, which is fine, because the profile can link to a site that explains where you work and what you do.
Facebook and Instagram. Handy for posting job photos as you finish them. Older posts slide out of view, though, and anyone who doesn't use Facebook sees very little. We weigh the two up in do you need a website if you have Facebook?
Lead apps and marketplaces. They can fill the diary, especially early on. You're shown next to other businesses quoting for the same job, on terms the platform sets, so it pays to have somewhere of your own to send repeat customers.
Word of mouth. Still where many trades get their best work. A site just makes a referral easier to act on: "look them up, the number's on their website".

When it's fine to skip it for now

A website isn't the right spend for every tradie. Leave it for later if:

You're still waiting on your contractor licence. In NSW, for example, advertising electrical wiring, plumbing, draining, gas fitting, or air conditioning and refrigeration work without a current contractor licence is prohibited. Get the licence first, so there's a number to put on the site.
You subcontract full-time and have no plans to quote for householders.
One maintenance contract keeps you busy, say with a single strata manager or builder, and nobody new needs to find you.
You're turning work away and couldn't take more enquiries if they came.
You're retiring or selling up within the year.

While you wait, three free steps keep things ready: set up a Google Business Profile, get your regular customers to leave reviews on it, and register your business name as a .com.au domain so it's yours when you do want a site.

Three trade sites we've built, all one page

A tradie site doesn't need to be big to do its job. Three examples:

Western Sydney Stump Grinding & Tree Removal: a single page with two quote forms, tap-to-call throughout, customer reviews, a services section and a list of the areas it covers. It has landed at least 62 jobs, about $46,500 of work, which we wrote up as a case study. That's one business in one market, so treat it as an example rather than a forecast.
M.J. Debney Plumbing & Gas in Queensland: one page with a six-service overview, a 13-photo project gallery that swipes on a phone, client testimonials, a protected contact form and tap-to-call.
Tomi's Bobcat and Excavation in the Bega Valley: one page with three service sections, a swipeable 42-photo gallery, a testimonial carousel and a contact form with a thank-you page.

Bigger businesses need more room. Bright Building & Renovations in Adelaide has seven service pages, seven service-area pages and a seven-step quote form. The point is to start from what your customers need to see, not from a page count.

What it costs, and what you'd need to send

We build trade sites for $399 for one page, $899 for up to three pages and $1,499 for up to eight. No GST is added. There's no deposit either: we build the draft, you ask for as many changes as you like, and you pay once you approve it. After launch, hosting is $30 a month with no contract, and that includes unlimited text and image changes on your existing pages.

You supply the words and photos, and we arrange and format them into the page. Most tradies already have what's needed: a list of the jobs you do, the suburbs you'll travel to, your licence number and the best photos on your phone. If you don't have a logo, we'll help with one at no charge. Our guide to what to include on a tradie website goes through each section, and the tradie website cost guide sets out what other kinds of provider charge.

What a tradie website costs with us

Where most tradies start

One page

$399

Your trade, suburbs, licence, job photos, reviews, a quote form and tap-to-call on one scrolling page. Enough for most sole traders and small crews.

Up to 3 pages

$899

Room to give your two or three most valuable jobs their own page and photos, alongside a home page.

Up to 8 pages

$1,499

For crews with several distinct services or regions, each with its own page and quote button.

Payment. No deposit. We build your draft first, you ask for as many changes as you like, and you pay once you approve it. If you don't go ahead, you owe nothing.
GST. WebCraft Studio isn't registered for GST, so no GST is added.
Timing. Most sites are live within 5–10 days of us getting your words and photos; bigger sites (up to 8 pages) take 2–3 weeks.
Hosting. After launch, hosting is $30 a month: hosting, security monitoring, backups, email support and unlimited text and image changes on your existing pages. New pages or features are quoted first. No contract, cancel anytime.
Domain and email. We register your domain in your name (about $20 a year), connect it to your site and set up your business email.

See full pricing and what each package includes

Questions tradies ask about websites

Do sole traders need a website?

Not always. A sole trader who subcontracts full-time can usually go without. The sole trader most likely to benefit is the one quoting for householders, because there's no shopfront, office or receptionist to reassure a customer they're dealing with a real, licensed business. One page with your licence, suburbs, photos and a quote form does that.

Is a Google Business Profile enough for a tradie?

It's the first free thing to set up, and for some tradies it's enough for a while. It's built for people searching nearby: a map pin, reviews, hours and a call button. It has little room for a full gallery, a quote form that takes photos, or a proper explanation of each job. Most tradies end up with both, with the profile linking to the site. We compare them in a website vs a Google Business Profile on its own.

Will a website get me more jobs?

We can't promise that, and nobody honestly can. A site makes it easier for people who already have your name, or who are searching for your trade nearby, to check you out and get in touch. How many do depends on your area, your reviews, the competition and how quickly you answer. Our guide on how long a new site takes to show up on Google sets realistic expectations.

Does my licence number have to be on my website?

For many trades, yes. Licence or registration numbers are required in advertising in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia for at least some kinds of work, and the NSW, Queensland and WA guidance names internet or website advertising. The details vary by trade and state, so check your own regulator. Our tradie website checklist sets out what the regulators say in each of those states.

How long does it take to get a tradie site live?

Most sites are live within 5–10 days of us getting your words and photos; bigger sites (up to 8 pages) take 2–3 weeks. The clock starts when your words and photos arrive, so gathering them early gets things moving sooner.

Can a tradie start with one page and add more later?

Yes, and it's a sensible way to start. A one-page site can grow into three or eight pages as you add services or areas. New pages are quoted before we start, and changes to the text and photos on pages you already have are covered by the $30 monthly hosting.

See what your trade site would look like

Tell us your trade and the suburbs you cover. We'll reply with a fixed price, build the draft from your words and photos, and you only pay once you've approved it.