The short answer
Most Australian tradies pay somewhere between $800 and $3,000 for a small business website, plus $22 to $99 a month to keep it hosted and looked after. On the Sunshine Coast, a five-page trade site from a local studio mostly lands between $1,600 and $3,000. National budget builders that only do tradie sites sit lower, at about $799 to $1,500. If you would rather not pay upfront, subscription plans typically run $99 to $250 a month with a 12-month minimum.
Those ranges are wide because "a website" can mean anything from a single page you build yourself on a Sunday to a 30-page site with a page for every suburb you work in. The rest of this guide breaks down what each type costs, what pushes the price up, the costs that turn up after you sign, and how to compare two quotes that look nothing alike.
How these numbers were put together: we checked about 100 published prices, packages and plans from Sunshine Coast studios, national tradie website companies, subscription builders and SEO agencies in October 2026. Prices are in AUD and include GST where the provider charges it. Treat them as market ranges, not quotes.
What each type of website costs
There are five common ways tradies get a website. Each one suits a different stage of business.
| Type | Typical upfront | Ongoing | What you usually get | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace and similar) | $0 | About $250-$660 a year in plan fees | Templates, hosting, a basic contact form | Your time, generic wording, little local SEO |
| Freelancer | Varies widely, often $800-$2,500 | Often hourly for changes | Anything from great to unfinished | Who owns the domain and logins if they disappear |
| National budget tradie specialist | $799-$1,500 | $22-$60 a month hosting | 1-5 pages from a trade template, quote form | Few or no suburb pages, extras charged separately |
| Local studio or agency | $1,600-$3,000 for about 5 pages; $4,500+ for large custom sites | $30-$99 a month hosting and care | Custom design, copywriting, face-to-face service | Hosting, SEO and edits often quoted on top |
| Subscription (pay monthly) | $0, though some charge $495-$2,000 setup | $99-$250 a month, 12-month minimum | Site, hosting and small edits bundled | Exit terms, and whether you keep the site at the end |
DIY website builders
The cheapest option in cash, and a fair choice if you are just starting out and have more time than money. The catch is that a DIY site takes most people 15 to 30 hours to get right, and the result usually reads like a brochure: one page about you, one page of services, a contact form. That gets you a presence, but it rarely brings in new work from people searching "electrician Buderim" or "blocked drain Caloundra".
Freelancers
Freelancers range from excellent to gone-by-Christmas. Prices vary as much as quality. A good one can build you a solid site for less than an agency. Before you pay, make sure the domain is registered in your name and that you will be given the logins for the domain, hosting and any analytics.
National budget tradie specialists
These companies sell template sites to trades all over Australia, usually from $799 to $1,500. They are quick and cheap, and the sites generally work on a phone. Most are built around one to five pages, so you show up for your business name but not for the suburbs and services you want more of. Suburb pages, extra services and Google Business Profile setup are often add-ons.
Local studios and agencies
On the Sunshine Coast, most local studios quote $1,600 to $3,000 for a five-page small business site, with larger custom builds starting around $4,500 and climbing well past $10,000 for complex work. You get someone you can meet and call. Read the scope closely, though: many local quotes cover design and build only, with hosting, SEO, copywriting or Google Business Profile setup priced separately.
Subscription websites
Pay-monthly plans spread the cost, usually $99 to $250 a month on a 12-month minimum. Some have no setup fee, while others charge $495 to $2,000 to start. Over a year, most cost $1,200 to $3,600. They suit tradies who want predictable costs and someone else handling updates. Before you sign, ask in writing what happens after the minimum term: can you leave, and do you keep the site, the wording and the photos?
What pushes the price up or down
When two quotes differ by $2,000, it is usually down to a handful of things.
- Number of pages. This is the biggest driver. A one-page site and a site with 6 service pages and 8 suburb pages are different jobs. Ask how many pages you get, not just "a website".
- Who writes the wording. Some quotes expect you to supply every word. Copywriting is real work, and it is the part most tradies never get around to. Check whether it is included.
- The quote form. A plain contact form is quick to build. A two-step form with job types, suburbs and photo uploads that lands in your inbox (and sends the customer a confirmation) takes longer and wins more jobs. Our guide to quote forms explains why.
- Local SEO groundwork. Suburb pages, local business schema, a sitemap, page titles and a Google Business Profile set up properly. Cheap sites often skip all of this.
- Custom design versus template. A custom design costs more. A good template fitted to your brand is plenty for most trades.
- Photos. Real photos of your work beat stock photos every time. A professional photo shoot adds cost, but phone photos taken on the job in good light work fine.
- Self-editing tools. Being able to change your phone number, hours or specials yourself saves paying for small edits later.
Hidden costs to ask about
These are the costs that do not always show up on the first quote. Add them up before you compare.
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name (.com.au) | About $15-$40 a year | Must be registered to your ABN. Make sure it is in your name, not the builder's. |
| Hosting and care | $22-$99 a month | Should cover hosting, SSL, security updates and backups. Check whether any edits are included. |
| Business email | From roughly $10 per user a month | Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Free forwarding to your existing inbox is often enough to start. |
| Edits after launch | $95-$150 an hour | Typical hourly rates if edits are not covered by a care plan. |
| Google Business Profile setup | $300-$1,500 one-off | Often sold separately. You can do it yourself with our step-by-step guide. |
| Local SEO retainer | $299-$2,700 a month | Optional. Most named Coast retainers start above $500 a month. Ask exactly what is done each month. |
| Extra pages | About $120-$250 a page | Worth knowing before you add more suburbs later. |
On the domain point: the rules for .au domain names are set by auDA, and a .com.au needs an Australian presence such as an ABN plus a close connection to your business name. If your website builder registers it under their own details, getting it back later can be a headache. The business.gov.au guide to registering a domain covers the basics.
How to compare two quotes
Quotes for tradie websites rarely line up neatly. Put each one through the same checklist and work out the first-year cost and the three-year cost, not just the number on the front page.
- Count the pages. How many service pages and suburb pages are included? Write the total down.
- Check who writes the wording. Included, or "client supplies content"?
- Look at the form. Can customers attach photos? Does it work well on a phone? Where do the leads go?
- Find the ongoing costs. Hosting, care, email and edits. Multiply the monthly figures by 12 and by 36.
- Ask about ownership. Is the domain in your name? If you leave, do you keep the site, the wording and the photos? Is there an exit fee?
- Ask what happens on Google. Is your Google Business Profile set up or tidied? Are suburb pages, schema and a sitemap included? Is the site submitted to Google Search Console?
- Ask about lock-in. For monthly plans: how long is the minimum, and what is the notice period after it?
- Look for proof. Ask to see a live site they built for a trade, and check it on your own phone.
Be wary of any quote that promises a particular Google ranking. Nobody controls Google's results, and the ACCC's guidance on advertising is clear that businesses must not make false or misleading claims. What a builder can do is set up everything Google looks for on a local trade site, and make it easy for you to collect reviews.
A worked example: first-year cost
Here is how three common options compare for a sole-trader electrician who wants a homepage, a handful of service pages and some suburb pages. The figures are illustrative, built from the market ranges above.
| Budget specialist | Local agency | Subscription | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $1,200 | $2,500 | $0-$500 setup |
| Hosting and care (12 months) | $480 | $720 | Included |
| Monthly fee (12 months) | - | - | $2,040 at $170 a month |
| Google Business Profile setup | $400 | $600 | Sometimes included |
| Extra suburb pages (6) | $900 | $1,200 | Often limited |
| First-year total | $2,980 | $5,020 | $2,040-$2,540 |
The cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest year. Once suburb pages, Google Business Profile setup and hosting are added, the gap between options can close or flip.
Is a website worth the money for a tradie?
A simple way to think about it: how many extra jobs would the site need to bring in to pay for itself? If your average job leaves you $250 in profit, a $1,500 website pays for itself after six jobs. Spread across a year, that is one job every two months. A site that is set up for local search, with a quote form that works on a phone, should do better than that. It will not happen on its own, though. It needs a well-kept Google Business Profile and a steady trickle of reviews behind it.
If you are still deciding whether you need a website at all, or whether a Facebook page and lead apps will do, read Do tradies need a website?
Where WilJam Digital sits
We are a Sunshine Coast studio that only builds websites for trades. Builds start from $990 one-off or $79 a month. Every plan includes copywriting, a quote form and Google Business Profile setup, and one-off builds include 12 months of hosting and care. Our Tradie plan covers a homepage, up to 6 service pages and up to 8 suburb pages, which is more pages than most five-page packages at a similar price. Monthly plans have a 12-month minimum, then run month to month, and your domain is always registered in your name.
See current pricing and what each plan includes, or read how we build sites for plumbers, electricians and builders across the Sunshine Coast.