The first screen (what people see before they scroll)
Visitors decide almost instantly whether they're in the right place. The top of your home page should answer three questions: what do you do, where, and how do I reach you?
- A headline that names your trade and area. "Plumbing and drain repair in Hamilton" beats "Quality you can trust".
- A tap-to-call phone number at the top of every page. On phones, it should dial with one tap.
- One clear button. "Get a free quote" or "Book a visit". Not five competing buttons.
- Proof you're real. Years in business, licence or certification, and your Google star rating if it's good.
The pages Google and customers need
- One page per main service. A separate page for drain cleaning, water heaters and emergency repairs ranks far better than one page that lists everything.
- Your service areas. Name the towns and neighbourhoods you cover, so you show up for searches in each one.
- Real photos of your work, your van and your team. Stock photos of smiling models in hard hats don't build trust.
- Reviews. Show a few real ones with first names and towns, and link to your Google reviews.
Speed, phones and the boring technical bits
- Fast on a phone. Open your site on mobile data. If it takes more than a few seconds, people leave.
- Easy to read on a small screen. Big enough text, buttons you can tap with a thumb, no sideways scrolling.
- A secure address (https) and your own domain name. Browsers warn people away from sites without the padlock.
- Basic SEO done properly: a unique page title and description for each page, your business name, address area and phone written the same way everywhere, and the site submitted to Google Search Console.
Bonus: catch the leads you miss
Even a great site can't help if nobody answers. Lots of searches for emergency trades happen in the evening and on weekends, when you're off or on a job. A quote form that emails you is the minimum. An AI assistant on the site can go further: answer common questions, take the customer's details and offer a booking time, then text you if it's an emergency.