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TradesPlace
Guide

What should a tradesperson’s website actually include?

The checklist we build every trade website against: seven essentials that win enquiries, the trust signals that decide jobs, and the clutter to leave out.

Last updated 22 August 2026

The short answer

A trade website needs seven things: a tappable phone number at the top of every page, one sentence saying what you do and where, your trust signals placed next to the phone number rather than in the footer, real photographs of your own work, a separate page for each main service, your service area stated once in plain English, and genuine reviews next to the calls to action. Everything else — sliders, animations, keyword-stuffed town lists, a blog you will not write — is either neutral or actively costing you calls.

Strip away the marketing and a trade website has one job: turn a stranger with a problem into an enquiry you can win. Everything on this list serves that job. It's the same checklist we build every site against, and it works whether you build yours yourself or pay someone.

The seven essentials

  1. A phone number you can tap, instantly. Top of every page, click-to-call, visible without scrolling on a phone. Most trade searches are urgent and mobile; every extra second between landing and calling loses callers.
  2. What you do and where, in one sentence. "Gas Safe plumber covering Reading and West Berkshire" beats any slogan. A visitor should know they're in the right place within three seconds.
  3. Your trust signals, visible. Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA, DBS checks, insurance, years trading — whatever applies to your trade, placed next to the phone number and the enquiry form, not buried in a footer. Customers hire the option that feels safe.
  4. Real photos of real work. Customers can spot stock photography instantly, and it reads as having something to hide. Straight, well-lit phone photos of your actual jobs outperform any stock image.
  5. A page per main service. "Boiler repairs" and "bathroom installation" are different searches from different customers. One generic services page ranks for neither. Three to six well-written service pages is the sweet spot for most trades.
  6. Your service area, stated once, properly. The towns you cover, on the page in plain English. Not stuffed into every sentence — search engines punish that now, and customers find it spammy.
  7. Reviews where decisions happen. Real quotes from real customers, next to your calls-to-action — ideally pulled from Google so they're verifiable. Reviews are the single strongest converter a trade site has.

What to leave out

  • Sliders and carousels. Nobody waits for slide three. One strong image beats five rotating ones, and sliders slow the page down.
  • Keyword-stuffed town lists. Paragraphs naming forty villages were an SEO trick in 2012. Today they actively hurt rankings and make you look desperate.
  • Music, animations, popups. Anything that gets between an urgent visitor and your phone number is costing you calls.
  • A blog you won't write. A "News" page last updated three years ago says more than no blog ever would. Only add one if you'll feed it.

One page or many?

A one-page site is fine for a brand-new business. But service pages are where search traffic lives — a plumber with separate boiler, bathroom and emergency pages will beat a one-pager for every one of those searches. As soon as the work justifies it, grow the site. What that looks like differs by trade, which is why we've broken it down per trade:

The test that matters

Open your website on your phone, right now, as if you were a customer with a leak. Can you tell what the business does in three seconds? Can you see a trust signal without scrolling? Can you call with one tap? If any answer is no, that's the work — and if you'd rather see it fixed than read about it, we'll rebuild your homepage free so you can judge the difference on your own business.

Common questions

What should be on a tradesperson’s home page?
A tappable phone number, one sentence saying what you do and where, your accreditations, a photograph of your own work, and an enquiry form. A visitor should know they are in the right place within three seconds and be able to call within one tap.
How many service pages should a trade website have?
Three to six for most trades. Boiler repairs and bathroom installations are different searches from different customers with different budgets; one combined "services" page ranks for neither and converts neither.
What should I leave off my trade website?
Sliders and carousels, keyword-stuffed lists of forty villages, music, pop-ups, and a news page you will stop updating. Anything between an urgent visitor and your phone number is costing you calls.

See what your website could look like

Send us your current website address and we’ll rebuild your homepage properly, free, within 48 hours. No deposit, no obligation — just a working link to judge for yourself.

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Not ready to talk yet?

Run the free check on your current website instead. It looks at how fast it loads on a phone, whether your contact form actually delivers and when your security certificate runs out. About 30 seconds, and you don't have to give us anything.

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