How to build a tradie website with AI (and when to pay someone instead)
A website is the easiest thing a tradie can build with AI. The pages it needs, which tools to use, what it costs a year, and the mistakes that stop it showing up on Google.
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Contents
Key takeaways
- A tradie website is a 1 out of 5 to build with AI. It holds no customer records or money, and the AI builders are at their best on it.
- It needs five pages: home, services, the areas you work in, about, and contact with a quote request form.
- Budget about A$10 to A$25 a year for a .com.au domain plus A$0 to A$40 a month for the builder or hosting.
- Most local work comes through Google Business Profile, not the website. Set that up first and link the two.
A tradie website is the easiest and safest thing to build with AI. It holds no customer records and no money, and tools like Lovable, Bolt, Wix's AI builder and Hostinger's AI builder can produce a clean, phone-friendly site from a description in an afternoon. On our build-your-own difficulty scale it is a 1 out of 5. The work that is left is the part that brings in jobs: showing up on Google, collecting quote requests, and keeping the site paid and current.
What a tradie website needs
Five pages cover most trade businesses:
- Home: what you do, where, and a button to request a quote. Your phone number visible without scrolling.
- Services: one section per service you want to be found for, in the words customers search ("blocked drain", "deck repairs", "tree removal"), not trade jargon.
- Areas: the suburbs or towns you work in, written in the text.
- About: who you are, how long you have been at it, your licence number and ABN, photos of you and your work.
- Contact: a quote request form, phone, email, and your hours.
A gallery of past jobs and a few customer reviews do more for trust than any design choice.
Pick a tool
| Tool | Good for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Lovable or Bolt | A custom-looking site from a prompt; easy to change by describing what you want | You are responsible for hosting, the domain and making Google able to read it |
| Wix or Squarespace (both have AI builders) | Hosting, domain and editing in one place; no code | A monthly fee for as long as the site is up |
| Hostinger's AI builder | Cheap hosting with a site generator | Plainer designs |
| ChatGPT or Claude | Writing the page text, service descriptions and FAQs | They write the words and code, but do not host the site |
If this is your first site, a builder that also hosts it and renews the domain is the least work to keep running. If you want to learn the AI app tools for later projects, the website is the best place to start.
Build it in an afternoon
- Register the domain. A
.com.auneeds an ABN or ACN. Use your business name, or your trade and town. - Write a one-paragraph brief before opening the tool: your trade, your area, your services, the feel you want, and the five pages above.
- Generate the site from the brief, then fix the wording yourself. AI writes generic copy ("quality workmanship you can trust"). Replace it with specifics: the suburbs, the jobs you do most, how fast you quote.
- Add real photos of your work and your ute. Stock photos read as stock.
- Add the quote form. Make sure each request reaches you somewhere you will see it on site.
- Check it on your phone. Most of your visitors will be on one.
Make sure Google can find it
Most AI-built sites look fine and then get no visitors. The usual reasons:
- No Google Business Profile. For local trades this is often the bigger source of calls than the website. Create it, verify it, and link it to the site.
- Every page has the same title. Each page needs its own title and description naming the service and area.
- The text lives in pictures. Google reads words. Suburbs and services belong in the page text.
- The page is drawn in the browser. Some AI app builders make sites that only appear after JavaScript runs. Google can read these, but less reliably. Ask the tool for static or server-rendered pages for a marketing site.
- Nobody told Google. Add the site to Google Search Console and submit its sitemap.
What it costs
Checked 28 October 2026:
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| .com.au domain | about A$10 to A$25 a year (needs an ABN or ACN) |
| All-in-one builder (Wix, Squarespace) | roughly A$16 to A$40 a month |
| AI app builder while you build (Lovable, Bolt) | around US$20 to US$25 a month, less once the site is done |
| Google Business Profile and Search Console | free |
The thing to guard is the domain. Put renewal on auto-pay with a card that will not expire unnoticed, because a lapsed domain takes your email and your site down together.
When to pay someone instead
Building your own site is a good call when you are happy to spend a few evenings and keep it current. Paying a web designer who works with trades makes more sense when you want to rank in a competitive city market, need ongoing SEO work, or simply never want to think about it. Either way, own the domain in your own name.
Where quote requests go
A website's job is to turn a visitor into a quote request, and the request has to land somewhere you will act on it from the job.
Chippie gives every business a free public profile page with a request-a-quote form, and an enquiry form for your own website. Copy the form code into the site you built, or point your existing form at Chippie. Each request lands in Enquiries with the customer's details and photos, ready to turn into a quote from your phone. Both are on every plan, including Free.
Next on the difficulty scale is a quote calculator, then invoicing. The build-your-own guide rates each one.