# Web Blend

> Web Blend is an Australian, founder-led agency that helps trades and local service businesses get more booked jobs. One team builds the fast custom website, makes the video, runs the Google Ads, and stands up the lead system (ads, landing pages, missed-call automation, and a review engine) so the phone actually rings. Fixed fees, plain English, the client owns everything.

Web Blend works with service businesses Australia-wide: plumbers, electricians, painters, pool builders, and other trades that run on booked jobs and phone calls. The differentiator is one team for the site, the video, the ads and the automation, so the work pulls in the same direction and the client only has to press record. Websites are hand-coded and lightning-fast (no WordPress, no templates) and built AI-ready so they get found in search. Rated 5.0 from 16 Google reviews.

## Services

- [Lead System](https://webblend.au/services/lead-system): The flagship, done-for-you lead generation on one fixed monthly fee: Google Ads, a landing page, missed-call and follow-up automation, a review system, and plain-English reporting.
- [Conversion Websites](https://webblend.au/services/websites): Hand-built, fast, custom websites with no WordPress or templates, built for AI visibility so AI tools can cite the business, and to turn clicks into booked jobs. From $2,800.
- [Google Ads](https://webblend.au/services/google-ads): Lead-focused Google Ads with proper account builds, conversion tracking, landing pages, and monthly reporting that shows the real numbers.
- [Video](https://webblend.au/services/video): The client presses record on a phone; Web Blend writes the scripts and edits reels, ads, testimonials, and explainers that sell the job.
- [Reviews](https://webblend.au/services/reviews): A done-for-you Google review system that turns happy customers into a steady flow of real 5-star reviews.
- [Automation](https://webblend.au/services/automation): Missed-call text-back and automatic lead follow-up, so no job is lost to a call the owner could not get to in time.
- [Landing Pages](https://webblend.au/services/landing-pages): A single fast page built to turn ad clicks into enquiries. $1,500.
- [SEO](https://webblend.au/services/seo): SEO for trade businesses sold as a defined one-off project rather than a monthly retainer. Scoped, delivered, then owned by the client. From $3,500.
- [Services overview](https://webblend.au/services): How the services work on their own and compound when run together by one team.

## Local & specialist pages

- [Web Design Darwin](https://webblend.au/web-design-darwin): Hand-coded web design for Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Alice Springs and the wider NT. Single-page sites from $495, landing pages $1,500, full builds from $2,800. The separate Palmerston, Katherine and NT pages were merged into this one in July 2026.
- [NDIS Website Design](https://webblend.au/ndis-website-design): Genuinely accessible websites for NDIS providers, built with WCAG guidelines in mind, plain language, fast on any device.
- [SEO Darwin](https://webblend.au/seo-darwin): Local SEO for Darwin and NT businesses, covering the map pack, wet-season and dry-season demand swings, and why the NT market behaves differently from southern capitals.
- [Websites for Plumbers](https://webblend.au/websites-for-plumbers): Websites built specifically for plumbing businesses, where most visits are urgent, one-handed and on a phone, and the only action that matters is a tap to call.
- [SEO for Plumbers](https://webblend.au/seo-for-plumbers): Search for plumbing businesses: emergency intent versus planned work, per-service pages, the map pack for a service-area trade, and competing against directories.
- [SEO for Electricians](https://webblend.au/seo-for-electricians): Search for electrical contractors: emergency faults versus planned installs such as EV chargers and solar, per-service pages, licence and insurance trust signals.
- [WordPress Websites for Tradies](https://webblend.au/wordpress-websites-for-tradies): The honest guide to WordPress for trade businesses: real costs, when it makes sense, where it breaks, and the hand-coded alternative.
- [WordPress Website Maintenance](https://webblend.au/wordpress-website-maintenance): What WordPress maintenance involves and costs (updates, security patching, tested backups, monitoring). Web Blend maintains WordPress sites it did not build, from $170 per month, scoped per site. Also covers why its hand-coded Astro sites on Cloudflare's edge do not carry the same ongoing patch burden.
- [WordPress Security](https://webblend.au/wordpress-security): What actually gets WordPress sites hacked (unpatched plugins and themes, weak or reused admin logins) and what to harden first: login protection and two-factor, what a firewall plugin does and does not do, keeping core and plugins current, and cross-site scripting explained for a business owner.
- [WordPress Backups](https://webblend.au/wordpress-backups): What a complete WordPress backup includes (files and the database), how often to back up, why backups must live off the server, host backups versus plugin backups, the restore process step by step, and why short retention windows can mean every backup you hold is already infected.
- [WordPress Malware Removal](https://webblend.au/wordpress-malware-removal): How to tell if a WordPress site is infected, what to do in the first hour, and what a cleanup involves: finding the entry point, removing injected code from core, themes, plugins and the database, closing backdoors, patching the hole, and clearing Google blacklisting. Typical Australian cleanup cost $150 to $600 or more.
- [ServiceM8 GoHighLevel Integration](https://webblend.au/servicem8-gohighlevel-integration): Done-for-you integration between GoHighLevel and ServiceM8, so a lead that converts in GoHighLevel opens a job in ServiceM8 and job status flows back to follow-up. ServiceM8 ships no official GoHighLevel add-on. From $1,800.
- [Not For Profit Website Design](https://webblend.au/not-for-profit-website-design): Websites for Australian charities and not-for-profits, built around a fixed grant budget, board approval cycles, WCAG accessibility obligations, DGR-aware donation flows, and separate donor and volunteer conversion paths. From $1,500.
- [Google Ad Grant Management](https://webblend.au/google-ad-grant-management): Google Ad Grant management for Australian not-for-profits as a fixed-fee project rather than a monthly retainer. Covers ACNC and DGR eligibility, the US$10,000/month Search-only budget, the $2 CPC cap, the 5% CTR floor and mandatory conversion tracking. Web Blend has not previously managed an Ad Grants account and says so on the page.
- [Website Performance Audit](https://webblend.au/website-performance-audit): A paid one-off performance audit that says what is slowing a site, what to fix first and what each fix costs, as distinct from a free automated score. $750, credited against a build or SEO project within 60 days.

- [Is hipages worth it?](https://webblend.au/is-hipages-worth-it): The maths-led answer for Australian tradies: official membership tiers, cost per booked job at different win rates, and the contract terms to check.
- [ServiceSeeking review](https://webblend.au/service-seeking-review): What ServiceSeeking costs tradies in 2026, what both review crowds report, the dated ACCC history, and when a flat membership stacks up.
- [GoHighLevel for tradies](https://webblend.au/gohighlevel-for-tradies): What GoHighLevel really costs an Australian trade business, what Reddit says, and when done-for-you setup beats learning the platform yourself.

## Pricing

- [Pricing](https://webblend.au/pricing): Fixed, up-front pricing. One-off builds (landing page $1,500, website from $2,800, audit $290), the Reviews system ($1,500 setup then $497/month), Automation (from $1,800 setup), WordPress maintenance (from $170/month), and custom monthly plans for the flagship Lead System.

## Free tools

- [Missed-Call Calculator](https://webblend.au/tools/missed-call-calculator): Estimate how much money missed calls cost your business each year.
- [Review Calculator](https://webblend.au/tools/review-calculator): Work out how many 5-star reviews you need to reach a target Google rating.
- [Hipages Cost Calculator](https://webblend.au/tools/hipages-cost-calculator): Work out what hipages really costs per booked job from your membership, credit spend and win rate.
- [Charge-Out Rate Calculator](https://webblend.au/tools/charge-out-rate-calculator): Work out what a trade business should charge per hour and per day from wage, overheads, billable hours and margin. Ex GST, with an award-floor warning.

## Rates and benchmarks

- [Australian Tradie Rates and Benchmarks 2026](https://webblend.au/rates): The master dataset: hourly rates, call-out fees or minimums, day rates and award wage floors for nine trades, compiled August 2026 from 45 sourced AU datasets. CSV download available. Reviewed every July after the Fair Work annual wage review.
- [Electrician rates](https://webblend.au/rates/electricians): How much electricians charge per hour in Australia, call-out fees, full-day rates and the award cost floor, with sources.
- [Plumber rates](https://webblend.au/rates/plumbers): Plumber hourly rates and call-out fees in Australia, per-city starting rates and the award cost floor, with sources.
- [Carpenter rates](https://webblend.au/rates/carpenters): Carpenter hourly and day rates in Australia with the award cost floor, with sources.
- [Painter rates](https://webblend.au/rates/painters): Painter hourly rates, day rates and per-square-metre pricing in Australia, with sources.
- [Handyman rates](https://webblend.au/rates/handymen): Handyman hourly rates in Australia, the one-hour-minimum structure and duration pricing, with sources.
- [Cleaner rates](https://webblend.au/rates/cleaners): Cleaner hourly rates in Australia, the standard 2-hour minimum booking, end-of-lease pricing, with sources.
- [Gardener and landscaper rates](https://webblend.au/rates/gardeners): Gardener and landscaper hourly and day rates in Australia, with sources.
- [Tiler rates](https://webblend.au/rates/tilers): Tiler rates per hour and per square metre in Australia, minimum charges, with sources.
- [Concreter rates](https://webblend.au/rates/concreters): Concreter pricing per square metre and per hour in Australia. Concreters do not charge call-out fees; they quote per square metre.
- [Call-out fees explained](https://webblend.au/rates/call-out-fees): What a call-out fee is, what it covers, and a comparison of fees and minimum charges across nine Australian trades.

## Guides

- [Guides hub](https://webblend.au/blog): Plain-English guides on websites, video, Google Ads, reviews and lead generation for trades and local service businesses.
- [WordPress vs a custom website for tradies](https://webblend.au/blog/wordpress-vs-custom-for-tradies): Honest comparison of WordPress and custom-built websites for trade businesses on speed, cost, SEO, security and upkeep.
- [How much does a tradie website cost](https://webblend.au/blog/how-much-does-a-tradie-website-cost): What a tradie website costs in Australia, what drives the price, and what you should get for the money.
- [Do tradies need a website](https://webblend.au/blog/do-tradies-need-a-website): Why most tradies still need a website in 2026, even with Google Business Profile and word of mouth.
- [How much do Google Ads cost for tradies](https://webblend.au/blog/how-much-do-google-ads-cost-for-tradies): The two costs of Google Ads (ad budget and management) and why cost per lead matters more than daily spend.
- [What is a good cost per lead for a plumber or electrician](https://webblend.au/blog/good-cost-per-lead-plumber-electrician): How to work out the right cost per lead for your trade from your job value and close rate, instead of chasing a universal number.
- [Google Ads vs Meta Ads for tradies](https://webblend.au/blog/google-ads-vs-meta-ads-for-tradies): Google Ads catches people searching for your trade now; Meta interrupts people scrolling. Which a tradie should run first, and when to use both.
- [Google Guaranteed and Local Services Ads in Australia](https://webblend.au/blog/local-services-ads-australia-explained): What Local Services Ads and the Google Guaranteed badge are, how pay-per-lead works, and which tradies can get them in Australia.
- [How much does lead generation cost for tradies](https://webblend.au/blog/how-much-does-lead-generation-cost-for-tradies): What lead generation really costs a trade business: ad budget, management fee, and what pushes the price up or down.
- [Buying leads vs generating your own](https://webblend.au/blog/buying-leads-vs-generating-your-own): Buying shared leads is fast but you compete on price and rent the channel; generating your own is slower to set up but the leads are yours to keep.
- [Lead gen agency vs doing your own marketing](https://webblend.au/blog/lead-gen-agency-vs-doing-your-own-marketing): The honest comparison on time, skill, consistency and the real cost of running your own marketing versus hiring a team.
- [Why tradies lose jobs to missed calls](https://webblend.au/blog/why-tradies-lose-jobs-to-missed-calls): Why missed calls quietly cost trade businesses booked jobs, what it really costs, and the simple text-back fix that stops leads walking.
- [How many Google reviews do you need](https://webblend.au/blog/how-many-google-reviews-do-you-need): Why there is no magic review count, and how enough recent, genuine reviews make a trade business look the safe choice.
- [How to ask customers for reviews](https://webblend.au/blog/how-to-ask-customers-for-reviews): How to ask happy customers for a Google review in a way that feels natural, not pushy, with simple templates you can use today.
- [Responding to a bad review](https://webblend.au/blog/responding-to-a-bad-review): How to reply to a bad Google review without making it worse, with copy-and-paste scripts for the four situations tradies actually face.
- [Can you film a good video on your phone](https://webblend.au/blog/film-a-good-video-on-your-phone): Why a modern phone is good enough for business video, and what actually matters: light, sound, framing and a script.

## Reddit resources (what tradie communities actually say)

- [What Reddit really says about tradie marketing](https://webblend.au/blog/tradie-marketing-reddit): Honest hub summarising what tradies on Reddit, Whirlpool and Facebook groups say about lead platforms, agencies, reviews and what actually works.
- [Missed call text-back: what Reddit says](https://webblend.au/blog/missed-call-text-back-reddit): Community experiences with missed-call text-back, why it works, and when it feels spammy.
- [Google Local Services Ads in Australia: what Reddit knows](https://webblend.au/blog/google-local-services-ads-australia-reddit): What overseas tradies report about LSA and what it means for Australia as it rolls out.
- [Is SEO worth it for small business? Reddit's answer](https://webblend.au/blog/is-seo-worth-it-small-business-reddit): The community's honest scepticism about SEO retainers, and the local SEO fundamentals that genuinely bring in work.
- [Is hipages worth it: what tradies say](https://webblend.au/blog/hipages-worth-it-reddit): The forum verdict on hipages: real cost per booked job, shared leads, credit complaints, and when it still makes sense.
- [ServiceSeeking review: what tradies report](https://webblend.au/blog/serviceseeking-review-reddit): What tradies on Whirlpool and ProductReview report about ServiceSeeking: shared leads, price-shoppers and real costs.
- [Oneflare has closed: what it means for tradies](https://webblend.au/blog/oneflare-closing-reddit): Oneflare closed 30 June 2026 after the Airtasker acquisition. What happened and what tradies should do next.
- [Oneflare alternatives tradies recommend](https://webblend.au/blog/oneflare-alternatives-reddit): The honest options after the Oneflare shutdown: hipages, Airtasker, ServiceSeeking, or leads you own.
- [Localsearch reviews: what businesses say](https://webblend.au/blog/localsearch-reviews-reddit): What Australian businesses report about Localsearch: contract terms, website ownership, the Duda platform, and what to check before renewing.
- [Bark.com reviews: the Reddit verdict](https://webblend.au/blog/bark-com-reviews-reddit): What Reddit and Australian reviewers report about Bark's credit system, response rates, refund friction, and the real cost per booked job.
- [Airtasker for tradies: what Reddit says](https://webblend.au/blog/airtasker-reddit): The tradie-side verdict on Airtasker: race-to-the-bottom pricing, fees, insurance gaps for licensed trades, and how it compares with hipages.
- [ServiceM8 vs Tradify: what tradies say](https://webblend.au/blog/servicem8-vs-tradify-reddit): Neutral comparison from real tradie threads: per-job vs per-user pricing, where each gets expensive, and who each platform suits.
- [Website cost in Australia: the Reddit answer](https://webblend.au/blog/website-cost-australia-reddit): Why Reddit quotes span $50 a month to $20,000 for the same website, the four AU price bands, and the questions to ask any quote.
- [Simpro price increase: what tradies report](https://webblend.au/blog/simpro-price-increase): What tradies report about Simpro renewal terms, what a multi-year lock-in costs, the renewal checklist, and the alternatives.
- [Facebook ads stopped working? The 2026 Meta targeting changes](https://webblend.au/blog/meta-ads-targeting-changes): The January 2026 detailed-targeting cutoff, how to spot a zombie ad set, and how to rebuild for broad targeting.
- [GoDaddy Website Builder discontinued](https://webblend.au/blog/godaddy-website-builder-discontinued): GoDaddy discontinued its AI Website Builder on 31 July 2026. What happens to your site and the three options from here.
- [Squarespace price increase for Australians](https://webblend.au/blog/squarespace-price-increase-australia): The July 2026 Squarespace repricing in AUD terms: what changed, the 12 August renewal date, and how to check yours before it bills.
- [Is Yellow Pages shutting down in Australia?](https://webblend.au/blog/yellow-pages-australia-shutting-down): Not shut down, but winding down: Thryv exits print by December 2028. The timeline and where that ad budget performs now.

## Wiki

- [Wiki](https://webblend.au/wiki): Plain-English reference on how Web Blend works, the tools we build on, and how to get started.
- [Getting started](https://webblend.au/wiki/getting-started): The engagement journey start to finish: get in touch, get a plan and a price, we build it, you review it, we launch.
- [How we work](https://webblend.au/wiki/how-we-work): How one team runs the website, the video and the ads together, and what that means for a client.
- [Tools we use](https://webblend.au/wiki/tools): The stack behind the sites and campaigns (Astro, edge hosting, Google Ads, analytics) and why each is used.
- [Support](https://webblend.au/wiki/support): How support, changes and ongoing care work after a site or campaign is live.

## Company

- [About](https://webblend.au/about): The one-team story and how Web Blend works, built for service businesses that want more booked jobs.
- [Our Work](https://webblend.au/work): The businesses Web Blend looks after, with full case studies on the way.
- [Contact](https://webblend.au/contact): Enquiry form and contact details. Web Blend replies within one business day, usually with a few quick questions or a short call, then a plain plan and a price.