FAQ

Every question we get. Answered plainly.

If your question isn’t below, email hello@apexmarketing.com.au and we’ll answer it (and add it here if it’s a common one).

01

Pricing

How much does it really cost in year 1?
Starter is $199 setup + $99/mo. With the 14-day grace before monthly starts, year 1 is $1,387 total (ex GST). Growth is $2,004. Pro is $3,351. No hidden fees, no contracts, no discovery call before we tell you the price.
What’s the difference between Starter, Growth and Pro?
Starter: 3 pages, 7-day build, for solo operators. Growth: 6 pages + photo help, 5-day build, for established businesses. Pro: 10 pages + landing page + suburb bundle, 24-hour SLA support, for growth-focused businesses. Full comparison on the pricing page.
Is that price ex or inc GST?
All prices on our site are ex GST. GST (10%) is added at checkout. So $199 setup becomes $218.90 total. The invoice will show the GST breakdown clearly.
Can I pay annually instead of monthly?
Yes — email us before signup and we’ll set you up with annual billing. Pay 12 months upfront, get 2 months free. So Starter becomes $990/yr instead of $1,188. Same on Growth and Pro.
Do I need to pay extra for hosting?
No. Hosting, SSL certificate, daily backups, and security monitoring are all included in the monthly. That’s roughly $30–$80/mo of value folded in at no extra charge.
What if my business has seasonal income — can I pause the monthly?
Yes, once per 12-month period. Pause up to 2 months, site stays live, monthly pauses. Useful for businesses that genuinely shut down seasonally (e.g. pool maintenance in winter in cold states).
02

What you actually get

What’s in the setup fee?
Full build of your site using one of our templates, customised to your trade, service areas, and voice. Includes: pages per your plan, copy written by us based on a brief, photos sourced or optimised from what you give us, logo integration or a simple wordmark if you don’t have one, on-page SEO setup, contact form, Google Analytics, LocalBusiness schema, mobile optimisation, 1 revision round.
What’s in the monthly?
Hosting, SSL, daily backups, security monitoring, email support (same-day in business hours), and a set number of content edits per month. Starter: 2 edits. Growth: 5 edits. Pro: unlimited small edits + 24-hour SLA.
What counts as an “edit”?
Any change under 30 minutes of work: update text, swap a photo, change opening hours, add/remove a service, update pricing, add a testimonial. Not included: new pages (use the $99 extra-page add-on), major redesigns, new functionality.
Do you write the copy or do I?
We write it, based on a 10-minute onboarding form where you tell us about your business, services, service areas, and any specific language you want (or don’t). If you want a full custom copy rewrite in your specific voice, add Custom Copywriting ($490+) which includes a 45-min interview.
Who provides the photos?
You do, ideally. Photos of your team, vans, work in progress, finished jobs. If you don’t have good photos, we’ll use high-quality stock that matches your trade — but real photos convert 40%+ better. If you want a photographer, add our Photo Day service ($990) for half a day on-site in Sydney metro.
Do I own the content?
Any content YOU provided (photos, logos, your own text) remains yours. The code, design, and copy WE wrote is licensed to you as part of the subscription — you can use it for as long as you’re subscribed. If you want to take the site off our hosting outright, see the migration buyout in the Terms.
Can you use my existing domain?
Yes. We’ll ask for your domain registrar login (or walk you through pointing it yourself). Most common registrars (GoDaddy, Crazy Domains, VentraIP, Namecheap) take 5 minutes to configure.
Can I keep my current email (@mybusiness.com.au)?
Yes, your email setup is separate from your website. Whatever you’re currently using (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, cPanel email) keeps working untouched when we update your domain’s DNS.
03

Process & timeline

How fast can you actually launch?
7 days on Starter, 5 days on Growth and Pro — measured from the day you complete onboarding (not sign-up). If onboarding info is incomplete or photos are missing, the clock pauses until we have what we need.
What do you need from me?
A 10-minute onboarding form covering: business name, services, service areas, phone, email, hours, ABN, logo (if you have one), 5–10 photos, 2–3 testimonials or reviews, your current website URL (if any). That’s it.
How many revisions are included?
One structured revision round during the build. You review the draft, send feedback in one batch, we apply it, then we launch. Endless back-and-forth revisions are why agencies take 8 weeks — we don’t do that. If you need a second major round, add it as a custom scope at $390.
What if I don’t like the draft?
Tell us what specifically isn’t working and we’ll adjust. If after one revision round we can’t land on something you’re happy with — which is extremely rare — we refund the setup fee under the 10-day launch guarantee. No questions asked.
Will you rebuild my existing website or start from scratch?
Always from scratch using our templates. Rebuilding messy existing WordPress sites is slower and more expensive than building fresh. Your domain stays the same, your Google ranking transfers via proper redirects, but the underlying site is brand new.
Will I lose my Google ranking if I switch to you?
Not if done correctly. We set up 301 redirects from your old URLs to the new ones, preserve your existing page content where it was working, and keep your Google Business Profile intact. Most sites see a small ranking dip for 1–3 weeks post-launch, then recover and often improve once the new site is faster and better structured.
Can I see examples first?
Yes — when we speak, we’ll send you 2–3 live client sites in your trade. Publicly we can’t show every client’s site in a portfolio (trade privacy), but we can share specific examples 1-on-1.
04

Cancellation & ownership

Can I cancel the monthly?
Yes, any time, by emailing us. No cancellation fee. Your subscription ends at the conclusion of the current paid month. Your site stays live 30 days after cancellation as a grace period, then goes offline.
What happens to my domain if I cancel?
Your domain is always yours. You keep it, point it wherever you want. If we registered it for you, we’ll transfer it to your registrar account on request.
Can I take the site with me?
Yes, for a one-off migration fee of 24 months of your current plan ($2,376 on Starter, $3,576 on Growth, $5,976 on Pro). This covers the build value the subscription was spreading over time. Once paid, we transfer everything to your hosting. See Section 8 of the Terms for detail.
Why is the migration fee so high?
The $199 setup doesn’t cover the real build cost — the monthly does, spread over time. Most subscription website services work the same way (some don’t allow migration at all). If you’re paying $99/mo for 24 months, that’s the real cost of the build you’d be keeping. Fair math either way.
Is there a contract / lock-in period?
No. Month-to-month subscription. You can cancel after month 1 if it’s not working. The only exception is the 10-day launch guarantee window where you can get your setup fee back if we haven’t delivered.
What’s the 10-day launch guarantee?
If we haven’t delivered a live, completed website within 10 days of you completing onboarding (and assuming we have all the info we need), you get the setup fee back in full. Monthly hasn’t started at that point.
05

SEO & ads

Will my site rank on Google?
The setup includes on-page SEO (titles, metas, schema, sitemap). That’s enough to rank for easy local terms within 2–3 months. For competitive terms in busy cities (e.g. “Sydney plumber”), you need ongoing SEO work — add the $390/mo SEO package or do it yourself using our free blog for guidance.
Do you do Google Ads?
Yes, as an add-on: $290/mo management fee + 10% of ad spend. Includes campaign setup, keyword bidding, ad copy, landing page conversion tracking, monthly reporting. Recommended ad budget: $800–$2,500/mo depending on trade and location.
What about Meta / Facebook ads?
Same structure — $290/mo + 10% spend. Works best for bigger-ticket trades (solar, bathroom renos, commercial work) where a single lead is worth $5k+. For everyday tradie work, Google Ads usually converts better.
Should I do SEO or Google Ads first?
Ads if you need leads next week. SEO if you’re willing to wait 3–6 months for compounding free traffic. Most established businesses end up doing both — ads for immediate flow, SEO for long-term margin. See our Ads vs SEO article for detail.
Will you set up my Google Business Profile?
Yes, as an add-on for $190 one-off. Includes claiming, verifying, writing the business description, adding 10 services, uploading 10–15 photos, optimising categories, and connecting it to your website for review display.
06

Technical

What platform is the site built on?
WordPress with our custom theme. Not Wix, not Squarespace, not a page builder. Fast, standard tech that any developer in Australia can maintain if you ever leave us.
Is my site fast?
Yes. We target Core Web Vitals (Google’s performance metric) of 90+. Typical load time: under 1.5 seconds on mobile 4G. All images are optimised, no bloated page builders, minimal JavaScript.
Is it mobile-friendly?
Built mobile-first. 70%+ of your visitors will be on a phone — the site is designed and tested for them primarily, desktop second.
Is it secure? What about hacks?
SSL (https) is mandatory. We run daily security scans, automatic WordPress core + plugin updates, and 2FA on the admin panel. Daily off-site backups mean if anything goes wrong, we restore from a snapshot within hours.
Can I access the WordPress admin myself?
Yes if you want. We’ll give you a WordPress Editor account (edit content, can’t break the site). Most clients don’t use it — it’s faster to just email us the change.
Do you handle emails (info@mybusiness.com.au)?
No — we don’t host email. We recommend Google Workspace ($8.40/user/mo AUD) or Microsoft 365 ($7.90/user/mo). We’re happy to set up the DNS records for either at no extra cost.
What analytics do I get?
Google Analytics 4 installed by default (free). Tracks page views, sources, conversions. We can also set up Microsoft Clarity (free heatmaps) on request. Call tracking is a separate $29/mo add-on if you want to know which channel is sending you phone calls.

Still got questions?

Email us or book 10 minutes on the phone. We’ll tell you straight up if we’re the right fit.

Launch for $199 today.

No call. No quote. Just pick a plan and we'll be live by this time next week.

Cancel the monthly any time. Money-back if not live in 10 days.
📞 Call Start — $199