Trade Website Builder vs Hiring a Web Designer: Which Is Better?

You've decided you need a website for your trade business. Great decision. But now you're faced with another choice: do you hire a web designer, build it yourself on Wix or Squarespace, or use a trade-specific platform like MyTradeSite?

Each option has genuine pros and cons. Let's break them down honestly.

Option 1: Hire a web designer (£1,000 — £2,000+)

The good: You get a completely custom design tailored to your brand. A good designer will create something unique that stands out from competitors. You can have exactly what you want.

The bad: It costs £1,000 to £2,000 upfront for a decent trade website. You'll wait 2 to 4 weeks for it to be built. Any changes after launch usually cost extra (£50 to £100 per hour). And unless the designer understands SEO for trades, you might get a pretty website that doesn't actually rank on Google.

The hidden cost: Hosting (£5 to £20/month), SSL certificate (sometimes extra), ongoing maintenance, and plugin updates. These add up to £200 to £500 per year on top of the build cost.

Best for: Established businesses with budget to invest and specific branding requirements.

Option 2: DIY with Wix or Squarespace (£10 — £30/month)

The good: Affordable monthly cost. You have full control over the design. Lots of templates to choose from. Can look very professional.

The bad: You need to do everything yourself — choosing a template, writing all the content, setting up pages, optimising for SEO, making it mobile-friendly. For most tradesmen, this means spending a weekend learning a website builder instead of earning money on jobs.

Most DIY websites for tradesmen end up with a single homepage and maybe a contact page. That's not enough to rank on Google for specific services and locations.

The hidden cost: Your time. If you charge £200 per day on jobs and spend two days building a website, that's £400 in lost earnings plus the monthly subscription.

Best for: Tech-comfortable tradesmen who enjoy design and have spare time.

Option 3: Trade-specific platform like MyTradeSite (£29/month)

The good: Built specifically for tradesmen, so it understands what services you offer, what areas you cover, and what your customers search for. A complete multi-page website is generated in under 60 seconds — individual service pages, location pages, quote forms, gallery, about page, and contact page. AI writes all the content. Mobile-friendly automatically. SEO built in.

The bad: Less design flexibility than a custom build. Your site will share a similar structure with other tradesmen on the platform (though colours, content, and layout adapt to your trade). No e-commerce features if you sell products.

Best for: Tradesmen who want a professional website that generates leads without spending time or large sums of money.

The comparison at a glance

Our honest take

If you have the budget and specific design requirements, a good web designer will build you something beautiful. But for most tradesmen — especially sole traders and small companies — the ROI of a £1,500 custom website versus a £29/month platform that does the same job just doesn't stack up.

The tradesmen who are winning online aren't the ones with the prettiest websites. They're the ones with the most pages targeting the most searches in their area.

See for yourself. Build your trade website free at mytradesite.uk — 14-day trial, no credit card needed.