Is Wix or Squarespace good enough for a tradie website?
The tools are fine. Plenty of tradies have a decent site on one. The question is not whether the software works. It is who builds the site, how long it takes, and what you pay for the privilege.
If you enjoy this kind of job, have a quiet fortnight and a good eye, build it yourself. If you would rather be on the tools, read on.
How much do Wix and Squarespace really cost?
Both run on a subscription. Check their current prices before you decide, because plans change, but expect a monthly or yearly fee for as long as the site exists. The free tiers carry the platform's ads and a domain with their name in it, so most businesses end up on a paid plan. You will also need a domain, which you buy from a registrar.
That subscription is the same trap as a rental site, just cheaper. Stop paying and the site goes. I wrote the five-year maths in what a website should cost a tradie.
How long does it take to build your own?
This is the cost nobody counts. From watching tradies do it, I would budget 20 to 30 hours for a first site: choosing a template, writing five pages, cropping photos, setting up the domain, fixing the phone layout, then testing. That is my estimate from experience, not a study, and some people are faster.
| Build it yourself | Done-for-you ($990 once) | |
|---|---|---|
| Your time | 20 to 30 hours | About 10 minutes for the form, plus finding photos |
| Time value at $90 an hour | $1,800 to $2,700 | About $15, plus the photo hunt |
| Ongoing | Subscription, for good | Domain renewals only |
| Written for Google | Up to you | Done for you, suburbs and services named |
| Live in | Whenever you finish | 7 business days |
Most DIY tradie sites I see are 80% done. The Services page has placeholder text, the phone number is in a footer nobody scrolls to on mobile, and the photos are from the template.
What do first-timers get wrong on a DIY site?
Four things come up again and again. The page says "Welcome to our website" instead of what you do and where. The suburbs are missing, so Google has nothing to match. The phone number sits somewhere that needs a scroll or a tap. And the site looks fine on a laptop but breaks on a phone, which is where most of your customers will see it.
None of that is hard to fix once you know. The trouble is that you only find out after you have lost the calls. A builder who does this every week has already made those mistakes on someone else's site.
What do you get from a done-for-you tradie site?
I write the five pages for your trade and your area, lay them out around your photos, and put a tap-to-call and quote form on every page. I build the homepage free first, so you see it before you pay. If you like it, it is $990 once, live in 7 business days.
I keep editing until you are happy with the site, and edits for the first 30 days after launch are free. You can open finished examples on your phone and judge the standard yourself.
What does the done-for-you process look like?
You fill in a form that takes about 10 minutes and send photos from your phone. I build your homepage and send it to you free. You say what to change, and I keep editing until you are happy. If you want the rest, it is $990 once, and the site is live in 7 business days. The how it works page has the four steps.
Who owns the site on Wix or Squarespace?
You own your content and your domain. The site itself runs on their platform, and moving it usually means rebuilding it somewhere else. Mine is hosted free on a Cloudflare account in your name, so it stays yours whether or not you ever talk to me again.
When should you pick Wix or Squarespace instead?
Pick them if you want a shop, online bookings or a blog that you will actually write. Those are things I do not build, and they are what those platforms are good at. Pick them if you have the time and like the work.
Pick the done-for-you route if your goal is simple: be easy to find and easy to ring, without a monthly bill. The full price list is on one page.