Customers look for websites for tradies
A professional website lets potential customers find information about your services, rates, and experience. Most small to medium-sized business owners feel they should have a website but may not fully understand what a well-designed site can do for them or who they should contact, or trust, to get one.
In the current climate, with plenty of work, some tradies feel like they don’t need a site. However, in this digital age, people expect to find tradie websites.
What does a website do for a tradie business?
Tradie websites as a landing place
A website can act like an online business card or a brochure. This is very useful if you have word-of-mouth referrals or people following Facebook or Instagram ads looking for a place to check your credentials and see if you look professional.
Websites that manage business processes
A website can help you manage your business, for example, through contact forms, booking arrangements, purchasing methods, as well as backend monitoring of traffic, engagement and conversions.
SEO and marketing strategy
Websites perform even better when they do the above and also function as a key aspect of your marketing campaigns and strategies. Most tradies do business within a local area – it might be a big area – but it is local. That means you want to be found by people looking for tradies near them.
So, a tradie website design should take this into account. Tradie websites should include search engine optimisation (SEO) that helps Google and other search engines find them. Specifically, they should include local SEO – a structure and information that helps you get found.
Source of revenue
Beyond that, websites for tradies can be listed in directories, connected to relevant social media platforms, and linked to other quality businesses and websites. There may even be opportunities for monetisation of the site itself.
Investing in online marketing
True, a high-quality website comes at a cost. It is an investment (and quite possibly tax-deductible). How often do you quote a job and have someone’s eyes widen at the price? It happens to us too. However, in the same way, that you have done your time and know what you are doing, your web designer has done the same.
Considering the hosting, security, and technical aspects, the maintenance required, and the potential gains of a website, they are more affordable than you might think. And they help find more leads to make you more money.
Comparative marketing costs
In terms of bang for your marketing buck, web design is a great option. Many business owners don’t consider a website as a marketing tool but more as a ‘what we do’ pamphlet. In reality, websites are the single best tool for getting found – so long as they are done well.
If you’re considering building your business, we bet you have either explored getting a vehicle wrapped or actually done it.
Vehicle wraps vs websites for tradies
Cost
How much did you get quoted for a vehicle wrap? $3,000? $5,000? $8,000? For argument’s sake, let’s go with $5,000. For that price, you’ll probably get a cool graphic on most of your ute, with your phone number, website (if you’ve got one), business name, and logo. It looks pretty good!
With a couple of staff and a couple of vehicles, you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on wraps.
Unless you need a highly complex site with a considerable amount of content or shopping capability, you can have a website and pay about the same price, or less, than a four-wheel-drive vehicle wrap.
Reach
But how many people will see it? The same group of cars travelling from Brisbane to the Gold Coast with you? Maybe 50 in a trip. How many of those will remember your business name or your phone number after their journey? How many will retain your contact details a month after you drove past them when their bathroom flooded at 7 am? None.
We can almost guarantee that at 7 a.m., your potential customer will go online and Google “plumber near me,” “plumber Brisbane,” or “emergency plumber.” Google’s algorithm will then send them a list of tradie services on the first page of results that best answer the question.
Conversion
Vehicle wraps have their place. They look professional, and they can generate leads. But when your customers are ‘Googling’, your fleet of wrapped utes is worth just a fraction of your new website.
Consider this: the term ‘plumber near me’ was searched on average 2,900 times per month over the last twelve months by people in Brisbane. The word ‘plumber Brisbane’ was searched 1,500 times, and variations of ’emergency plumber’ were searched over 500 times.
If your business manages to convert only 2% of those customers, you’re still getting 98 new customers in that month. Suppose each of those customers pays $600 for plumbing that’s around $60,000. Imagine knowing that and not having a high-performing website optimised for local searches.
Professional websites for tradies or DIY?
Easy online website builders
Since you’ve found us, you’ve probably found out about website builder options like Squarespace, Weebly, or Wix. All of these make it look like building a website is easily done – just a few steps and publish. While these are cheap options for first-time business owners who are just starting out, established tradie businesses deserve better.
Websites that work
Tradies, and their customers, need security, functionality, and SEO. Your website should help clients understand your business, establish credibility and generate leads. You need more than an online poster.
Everyone knows that tradies are capable of lots of DIY, but if you are time-poor with competing priorities, fighting with an unresponsive contact form may be a bit much – not to mention the lost leads.
When you’re considering a website for your business, you need someone who knows what they are doing.
Website design professionals
Quality digital agencies don’t just design websites to make them look pretty. They consider the purpose, the structure, the security, the functions, and its ‘findability’ as well as the appeal.
They take care of content creation based on your input. They can manage your hosting, maintenance services, look after SEO, tie into your marketing campaigns, and help you stand out from competitors.
Quality web design for any stage of business
It doesn’t matter where you are starting from.
Starting from scratch
You might not have a brand. You might not know how to get a domain name – or what that really means. Maybe you just have some business cards from a cheap, cheerful supplier.
A quality digital agency can meet you where you are and work on a website strategy to take you online and grow from there. They should be prepared to start small and scale with you.
Need a renovation or an extension
Of course, you may have a website already. Many people would like to change something, even if it is cosmetic. Some need a site to do more.
Need a new partner
Sometimes they just aren’t happy with their current website designer and developer.
Need help
Perhaps the technical challenges are getting too much, or you have other priorities, like invoicing.
A website customised for your business
At Little Fat Birdie, our Brisbane-based team specialises in foundational elements like server-side operations and website design for user experience and sound business management.
WordPress and premium plugins
We’re professional WordPress website builders. WordPress is a content management system behind 43% of the internet, including Fortune 500 companies like Disney, Spotify, and Airbnb. We use premium plugins that are developed by experts and well-maintained.
Focussed on your needs
If you are taking the plunge into the world of online solutions, you will want to be backed by a team that understands your requirements and is focused on your niche area – tradies in Brisbane.
What we do for you
Work with you
At Little Fat Birdie, we offer bespoke, professional web design at competitive prices. Our team of designers has extensive industry knowledge and a blend of organisational development and management experience. We work closely with our clients, ensuring their website design project meets their requirements and supports their goals.
Work for you
We’ll listen to you, identify your needs, and provide advice and options. We will deliver a new website, or a renovated website, that works for you!
Work to keep up
We start with a plan that integrates with your business – a website has to fit with what you do outside the site itself. We implement it successfully through web technologies. We’re constantly assessing the latest trends and tech to ensure our website design is up to date and secure.
In summary
When it comes to tradie websites, you need a team that knows what they’re doing. Website design professionals will take care of everything from content creation to hosting and SEO, ensuring your website is reliable and effective.
At Little Fat Birdie, our Brisbane-based team specialises in WordPress website design and development. We use premium plugins and technologies to deliver a website tailored to your needs.
We work closely with our clients to ensure their website meets their requirements and supports their business goals. So, if you’re looking for a tradie website that is reliable, effective and looks great, get in touch with Little Fat Birdie today!
