What Should a Tradesperson's Website Include? The 12 Essentials

1. Visible phone number on every page, tappable on mobile

Your number should be in the header so it's visible without scrolling, on every page. On mobile, it must be coded as a tel: link so tapping it immediately dials. A customer who can't call you in two taps from anywhere on your site will sometimes call the next result instead.

2. Clear statement of what you do and where you cover

Within the first screen of your homepage, a visitor should know: what trade you're in, what specific services you offer, and which towns or areas you cover. Not "serving the local area" — actual place names. This matters for both customers and Google.

3. Individual service pages

One page per service, not a combined "Services" page. "Boiler Installation Sheffield", "Boiler Servicing Sheffield", "Emergency Plumber Sheffield" — each as its own page with its own title, heading and content. This is how you rank for specific searches.

4. Location or area pages

If you cover multiple towns, a page per location helps you rank for "[service] [town]" searches in each area. "Electrician in Rotherham", "Electrician in Doncaster" — individual pages with genuine local content, not templates with the town name swapped.

5. Photos of real completed work

Before and after photos, job site photos, finished installation photos. Real images from real work you've done. No stock photography. Aim for at least 10 photos spread across your site; more is better. Label them descriptively (not "IMG_4521") so Google can index them.

6. Google reviews displayed

Embed or quote your Google reviews on your homepage and service pages. Seeing a 4.9-star rating with real reviewer names reduces hesitation at the moment a visitor is deciding whether to call. A widget that pulls in live reviews from Google is ideal; quoting several with names and dates also works.

7. Credentials and certifications

Whatever your trade requires — Gas Safe registration number, NICEIC or NAPIT contractor ID, NFRC membership number, ICAEW or ACCA membership — display it prominently on your homepage and about page. For regulated work, this is a legal compliance signal as well as a trust signal.

8. About page with a real photo

People hire people, especially for work done in their home. An about page with a photo of you (or your team), your background, how long you've been trading, and why you do the work you do builds the kind of trust that converts fence-sitters into callers. A page that says "we are a family-run business" with no photo is half an about page.

9. Contact form with clear response time

A contact form on your contact page, with minimal fields (name, phone, message — three fields is usually enough). And critically: tell visitors how quickly you respond. "We aim to respond within 2 hours during business hours" sets an expectation and increases the chance someone submits the form rather than moving on.

10. Google Business Profile linked

Your GBP and your website support each other. Your website URL should be in your GBP. Your GBP listing should be linked from your website (a "Find us on Google" link or embedded map). This circular reference confirms to Google that both are representing the same real business.

11. Fast load time — under 2 seconds

Test your site at PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev). A score below 50 for mobile is a problem. The most common causes of slow trade websites: uncompressed images, too many plugins, slow hosting. If your site loads slowly, you're losing visitors and ranking lower than you should be.

12. Privacy policy and business address

If your site collects data via contact forms or uses Google Analytics, UK GDPR requires a privacy policy explaining what you collect and why. This is a legal requirement, not optional. Your business address (or at minimum your town and county) should also appear somewhere on the site — it's a trust signal and also supports local SEO by confirming your location to Google.