I'm Ayman, from Ayman Results in Western Sydney. I build websites for tradies, and two of our best results, Design Timber Flooring and STC Tank Cleaners, started with no website at all. So I've had this conversation a lot: "What's a website going to cost me, and is it worth it?"
Here's an honest answer, including the bits most quotes leave out.
The short version
- Published Australian ranges put most small business websites at $2,000 to $6,000 in 2026. Simple one-page tradie sites can be under $1,000, and agency builds run $5,500 to $7,500 and up.
- Budget for ongoing costs too: domain, hosting, updates and changes.
- A tradie website needs a page for each main service and area, your phone number everywhere, real photos and reviews.
- Make sure you own the domain and the website. Ask before you sign.
What tradies actually pay
Australian web design cost guides and studios published in 2026 give roughly these ranges. Check whether any quote includes GST.
| Option | Typical build cost | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | Your time plus a monthly subscription | Getting something up while you're starting out |
| One-page site | Often under $1,000 | A basic online presence, not much for Google to rank |
| Small business site, 5 to 15 pages | About $2,000 to $6,000 | Most established tradies |
| Agency build with SEO planned in | About $5,500 to $7,500 and up | Tradies who want the site to rank and bring calls |
The difference between a cheap site and a good one usually isn't the design. It's whether the site was planned around the searches customers type and the jobs you want more of.
A website isn't a business card. It's the thing that either gets you the call or sends it to the next listing.
The costs after launch
A lot of quotes only show the build price. Ask about these before you sign:
- Domain name: a .com.au domain is usually a small yearly cost. Make sure it's registered in your name.
- Hosting: from a few dollars to tens of dollars a month, depending on the provider and setup.
- Updates and security: WordPress sites in particular need plugins and software kept up to date.
- Changes: new services, photos, prices. Is that included, charged hourly or something you do yourself?
- SEO: a separate ongoing cost if you want it to rank. Here's what SEO costs for tradies.
Pages a tradie website needs
Home, About, Gallery, Contact isn't enough to rank. Here's what I'd want on any tradie website:
- A home page that says what you do and where in the first few seconds, with the phone number at the top.
- A page for each main service. Blocked drains, hot water, gas fitting. Each one can rank for its own searches.
- An areas page, and a page for each main area you want to win, with genuinely local content.
- Real job photos, not stock.
- Reviews, ideally pulled from Google.
- A simple quote form and click-to-call on every page.
- Your licence and ABN, because customers check.
For a typical tradie that's 15 to 30 pages, not 4. That's what gives Google something to rank. I go into the page structure in how to rank higher on Google Maps.
What makes a website get calls
Plenty of websites look great and get nothing. The ones that get calls usually have these in common:
- The offer straight away. What you do, where, and why you, in the first screen.
- Proof near the top. Reviews, photos, years in the trade, licence.
- One clear next step. Call or request a quote, on every screen.
- Fast on a phone. Most of your customers will find you on their phone, often in a hurry.
- Matches your Google profile. Same name, phone and services, so Google trusts both.
Red flags in a website quote
- The domain will be registered in the designer's name.
- The site lives on their own platform and can't be moved if you leave.
- No mention of service pages, area pages or SEO basics like title tags.
- Stock photos instead of your work.
- A cheap build price with an expensive, long monthly contract attached.
Many of these overlap with the questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency. The same rule applies: you should own everything.
Try this week
- Open your website on your phone and time how long it takes to find your number. Over five seconds is too long.
- Type site:yourwebsite.com.au into Google and count the pages. Under 10 is very little for Google to rank.
What a good tradie website does
STC Tank Cleaners had no website. I built one around its services, the areas it covers and the questions customers ask, and worked on its Google profile at the same time.
And for a site that already had traffic but wasn't converting, AAA Mould Removal got 40% more leads in 14 days from a rebuild, without spending more on ads. If you're in Sydney and thinking about a new site, here's how we approach web design for tradies and small businesses.