Is Wix good enough for a tradie business?

Technically, yes — a well-built Wix site can look professional and rank on Google. The catch is that 'well-built' means 30–60 hours of layout, copywriting and local SEO work, done by you, at nights. The platform is rarely the problem; the unfinished site and the unwritten pages are. If you'll genuinely put the hours in, Wix works. Most tradies don't get past page two.

Can a Wix website rank on Google in New Zealand?

Yes. The old claim that Wix sites can't rank is a myth — Google treats them like any other website. What decides rankings is the work: page titles that match real searches, service and location pages with genuine copy, a linked Google Business Profile, and reviews. That work is the same on every platform, and it's the part DIY builders usually skip.

What does a DIY website really cost a tradie?

The subscription is the small part — roughly NZ$276–$780 a year on a builder like Wix or Squarespace. The real cost is time: a competent 5-page site with written copy and local SEO setup is typically 30–60 hours of evenings. At a trade charge-out rate of NZ$90–$120 an hour, that's NZ$2,700–$7,200 of your time — more than most done-for-you options, including WFT's NZ$1,997 flat build.

Wix vs a Done-For-You Website for Tradies — Honest Maths

Short answer: Wix is fine software and the subscription is cheap. But the subscription was never the cost — the build is, and with DIY the builder is you. Price your own hours at your charge-out rate and the "cheap" option is usually the most expensive one on the table. If your evenings are worth more than a website admin's, don't become one.

The comparison nobody prices honestly

	DIY on Wix	Done-for-you
Cash cost	NZ$276–$780/yr subscription	One-off build (WFT: NZ$1,997 flat), then hosting
Your hours	30–60 hours: layout, photos, writing every page, SEO settings	About one hour — a kickoff call and a review
The copywriting	You, staring at "Welcome to our website" at 9pm	Written for you, around the searches that bring work
Local SEO setup	Only if you know what titles, schema and a Google Business Profile need	Part of the job
Finished?	The internet is full of half-built DIY sites	Live by a date, in writing
Who owns it	You (while subscribed — the site can't leave Wix)	You, outright — files, domain, the lot

What Wix genuinely does well

Like our Facebook comparison, this isn't a hit job. Wix earns its place for some people:

It's real and it works. Modern builder sites look fine, load fine, and — contrary to a myth agencies love — can rank on Google. The platform isn't the weakness.
Cheap to start. A few hundred a year, no big upfront hit. For a side hustle or a brand-new solo operation testing the waters, that's rational.
Total control. Change a photo at midnight without emailing anyone. Some people genuinely enjoy this. If that's you, and you'll actually maintain it, go well.

Now do the real maths

Here's the part the "from $16/month" ads leave out. A website that brings in work is five-plus pages: a homepage, your services, your area, proof you're legit, and a way to contact you — each one laid out, written, and pointed at the searches people actually type.

Doing that competently for the first time is 30–60 hours. Not of watching TV with a laptop — of writing copy, resizing photos, fighting templates, and googling "what is a meta description".

You already know what an hour of skilled labour costs, because you sell them. At a charge-out rate of NZ$90–$120:

Item	DIY on Wix
Subscription, year one	NZ$276–$780
40 hours of your time at NZ$90–$120/hr	NZ$3,600–$4,800
Real year-one cost	NZ$3,900–$5,600

And that assumes it gets finished. The most common DIY outcome we see isn't a bad website — it's a 40%-built one that's been "nearly done" since summer, quietly costing jobs the whole time. (Whether you need one at all is a fair question — we've answered it honestly here.)

When DIY is the right call

Straight up, because pretending otherwise would insult your intelligence:

You're testing whether the business is even a thing — don't spend real money yet.
Work is a hobby or a side gig, and the website is too.
You actually enjoy this stuff and treat the hours as a hobby, not labour.

When done-for-you is the right call

Your hours are billable and the backlog is real — the site's opportunity cost is quoted work you didn't do.
You want to be found on Google, not just have a link for your business card. The SEO and copywriting are the hard part, and they're exactly what DIY skips.
You want it finished — live by a date someone else is accountable for.

If that's you, compare the done-for-you options properly — we've listed our competitors honestly here, prices included, and broken down what everything costs.

The done-for-you version, priced in public

NZ$1,997 flat: 5+ pages, all copywriting, local SEO foundation, .nz domain, the first month of hosting and Google Business Profile setup — live in 7 working days, backed by the Jobs In 90 Guarantee. Your total time in: about an hour.

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