Website Design for Contractors: What Homeowners Check Before They Call
I’m Ben McGinnis. I started MCG in 2020, and our team designs, builds and runs more than 150 websites from our office in Steubenville, Ohio.
Before a homeowner calls a roofer, a window company or a remodeler, they search, open two or three websites, look at the photos and the reviews, and call the one that looks like it will show up and do the job right. Your website is the first estimate you give, and you give it before you know anyone is looking.
Here is what we build into every contractor website, and why each piece is there.
What does a contractor website need?
- Your phone number on every screen. Most homeowners are on a phone, often standing in the driveway looking at the problem. One tap should call you.
- A page for each service you want more of. Roof replacement, window installation, kitchen remodels. One page that lists everything ranks for nothing in particular.
- Your service area, in plain words. The towns and counties you actually work in, so a homeowner knows in five seconds that you come to them.
- Real project photos. Your crews, your jobs, before and after. Stock photos of smiling contractors tell a homeowner nothing.
- Reviews where they can see them. Your Google rating and what customers say, close to the button that asks for a quote.
- A short quote request. Name, phone, town, what needs doing. Every extra field loses someone.
- Speed on a phone. A homeowner comparing three companies will not wait for the slow one.
How does Google decide which contractors show up?
Google’s own answer is that local results are “mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”: how well your business matches the search, how far you are from the person searching, and how well-known your business is. It also says that “more reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking,” and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking (Google).
You can’t move your shop closer to every customer. You can make your site and your Business Profile match exactly what you do, and you can earn reviews steadily. That is where the work goes. More on the map pack here.
Why build a page for each service?
Because homeowners search for the job, not the industry. Nobody types “home improvement company.” They type “window replacement” or “roof repair” and the name of their town.
Creegan’s Windows Plus is a family-owned windows, doors, roofing and siding company in the Ohio Valley. We built its new brand and website with a page for each service. In Google Search Console data from the last three months, 27 of its core service searches rank #1 on Google, including “window installation,” “window replacement,” “door installation,” “window repair” and “siding installation,” and 51 core terms rank in the top five. Site sessions grew about 28% year over year.
Do you need a web designer who only works with contractors?
You need one who can show you results for a contractor, and who will still be there in three years. A niche on a home page is a claim. A Search Console report from a real contractor client is proof. Ask for it.
Ask, too, who hosts the site, who makes your changes and how fast, and what happens when the design starts to look dated. Plenty of contractor sites are built well and then left alone until they break.
What about AI search?
ChatGPT, Google’s AI answers and other assistants pull from the same signals: accurate business details, clear service pages, real reviews and a site that machines can read. A site built for local search is most of the way there. How we approach AI visibility.
What happens after your website launches?
We don’t launch and leave. We host your site, keep it fast and secure, and make your changes, back in 12 hours on average. When storm season changes what you need on the home page, it changes. When the design starts to show its age, we redesign it.
J. Riley Roofing in Pickerington has been with us since 2020. Its site has been redesigned and rebuilt three or four times since, by the same team that built the first one.
What should you ask any web designer before you hire them?
- Can you show me Google Search Console results from a contractor you built a site for?
- Will I have a page for each service I want more of, and for the area I serve?
- Who hosts the site, and who keeps it updated and secure?
- When I need a change, who makes it, and how fast?
- What happens in three years, when the design looks dated?
If the answers are vague, keep looking. If you want to hear ours, see our contractor work or give us a call.
Frequently asked questions
What should a contractor website include?
A tap-to-call phone number on every screen, a page for each service you want more of, your service area in plain words, real project photos, visible reviews, a short quote request form and fast loading on a phone.
How does Google rank contractors in local search?
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business’s local ranking. There is no way to pay Google for a better local ranking.
Does a contractor need a separate page for each service?
Yes, for the services you want more of. Homeowners search for the job, like window replacement or roof repair, plus their town. A page for each service gives Google a clear match for each search.
Do I need a web designer who only works with contractors?
You need one who can show real results for a contractor client, like a Google Search Console report, and who will host, update and redesign the site after launch.
How much does a contractor website cost?
At MCG, every project is custom built, custom quoted and fully supported. The quote depends on your trade, your service area and what the site has to do.