Web design for tradesmen
Web design for tradesmen who need a phone to ring.
Nobody hires a joiner because of the website. They hire the one they found first, who looked real, and who was easy to ring. That is a much lower bar than the industry likes to admit, and it is a completely different job from making something that looks impressive.
The honest order of things
The website is the cheap part. It is rarely the problem.
Most tradesmen who ring me about a website do not have a website problem. They have a being-found problem, and a website is the thing they have been told to buy about it.
The reason that matters is money. A site that nobody reaches is the most expensive thing you can own.So the first thing I do is measure where you currently show up across your area, which tells us whether you need a site, a listing sorted out, or genuinely nothing at all.
Sometimes the answer is that your Google listing is filed under the wrong category and a ten minute fix changes what you are eligible for. That is a cheaper and better outcome than a rebuild, and you should hear it from whoever you are paying.
What a trade site needs
Six things. Everything else is decoration.
A number that dials when tapped
High on every page, not buried in a footer. Most of your customers are on a phone and half of them are standing next to the problem.
The towns you cover, written out
The first question every customer has is whether you come to them. Answer it before they have to ask, in the place names they would actually use.
Your jobs, not stock photographs
Real work, taken on your phone, beats a library photo of somebody else's van every time. It is also the single easiest thing for you to supply.
Each job type said plainly
People search for the job, not for your trade. A page that talks about the specific work you want more of will do more than a page that says you are established and reliable.
Proof you are legitimate
Certifications, insurance, a real address, reviews earned properly. Trades carry a trust problem that is not your fault, and looking legitimate does as much work as ranking does.
Tied to your Google listing
Same name, same number, same address as the listing. When those disagree it quietly costs you, and almost nobody checks.
Questions
Worth asking.
I have seen websites for tradesmen at £200. Why would I pay more?
Often you should not. If you already get found on Google and you simply need something tidy that loads fast, a cheap site is a sensible buy and I will say so. The reason to pay more is if the problem is that customers cannot find you at all, because no website at any price fixes that on its own. What costs more here is the measuring, the Google listing work and the monthly proof, not the pages themselves.
Could I not just use a website builder myself?
You could, and for a one-man business it is a reasonable option. Builders have got good. The two things they will not do for you are tell you where you currently show up across your area, and set your Google listing up properly, which is where most of the lost work actually is. If you build it yourself and want someone to sort the Google side, that is a smaller job and I am happy to do just that.
I pay for Checkatrade already. Is this not the same thing?
It is not, and they are not really competing. A directory rents you leads for as long as you keep paying, and you are listed next to your competitors on purpose. Your own listing and site are yours, they do not put you in a row with four other firms, and they keep working when you stop paying me. Plenty of tradesmen sensibly do both. I would just rather you knew which one you owned.
What actually goes on a tradesman's website?
Less than most people expect. What you do, in the words customers use rather than trade terms. Which towns you cover. Photographs of real jobs you have done. A number that dials when it is tapped. Some proof you are insured or certified where that matters. Anything past that is usually there to impress other tradesmen rather than to win work.
How long does it take?
The build itself is quick once I have your photos and know what you want to say, and that is usually the bit that holds it up rather than anything technical. Getting found takes longer. Some listing fixes change things within days, the rest is months rather than weeks, and I would rather tell you that now than after you have paid.
Related
Have a look at these too.
Where you stand
Find out where you actually rank.
Send me your business name and the areas you cover, and I’ll check where you’re showing up across your area and where you’re not. There’s no charge for it, and if you’re already doing well I’ll tell you that.