The four questions every visitor is asking
| The question | What answers it |
|---|---|
| Do you do this job? | Named services in plain words, high on the page |
| Do you cover me? | Towns and areas stated clearly, not "nationwide" |
| Are you any good? | Reviews, real job photos, accreditations, insurance |
| How do I reach you? | Tappable number, short form, WhatsApp if you use it |
Show your own work, not stock photos
Photos of your actual jobs are the most persuasive thing on a trade website, and they cost nothing. A clean consumer unit, a finished bathroom, a re-tiled roof — these prove more than any paragraph.
Take them on your phone, in daylight, straight-on, before you pack up. Before-and-after pairs work particularly well. A stock image of a smiling person in a hard hat does the opposite: everyone recognises it, and it quietly suggests you have nothing of your own to show.
Trust signals that carry weight for trades
- Google reviews shown on the page, not just linked to
- Trade body registration where you have it — NICEIC, Gas Safe, FMB and similar
- Public liability insurance, stated simply
- Years in the trade and roughly how many jobs
- Guarantee or warranty terms in plain words
- A photo of you, not a logo on a grey background
Only claim what's true
Never display an accreditation you don't hold or a review you wrote. Customers check, competitors report it, and trade bodies act. Understated and accurate beats impressive and invented every time.
Pages worth having
- Home — what you do, where, and how to reach you, all visible without scrolling far
- A page per main service where the services are genuinely different
- Recent work — a gallery with a line of context on each job
- About — who you are, how long you've been doing it, why people use you
- Areas covered — honest, not the whole country
- Contact — number, email, hours, form, and whether you do emergencies
Make contact effortless
Most trade enquiries start with a phone call, often from a phone. Your number should be real text that dials when tapped, visible at the top of the page and repeated at the bottom.
Keep forms to name, number and a short description of the job. Every extra field costs you enquiries. If you use WhatsApp for work, add it — a lot of people will message when they won't ring.
Things trade sites don't need
- A slideshow that changes before anyone can read it
- A page of paragraphs about "our commitment to excellence"
- An enquiry form asking for a full address before you've spoken
- Music, animation or a loading screen
- A blog nobody has updated since 2019
What I build for trades
I design and build sites for electricians, plumbers, roofers, builders, landscapers and other trades across Merseyside and beyond. A one-page Trust Starter site is £800; a five-page Enquiry Builder site is £1,600. Most go live within 1–2 weeks once I have your photos and details, and you deal with me directly the whole way through.