The short answer
Not every tradie needs a website. If you are booked out for months on word of mouth and builder referrals, a website will not change much. But if you want more of a certain type of job, want to work in new suburbs, or are paying for leads you share with other trades, a simple website usually pays for itself quickly.
The bigger question is where your next jobs will come from, and what each one costs you to win. This guide compares the usual options side by side.
How customers find a tradie now
Even when someone gets your name from a neighbour, they usually look you up before calling. They search your name, check your Google reviews, look at photos of your work and see whether you cover their suburb. If nothing comes up, or only an old Facebook post from 2023, plenty of people move on to the next name.
And when someone has no referral at all, they search "plumber near me" or "electrician Buderim". The map results and websites they see are the businesses that have set themselves up to be found.
Your options compared
Word of mouth
The best leads you will ever get: they trust you before you arrive, and they cost nothing in cash. The limits are volume and control. You cannot turn word of mouth up when work is quiet, and you cannot steer it toward the jobs you want more of. A website does not replace word of mouth. It backs it up, because referred customers still look you up.
A Facebook page
Free, quick and good for showing recent jobs. The problems are that Facebook pages rarely show up when people search Google for a trade and suburb, organic reach is low unless you pay to boost posts, you do not own the page or its audience, and many people do not use Facebook at all. It is a useful extra, not a foundation.
Lead platforms (hipages, Airtasker, Oneflare and similar)
Lead platforms can fill a quiet diary fast, and they are a reasonable way to start. The trade-offs are cost and competition. hipages plans run from $139 to $649 a month plus GST, and each lead is usually sent to up to three businesses. An independent breakdown of hipages costs (published by a competing lead seller, so treat the figures as estimates) puts the cost at roughly $150 to $400 per job won. On Airtasker, you bid against other Taskers and a service fee comes out of each job. Either way, the customer relationship sits with the platform, and you are often competing on price.
Google Ads
Ads put you at the top of the page straight away. Clicks for trade searches such as "plumber near me" commonly cost $10 to $50 or more each, and a regional campaign usually needs at least $1,000 a month to get enough data. Ads stop the moment you stop paying. They work best on top of a good website, because a click that lands on a slow or confusing page is money wasted. You can check estimated costs for your own trade and area in Google Ads Keyword Planner.
Your own website and Google Business Profile
Slower to start than ads or lead apps, because Google takes time to trust a new site. Once it is working, the leads are yours alone, you are not bidding against two other businesses for each one, and the cost per lead keeps falling as the site gets more visits. A website also makes your other marketing work harder: your ute signage, business cards and referrals all point somewhere useful.
Cost per lead: an example
These figures are illustrative. Your trade, area and how quickly you call people back will change them, so plug in your own numbers.
| Channel | Monthly cost | Leads a month (example) | Cost per lead | Shared with others? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word of mouth | $0 | Varies, hard to grow | $0 | No |
| Facebook page (no ads) | $0 | 0-2 | $0, plus your time | No |
| hipages (Advanced plan) | About $274 inc GST | About 7 | About $37 | Yes, up to 3 businesses |
| Google Ads | $1,000 | 15-25 | $40-$70 | No, but you pay for every click |
| Own website on a monthly plan | $150 | 4 (month 6 onwards) | About $38 | No |
| Same website, 10 leads a month | $150 | 10 | About $15 | No |
The key column is the last one. A $37 lead that goes to three businesses is not the same as a $38 lead that only goes to you. Win rates on shared leads are lower, so the cost per job is higher.
When a website pays for itself
Work it out from profit per job, not job value. Say your average job is $700 and leaves you about $250 after materials and wages.
- A one-off website costing $1,500 pays for itself after 6 jobs
- A monthly plan at about $150 pays for itself with 1 job a month
- An entry-level site from $990 pays for itself after 4 jobs
For trades with bigger jobs, such as decks, roofing or switchboard upgrades, a single job can cover the whole year. The site will not do it alone, though. It needs a well-kept Google profile, a steady flow of reviews and someone who calls leads back quickly.
When you probably do not need one (yet)
- You are fully booked for months and turning work away
- Almost all your work comes from a few builders or property managers
- You work for another business or subcontract, and do not find your own customers
Even then, set up a free Google Business Profile so people who look you up can find your number and reviews. It takes an afternoon.
What a tradie website needs to earn its keep
A website that just sits there with your logo and a contact page will not bring in much. The ones that work have a few things in common:
- Loads fast on a phone, because that is where most searches happen
- A quote form that is easy to fill in, ideally with photo uploads. See our guide to quote forms that convert
- A page for each main service and suburb, so you show up for more than your business name
- Your licence number, reviews and real photos, so people trust you before calling
- Click-to-call on every page
- Basic tracking, so you know how many enquiries it brings in
Our local SEO checklist covers the full list, and our cost guide explains what each type of site costs in Australia.
The sensible mix for most trades
For most Sunshine Coast tradies, the setup that works is: a free Google Business Profile, kept up to date; a simple website with service and suburb pages and a good quote form; a habit of asking every customer for a review; and lead apps or ads used to fill gaps, not as the whole plan. Over time, as the website brings in more of its own work, you can spend less on shared leads.
WilJam Digital builds websites for Sunshine Coast trades from $990 one-off or $79 a month, with Google Business Profile setup included. Have a look at our pages for electricians, plumbers and landscapers, or our Sunshine Coast web design page.