Say who pulls the permit.
If a job needs a permit, customers want to know who handles it before they hire you. One plain line on your site answers it.
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A better website, explained plainly.
Useful ideas for small-business owners who want their website to earn more trust, calls, and customers.
Say how long you've been doing this.
If you've been at it for years, say so on your site. If you're new, say that too, plus where you learned the work. People want to know who they're hiring.
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If you offer financing, say it before the quote.
A new roof or AC unit is a big number. If you offer payment plans, people need to know that before they decide they can't afford to call.
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Say which jobs you don't do.
A short list of what you don't take saves you calls you can't use, and tells the right customers they found the right shop.
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Say how you treat their home while you work.
People are letting a stranger into their house. A few plain lines about floors, pets, and cleanup make that easier to say yes to.
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Give a ballpark price for your most common jobs.
People want a rough idea of cost before they call. A plain range for your everyday jobs gets you the calls worth taking.
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Say if you work on homes, businesses, or both.
A shop owner and a homeowner both land on your site wondering the same thing: do you take my kind of job? One plain line near the top answers it.
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Say which brands you work on.
"All major brands" doesn't tell anyone if you'll fix theirs. Name the brands you work on, and the ones you don't, right on the service page.
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Say if you haul away the old stuff.
When the job is done, who takes the old stuff? One plain line on your service pages, included, extra, or up to them, saves a surprise at the end of the job.
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Say what happens if they need to reschedule.
Plans change. A couple of plain lines on your site about notice, fees, and how to reach you keep customers from worrying, or from just not showing up.
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Say if you bill by the hour or by the job.
People want to know how a job will be priced before they call. One plain line on each service page tells them if you charge by the hour or by the job.
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If you speak Spanish, say it on the site.
If you or someone on your team speaks Spanish, or another language your customers use, put it on your site. It's one line, and it can decide who they call.
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Tell them the smallest job you'll take.
People with a small job often don't call because they figure you're too busy for it. One line on your site saying what you will and won't take saves both of you the guessing.
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Say how far out you're booking right now.
People want to know when you can actually come. One line on your site about how far out you're booked saves a call that ends in "oh, that's too late."
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Tell them what to have ready before they call.
You ask the same few questions on every call. Put them on your site, near the phone number, so people have the answers ready before they dial.
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Put your license number where they can check it.
Every site says licensed and insured. A license number is something a customer can look up. Put it on every page and tell them where to check it.
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Say whether the quote includes parts, or only labor.
A quote that looks cheap until parts show up later breaks trust. Say on your site and in the quote if the number is labor-only or parts-included before they book.
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If you charge a trip fee, say it on the site.
A surprise trip fee on the phone feels like a trick. Put the fee on your site before they call, with dollars or "starts at," and when it applies.
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If you warranty the work, say how long on the site.
You stand behind the work. Put the length in plain words on the page so customers are not guessing after the job.
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Tell them who shows up, you or a crew.
People want to know who walks up their driveway. Say on the site whether you show up yourself or a crew does.
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Say if estimates are free before they fill out the form.
People hesitate on your contact form when they do not know if the estimate costs money. Say it up front, next to the form.
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Say if someone needs to be home for the visit.
If someone has to be home for the job, say so on the page where they book. Locked doors and cleared calendars for the wrong reason both cost you.
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Show the before and after. One nice photo is not enough.
Homeowners want proof you do the work. Pair a real before shot with the after on your services page so they can picture the job.
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Tell them how long a typical visit takes.
People hesitate to book when they do not know if the visit is 20 minutes or half a day. Put a plain time range on your service or contact page.
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If you take texts, say so on your site.
Plenty of owners text customers all day. Your site still only shows a phone number and a form.
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Say if you take walk-ins, or you need an appointment.
People show up ready to go, or they book and still find a walk-in line. Put the rule next to your hours so they know before they leave the house.
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Say how you take payment before they book.
If payment is a surprise at booking, people walk. Put cash, card, check, Zelle or Venmo, and any deposit rules next to your quote button.
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Tell people how fast you usually reply.
Contact us with no reply window leaves people guessing. One plain line about how fast you usually answer keeps ready customers from walking away.
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Put your street address in plain text.
Many sites bury the street address in a map embed or a storefront photo. Put the full address as selectable text near Contact so people can copy it into Maps.
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The first screen should say what you do.
A slogan does not help someone hiring a plumber or a bakery. The first thing they see should name the work in plain words.
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Put your phone number in the header, not only the footer.
People look at the top of your site first. If the number is buried at the bottom, many never scroll that far.
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Say if you come to them, or they come to you.
People decide fast once they know: do you show up at their place, or do they come to yours? Put that in plain words on the page.
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You finished the job. You never asked for the review.
The job is done and the invoice is paid. If you never ask for the Google review, the next stranger still sees an empty listing.
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Say what happens after they request a quote.
A quote form with no reply window feels like a void. Promise who calls and when, or lose ready customers to a shop that already did.
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Your site still lists a service you no longer offer.
Strangers book work from stale service pages. Match the live offer list to Google and the truck, or keep turning down jobs you quit.
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Your About page should name a real person.
Strangers hire people, not logos. If About only says our team, they call a shop that named a real person.
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Name the towns you serve. People search that way.
Strangers type the trade and a city. If your site never names the towns you serve, they hire someone who did.
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They found you after hours. Tell them what happens next.
Plenty of ready customers land on your site when the shop is dark. If you never say what happens next, they call someone who did.
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If the call button is hard to hit, they call someone else
Most strangers hire from a phone. If your number is a tiny footer link, they tap the next shop instead.
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Your Google listing and your website disagree
When the map pin and the site show different names, phones, addresses, or categories, strangers trust neither and call someone else.
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Old photos on your website make you look closed
A stranger judges whether you are still in business from the pictures first. Last year's truck and a stock smile do more damage than a plain layout.
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Your contact form can look fine and still lose the job
A form that says sent is not the same as a lead in your inbox. Broken contact paths lose jobs you never hear about.
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People search for the job. Your site should name it.
Strangers type the work they need, not your brand slogan. If your site never says the job in plain words, you lose the ones who were ready to call.
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Wrong hours on your website cost more than a bad logo
A stranger checks whether you are open before they care how the site looks. Wrong hours do more damage than an ugly logo.
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Big-company websites are not fancier. They are easier.
Owners keep buying polish. The sites that feel expensive usually did a few plain things well.
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AI can build your website. It will not run it for you.
AI can get a small-business website online in a day. Keeping the hours, forms, and pages honest is the job that never fits around the real work.
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If you only live on Instagram, you are harder to hire
Social media is a good way to stay in touch with people who already know you. It is a weak place for a stranger to decide whether to call.
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Contact
What should the site be bringing in?
New business, or one whose website went quiet. Say what you do, the towns you cover, and drop the link if you have one. I write back from Clovis, usually within a day. The first note is about your jobs, not a list of packages.