Websites for a small gold town with a big reputation
I offer web design Clunes shops, makers and services can actually use, with no jargon and no overseas outsourcing. Clunes 3370 is about 35 km north of Ballarat and I work with local owners entirely by phone, email and video call.
A heritage streetscape and a festival that draws book lovers
Clunes is one of the oldest gold towns in Victoria and still looks the part. Its wide main street of verandahs and old bank buildings is a big reason people make the trip. The town sits in Hepburn Shire, about 35 km north of Ballarat, with Creswick to the south and Talbot and Maryborough not far away.
Clunes is best known for its booktown festival, when the streets fill with readers hunting for second hand and rare books. That kind of reputation shapes how people search. Someone planning a visit types in Clunes plus a word like cafe, stay or bookshop, often weeks before they come.
Then there are the locals. Clunes has a strong community of tradies, artists, small farms and people who commute to Ballarat. They search the same way anyone else does, by service and suburb. They want to find someone close by.
Four common types and what each one needs
Photos of the shopfront, opening days and a way to ask about stock. Many visitors check before driving up.
Room photos, rates, a booking link and a short guide to the town. Ranking for Clunes accommodation searches is the goal.
Service pages and a list of the towns you travel to, from Clunes down to Creswick and across to Talbot.
A gallery that loads quickly and a simple online shop if you sell your work. Stock is easy to update yourself.
One site that handles both kinds of visitor
A small town business has a lumpy year. Festival weekends and school holidays bring a rush of new faces. The rest of the time it is regulars and locals. Your website needs to work for both without you rewriting it every few weeks.
I build every site in WordPress with Elementor so you can change opening hours, add a special event or swap a photo yourself. If you would rather not touch it, my website updates service covers that.
Every Complete Website at $2200 includes mobile friendly design, Google Analytics, a contact form, a Google Map and a free first year of WordPress maintenance.
Answers about websites, Google and working at a distance
Got a question that isn’t covered here? Ring me or send a message and you’ll hear back within one business day.
Website Design Ballarat works with businesses in Clunes, run by Nick Fritzkowski from Ballarat about 35 km to the south. Nick has been building websites since 1995 and does all the design and setup himself. Everything is handled by phone, email and video call, which suits Clunes owners who cannot leave the shop on a weekday.
A Clunes shop shows up for pre trip searches when its website and Google Business Profile both mention Clunes, list opening days and include clear photos. Add a page about visiting the town and link to it from your profile. Local SEO plans start at $279 a month if you want help keeping it current.
A basic website in Clunes costs $880 including GST for a Single Page Website, which suits a small shop or sole trader. A Complete Website with several pages is $2200. Both include mobile friendly design, a contact form and a free first year of maintenance. Domain names and hosting are charged separately.
A Clunes business owner can update their own website after launch, because Nick builds every site in WordPress with the Elementor page editor. You get full access to change words, photos and opening hours. If editing is not your thing, website updates can be handled for you on request at a fair hourly rate.
A Clunes accommodation business does better with its own website alongside the big booking sites, because direct bookings avoid commission and build repeat guests. The website gives you a place to tell your story, show the town and answer questions. Search for your property name and you want your own site near the top.
A well built website helps a Clunes business reach Ballarat customers when it lists the areas you serve and the work you do on separate pages. Tradies and mobile services gain the most. Shops can still attract Ballarat day trippers with good photos, reviews on Google and a clear reason to make the drive north.
Nearby pages across the Goldfields
Send through a few lines about your business and what you want the site to do. I will come back with a clear plan and price.
