A tradie website doesn’t need to be clever. It needs to answer the questions a customer has before they’ll get in touch, quickly, on a phone. Most visitors are deciding between you and the next few results, and the one that answers their questions first usually gets the call.
Here’s what to put on yours, in the order customers look for it.
1. What you do and where, in the first screen
Someone landing on your homepage wants to know two things straight away: do you do the job they need, and do you come to their suburb?
Put both at the top, in plain words: “Licensed plumber in the Inner West: blocked drains, hot water and leaks.” Skip the slogans. “Quality you can trust” tells a customer nothing that “Hot water repairs and replacements across the Inner West” doesn’t say better.
2. A way to get in touch that works on a phone
Most visitors are on a mobile. Make the phone number a tap-to-call link at the top of every page, and keep a short enquiry form or chat within easy reach. If you’re often on the tools, say when you’ll call back: “We return calls the same day.”
3. A page for each main service
One page that lists “plumbing, gas fitting, drains, hot water” can’t answer much. A page for each main service can say what’s involved, what affects the price, which brands you work with and how quickly you can come.
Separate pages also help Google match you to the search. Someone searching “heat pump hot water installer” is more likely to find a page about heat-pump hot water than a list with one line about it.
4. Your service area, by suburb
List the suburbs and regions you cover. Customers check this before anything else, and it’s often the reason they leave. A simple list works; a map alone doesn’t, because people (and search engines) can’t read suburb names off a picture.
5. Something about prices
You don’t have to publish a price list. But a customer who can’t find any guide to cost will often assume you’re expensive, or ring someone who gives one. Options that work for trades:
- a call-out fee, or what’s included in a standard visit
- “from” prices for common jobs
- what changes the price, so people know why a quote varies
- whether quotes are free
6. Proof that you’re good at it
- Licence and insurance. State your licence number, and that you’re insured. For licensed trades it’s the first thing careful customers check.
- Reviews. Show a few recent reviews and link to your Google reviews.
- Photos of real jobs. Your own work, your own van, your own team. Stock photos of smiling models in clean overalls do the opposite.
7. Hours, including after hours
Say when you work, and what happens outside those hours. If you take emergency call-outs, say which jobs count as emergencies, how to reach you, and whether there’s an extra fee. If you don’t, say that too, so people aren’t left waiting.
8. Answers to the questions you get every week
Write down the questions customers ask you on the phone, and answer them on your website: “Do you do strata work?”, “Can you come on Saturdays?”, “Do I need to be home?”. A short FAQ section on each service page works well.
Every question your website answers is one less call you have to take, and one less customer who gives up.
9. Keep it up to date
Holiday closures, new services, a change of area: put them on your website the day they happen. An out-of-date website costs you trust, and anything that answers from your website, from Google to a chatbot, repeats whatever it says.
A quick test
Pick your three most common jobs. For each one, open your website on your phone and time how long it takes to find out whether you do it, whether you cover a suburb you work in, roughly what it costs, and how to book. If any of those takes more than a few seconds, that’s the next thing to fix.
Hand your phone to a friend and ask them to find your service area and how to book. Watch where they get stuck: that’s what your customers do too.
Answering after hours
Even a great website can’t answer every question, and people read websites at night when you’re off the clock. That’s what Ernie is for: it answers from your website day and night, and texts you the job details when someone wants a quote. The better your website, the better Ernie’s answers, so this checklist helps with both. You can try it on your website for free.