Most tradies need a website once they want work from people who don't already know them. If your calendar is full from word of mouth, a free Google Business Profile covers you for now. The moment you want strangers to find and trust you, a website usually pays for itself in one extra job.
The proof, first-party: I build these sites, so the numbers here are mine, not estimates. Clearway quotes every build as a single fixed price, no plans or tiers, you own the code on delivery, and a template-based trade site goes live within about 7 working days of sign-up. You can see a finished trade build before you talk to anyone: there are 23 live per-trade demo builds, like the electrician demo at /electrician-sole-trader, the plumber at /plumber-sole-trader, the mobile mechanic at /mobile-mechanic and the barber at /barber.
The honest answer: it depends on where your work comes from
A website is a tool for getting found by people who haven't met you. That makes it worth the money for some tradies and a waste of it for others. Here is the split.
- Booked out on word of mouth, no plans to grow: not yet. Set up a free Google Business Profile and keep your hours and phone current.
- Want jobs from people searching your trade plus suburb: yes. A site with on-page SEO and your service area.
- Quoting against competitors who look more established: yes. A site does the trust work before you pick up the phone.
- Relying only on a Facebook page or Gumtree: usually yes. You don't own those, so one policy change and your leads vanish.
- Already paying for Hipages, Oneflare or Airtasker leads: usually yes. Those send work, but you can't rank your own brand on them.
- Chasing bigger commercial or strata clients: yes. They check you exist online before they shortlist you.
Nobody writing about this admits the first row, so here it is plainly: if your problem is not "getting found," a website will not fix it.
Is a Facebook page or Google Business Profile enough instead of a website?
A Google Business Profile is the sensible free first step, and you should set one up today either way. It puts you on the map, shows your hours and phone number, and collects reviews. For a tradie who is busy enough already, it can be all you need for now.
The catch with a Facebook page: you don't own it. It lives on someone else's platform, the rules change without warning, and you can't rank it for "electrician" plus your suburb the way you can rank your own site. A Facebook page is fine as a noticeboard. It is not a home base you control.
So the honest line: a Google Business Profile is a real first step, not a website replacement. A website earns its keep once you want to be found by people who don't already know your name, and once you want a brand that is yours rather than rented.
Do I need a website if I'm already on Hipages, Oneflare or Airtasker?
Those platforms can send you work, and plenty of tradies start there. The thing to be clear-eyed about: they are rented platforms. You pay per lead, you compete on price next to everyone else on the listing, and you cannot rank your own brand on them. When the platform changes its fees or its algorithm, your pipeline changes with it.
A website is the one channel you own outright. It is where someone who heard your name lands when they google you, where your real jobs and licence number do the trust work, and where you can show up for "your trade plus your suburb" without paying per click. Most tradies end up running both: the lead platforms for volume, the site for the work that comes to them directly.
What a website actually does for a trade business
Three jobs, in order of how much they matter for tradies:
- It makes you findable. Someone searches "emergency electrician" plus your suburb at 9pm. You either show up with a number they can tap, or the next bloke does.
- It does the trust work before the call. Photos of real jobs, your licence number, a few reviews, clear pricing. By the time they ring, they have half-decided to hire you.
- It catches the leads you already earn. People who hear your name from a mate still google you. No website, and they land on nothing, or worse, a competitor's ad.
What it costs, and when it is worth it
You do not need a big custom build to start. The maths most tradies care about:
- DIY (Wix, Squarespace): $200 to $400 a year in fees, plus your own hours building and fixing it. Cheap if you enjoy the work. Most sole traders I talk to tried this and stopped maintaining it within six months.
- Done-for-you build: we scope your site to what your business actually needs and quote a single fixed price, no plans or tiers. You own the code on delivery, and hosting, edits and support are an optional care plan from $150/month, take it or leave it.
- Custom design from scratch: for businesses that want something more distinctive than a template. Same fixed-quote model, a bit more design time, usually live in two to three weeks.
For the full price breakdown, including what moves a quote up or down, see our guide on how much a small business website costs in Perth in 2026, linked below.
See it before you decide
The fastest way to know if you need one for your trade is to look at a finished one. Clearway has 23 live per-trade demo builds, like the electrician demo at /electrician-sole-trader, the plumber at /plumber-sole-trader, the mobile mechanic at /mobile-mechanic and the barber at /barber. Each is a real, working site, so you can see exactly what we build before you spend anything.