A painting website has a simpler job than an emergency trade site and a harder one. Simpler, because nobody needs a painter at 10pm, so there is no call-out path to build. Harder, because the customer is choosing between painters on what they can see, and most of what makes a paint job good is preparation that no longer shows once the job is finished.
This guide covers the pages, the photos and the proof a painting site needs, in the order a customer meets them. The trade page is websites for painters, the painting side of the websites for tradies Kovus builds.
Two buyers, two paths
A painter usually has two kinds of customer, and they read a site differently.
Homeowners
Repaints and exteriors
- Rooms and houses that look like theirs, finished
- What preparation is included
- Whether you work in their suburb or town
- How quoting works and what you need from them
Builders
New-build work
- New-build jobs you have done
- How the stages run: spray out, undercoat, finish coats, touch-ups
- Your ABN and insurance details, where you publish them
- A direct way to talk about a programme, not a homeowner form
One painter can serve both, and the services page can still keep them apart. A section for builders sets out the stages and how you fit around their programme. A section for homeowners covers repaints and exteriors and the preparation each one needs. Each buyer then reads their own part without wading through the other’s.
The pages a painting site needs
- A page for each kind of workInterior repaints, exterior painting, new-build painting and anything else you take on, such as spray finishing or floor coatings. Each with its own preparation, products and photos.
- Area pages where there is real workOne page per town or suburb you can show a job in, or plainly say you travel to. Not one list of place names.
- Project pagesA handful of jobs told properly: what it was, what was done to prepare it, what went on, and the photos.
- An about page with checkable factsWho does the work, the ABN linked to the public register, and any registration you hold.
- One quote formIt asks for the surface, the rough size, the suburb and photos, so the first reply can be useful.
Which page a suburb or town earns is covered in service pages versus suburb pages.
Photos that can be compared
The photos are the product. Three rules keep them useful.
- Your own jobs only. A stock photo of a roller on a wall says nothing about your work.
- Label every job. The kind of job, the town or suburb, and what was done. A whole room or a whole elevation shows more than a close-up.
- Keep before-and-after pairs honest. Both photos show the same wall from the same spot. If two photos come from different jobs, the caption says so.
Preparation is the part customers cannot see in a finished photo, so say it in words on the service page: what gets filled, sanded, washed down and undercoated before the top coats go on.
Registration, ABN and brands
Trust on a painting site comes from facts a customer can check.
Registration. In WA, the Building Services Board registers painting contractors and Building and Energy regulates the trade. The WA Government’s painters’ registration guide explains who needs to register and the categories, and links an online licence search. If you hold a registration, put the number on the site, so a customer can look it up. Other states set their own rules, so check with the regulator where you work, show the credential that applies and never imply one you do not hold.
ABN. Publish it and link it to ABN Lookup, so the business name can be confirmed in one click. The footer puts it on every page, and the same number can go in the site’s structured data.
Paint brands. Name the ones you use, in plain words, because customers ask. A manufacturer’s accreditation badge only goes up if you hold the accreditation.
The quote form
A painting quote depends on things a customer can tell you before you visit. A form that asks for them saves a phone call each way.
Worth asking on the form
- Interior, exterior or both
- Roughly how many rooms, or the size of the house
- The surface: plasterboard, render, brick, weatherboard
- The suburb or town
- Photos of the areas to be painted
- When they would like the work done
Say on the page how quoting works: whether it is free, whether you visit first, and how a customer hears back.
Being found locally
A painter who works at customers’ homes can run a Google Business Profile as a service-area business, with the address hidden and the areas served listed. The Google Business Profile guide covers the setup, and the review request templates cover asking customers after a job. The rest of the channels are in marketing for tradies.
What it costs
A Kovus build costs A$500 to A$1,000, quoted in writing for the pages the business needs. Hosting and edits are optional at A$97 a month, and ongoing SEO is optional from A$197 a month. The client owns the website, content, domain and source code. Every price is on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What pages does a painter's website need?
A page for each kind of work you take on, such as interior repaints, exterior painting and new-build work for builders, a page for each area where you have real work to show, a projects section with labelled photos, an about page with your ABN and any registration you hold, and one quote form.
Do painters need to be registered in WA?
Each state sets its own rules for painters. In WA, the Building Services Board registers painting contractors and Building and Energy regulates the trade. The WA Government's painters' registration guide explains who needs to register and links an online licence search. Check your own position with Building and Energy. If you hold a registration, put the number on the website so a customer can check it.
Should a painting website show prices?
Most painting work is quoted, because the surface, its condition and the access change the job. A site can still say plainly how quoting works: whether the quote is free, whether you visit first, and what you need to know to give a figure.
Are before-and-after photos worth using?
Yes, when both photos show the same wall or the same elevation from the same spot. If two photos are from different stages of different jobs, caption them as that. A pairing that looks like a before and after but is not one damages trust when a customer notices.
How much does a painter's website cost?
A Kovus build costs A$500 to A$1,000, quoted in writing for the pages the business needs. Hosting and edits are optional at A$97 a month, and ongoing SEO is optional from A$197 a month. Both are month-to-month.
Does a painter need a Google Business Profile as well as a website?
Yes. The profile is what shows on Google Maps and in the map results, and the website is what it points to. A painter who works at customers' homes can run a service-area profile with the address hidden.