MyBuilder vs your own website: which brings better work?
MyBuilder connects homeowners who post jobs with tradespeople who express interest in them. It is one of several job platforms trades use alongside word of mouth. Your own website is different: it is the place people land when they are already looking for you.
This page compares the two honestly, so you can decide where your money and time go.
How job platforms charge
Job platforms typically charge the tradesperson in connection with jobs, for example when a homeowner shortlists you, rather than only when you win the work. Check MyBuilder's current pricing and terms directly, because these change.
That makes the real cost of a won job higher than any single fee suggests, because you also pay for the ones you do not win.
What platforms do well
Feedback from completed jobs builds up on your profile, which helps a homeowner who has never heard of you. They also bring a steady flow of posted jobs, which is useful while you are building a name.
What your own site does better
It answers the search that follows every recommendation: your name, or your trade and town. If nothing of yours comes up, some of those people go to whoever does.
It is not a marketplace. The customer is looking at you alone, with your photos, your reviews and your way of working, not comparing you with three others in a feed.
It costs the same whether you get one enquiry a month or twenty, and it keeps working whether or not you renew anything.
Common questions
- Should I leave MyBuilder if I get a website?
- Not necessarily. Keep it while it pays its way. A website is the home base; platforms are sources of leads you can keep or drop depending on what they cost you per job won.
- Do I keep my MyBuilder feedback if I leave?
- Feedback on a platform generally stays with the platform. Reviews on your Google Business Profile stay with your business, so ask happy customers for those as well.
- How quickly will my own site bring enquiries?
- A new site takes some weeks to settle into Google. It helps to have it linked to your Google Business Profile from day one, and to keep adding real jobs.
If you would rather somebody just did it
I build websites for self-employed tradesmen and small businesses across the UK: £249.99 to build, then £49.99 a month to host, maintain and update it. The sites I have built show on page one of Google for 103 searches between them, in Search Console.