Plumber website builder: DIY vs done-for-you, honestly
Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy - the website builders all run ads promising a professional site in an afternoon. Most web designers will tell you they're rubbish. I won't, because it isn't true: Wix is genuinely fine for some plumbers. The real question is whether you're one of them, and this page answers that honestly.
I build done-for-you plumber websites for a living, so I have an obvious interest - but I'd rather you pick the right option than the one that pays me. Here's the honest comparison.
When a DIY website builder is genuinely the right call
If you're fully booked from word of mouth, you just need proof you exist when someone checks you out, and you're the type who enjoys fiddling with this stuff on a Sunday - use Wix. Seriously. A simple one-pager with your name, areas, Gas Safe number and phone number does that job, and £10 a month is the right price for it.
- You're established and don't need the website to generate work
- You genuinely have the evenings and patience to build and maintain it
- You're comfortable being your own tech support when something breaks
- You'll actually finish it - the half-built DIY site that's 'nearly done' for two years helps nobody
Where DIY builders quietly cost you jobs
The builder templates aren't designed for trades - they're designed to look good in the builder's ad. The plumbing-specific decisions that win enquiries are exactly the ones a template doesn't make: sticky tap-to-call, trust signals above the fold, separate paths for emergency and quoted work, page speed on mobile data.
There's also the time maths. If a proper site takes you thirty evening hours to build and yours is an hourly trade, you've spent more than my one-off build price in your own labour - for a result a template decided, not you.
The honest comparison
DIY builder: £10-20 a month forever, your evenings, template limitations, and you're the maintenance department. Done-for-you: £595 one-off and you own it, or £795 plus £49 a month fully managed - built around plumbing work by someone who does nothing else.
If you're still not sure which side you fall on, fill in the enquiry form and say so. If a Wix one-pager genuinely covers your situation, I'll tell you that - it costs me nothing to be straight with you, and it's why plumbers refer each other here.
Three ways to get your site built.
Fixed prices, agreed in writing before any work starts. No VAT added.
One-off build
We build it, you own it. No monthly fee, no strings. Hosting set up in your name.
Get a quote →Managed
We build it, host it, maintain it and make your edits. You never touch a dashboard.
Get a quote →Managed + triage
Everything in Managed, plus an after-hours triage system that sorts urgent enquiries from ones that can wait.
Get a quote →Full details, add-ons and what's included: the plumbing websites service
The only web designer who also finds you the jobs.
Your site is built by the same person who runs Planning Leads - a weekly email digest of approved planning applications in your area, filtered for plumbing work, with a ready-to-personalise letter template for every lead.
Questions plumbers ask us.
What's the best website builder for a plumber?+
If you're going DIY, Wix or Squarespace are the sensible picks - avoid anything more obscure, because you'll find no help when it breaks. But first decide whether DIY is right at all: it suits established plumbers who need an online business card, not plumbers who need the site to win work.
Is Wix good enough for a plumbing business?+
For proof-you-exist purposes, yes. For generating enquiries, usually not - the templates aren't built around trade customers, mobile speed is mediocre, and the plumbing-specific details that convert visitors into calls aren't there unless you know to add them.
How much does a DIY website really cost?+
£10-20 a month for the builder plan plus a domain, forever - so £300-500 over three years. Add your own evenings building and maintaining it. A £595 one-off professional build is often cheaper over the same period, and you own it outright.
Can I move my Wix site to a proper website later?+
The content and domain can move; the site itself can't - builder sites are locked to their platform, so a later professional build starts from scratch. If you think you'll outgrow DIY within a year or two, it's usually cheaper to skip that step.
Tell us about your business.
Your trade, your area, the jobs you want more of. You'll have a scope and a fixed price within one working day - no calls unless you want one, no obligation.