You know you need a website. Every tradie does in 2026. But when you start looking into it, the prices are all over the place — free templates, $200/month subscriptions, agencies quoting $3,000 to $5,000, some bloke on Airtasker offering to do it for $500.
So what should you actually pay? Let's break it down.
The Short Answer
A tradie website in 2026 costs anywhere from $0 to $5,000+, depending on which route you take. But the real question isn't how much it costs — it's how much value it delivers.
A $5,000 website that doesn't show up on Google is worse than a $5/month website that does.
Here are your three main options.
Option 1: DIY Website Builders (Wix, Squarespace)
Cost: $20–$50/month (plus your time)
Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com let you build your own website using drag-and-drop editors and templates.
Pros
- Relatively affordable monthly cost
- Full control over design and content
- Heaps of templates to choose from
Cons
- You have to build it yourself. You're a tradie, not a web designer. Most tradies start a Wix site, spend a weekend wrestling with it, and end up with something that looks half-finished.
- SEO is your problem. These platforms give you the tools, but you have to know what to do with them. Title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup, mobile optimisation — it's all on you.
- Bloated code. Generic website builders load a lot of unnecessary code, which slows your site down. Google penalises slow sites.
- Generic templates. They're designed for every business type, from florists to law firms. Nothing is tailored for tradies.
- Ongoing time cost. Updates, security, plugins, troubleshooting — it never ends.
Realistic total cost: $30–$50/month + 10–20 hours to build + ongoing maintenance time.
Best for: Tradies who enjoy tinkering with websites and have time on their hands.
Option 2: Web Design Agency
Cost: $1,500–$5,000+ upfront, plus $50–$150/month ongoing
Hiring a web designer or agency to build your site. You tell them what you want, they build it, you pay the invoice.
Pros
- Professional result (if you pick the right agency)
- Someone else handles the technical stuff
- Can get a fully custom design
Cons
- Expensive upfront. $2,000–$5,000 is a lot of money for a business that might only need a simple, effective website.
- Ongoing hosting and maintenance fees. Most agencies charge $50–$150/month for hosting, SSL, and updates. Some lock you into contracts.
- You're dependent on them. Need to change your phone number? That might be a $50 charge and a 2-week wait. Or they've gone out of business and you're stuck.
- SEO is often an upsell. Many agencies charge extra for "SEO packages" that should be standard. Things like proper title tags, meta descriptions, and schema markup aren't optional extras — they're basics.
- Overbuilt for what you need. Agencies often sell complex WordPress sites with admin panels, blogs, ecommerce, and features you'll never use. More complexity = more things to break.
- They don't understand tradies. Most web designers work across dozens of industries. They don't know that a tradie website needs service areas, a Google Maps embed, and a phone number that's tappable on mobile — not a flashy portfolio gallery.
Realistic total cost: $2,500–$5,000 upfront + $100/month ongoing = $3,700–$6,200 in year one.
Best for: Tradies who want a fully custom, complex website and have the budget for it.
Option 3: busi.au — Purpose-Built for Tradies
Cost: From $5/month. No upfront fees.
Full disclosure: this is us. But we built busi.au specifically because Options 1 and 2 didn't work for most tradies we talked to.
Here's the deal: you fill out a 5-minute form about your business — your trade, services, service areas, a bit about your business — and we generate a professional, Google-optimised website for you. No design decisions, no drag-and-drop builders, no waiting weeks for a designer.
What you get
- A fast, mobile-friendly website built for your specific trade
- Proper SEO built in — title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup, service area pages
- Google Maps embed on your site
- Google Business Profile setup guide
- Your own domain name
- Photo uploads for your work gallery
- Edit your details anytime, site rebuilds automatically
- No lock-in contracts
What it costs
Check our current pricing. We also have a free tier if you want to try it out first.
Realistic total cost: From A$60/year. That's less than one emergency callout fee.
Best for: Tradies who want a professional, Google-ready website without the fuss or the price tag.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| DIY (Wix/Squarespace) | Web Agency | busi.au | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 | $1,500–$5,000+ | $0 |
| Monthly cost | $20–$50 | $50–$150 | From A$5 |
| Year 1 total | $240–$600 + your time | $3,700–$6,200 | From A$60 |
| Time to launch | 1–4 weeks (your time) | 2–6 weeks | Same day |
| SEO built in | Basic (you configure) | Often an upsell | Yes, fully |
| Google Map Pack ready | You set it up | Maybe, if included | Yes |
| Mobile-friendly | Depends on template | Should be | Always |
| Built for tradies | No | Unlikely | Yes |
| Ongoing maintenance | You handle it | Agency handles it | We handle it |
What You Actually Need in a Tradie Website
Forget the bells and whistles. Here's what actually matters:
Mobile-friendly
Over 60% of "tradie near me" searches happen on phones. If your website doesn't look good and work properly on a mobile screen, you're losing more than half your potential customers.
Fast
Google measures your site speed and uses it as a ranking factor. Customers are impatient too — if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, most people leave. A clean, lightweight site beats a bloated WordPress site every time.
Google Map Pack ready
Your website should reinforce your Google Business Profile, not work against it. That means embedded Google Maps, consistent business info, proper schema markup, and service areas listed clearly. Read our Google Map Pack guide for the full picture.
Service areas listed
Tell Google (and customers) exactly where you work. Listing your suburbs and regions helps you show up in local searches.
Clear contact info
Phone number on every page. Tappable on mobile. A contact form as backup. Your email address. Make it ridiculously easy for someone to reach you.
Your services, clearly listed
Don't make people guess. List what you do, with enough detail that both customers and Google understand your services.
The ROI Calculation
Here's the maths that matters:
If your average job is worth $500, and a proper website brings you just one extra job per month, that's $6,000 per year in additional revenue.
Even at the most expensive option (a $5,000 agency site + $100/month hosting), one extra job per month pays for the website in the first year.
At $5/month with busi.au, you need one extra job per year to break even. Everything after that is profit.
The question isn't whether you can afford a website. It's whether you can afford not to have one — while your competitors are getting the calls that should be going to you.
Hidden Costs to Watch Out For
Whatever option you choose, watch out for these extras that can blow out your budget:
Domain name
Your .com.au or .au domain. Usually $15–$50/year. Some agencies bundle this; others charge separately.
SSL certificate
The padlock icon that makes your site secure (https://). This should be free in 2026 — if anyone charges you for an SSL certificate, walk away.
Hosting
Where your website files live. Wix and Squarespace include this. Agencies often charge $20–$100/month separately. busi.au includes it.
Plugin and theme updates (WordPress)
If you go the WordPress route, themes and plugins need regular updates. Skip them and your site breaks or gets hacked. Some agencies charge for this as a "maintenance package".
Content changes
Need to update your phone number or add a new service? Some agencies charge per change. $50–$100 for what should be a 2-minute update. Make sure you know the deal before you sign.
SEO "packages"
Some agencies quote a low price for the website, then upsell a $200–$500/month SEO package. Basic SEO — title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup, mobile optimisation — should be included in any website built in 2026. It's not an add-on.
Bottom Line: Don't Overcomplicate It
You don't need a $5,000 custom website with animations, a blog, an online store, and a customer portal. You're a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter. You need a clean, fast, professional website that:
- Shows up on Google
- Tells customers what you do and where
- Makes it dead simple to contact you
- Works perfectly on mobile
- Loads fast
That's it. Everything else is noise.
Ready to get a website that does exactly what it needs to — without the price tag? Get started with busi.au. Fill out a 5-minute form, and your site can be live today. From $5/mo, no upfront costs, no lock-in contracts.