Tradie Websites That Get the Phone Ringing
A tradie website has one job: turn someone searching on their phone into a call or a quote request. Design Republic builds tradie websites at three fixed prices — $995, $1,495 and $2,995 — with a page for each job you want more of, tap-to-call on every screen, and the local setup Google needs to know where you work.
You get the price before we talk, you own the site outright, and I'll tell you straight what a website can and can't do for your rankings.
The short version
- Starter
- $995one-off
- SEO-Ready
- $1,495one-off
- Growth
- $2,995upfront + $495/month
Fixed prices. You own the site and can host it anywhere. Payment plans available on the $1,495 and $2,995 builds.
What a Tradie Website Costs, and What You Get
Most tradies want the $1,495 build: it's the smallest one that gives each job and suburb its own page, which is what lets a site be found for more than your business name. Full comparison on the pricing page.
Starter
Solo operators who need a proper site on the phone in the van, and not much more yet.
- ✓3–5 pages
- ✓Mobile-first design
- ✓Contact form and tap-to-call
- ✓Titles and meta tags set up properly
- ✓Help setting up your Google Business Profile
- ✓1 month of support
SEO-Ready
Established tradies who want the site built to be found for each job and suburb.
- ✓5–7 pages, one per job type you want more of
- ✓Service area pages for 5–7 suburbs
- ✓Keyword research for your trade and area
- ✓LocalBusiness and Service schema
- ✓Reviews and job photo gallery
- ✓Google Business Profile linked in
- ✓3 months of support
Growth
Tradies in contested markets who want someone working on rankings every month.
- ✓Everything in SEO-Ready
- ✓Ongoing SEO work each month
- ✓Google Business Profile management
- ✓Local citation building
- ✓Monthly ranking report
- ✓New content each month
Four things. Looking good is the fifth.
A good tradie website needs four things: a page for every job you want, a phone number that's one tap away on a phone, proof that you're licensed and real, and a clear list of the suburbs you cover. Looking good comes after those, not instead of them.
Why does each job need its own page?
Each job needs its own page because people search for the job, not the trade. Someone types “blocked drain” or “switchboard upgrade”, and Google shows the page that answers exactly that. A single Services page with every job in dot points matches none of those searches well, so it tends to rank for none of them.
Why does mobile matter so much for tradies?
Mobile matters because the customer is usually standing next to the problem. The person with water coming through the ceiling is holding a phone, not sitting at a desk. If the number isn't visible, the page is slow, or the form is fiddly with a thumb, they go back and ring the next result. Every page is designed on a phone screen first.
What makes a homeowner trust a tradie's site?
A homeowner trusts what they can check: your licence number, your insurance, your real name and face, photos of jobs you actually did, and reviews from people in their area. Stock photos of a smiling bloke in a clean hard hat do the opposite. They're letting a stranger into their house, and the site is how they decide whether that's you.
Do tradie websites need suburb pages?
Yes, but only for suburbs you genuinely work in, and each one has to say something true about that area. Copying one page fifty times and swapping the suburb name is a pattern Google has been discounting for years. Five real suburb pages beat fifty identical ones.
Facebook can switch your business off tomorrow. Directories sell your lead to four competitors.
Plenty of tradies run on a Facebook page, HiPages and word of mouth instead of their own website. Those have their place. They are not the same thing, and here's the difference that costs money.
You own a website. You rent a Facebook page.
Facebook can change its algorithm, cut your reach, or disable your page, and you have no say and nobody to ring. A website you own keeps its rankings and its history. One is an asset. The other is space you borrow.
Directories sell the same lead several times
When a customer enquires through a directory, that enquiry usually goes to several tradies at once. You're paying for the privilege of racing three competitors to the phone, then competing on price when you get there.
Rankings compound. Posts don't.
A page that ranks keeps bringing work in month after month without you touching it. A Facebook post is gone in a day and a directory listing stops the moment you stop paying. One builds. The other has to be fed.
The Honest Bit: A New Website Won't Rank by Itself
Plenty of web designers will tell you their sites are “SEO-ready” and leave you to assume that means page one. It doesn't. A well-built site is the foundation. Google also looks at how established and trusted the business is: reviews, your Google Business Profile, directory listings, and other sites that mention and link to you.
That side builds over months, not days, and nobody can promise you a position. Anyone who guarantees one is guessing or planning to buy it for you with ads.
What the build does guarantee: when someone does find you — from Google, a referral, a van at the lights — the site makes it easy to ring you. If you want the ranking side worked on every month, that's what the Growth build and SEO for tradies are for. And if it's Google Maps you're missing from rather than the website, the Google Maps Competitor Gap Report shows you what the businesses above you have that you don't.
Who you're actually dealing with
Two blokes I've done this for. Neither is a tradie — they're cleaners on the Gold Coast — but both were paying for leads before we started, and neither is now.
I sold perfume door to door for five years. I thought I was good at it. I wasn't — what sold the perfume was the fragrance. I turned up and held the bottle.
Your website is supposed to be the fragrance. You're already doing the turning up: the van, the ads, the hours, the callouts at 2am. What's written on that site is the bit that has to do the persuading when you're not in the room.
Two businesses I helped build and sold went on to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. I moved to Australia in 2000 and have been building websites and generating leads for local trade businesses for the last ten years.
We used to spend up to $1,200 per week on Google AdWord campaigns for a steady workflow. In a matter of three months Hilton managed to get us ranked in the top position of the Google Map pack for multiple primary keywords, and implemented software that increased our reviews from 18 to over 100. No more AdWords or looking for customers.
I'd been paying for leads from Jim's, HiPages, OneFlare and word of mouth. Hilton promoted my page so that it appears in the Google 3 pack across a wide area for different keywords. This has totally transformed my business — I no longer pay for leads and have withdrawn from both HiPages and OneFlare.
Straight up: neither of those is a plumber — they're cleaners on the Gold Coast. Same game though, and both of them were paying good money for leads before we started.
Your customer decides differently to a builder's customer.
The build changes with the trade, because customers decide differently. A plumber's customer wants someone now. A builder's customer wants to see finished work first.
Websites for Plumbers
Mostly urgent calls. The number sits at the top of every screen, and each emergency job — blocked drains, burst pipes, hot water — gets its own page.
See Websites for PlumbersWebsites for Electricians
Customers want proof of licence before anything else. The licence number and safety credentials go up front, next to clear pages for each job.
See Websites for ElectriciansWebsites for Builders
Bigger jobs, longer decisions. The site leads with real completed projects and explains how you work, because that is what the customer is weighing up.
See Websites for BuildersWebsites for Roofers
Work arrives in bursts after storms. The site handles the urgent leak and the insurance question in the same visit, with photos of real roofs.
See Websites for RoofersThe six things tradies ask before they commit.
How much does a tradie website cost?
Design Republic builds tradie websites at three fixed prices: $995 for a 3–5 page starter site, $1,495 for a 5–7 page site with suburb pages and local SEO setup, and $2,995 upfront plus $495 a month if you want ongoing SEO. You own the site. After that, the only running costs are a domain (roughly $15–30 a year) and hosting.
What pages should a tradie website have?
A homepage, one page for each job you want more of, a page for each main suburb you work in, an about page with your licence and insurance, and a way to call or send a quote request from every page. One "Services" page listing everything in dot points ranks for nothing in particular.
How long does it take to build a tradie website?
Typically 2–4 weeks, depending on how many pages you need and how quickly you can send photos and job details. The part that holds most builds up is waiting on content from the tradie, so having your licence number, service list and a few job photos ready speeds it up.
Will a new website get me on the first page of Google?
Not on its own, and not straight away. A well-built site is the foundation, but Google also weighs how established and trusted the business is online, which comes from reviews, directory listings and other sites linking to you. That builds over months. Anyone who guarantees a position is guessing.
Is a website worth it if I already get work from HiPages or Facebook?
They do different jobs. A directory lead usually goes to several tradies at once, and a Facebook page can have its reach cut or be switched off. A website is the one channel you own, and the site customers check before they ring you even when they found you somewhere else.
Can you build a website for my trade?
Yes. Plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers and most other trades. The build changes with the trade: plumbing is mostly urgent phone calls, building is mostly people looking at finished projects, and the site is laid out around how your customers actually decide.
Tell me your trade and where you work
I'll come back with which build fits, which pages it should have, and the price. In writing, no phone call unless you want one.
Or skip the form — 0488 845 404 or hilton@designrepublic.net.au