Do tradies need a website if they're on Facebook or Builderscrack?

Most tradies do need a website, even if Facebook, Builderscrack or NoCowboys already bring in work. Those platforms are good at putting you in front of people with a job to do, but you don't own them, and when someone hears your name and looks you up on Google, a simple website is what tells them you're the real deal. If you're booked out for months on referrals alone, it can wait.

Do tradies actually need a website in New Zealand?

Not every tradie needs one today, but most benefit from having one, because it's the only place online that you fully own and control. Facebook pages, job platforms and review sites all have their place. They just work better alongside a website than instead of one.

The way people find a tradie has changed less than you'd think. Plenty of work still comes from word of mouth: a neighbour, a mate, the builder you subbed for last year. What's changed is what happens next. Before ringing, a lot of people type your name into Google to check you're legit. What they find in those few seconds shapes whether they call you or the next name on the list.

What are Facebook, Builderscrack and NoCowboys good for?

Each of these platforms does a job well, and for some trades they bring in a steady flow of work. The trick is knowing what each one is actually for.

Facebook

A Facebook page is a free, easy way to post photos of finished jobs, share updates and stay visible in local community groups. For trades with visual results, like landscaping, painting, decks and renovations, a good before-and-after photo can travel a long way through a local group. It's also where some customers will message you first.

Builderscrack

Builderscrack is a New Zealand job-matching site. Homeowners post a job for free, it goes out to matched tradies who can chase it, and the homeowner chooses who they connect with after looking at profiles and verified reviews from other Builderscrack customers. For tradies building up a customer base, or with gaps in the diary, that's a real source of work.

NoCowboys

NoCowboys is a Kiwi rating site where customers rate and review tradespeople and businesses, and people can also list a job for businesses to respond to. A strong rating there is useful proof, especially for customers who check it before hiring anyone.

Where do these platforms fall short?

The catch with all three is that you're building on someone else's land. The platform decides the rules, the layout and who sees what, and it can change any of those without asking you.

You're renting the audience

Your Facebook followers, your Builderscrack profile and your NoCowboys ratings live on those platforms. If you stop using one, or it changes direction, you can't pack up that history and take it with you. A website on your own domain stays yours.

Your name sits next to other tradies

On a job platform, the homeowner is usually weighing you up against other tradies at the same time. That's fair, and it's the whole point of the platform, but it can push the decision toward whoever replies fastest or quotes lowest. On your own website, you're the only option on the page.

The rules can change

What Facebook shows people in their feeds is decided by Facebook, and that changes over time. Job platforms and review sites update their features and terms too. That's not a criticism; it's just how platforms work. But it means the work they send you isn't fully in your hands.

You can't control how you come across

A platform profile looks like every other profile on that platform. You can't put your best job front and centre, explain why you're the right fit for a full bathroom renovation rather than a quick fix, or spell out the towns you cover.

Referrals still Google your name

This is the big one. Someone gets your name from their neighbour and searches it. If all they find is a Facebook page whose last post was two years ago, or nothing at all, some of them will move on. If they find your Google Business Profile with good reviews and a tidy website with photos of real jobs, they ring.

How does a website compare with Facebook, Builderscrack and NoCowboys?

Platforms are better at reaching strangers who have a job on right now; a website is better at convincing people who've already heard of you. Here's how they stack up in practice.

The takeaway isn't "pick one". Each column does a different job.

When is a website not worth it yet?

A website isn't a priority if you're already booked out months ahead on referrals and repeat clients, and you're happy with the work you're getting. In that case, there's no shame in leaving it for now.

It can usually wait if:

• You're booked solid on word of mouth and don't want more work right now.
• You sub-contract to one or two builders or main contractors who keep you busy, and you rarely deal with homeowners directly.
• You're just starting out and money's tight. Set up a free Google Business Profile first (our Google Business Profile guide walks through it), get some reviews under your belt, then come back to a website.

Even if you're in one of those camps, it's worth registering your business name as a domain now so nobody else grabs it.

One more honest point: an out-of-date website with an old phone number or a dead contact form can do more harm than having none. If you build one, keep the basics current.

When does a website start paying for itself?

A website earns its keep when you want more say over the work you get: bigger jobs, better areas, or less reliance on any one platform. The more people who look you up before calling, the more it matters.

It's usually worth it when:

• You want bigger jobs. Someone about to spend serious money on a renovation, a new driveway or a re-roof will look you up properly before signing anything.
• You're moving into a new area. Shifting from Auckland to Tauranga, or spreading out from Hamilton into the Waikato towns, means nobody there knows your name yet.
• You want to show up when people search for your trade and town. A Google Business Profile does a lot of the work here, and a website with your services and service areas spelled out gives Google more to go on.
• A platform change has stung you before. If a quiet month on one platform made you nervous, that's a sign to spread the risk.
• You're running ads. Google and Facebook ads need somewhere to send people, and a page built for the job does that better than a profile.
• You're hiring. Good apprentices and qualified staff check you out too.

What should a basic tradie website include?

A useful tradie website doesn't need to be big. It needs to answer five questions quickly: what you do, where you work, whether you're any good, who you are, and how to get hold of you.

The minimum:

1. Your phone number at the top, set up so it rings with one tap on a mobile. Most people checking you out are on their phone.
2. Your services in plain words. "Bathroom renovations", "retaining walls", "switchboard upgrades": the words customers actually use.
3. The areas you cover. List the towns and suburbs, not just "Auckland wide".
4. Photos of your own work. Real jobs beat stock photos every time, and before-and-afters are gold.
5. Who you are. Your name, a photo, how long you've been at it, and your LBP number or trade registration if you have one.
6. Reviews. Show or link to your Google reviews. Here's how to get more Google reviews without it being awkward.
7. A short quote or contact form for people who'd rather not ring.
8. Your own domain and email. yourbusiness.co.nz and [email protected] look more established than a Gmail address.
9. Fast loading on a phone. If it crawls on mobile data at the end of someone's driveway, they give up.

What it doesn't need: a blog you'll never update, fancy animations, or 20 pages nobody reads. If you want to see how that comes together for one trade, have a look at our page on websites for builders.

Can you use a website and the platforms together?

Yes, and for most tradies that's the best setup. Use Facebook, Builderscrack or NoCowboys to find and win work, and let your website and Google Business Profile be where everyone lands when they check you out.

A simple way to tie it all together:

• Put your website address everywhere: your Facebook page, your Google Business Profile, quotes, invoices, business cards and the side of the ute.
• Keep collecting reviews wherever you work, but make Google reviews a priority, because they show up right next to your name in Google search and Maps.
• Post job photos on Facebook, then add the best ones to your website so they don't disappear down the feed a week later.
• Ask every new customer how they found you. After a few months you'll know which channels are actually earning their keep.

How much does a tradie website cost in NZ?

It depends on whether you build it yourself, hire a freelancer or use an agency, and on what's included after launch, like hosting, changes and email. Our breakdown of website costs in NZ goes through the options and what to watch for.

Doing it yourself with a website builder is a perfectly valid choice if you've got the time and enjoy that sort of thing. Whichever way you go, make sure the domain is registered in your name, so you can take it with you if you ever change providers.

Where NZ Web Services fits

We build websites for New Zealand businesses, tradies included. You pay up front, from $1,000 NZD one-off, which includes your .co.nz domain, hosting setup, SSL, professional email, Google Business Profile setup, SEO groundwork and unlimited pages. Then we build it and keep refining it with you until it's right, with unlimited revisions before and after launch.

After that, monthly plans start at $75 for hosting, upkeep and unlimited changes. There's no lock-in (just 30 days' notice), and you own your domain. You can see real tradie sites we've built, or request a callback to talk about yours.

If referrals keep you busy and you're happy with the work you're getting, keep doing what works. When you want more say over where your next job comes from, that's when a website earns its place.