Does a tradie actually need a website?
Yes, if you want work beyond word of mouth. Most people check you out online before they call, even when a mate recommended you, and a website is the one place you control completely.
Your Google Business Profile, directory listings and social pages all help, but they belong to someone else and you cannot fully shape them. A website lets you show the jobs you want more of, rank for specific services in the normal Google results, and give AI assistants like ChatGPT clear facts about what you do and where.
What pages should a trade business website have?
Most trade businesses need six to eight core pages, plus one extra page for each main service. Here is the structure that works:
- Home: what you do, where, and how to contact you, all visible without scrolling on a phone.
- Services overview: a short summary of everything you offer, linking to each service page.
- One page per main service, such as roof restoration, gutter replacement and roof leak repairs as separate pages.
- Service areas: the suburbs and towns you cover, with detail on the main ones.
- About: who you are, how long you have been in the trade, your team, licences and insurance.
- Reviews or testimonials: real customer feedback, ideally with job photos.
- Gallery or recent projects: real work with a line or two on each job.
- Contact or get a quote: phone, email, form, hours and the area you cover.
What should the top of a trade website home page say?
It should say what you do, where you do it, and how to reach you, before anyone scrolls. On a phone that is roughly the first screen, and it is all many visitors will read before deciding.
A headline like "Roof repairs and restorations across Brisbane's northside" beats "Welcome to Smith Roofing" every time. Under it, add one line of proof (years in business, number of five star reviews, or licensed and insured), a tap-to-call button and a quote button. Then show a strong photo of a real job, not a stock image.
How do I make sure website enquiries turn into jobs?
Answer them fast. Someone who fills in a quote form is often contacting two or three businesses at once, and the first to reply usually gets the chance to quote.
Send form enquiries to the phone you actually check, not an old office inbox, and test the form yourself every few months. A short automatic reply that says when you will call back, and a missed call text back, both stop people moving on to the next tradie.
Why does each service need its own page?
Because people search for specific jobs, and Google ranks specific pages for them. Someone searching "switchboard upgrade" wants a page about switchboard upgrades, not a list of 20 electrical services.
In Whitespark's 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, a dedicated page for each service was rated the top factor for ranking in local organic results. Each service page should cover what the job involves, signs you need it, rough price range or what affects price, how long it takes, photos of that type of job, related FAQs and a clear call to action.
Should I have a page for every suburb I work in?
Only for the main areas where you have something real to say. A good area page mentions jobs you have done there, local conditions that affect the work, and photos from that area.
Pages that are copies of each other with the town name swapped add little value and can drag the whole site down in Google's eyes. If you cover 40 suburbs, list them all on one service areas page and write proper pages for the five to ten that matter most.
What features must a trade website have?
The features that matter are the ones that make it easy to contact you and easy to trust you. Everything else is decoration.
- Tap-to-call: your phone number as a button that dials when tapped, visible at the top of every page on mobile.
- A short quote form: name, phone, suburb, job type and an optional photo upload. Every extra field loses enquiries.
- Real job photos: your work, your team, your vans. Customers can spot stock photos.
- Licence and insurance details: your licence number where your trade or state requires one, and that you carry public liability insurance.
- Reviews: pulled from or linked to your Google reviews so people can check they are genuine.
- Service areas stated clearly near the top, so people know straight away you come to them.
- Fast loading on a phone, on a mobile signal, not just on office wifi.
- Your business name, address or base suburb and phone number matching your Google profile exactly.
How fast should a trade website load?
As fast as possible on a phone, because most people searching for a tradie are on mobile and many are dealing with a problem right now. A burst pipe or a leaking roof does not wait for a slow page.
Google provides a free tool called PageSpeed Insights that tests your site and shows its Core Web Vitals, the measures Google uses for loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability. The usual causes of a slow trade site are huge uncompressed photos, heavy page builders, sliders and too many plugins.
What should a trade website leave out?
Leave out anything that slows the page down or makes people hunt for your number. Simpler sites usually win more calls.
- Auto-playing sliders and background videos that delay the page.
- Stock photos of smiling models in clean hard hats.
- Long company history on the home page. Put it on the About page.
- Vague headlines like "Quality you can trust" that do not say what you do or where.
- Pop-ups that cover the screen on a phone.
- Old blog posts and news from years ago that make the business look inactive.
- Forms with 12 fields or a captcha that frustrates people.
What are the biggest website mistakes that lose tradies jobs?
The biggest one is a phone number that is hard to find or cannot be tapped. If someone has to copy it by hand, many will go back to Google and call the next business.
Other mistakes I see again and again: no mention of the areas you cover, so people assume you are too far away; one generic services page; no prices or price guidance at all, so people cannot judge if you fit their budget; a quote form that sends to an inbox nobody checks; and a website that still lists an old number or a team member who left years ago.
Should I put prices on my trade website?
Show price guidance where you can, even if every job is quoted. A starting price, a typical range, or a clear explanation of what affects the price helps people decide to call, and it filters out people looking for the cheapest quote.
It also helps with AI search. When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI how much a job costs in their area, pages that answer plainly are easier to quote and recommend.
How does a website help my Google Maps ranking?
Your website backs up your Google Business Profile. Link your profile to your homepage or main service page, and make sure the business name, phone and areas on both match exactly.
The website gives Google more evidence of what you do and where, which supports relevance. It also earns links and mentions from suppliers, associations and local sites, which add to your prominence.
How much should a trade website cost and how long should it take?
It depends on how many services and areas you cover, but a solid trade website should not take months. What matters more than price is that it is fast, written for your customers, and set up properly with Google from day one.
Every Mago Labs build includes the Google basics and Google Business Profile setup, and you get a free working preview of your site in 48 hours, so you can see it before you commit.