The basics
What a customer wants to know
Someone with a leaking tap or a dead socket wants to know whether you do the job, whether you cover their area, and how to reach you. If the site answers those quickly, it has done its work.
- What you do. List the jobs in the words a customer would use. "Boiler servicing" and "bathroom fitting" beat "domestic heating solutions".
- Where you work. Name the towns and villages you cover. Do not leave people guessing whether you will come out to them.
- Photos of real jobs. Your own work, before and after if you have it. Stock photos of smiling workmen tell a customer nothing.
- Reviews. A few real ones, from customers who are happy for you to use them. Quote them as written.
- A way to reach you. A phone number that works as a tap-to-call link on a phone, and an email or enquiry form for people who would rather write.
Trust
Proof that you are who you say
Customers let tradespeople into their homes, so trust matters more here than on most sites. Add what is true and checkable: your insurance, and any scheme you belong to, such as Gas Safe for gas work or NICEIC or a similar body for electrical work. Say how long you have been trading if it helps.
A registration number a customer can look up is worth more than a badge.
Reach
Service areas, and being found on Google
Most people looking for a plumber type the job and the place. If you cover several towns, say so on the page in plain sentences. A separate page for a town only helps if it has something real to say about that town; a copy of the same text with the name swapped does not.
Your free Google Business Profile matters just as much as the site. It is what shows up on the map when someone searches nearby. Keep your name, address and phone number the same in both places, and ask happy customers to leave a review.
Size
Why five pages is usually enough
A small trade business rarely needs a big site. A sensible set is:
- Home. What you do, where, and how to call.
- Services. Each job in a short paragraph.
- Gallery. Photos of your work.
- About. Who you are, your accreditations, how long you have worked in the area.
- Contact. Phone, email, a short form and the area you cover.
If you only have a few jobs and a handful of photos, one page covering all of that is a fine start. You can add pages when you have something worth putting on them.
Leave out
What you can leave out
- A blog. Unless you enjoy writing, an empty or out-of-date blog looks worse than none.
- Stock photos and slogans. They fill space and say nothing about you.
- Autoplay video and pop-ups. They slow the page down and annoy people who need a number fast.
- A price list you cannot stand behind. Jobs vary. Say what affects the price and invite people to ask for a quote.
Phone first
Make it work on a phone
Plenty of your customers will find you on a phone, often in the middle of a problem. Open your own site on one. Can you read it without zooming? Does the call button sit where your thumb is? Does it load on a poor signal? If the answer to any of those is no, fix that before adding anything else.
Next
Where to start
Gather your best photos, your accreditation details, a few reviews you have permission to use, and a list of the places you cover. With those in hand, any designer can build you a site that does its job. If you want to see what that could look like for your trade, I can build a free preview: one page, with nothing to sign or buy. You may also find how much a small business website should cost useful before you talk to anyone.