Provider facts
What does Made by Max charge, and what do you get?
Disclosure: Appear is run by creativebyjake, which appears in this comparison. Every fact is from each provider's own pages with the date we read them, ours included.
Made by Max (Teralba, Lake Macquarie NSW: "Teralba NSW 2284"; "Where I work" "Hunter · Lake Macquarie · Central Coast · Sydney · NSW-wide" (contact page)): Builds from $499 with the owner building every site himself, and the site's files exported to you if you leave. Below is everything its own pages say about price and packages, read 13 Oct 2026, with each source linked.
Made by Max, from its own pages
Named by: ChatGPT (8 Oct) for "affordable website for a tradie in Australia".
- Website price shown
- "Basic" "$499" "Up to 5 pages"; "Professional" "$999" "Up to 8 pages"; "Premium" "$1,599" "Up to 12 pages". No GST note on the pricing page.
madebymax.shop/pricing - What a build includes
- Basic: "Mobile responsive", "Contact form", "Basic SEO setup", "Live in 15 days." Professional: "Everything in Basic, plus:" "Advanced SEO", "Lead capture form", "Basic analytics". Premium: "Everything in Professional, plus:" "Complete SEO package", "analytics and reporting", "Professional copywriting", "Custom email", "Social media integration", "1 month post-launch support".
madebymax.shop/pricing - Ongoing fees
- "Website hosting and maintenance is not included in the upfront website package price. It is offered separately through the Monthly Maintenance plan ($149/mo) or Growth Plan ($299/mo), both on a month-to-month basis with no lock-in contract." "If you cancel ongoing hosting, your site will be taken offline at the end of the current billing period."
madebymax.shop/terms - Local SEO or marketing
- Add-ons: "Local Visibility Package" "$600": "Local keyword targeting, Google Business Profile setup and optimisation, Maps ranking, citation building and review strategy." "Google Ads Setup" "$499 plus ad spend": "Account setup, keyword research, ad copy, budget strategy, conversion tracking and 30 days monitoring." Ongoing: "Growth Plan" "$299/month": "Google Ads and SEO managed every month, with a simple monthly report showing what's working. minimum $300/month ad spend billed separately." No AI search (GEO) service shown; "AI Installation" is a Claude admin setup ("$149" DIY playbook, "$699" done-for-you setup).
madebymax.shop/pricing - Platform
- Custom coded, as stated: "Built in code, not on a template builder. Faster, cleaner, and fully yours."
madebymax.shop/websites - Named person
- One person, first name only: "I'm Max." "I'm the person who builds every site that goes out under this name."
madebymax.shop/about - Reviews on its own site
- One testimonial on the home page, "Michael Lancaster" of "Choice Electrical": "Max did an awesome job for my business website." No Google rating or review count shown on the pages read.
madebymax.shop - Example builds
- Two live sites under "Sites I've built" on the home page: "Choice Electrical" ("Electrician · Belmont North, Lake Macquarie") and "Mooving Mats" ("Outdoor products · Australian-made mats"). No separate portfolio page in the sitemap.
madebymax.shop - Page for tradies
- Tradie pages for each trade: "Websites for Electricians in NSW | Made by Max" at /trades/electricians; the sitemap also lists /trades/plumbers, /trades/builders, /trades/landscapers and /trades/painters. Whole site is aimed at tradies: "Websites and AI setup for NSW tradies. Built by one person, based in Teralba NSW 2284."
madebymax.shop/trades/electricians - Based
- Teralba, Lake Macquarie NSW: "Teralba NSW 2284"; "Where I work" "Hunter · Lake Macquarie · Central Coast · Sydney · NSW-wide" (contact page)
madebymax.shop/contact
Other things its pages say
- "I charge from $499 and have you live in 15 days." "No lock-in contracts"; "Hosting, updates and support all taken care of."; "Newcastle and Hunter agencies typically charge $3,000 to $10,000 for comparable work." madebymax.shop
- "Made by Max Web Design clients own their website outright, with no lock-in contract and no exit fee. Your domain is registered in your name." "we provide a complete export of your website files and content within 14 days of your request, at no charge." madebymax.shop
- "For standard website packages, a 50% deposit is required to begin work, with the remaining 50% due on completion before the site goes live." "Each project includes two rounds of revisions as part of the agreed scope." "Last updated: 2 September 2026" madebymax.shop/terms
- "Monthly Maintenance" "$149/month": "Monthly content updates, security monitoring and backups, uptime monitoring, priority email and phone support, and a monthly performance report." madebymax.shop/pricing
- "Made by Max Web Design builds custom websites in code, not on Wix, Squarespace or drag-and-drop templates." madebymax.shop/about
- "Made by Max Web Design · ABN 41 898 891 958 · Teralba NSW 2284" madebymax.shop
Is Made by Max right for you?
Best for: a Hunter or Lake Macquarie tradie on a tight budget who wants a hand-coded site.
Worth asking them: about hosting, which is separate at $149 or $299 a month, so the first year costs more than the build.
How does creativebyjake compare?
creativebyjake runs this site, so read this as our side of it. Same date, same kind of source.
| Made by Max | creativebyjake (ours) | |
|---|---|---|
| Website price shown | "Basic" "$499" "Up to 5 pages"; "Professional" "$999" "Up to 8 pages"; "Premium" "$1,599" "Up to 12 pages". No GST note on the pricing page. madebymax.shop/pricing | $500 + GST for a two-page site, paid once; going live on a domain in the client's own name is $100 plus the domain's own fees creativebyjake.com.au/tradie-websites/ |
| Ongoing fees | "Website hosting and maintenance is not included in the upfront website package price. It is offered separately through the Monthly Maintenance plan ($149/mo) or Growth Plan ($299/mo), both on a month-to-month basis with no lock-in contract." "If you cancel ongoing hosting, your site will be taken offline at the end of the current billing period." madebymax.shop/terms | Maintenance at $50 + GST a month, no contract, two weeks' notice to stop; hosting: not stated on its pages creativebyjake.com.au/tradie-websites/ |
| Local SEO or marketing | Add-ons: "Local Visibility Package" "$600": "Local keyword targeting, Google Business Profile setup and optimisation, Maps ranking, citation building and review strategy." "Google Ads Setup" "$499 plus ad spend": "Account setup, keyword research, ad copy, budget strategy, conversion tracking and 30 days monitoring." Ongoing: "Growth Plan" "$299/month": "Google Ads and SEO managed every month, with a simple monthly report showing what's working. minimum $300/month ad spend billed separately." No AI search (GEO) service shown; "AI Installation" is a Claude admin setup ("$149" DIY playbook, "$699" done-for-you setup). madebymax.shop/pricing | Appear at $250 + GST a month: the Google listing kept up, details matched across directories, a review kit, a local page every second month, Maps read weekly and AI answers monthly; Appear and maintenance together are $300 a month including GST creativebyjake.com.au/appear/ |
| Reviews on its own site | One testimonial on the home page, "Michael Lancaster" of "Choice Electrical": "Max did an awesome job for my business website." No Google rating or review count shown on the pages read. madebymax.shop | Not shown on the pages read creativebyjake.com.au |
| Example builds | Two live sites under "Sites I've built" on the home page: "Choice Electrical" ("Electrician · Belmont North, Lake Macquarie") and "Mooving Mats" ("Outdoor products · Australian-made mats"). No separate portfolio page in the sitemap. madebymax.shop | Example builds for made-up businesses, labelled as such: Pipeworth Plumbing Co. and Brushmore Painting Co. creativebyjake.com.au/tradie-websites/ |
Worth asking us: about how new it is: its examples are builds for made-up businesses and its site shows no reviews, so ask Jake for a call and judge for yourself.
The full field: tradie website and local SEO providers compared.
Start with the free check
Find out whether AI and Google know your business.
Two minutes for your website basics, then the AI and Google Maps read by email.