The Tradesperson’s Website Checklist

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12 checks decide whether a trade website turns a local search into a quote. Score 10 or more and the site is doing its job; fewer, and every “no” is a job going to someone else. Every trade site we build passes all 12, from £495 / $625 fixed. Print the list, tick it off, and fix the gaps.

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• A tap-to-call button on every pageNot buried on a contact page. One tap to ring you, wherever the customer is on the site.
• A short “request a quote” form on every pageThree or four fields, no more. The more you ask, the fewer you get.
• Your phone number in the header, visible without scrollingThe first thing on the page, on mobile especially.
• Real photos of your finished workYour own jobs, not stock images. Proof beats promises every time.
• Your Google reviews shown high on the pageNear the top, where a nervous customer sees them before they decide.
• Accreditations and insurance up frontGas Safe, NICEIC, FMB, NFRC, TrustMark, public liability. Answer “are they legit?” before they ask.
• The towns and postcodes you cover, in plain wordsSo customers and Google both know exactly where you work.
• A separate page for each main serviceOne page per job you want more of. It helps you rank and helps customers self-qualify.
• Loads in under about three seconds on a phoneA slow site loses the customer before it even appears.
• Mobile-first designBuilt for a phone, not a shrunk-down desktop site. That’s where nearly all your visitors are.
• A secure padlock (https)No “not secure” warning. It looks unsafe and quietly costs you trust.
• A clear next step on every pageCall or request a quote, always obvious, never a dead end.

How many of the 12 should my website pass?

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All 12 is the aim, and 10 is the line: below that, the gaps are costing you calls. Start with the first three (a tap-to-call button, a short quote form and your number in the header), because they decide whether someone who has already picked you can actually get hold of you.

Do I need a new website to fix the gaps?

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No, not always. A header phone number, tap-to-call, the padlock and a plain list of the towns you cover can usually be added to the site you already have. If it fails on speed, on mobile layout or has no separate service pages, a rebuild is often cheaper than patching, and ours start at £495 / $625. Not sure which camp you are in? The free website review tells you.

How fast should a trade website load on a phone?

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2.5 seconds or less for the main content to appear is Google’s “good” mark for Largest Contentful Paint, and Google wants it met on at least 75% of visits. Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights and check the mobile result, not the desktop one, because that is where your customers are searching from.