Wix is $27-45/mo AUD + 10-30 hours of your time. Squarespace is $27-33/mo AUD with a steeper learning curve. TradesPro is $30/mo — built for you in 48 hours by trade website experts, with trade-specific features, ongoing updates, and SEO that actually works. Zero hours of your time.
No contracts. 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
Based on Wix pricing (wix.com/pricing), Squarespace pricing (squarespace.com/pricing), and typical AU tradie hourly billable rates. Opportunity cost estimated at $100/hr.
DIY website builders look cheap on paper. But your time has value, and a site that doesn't convert costs you more than any monthly fee.
Most tradies spend 10-30 hours on a DIY site — learning the platform, picking a template, adding content, fighting with formatting. At $100/hr billable rate, that's $1,000-$3,000 in lost income. And after all that time, the result is a generic site with no trade-specific lead generation features. Your time is worth more than that.
Wix has zero trade-specific templates. Squarespace's "Home Services" category has general contractor, landscaping, and cleaning templates — none designed for the way tradies actually win work. No emergency CTA, no SMS lead alerts, no before/after gallery that converts. You're trying to fit a trade business into a generic template.
Wix has bloated code and slow load times that hurt rankings. Squarespace is better but still limited compared to a properly built site. Neither gives you trade-specific SEO: local service schema, suburb-level citation signals, emergency search optimisation. Your site might look fine but never shows up on page 1 of Google — which means it generates zero leads.
Wix uses a proprietary format. You can't export your site and move it elsewhere. Squarespace is similarly restrictive. If you outgrow the template or want more features, you start from scratch. The time you invested is gone. TradesPro gives you full ownership — your site files, your domain, your SEO equity.
Security patch? You figure it out. Broken contact form? Debug it yourself. Want to add a service page? Spend another 2 hours in the editor. TradesPro includes quarterly updates, ongoing maintenance, and support — included in the $30/mo. Your time stays focused on your trade, not your website.
Wix and Squarespace have no mechanism to automatically ask customers for Google reviews after a job, and no referral system built in. You'd need third-party apps and a manual setup process — another task that never gets done when you're busy on the tools.
TradesPro includes both out of the box. Automated review collection sends a one-click Google or Facebook review request when a job is won. Follow-ups stop once they review. The reviews go onto your Google Business Profile — you own them, they're indexed by Google, and they compound year after year. The built-in referral system automatically gives every happy client a branded referral link with a special offer to share. New referral enquiries are captured and attributed in your dashboard. Two features that grow your business passively, included at $30/mo alongside everything else.
DIY vs TradesPro — including your time, redesigns, and hidden costs.
60–120 hours of your time over 3 years. Generic templates. No lead gen system. You're on your own for every fix.
Custom 5-page site. Trade-specific SEO. Automated lead management. Quarterly updates. You own everything.
DIY cost estimates based on Wix and Squarespace public pricing, typical tradie hourly rates, and industry averages for SEO fixes and CRM costs. Your actual costs may vary.
An honest look at what each platform actually gives you.
| Wix | Squarespace | TradesPro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $17–$29/mo USD$27–$45 AUD | $27–$33/mo AUDPersonal to Business tier | $30/mo AUD flatNo per-lead or per-user fees |
| Setup time | 10–30 hoursLearning + building | 10–30 hoursSteeper learning curve | 48 hoursDone by experts |
| Trade-specific templates | None — generic "Business" templates | "Home Services" category, not trade-specific | Built for trades — emergency CTA, lead forms, galleries |
| SEO capability | PoorBloated code, slow, limited control | AverageBetter than Wix, still limited | Engineered for trade SEOLocal schema, service pages, GBP sync |
| Lead capture forms | BasicContact forms available | BasicBasic forms available | Smart formsSMS alert + auto email follow-up |
| Emergency CTA | Manual setupRequires customisation | Manual setupRequires customisation | Built-in — prominent emergency call button |
| Before/after gallery | Manual setupMust build from scratch | Manual setupMust build from scratch | Built-in — trade-optimised with lead capture |
| Google Business Profile integration | ManualYou handle it separately | ManualYou handle it separately | Built into strategySite + GBP work together |
| Lead management | NoneCheck email manually | NoneCheck email manually | Full CRMSMS alerts + auto follow-up |
| Ongoing updates | You handle everything2–5 hrs/mo | You handle everything2–5 hrs/mo | Quarterly refresh included |
| Page load speed | SlowWix code bloat | ModerateBetter than Wix | Optimised for speedFast loading = higher conversions |
| Template lock-in | YesCan't switch templates easily | YesHarder to switch than Wix | N/ACustom-built, no templates |
| Can you export? | LimitedWix proprietary format | LimitedRestricted export options | Yes — you own the files |
| Learning curve | Low–mediumUser-friendly but time-consuming | Medium–highMore powerful, harder to learn | ZeroWe build it for you |
| Automated review collection (you own the reviews) | No review tools | No review tools | Auto-asks for Google reviews — you keep them forever |
| Built-in referral system | No referral tools | No referral tools | Turns happy clients into new jobs automatically |
A website you own, on a domain you own, that ranks on Google — from $30/mo.
Wix costs $17/mo USD (~$27 AUD) + 10-30 hours of your time to build. At $100/hr billable rate, that's $1,000-$3,000 in lost income. And Wix sites load slower, have generic templates, and don't include trade-specific lead gen features. TradesPro costs $3/mo more and includes expert build, SEO, lead management, ongoing updates — and zero hours of your time. The real question isn't "why pay almost double" — it's "why pay $27/mo for a site that doesn't produce leads?"
You absolutely can build a Wix site in 20 hours. The question is whether it'll generate leads. Most DIY tradie sites fail because: they lack trade-specific SEO (wrong keywords, missing schema), they don't format for trade buyer behaviour (emergency searches, before/after evidence), they have no lead capture system (just a contact form that goes to an inbox you check once a day). You can learn all of this — but is that the best use of your time? You're a tradie, not a web developer.
How's it performing? Check Google Search Console — how many clicks per month? Check your inquiries — how many contact form submissions last week? If numbers are low, your site might look good but isn't working. We offer a free website audit — we'll tell you exactly what's missing and what it would take to fix it. If your Squarespace site is crushing it, keep it. But most aren't, because they weren't built for trade conversion.
DIY is never one-time. It's your time (recurring opportunity cost every time you tweak it) + template lock-in (Wix can't export) + redesign every 2 years when you outgrow it + SEO fixes you don't know you need. Tradies who go DIY often end up paying an agency $2-5K to rebuild within 18 months anyway. TradesPro's $360/yr is cheaper than the typical DIY lifecycle over 3 years when you factor in all the hidden costs.
If that's all you need, a Facebook Page costs $0 and a Google Business Profile costs $0. But 40% of Australian consumers say they won't hire a tradie without a professional website. A basic page doesn't build trust, doesn't rank for service terms, doesn't capture leads who aren't ready to call yet, and doesn't show your work. You're leaving money on the table. A proper trade website pays for itself with one extra job per year.
Yes — and many tradies have done exactly that. The result is usually a basic WordPress site with a generic theme, no SEO strategy, and no ongoing support. When something breaks, the freelancer is gone. When you need updates, you're paying again. TradesPro is built specifically for trades, includes ongoing updates, and costs $360/yr — less than a freelancer rebuild every 18 months. The $500 "savings" disappears in year 2.
30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked. You get a full refund. Plus you see a preview before launch — we don't publish anything without your approval. Compare that to Wix/Squarespace: you can cancel but you've lost 10-30 hours of your time and have nothing to show for it. The 30-day guarantee makes it risk-free. Wix can't give you your time back.
That guy is the exception, not the rule. He likely spent many more hours than expected, knows SEO, or had a special template. For every tradie who builds a successful Wix site, there are 20 who built something that sits there and generates nothing. TradesPro guarantees a professional result in 48 hours — no luck, no learning curve, no "I'll fix it later."
DIY costs you time, frustration, and a site that probably doesn't generate leads. TradesPro costs $30/mo and gives you a professional trade website built for conversion — by experts, maintained for you, compounding on Google.
Get your done-for-you site — $30/mo →30-day satisfaction guarantee. You keep your files if you cancel.