Websites for tilers

Tiling is judged by the details: the cuts at the corners, the grout lines, the way a floor meets a doorway and whether the wall is flat. A buyer can't check any of it until it's done, so a tiler's site has to let them judge in advance. Close photos of real corners and edges say far more than a wide shot of a shiny bathroom.

Customers also want to know the parts that sit behind the tiles. Who does the waterproofing, who supplies the tile and adhesive, and whether you'll tile over what's there or take it out first. Many tilers work for builders and renovators as well as homeowners, so a short page for that trade client helps, along with your own photos and your licence number where it applies.

What the site carries

• Close photos of corners, edges, grout lines and doorway joins, the details a careful buyer inspects.
• Bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and outdoor areas on separate pages, each with a few real jobs.
• Whether you supply the tiles or work from the customer's, and what that means for the price.
• Who does the waterproofing, and how the work behind the tile is described.
• What you do about uneven floors and walls before laying, including levelling.
• Large-format and small mosaic work shown separately, since they are different skills.
• A form that takes a photo, the rough area in square metres and the tile if chosen.
• Your licence number beside the business name, where your state licenses this work.
• How you leave the site: waste taken away, grout cleaned off and surfaces sealed where needed.
• A page for builders and renovators who want a reliable tiler on their jobs.
• How a regrout or repair is quoted, as this is a different customer from a full renovation.

The work your customers look for

• bathroom floors and walls
• kitchen splashbacks
• shower niches and benches
• laundry tiling
• large-format tiles
• outdoor and patio tiling
• pool tiling
• regrouting
• tile repairs
• floor levelling before tiling
• feature walls and mosaics

What they type

• "tiler"
• "bathroom tiling"
• "splashback tiler"
• "regrouting shower"
• "outdoor tiling"
• "tilers near me"
• "floor tiling"
• "large format tile installer"

Where your state licenses this work, show the number next to your name wherever you advertise, since builders and homeowners both look for it.

A price per square metre should say whether it covers tile, adhesive, waterproofing and removal, and any total has to be at least as prominent as any part price under the ACCC single price rule.

Photos should show your own work, as borrowed pictures of someone else's bathroom would be misleading under Australian Consumer Law.

Describe waterproofing only as far as you do it yourself or arrange it, and name the trade responsible rather than implying you cover it all.

How the rules differ across Australia for tilers

New South Wales	Whether a tiler in New South Wales needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with Building Commission NSW. If your work as a tiler is covered, advertising for licensed residential work carries the licensee's name, the licence number with its category of work, and a phone number, and the rule reaches the internet.
Victoria	Whether a tiler in Victoria needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with the Building and Plumbing Commission. If your work as a tiler is covered, domestic building advertising carries the practitioner's name and registration number, print and online, social media included.
Queensland	Whether a tiler in Queensland needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with the QBCC. If your work as a tiler is covered, websites head its list of advertising that carries the licensee's name and number, and the name has to match the licence, so a trading name alone can fall short.
Western Australia	Whether a tiler in Western Australia needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with Building and Energy. If your work as a tiler is covered, the Building Services (Registration) Act asks for the registration number in any advertising.
South Australia	Whether a tiler in South Australia needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with Consumer and Business Services. If your work as a tiler is covered, building work advertising carries the name and the licence number.
Tasmania	Whether a tiler in Tasmania needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with CBOS. If your work as a tiler is covered, the site shows the licence number.
ACT	Whether a tiler in the ACT needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with Access Canberra. If your work as a tiler is covered, the site shows the licence number.
Northern Territory	Whether a tiler in the Northern Territory needs a licence depends on the work and the size of the job, so check with the Building Practitioners Board. If your work as a tiler is covered, the site shows the licence number.

Rules change. Have your licence and wording checked against your regulator before the site goes live.

• Showroom images of tiles with no sign of the tiler's own work.
• A beautiful wide shot of a bathroom with nothing to show how the corners or the floor falls were finished.
• No mention of waterproofing, which is the first worry in a wet area.
• Quoting a price per square metre without saying whether tile and prep are included.
• Repairs and regrouting buried below the renovations, so smaller customers think you won't take their job.
• Photos that show the tile and not the room, so nobody can picture the size of the job.