A Website for a New ABN or Sole Trader: What to Sort First
An ABN costs nothing and is often issued on the spot. Before the website comes a handful of decisions that are harder to undo later: the name you trade under, who holds the domain, and what the site needs to show. Here they are in the order we'd tackle them, with the first-year costs.
- From $399, no GST added
- No deposit: pay once you approve the draft
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Do you need a website the day you get an ABN?
No law says a new business needs one. Registering for an ABN through the Australian Business Register is free. With a complete online application you'll usually have the outcome as soon as you finish, though an application that needs further review can take 20 working days. You need to be running a business or other enterprise to be entitled to one.
You'll be in a crowded field. The ABS counted 2,814,778 actively trading businesses at 30 June 2026, including 848,300 sole proprietors, and 460,461 businesses started trading during 2025–26. For a sole trader nobody has heard of yet, a website's first job is simple: give people who find your name something solid to check before they ring.
business.gov.au describes the sole trader structure as the simplest there is, and relatively easy and inexpensive to set up. You lodge tax under your own TFN, and you have unlimited liability, so your personal assets are at risk if things go wrong. That doesn't change what a website needs, but it does explain why everything below is in your own name.
Step 1: settle the name you'll trade under
ASIC's rule is straightforward. A sole trader using only their own first name and surname doesn't need to register a business name. Add anything to it, such as 'Gardening' or '& Co', and you do. Registering needs an ABN or an ABN application reference, and the Business Registration Service lets you apply for both at once. From 1 July 2026 a business name costs $47 for one year or $108 for three.
Once a name is registered, ASIC says it must be displayed prominently wherever the business is open to the public, and your registered business name and ABN must appear on business documents such as invoices.
Settle the name before anything gets printed or built. The name on your website, your domain, your Google Business Profile, your invoices and the side of your ute should all match, and changing it three months in means paying for each of those twice.
Step 2: register the domain to the right owner
For a .com.au, auDA says the holder must be a commercial entity registered to trade in Australia, most commonly with an active ABN or ACN. The name also has to connect to you. Your personal or business name counts, as does an acronym of either, and so does a match or synonym of what you do, such as the service you provide or the goods you sell. So a sole trader with an ABN can usually register their own name, their registered business name, or a name describing their trade.
The shorter .au addresses work differently. auDA says you don't need an ABN or ACN for a .au direct name; Australian citizens and permanent residents meet the Australian presence requirement too.
The trap for sole traders comes later. A domain licence belongs to whoever registered it. auDA compares it to a car registration: when a business changes hands, its domain names don't move automatically but need a registrant transfer to the new holder, which has to be eligible in its own right. auDA also says that once the ABN tied to a domain is cancelled, the holder is no longer eligible for it. So if you set up a company down the track and plan to cancel your sole trader ABN, transfer the domain to the company first.
We register the domain in your name, for about $20 a year, connect it to your site and set up your business email. Our guide to domain names and email for new businesses goes into choosing one.
Step 3: decide what a brand-new site has to prove
An established business can lean on years of reviews. A new sole trader has to show they're real in other ways:
- Your ABN. ABN Lookup is free and public, and shows whether an ABN is active or cancelled, the business type and its GST status. A careful customer can check yours in a few seconds, and it reassures them that they're dealing with a business.
- Your licence number, if your trade has one. In NSW, for example, the government says the licensee's name and licence number must be shown in all advertising, the internet included, for residential building work over $5,000 and for specialist work such as electrical, plumbing, draining and gas fitting of any value. Other states set their own rules, so check with your regulator.
- A photo of you. When the business is one person, customers want to see who will turn up.
- Where you work. A list of the suburbs or towns you cover tells people more than a map pin.
- How to reach you. A number that dials when tapped on a phone, and a short form for people who'd rather not ring.
Many sole traders work from home and would rather not publish the address. Google's guidance for Business Profiles points the same way: if you don't serve customers at your business address, remove it from your profile and enter your service area instead. A website can follow the same approach, naming the areas you cover rather than a street.
GST, prices and what you show
The ATO says you must register for GST when your GST turnover, meaning gross business income less GST, reaches $75,000 or more, measured over the past 12 months or projected for the next 12. You have 21 days to register once you go over. Taxi and ride-sourcing drivers must register whatever they earn, and anyone below the threshold can register voluntarily. Whether registering early suits you is a question for your accountant.
If you publish prices, business.gov.au explains that a business advertising part of a price must also show the total price as a single figure, as noticeable as the part price, including all compulsory charges, taxes and fees. A sole trader who isn't registered for GST has no GST to add, which keeps that simple. We're in the same position ourselves: WebCraft Studio isn't registered for GST, so no GST is added to our prices.
Prices on a new site are optional. Some sole traders publish a 'from' price for common jobs to filter out enquiries that won't fit; others prefer to quote every job. Either way, prices on your existing pages can change as often as you like once the site is on our hosting.
Privacy, forms and your ABN on quotes
Most new sole traders fall under the Privacy Act's small business exemption, which the OAIC says applies to businesses with an annual turnover of $3 million or less. There are exceptions: a business that provides a health service, or that trades in personal information, is covered whatever its turnover, and a small business can choose to opt in. The OAIC's examples of health service providers include allied health professionals and complementary medicine therapists, so a new massage therapist or physio is in a different position from a new lawn-mowing round. Whichever applies, a contact form only needs a name, a way to reply and a description of the job.
Your ABN matters on paperwork as well as on the site. The ATO says a business paying you generally has to withhold 47% of the payment if you don't quote an ABN, unless an exception applies, such as a payment of $75 or less, excluding GST. Putting your ABN on every quote and invoice avoids that conversation altogether.
Step 4: budget for the first year
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ABN | $0 | No fee from the Australian Business Register |
| Business name | $47 for one year or $108 for three | Only if you trade under something other than your own name |
| Domain | About $20 a year | Registered in your name |
| Website | $399 one page, $899 up to 3 pages, $1,499 up to 8 pages | No deposit; paid once you approve the draft |
| Hosting | $30 a month from launch | Includes unlimited text and image changes on existing pages |
| Logo | $0 from us | We help with one at no charge if you don't have one |
For a one-page site under your own name, that's about $779 in the first year: $399 for the build, $360 for twelve months of hosting and about $20 for the domain. With a registered business name, add $47. No GST is added to our prices.
Tax on those costs isn't all treated alike. The ATO's ruling on commercial websites, TR 2016/3, treats the cost of building a website as capital, while hosting, registration and licensing fees are revenue expenses deductible over the period they cover, and domain registration fees are deductible when paid unless they cover more than 13 months. Small businesses using the simplified depreciation rules may be able to write off capital costs under the instant asset write-off; business.gov.au says the $20,000 threshold is permanent from 1 July 2026 for businesses with turnover up to $10 million. The ruling also deals separately with spending before a business starts trading, so take the details to your accountant or tax agent.
Start with what you have
New businesses often put the website off because they don't have photos of finished jobs yet. That's a reason to start small, not to wait. A first page can go up with a photo of you, your tools or vehicle, the services you offer, the areas you cover, your ABN and licence, and a way to get in touch. As jobs are finished, photos get added; on our hosting, adding images to an existing page is included.
What we need from you:
- a few lines in your own words on each service, written the way you'd explain it to a customer;
- the suburbs or towns you'll cover;
- your ABN, business name if you have one, and licence number if your trade needs one;
- the photos you have, taken on your phone is fine;
- your phone number, email and the hours you take calls;
- any prices you want shown.
We don't write the copy, but we arrange and format your words and photos into the page and send you a draft. You ask for as many changes as you like and pay once you approve it. 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.
When to hold off
A website isn't the first thing every new ABN needs. It's reasonable to wait if:
- you're still choosing a business name, because a site built around a name you then drop is money spent twice;
- all your work for now comes from one builder, agency or platform, and new customers won't be looking for you;
- you're testing a side business and don't know yet whether it will last.
In the meantime, register the domain you want so nobody else takes it, and set up a free Google Business Profile. Our guide comparing a website with a Business Profile on its own covers what a profile does and doesn't do.
What a first website costs with us
Where most sole traders start
One page
$399
What you do, where, your ABN and licence, a photo of you and a way to get in touch, on one page. About $779 for the first year with hosting and domain.
Up to 3 pages
$899
Room for a home page, a page explaining your services properly, and a page for prices, areas and common questions.
Up to 8 pages
$1,499
For a sole trader starting with several distinct services or service areas, each with its own page.
- 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.
New ABN and sole trader websites: common questions
Does a sole trader need a registered business name for a website?
No. A sole trader trading under their own first name and surname doesn't need one, and a .com.au can connect to your personal name. If you add words to your name, such as 'Plumbing' or '& Co', ASIC requires you to register it, which costs $47 for one year or $108 for three from 1 July 2026.
Can a sole trader get a .com.au with just an ABN?
Usually, yes. auDA says an active ABN is the most common way to qualify, and the name must connect to you: your personal or business name, an acronym of it, or a match for what you do. A .au direct name doesn't need an ABN at all.
Should a sole trader's ABN go on the website?
It's worth doing. ABN Lookup is free and public, so customers can confirm the number is active and see whether you're registered for GST. If you've registered a business name, ASIC also requires the name and ABN on business documents such as invoices.
Does a home-based business have to show its address?
Not if customers don't come to you. Google says a business that doesn't serve customers at its address should remove the address from its Business Profile and show a service area, and a website can list the suburbs you cover instead of a street address.
Does a new sole trader have to charge GST?
The ATO requires GST registration once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 or more, current or projected, with 21 days to register after you go over; taxi and ride-sourcing drivers must register regardless. Below that it's optional, and your accountant can tell you whether registering suits you.
What happens to the domain if a sole trader becomes a company?
It doesn't move by itself. auDA says a domain needs a registrant transfer to a new holder, which must be eligible in its own right, and that once the ABN tied to a domain is cancelled, the holder is no longer eligible. Transfer it to the company before you cancel your sole trader ABN.
Get a fixed quote for your first website
Tell us what you do, the name you're trading under and where you work. We'll reply with a fixed price, build the draft from your words and photos, and you pay only if you approve it.
We reply within 24 hours. Prefer email? info@webcraftstudio.com.au