Websites for trades
The job goes to whoever looks most sorted at 9pm.
That’s when people search. You’re on a job or you’ve knocked off; the phone goes unanswered and the customer rings the next firm on the list. A trades website has one purpose: capture the work you’re currently missing.
The problems, as you'd put them
- “I lose jobs because I can’t answer the phone when I’m under a floor.”
- “Checkatrade takes a cut and sends the same lead to four of us.”
- “My website’s just a phone number on a page my nephew made.”
- “People can’t see my work, so they can’t see why I’m dearer.”
What your site should do about it
Callback capture.A form that takes thirty seconds on a phone — name, number, one line about the job — so the 9pm enquiry is in your inbox for the morning instead of in a competitor’s diary.
A job gallery that earns your rate.Real photos of real work, organised by job type. It’s the difference between “dear” and “worth it” — and it’s the page customers actually look at.
Quote requests that qualify themselves.The form asks the questions you’d ask on the phone, so you ring back knowing whether it’s a £90 job or a £9,000 one.
For plumbers: an emergency-callout block that makes the out-of-hours route obvious. For electricians: certifications displayed where they build trust, not buried on an about page.
Being found locally
Your customers search “plumber near me” and ring from the map. That means a Google Business Profile that’s set up properly, a website that backs it up with matching details, and pages Google can actually read. It’s part of every build — and if you have a site already, the free auditwill tell you how it’s doing.
A Tuesday evening, for example
A homeowner in Llandeilo has water coming through the kitchen ceiling. She searches, finds you, sees photos of pipework you’re proud of and a “request a callback” button that works on her phone. She sends her number at 8:47pm. At 7:30am you ring her back — first, and the only firm that saw the job coming. That enquiry paid for the website.
Fair questions
I get my work from word of mouth. Why bother?
Word of mouth is the referral; the website is where they check you out before ringing. No site — or a bad one — quietly kills recommendations you never knew you had.
Can it stop the time-wasters?
Mostly, yes. A form that asks the right questions filters the tyre-kickers, and published ballpark pricing on your site does the rest before they ring.
I’m no good with computers. Who updates it?
Either you (it’s genuinely simple, and you get shown how) — or nobody, because the care plan exists precisely so you never have to touch it.
What it costs
Own it outright from £1,995, or fully managed from £299 a month with nothing up front — which suits trades cashflow: the site starts winning work before it’s cost you a lump sum. Everything’s published on the pricing page.