Who your website is really for now
A few years ago, a trade website had one job. Look professional when someone typed in your name. That's still part of it, but it's not the whole story any more.
Today your site gets read by three different audiences. There's the customer on their phone, often in a hurry, trying to decide who to call. There's Google, working out which searches your pages should show up for. And there are AI tools, like Google's AI Overviews, which read your site and summarise it for people before they ever click. Google is even testing AI summaries inside business listings on mobile.
The good news is that all three want the same thing. Clear words, clear pages and clear proof. Get that right and you're sorted for all of them.
The 8 things a trade website needs
1. Say what you do and where, straight away
Someone should know what you do and which areas you cover within a few seconds of landing. "Roofing and guttering across Bromley and South East London" beats "Welcome to our website" every time. It helps the customer, and it helps Google understand where you should show up.
2. A separate page for each service
One "Services" page with a long list doesn't give Google much to work with. A page for each main job, like boiler installs, boiler repairs and power flushing, gives each one its own chance to rank. It also gives you much better pages to send ad traffic to. If you run Google Ads, this is a big deal, and I explain why in my post on landing pages that convert.
A quick word on area pages too. It's tempting to build a page for every town you cover. I'd only build them where real people are actually searching. I check search volume for a town before building a page for it. Ten thin pages with the town name swapped out won't help you, and they can make the whole site look weaker.
3. Click to call that's easy to find on a phone
Most trade enquiries start on a phone, and a lot of people would rather call than fill in a form. Your number should be big, tappable and visible without scrolling. A sticky call button on mobile is one of the simplest wins there is. More on this in my post on click to call for local service businesses.
4. Real proof, not stock photos
People want to see that you've done the job before. Photos of real work, reviews from real customers, and accreditations like Gas Safe, NICEIC or TrustMark all do heavy lifting here. A short case study with a before and after is even better. Put this proof near your call buttons, not tucked away on a page nobody visits.
5. Honest FAQs in plain words
What do you charge for a call out? Do you give free quotes? How soon can you start? Are you insured? Answer these on your site. It saves you time on the phone, builds trust, and gives AI tools a clear answer to pull from when someone asks about your trade in your area.
6. Fast on a phone
If your site takes ages to load on mobile data, people leave and call the next one. Big uncompressed photos, heavy sliders and too many plugins are the usual culprits. A fast site also helps with Google, and it lowers what you pay per click if you run ads.
7. Built so Google and AI can read it
This one's easy to miss because you can't see it. Recent research published on Search Engine Land found that pages linked only through certain JavaScript menus couldn't be found by AI bots at all. In plain terms, if your menu is built in a fancy way, some of your pages might be invisible to AI search.
A well built site uses normal links, real text rather than text inside images, and a bit of code called schema that tells search engines your business name, address, services and opening hours. Your name, address and phone number should also match exactly what's on your Google Business Profile.
8. Tracking that works
You should know how many calls and form fills your website brings in each month, and where they came from. Without that, you're guessing. If you run Google Ads, tracking is what tells the system which clicks turned into real jobs. My post on conversion tracking covers the basics.
Quick test: Open your website on your phone, on mobile data, and pretend you're a customer with a leak. Can you tell what you do, where you work and how to call you in under five seconds? If not, that's the first thing to fix.
What you can skip
Plenty of things on trade websites look nice but don't win jobs. These are usually safe to drop:
- Sliders on the homepage. Most people never see past the first slide, and they slow the page down.
- Stock photos of smiling people in hard hats. Customers can spot them a mile off. One real photo of your van beats ten stock images.
- A long company history on the homepage. Keep it short and put the full story on your About page.
- Pages nobody needs. If a page doesn't help someone decide to call you, it probably doesn't need to exist.
DIY website builder or a proper build?
Website builders like Wix or Squarespace can be fine when you're starting out. If you've got the time, they'll get you online. Where they tend to fall down is structure, speed and the stuff you can't see, like clean links, schema and tracking. Those are the parts that decide whether you show up and whether people call.
A proper build makes sense once your website needs to do real work. That might be because you're running Google Ads, you want to rank for more services, or your current site just isn't bringing in enquiries. My website design and build service starts from £1,000, with copywriting priced separately so you only pay for what you need. You can see examples of past builds in the website design case studies.
Your website and your ads work together
If you pay for Google Ads, your website is half the result. A great ad can't fix a page that loses someone's trust in the first five seconds. And a great website won't get seen if nobody can find it. The two work best when they're planned together, with the right pages for the right searches. If you're running ads to a website you're not sure about, a free Google Ads audit will flag where the two aren't lining up.
Common questions
How much does a website for a trade business cost?
It varies a lot. DIY builders cost a monthly fee plus your time. A professionally built site from me starts at £1,000 for the Essentials package, with copywriting priced separately. The website design page shows what each tier includes.
Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?
Yes. Your profile helps you show up on the map, but your website is where people go to check you out properly, and it's where your ads send people. Your details should match on both.
How many pages does a trade website need?
Enough to cover each main service properly, plus a homepage, an about page, a contact page and somewhere to show your work. For most trades that's somewhere between 6 and 15 pages. More pages only help if each one has a clear job.
Is Wix or Squarespace good enough for a trade business?
They can be, especially early on. The problems usually show up later, when you want to run ads, rank for more services or track your leads properly. If your current site isn't bringing in enquiries, the platform is rarely the only issue, but it's worth checking.
The bottom line
A good trade website in 2026 isn't about fancy design. It's about being clear, quick and trustworthy for people on their phones, and easy to read for Google and AI tools. Say what you do and where, give each service its own page, make it easy to call, and show real proof. Everything else is a bonus. If you want a site built that way from the start, take a look at the website design and build service.