What Should a Tradesperson’s Website Include?

Introduction

If you’re wondering what a tradesperson’s website should include, start with the questions a potential customer needs answered: Do you do the job I need? Do you work in my area? Can I trust you? How do I get in touch?

A useful website answers those questions clearly. It doesn’t need dozens of pages or complicated features. For many tradespeople, a small, well-organised site is a sensible place to start.

Make your services and work area clear

Say what you do in everyday language. ‘Electrical repairs and testing’ tells a customer more than a vague phrase such as ‘professional solutions’. Give examples of the work you take on if that helps people decide whether to contact you.

State the areas you serve, too. If you work across Exeter and Devon, name the towns or areas that are relevant to your business. Keep this information accurate and natural rather than listing places where you don’t actually work.

You might need a separate page for each service if customers need different information about them. But you don’t need a separate page for every small variation. The aim is to make the right information easy to find.

Give people reasons to trust you

Before inviting someone into their home or asking them to carry out work, customers often want reassurance about who they are hiring. Your website can help by showing genuine details about your business, such as:

• Photos of completed projects

• Real customer reviews

• Relevant qualifications or trade memberships

• A short introduction to you and your experience

Only include credentials and claims that are current and accurate. A few useful examples of your work can give visitors a better sense of what you do than a large gallery of unrelated images.

Make it easy to get in touch

Put your phone number somewhere easy to spot, especially on a phone. A clear ‘Request a quote’ or ‘Talk to us about your project’ button can help visitors understand what to do next.

An enquiry form can be useful if customers want to describe a job outside your working hours. Keep it short. You might ask for their name, contact details, location and a brief description of the work. You can ask follow-up questions later.

Use link text that explains what happens when someone clicks. The W3C’s accessibility guidance recommends making the purpose of a link clear from its text or context. That helps visitors understand where a link will take them.

Make sure the website works on a phone

Customers may look for a tradesperson while away from a computer, so your site should be easy to read and use on a small screen. Check that the text is comfortable to read, the navigation is simple, and phone numbers and buttons are easy to tap.

Google recommends responsive web design, where a website adapts to different screen sizes. This is intended to make a site easier to use across devices and simpler to maintain than separate desktop and mobile versions.

Clear contrast between text and its background also helps people read your content. Keep headings meaningful and buttons easy to recognise, rather than relying on colour alone to explain what they do.

Choose pages that have a purpose

A straightforward starting structure might include:

Home: A quick introduction to your business, main services and service area, with a clear way to contact you.

• Services: More detail about the work you do and the customers you help.

• About: A short introduction that helps visitors understand who they’ll be dealing with.

• Work or reviews: Examples of completed jobs or genuine feedback from customers.

• Contact: Your phone number, enquiry form and any other useful contact details.

You might also add FAQs if they answer questions you regularly hear, such as whether you provide free quotes or how far ahead you’re booking. Online booking, a price list or additional service pages can be useful too, but only if they suit the way you work.

Cover the basics for local search

Describe your services and service area clearly so that customers and search engines can understand what you do and where you work. Make sure your business details are accurate wherever you publish them online.

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. Clear, accurate information can help Google understand how your business relates to a search, but no website can guarantee a particular position. For more detail, read our article on local SEO for small businesses.

A quick website check

Look at your current website as if you were a potential customer. Can you quickly tell what work you do and where you do it? Is there a genuine reason to trust you? Can you call or ask for a quote without hunting around? Does the site work comfortably on your phone?

If the answer to any of these is ‘no’, you may not need a complete rebuild. A few well-chosen improvements could make the site clearer and easier to use.

A website designed for tradespeople should support the way customers choose and contact you. If you’re considering a new website, you can see what 80five offers on the Services page, find out how the website design process works, or get in touch for a no-obligation conversation.