Short answer
Check the licence first — web designers are not licensed in Australia, so check qualifications and public liability insurance instead. Then check that the business is who it says it is: of the 461 Australian web designers in this directory, only 37.1% publish an ABN you can confirm, and 0% list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website.
Web Designers handle websites, online stores, landing pages and the hosting and maintenance that keep them running. This is what to check before you put your business online through someone else, and what the evidence says about the category as a whole.
There is no web designer licence — so check something else
Web design is unlicensed. The risks are all about ownership: who holds the domain name, who holds the hosting account, whether you get the source files and the content management system login, and what happens when the agency closes or you move on.
There is no register. Check the domain's registrant in a WHOIS lookup before and after the project, and get the ownership terms into the contract.
What 461 Australian web designers actually publish
We check every business in this directory the same way, and publish the result whether it flatters the trade or not. For web designers:
| What we checked | Web Designers | All trades |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an ABN we could confirm | 37.1% | 21.5% |
| Listed phone matches their own website | 53.8% | 59.2% |
| Listed phone contradicts their own website | 0% | 7.7% |
| Website responded when we checked | 81.3% | 81% |
| Corroborated by two or more sources | 87.5% | 81.1% |
| Median number of Google reviews | 20 | 39 |
What goes wrong with web designers
- The domain registered in the designer's name, so you cannot move without their cooperation
- A site you cannot edit or export because it lives on the designer's platform
- Ongoing hosting and maintenance fees with no documented scope
What to ask before the work starts
- Will the domain, hosting and CMS logins be in my name?
- What do I receive at handover, and can I take the site elsewhere?
- What does the maintenance fee actually cover?
A web designer who answers all three of those without hesitating is telling you something useful. One who is vague about a licence number is telling you something too.
The median matters more than the average
The median web designer in this directory has 20 Google reviews. That is the number to hold in your head when you see a perfect five-star rating: five stars from four reviews and 4.6 from three hundred are not comparable, and the second is almost always the safer hire.
It is also why the ranking here weights review volume more heavily than review score. A business cannot buy its position, and a handful of glowing reviews does not move it far.
Where the web designers are
Sydney (31), Melbourne (30). A shortlist for your own area is more useful than a national ranking — the best web designer in the country is no help if they are four states away.
Where to check a licence, by state
There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state where the work is happening.
- NSWNSW Fair Tradingbuilders, electricians, plumbers and specialist trades
- VICBuilding and Plumbing Commission, and Energy Safe Victoria for electricalbuilding practitioners and plumbers; electricians are Energy Safe Victoria
- QLDQueensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC)building and most trade contractor licences
- WABuilding and Energybuilders, electricians, plumbers and gas fitters
- SAConsumer and Business Servicesbuilding work contractors and supervisors
- TASConsumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS)building and occupational licences
- ACTAccess Canberraconstruction occupations licensing
- NTNT Government building practitioner registrationbuilding practitioners and electrical workers
Common questions
- Do web designers need a licence in Australia?
- No. Web design is unlicensed. The risks are all about ownership: who holds the domain name, who holds the hosting account, whether you get the source files and the content management system login, and what happens when the agency closes or you move on.
- How do I check a web designer's licence?
- There is no register. Check the domain's registrant in a WHOIS lookup before and after the project, and get the ownership terms into the contract.
- What percentage of Australian web designers have a verifiable ABN?
- 37.1% of the 461 web designers in this directory publish an ABN we could confirm against the national register, against 21.5% across all trades.
- How many reviews should a web designer have?
- The median web designer here has 20. Treat a five-star rating from a handful of reviews with more caution than a slightly lower rating from hundreds.
Compare web designers near you
461 web designers, ranked on the evidence described above rather than on advertising.
Read next
- How to check an Australian tradie's licenceThere is no national licence register in Australia. Here is the regulator for every state and territory, what each one c…
- What an ABN tells you about a tradie — and what it doesn'tAn ABN is free, public and takes a minute to check — and only 21.5% of 133,763 Australian trade businesses publish one. …
- When a tradie's phone number doesn't match their own website10,300 Australian trade businesses list a phone number that contradicts the one on their own website. Sometimes it is a …