What Customers Check on a Tradie’s Website Before They Call

Most tradies think of their website as an online business card. Something you need to have, set up once and then forget about.

Customers don’t see it that way. For them, your website is a quick test, usually done on a phone and often while something at home is broken. They’re deciding one thing: do I call this business, or go back to Google and try the next one?

Whether you’re a plumber, electrician, builder, roofer or landscaper, the test is the same. Here are the six questions a customer is asking when they land on your site, and how to make sure yours answers them.

1. Can I contact you right now?

This is the first question and the one most sites make hard. Your phone number should sit at the top of every page, and on a phone it should be a button that dials when tapped. Nobody wants to copy a number out of the footer while water is coming through the ceiling.

Not every customer wants to call, though. Someone planning a deck or a bathroom renovation may prefer to fill in a short form at night. Give them both options, and keep the form short. Name, phone, suburb and a line about the job is enough to start the conversation.

2. Do you do the job I need?

A single “Services” page with a list of dot points doesn’t answer this well. A customer with a blocked drain wants to see blocked drains. A customer who needs a retaining wall wants to see retaining walls.

Give each of your main services its own page, with a few lines on how you handle that job and a photo of one you’ve done. It reassures the customer, and it gives Google a clear page to show when someone searches for that exact service in your area.

3. Do you come to my area?

Customers want to know you’ll actually turn up at their address. List the suburbs and towns you service in plain words. “Servicing Brisbane” is vague. A list of the areas you actually drive to is clear, and it helps you show up when people search for a tradie in their suburb.

4. Are you legit?

Letting a tradie into your home is a matter of trust. Customers look for signs that you’re a real, licensed business: your licence number, your insurance, your ABN, and a real business name and location.

Put your licence number where people will see it, near your contact details or in the header, not buried at the bottom of the page. It’s a small detail that answers a big question.

5. Have other people trusted you?

Reviews do a lot of the selling before the phone ever rings. Show your Google reviews on your site, so customers don’t have to leave to find them.

Photos matter just as much. Real photos of your ute, your team and your finished jobs beat stock images every time. Customers can tell the difference, and a generic stock photo of a smiling worker in a spotless hard hat makes a business look less real, not more.

6. Does this site work on my phone?

Most people searching for a tradie are on their phone, often on mobile data. If your site takes a long time to load, many won’t wait. They’ll hit the back button and call someone else.

Check your own site on your phone, away from Wi-Fi. Is the text easy to read? Are the buttons big enough to tap with a thumb? Can you find the phone number in a couple of seconds? If you have to pinch and zoom, so do your customers.

A five-minute check you can do today

Pull up your website on your phone and pretend you’re a customer with an urgent problem. Then ask:

• Can I call with one tap from the first screen?
• Can I see the exact service I need?
• Can I tell if you cover my suburb?
• Can I see your licence number without scrolling to the bottom?
• Can I see reviews and real photos of your work?

Every “no” is a customer who might be calling someone else.

Your website should work as hard as you do

A good trade website doesn’t need to be fancy. It needs to answer the customer’s questions fast and make contacting you easy. Get those basics right and the same traffic brings in more work.

If you’re thinking about a rebuild, this guide on what a website for tradies should include goes through the full list.

Lachlan Coleman-Barrett builds websites and lead systems for Australian trade businesses at ClearScale.