What a good service-business website needs

A website for a local service business has one job: get the right people to call you or ask for a quote. Everything on it should help with that, and anything that does not can go.

Plenty of small business websites look nice and still do not bring in work. Usually that is because they were built like a brochure instead of a tool. Here is what a working service-business site needs, in roughly the order a customer looks for it.

A clear top of the page

The first screen someone sees should answer three questions in a couple of seconds: what do you do, where do you do it, and how do I reach you. A simple headline like "Pressure washing in Westfield and Carmel" does more than a clever slogan. Put your phone number right there, along with a button to request a quote.

Your phone number everywhere

Put your number in the header of every page. On phones, make it a tap-to-call link so people do not have to copy it. If you take texts, say so. If you have office hours for calls, say that too, so people know when to expect a reply.

A page for each service

If you do interior painting, exterior painting and cabinet painting, give each one its own page. Each page should explain what the job involves, what is included, roughly how long it takes, and what the customer needs to do to get ready. This helps customers who are searching for that exact job, and it gives Google a clear page to show for that search.

The towns you serve

Customers want to know if you come to them. List your service area clearly. If you cover several towns, a short page for each one, with real details about the work you do there, helps both people and search engines understand where you work. Avoid copy-and-paste pages that only swap the town name. They help nobody.

Reviews and real photos

Before people call, they want to know you are good at what you do and that others trusted you. Show your Google reviews on the site, with the reviewer's name, and show real photos of your work: before and after shots, your team, your trucks. Stock photos of smiling models in hard hats do not build trust. Your own photos, even from a phone, do.

A short quote form

Some people would rather not call, especially in the evening. Give them a short form: name, phone, email, what they need and their town. Every extra question loses a few people. You can ask the rest when you call them back.

Basic trust details

A few small details answer the questions people are too busy to ask:

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  How long you have been in business.

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  Whether you are licensed and insured, if your trade requires it.

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  Your hours and how quickly you usually reply.

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  Whether you offer free estimates.

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  Your business name and contact details at the bottom of every page.

Only list what is true. If you are not licensed for something, do not imply it.

Fast and readable on a phone

Most of your visitors will be on a phone. The site should load quickly, the text should be readable without zooming, and buttons should be big enough to tap with a thumb. Check it yourself on your own phone, on mobile data rather than Wi-Fi.

The basics that keep it working

Behind the scenes, a few things should simply be there:

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  A secure connection (the padlock in the browser, which comes from an SSL certificate).

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  Your own domain name, registered to you.

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  A way to see how many people visit, call and fill in the form.

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  Someone, or something, to keep it updated when your services, prices or hours change.

What you can leave out

You do not need a blog on day one, an animated intro, a chat bot or ten pages about your company history. You do not need every possible service listed if you do not want that work. A smaller site that clearly explains the jobs you want, in the towns you want, will usually beat a big one that tries to say everything.

A quick checklist

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  Headline says what you do and where.

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  Phone number on every page, tap to call on phones.

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  One page per main service.

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  Service area listed, with a page for each main town if you serve several.

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  Real reviews and real photos.

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  A short quote form.

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  Fast on a phone, secure, on your own domain.

If your current site is missing several of these, fixing them will usually do more than a full redesign.

About FirstGen. FirstGen builds local service businesses a website from their Google listing (your name, reviews, photos, services and service area) before you pay anything. If you like the free preview, it goes live for $197 a month with hosting, your own domain and a dashboard that shows every visit, call and form. Get your free preview.