When looking for a contractor to improve their home, the first thing that homeowners look for (and look at) is the business’ website. With that in mind, how your website looks and what viewers can find on it can make or break a potential client’s decision to click on the ‘Contact’ tab.
To improve lead generation and make your contractor website more attractive, interesting, and valuable, here are some of the best features it should have:
1. Fast loading speeds
Internet users are growing more impatient with each passing year. If your website loads too slow, there’s a good chance that visitors will give up and exit out of your page before they even see anything.
That said, fast loading speed is a must if you want to keep visitors on your page long enough to see what you have to offer. Look for a fast and secure hosting service provider that can load your website in two seconds or less.
2. Advanced portfolio gallery
Every contractor website has a portfolio gallery. Your own website probably already has one, too. But is it simply a gallery with a bunch of pictures piled together, or is it an organized portfolio that users actually want to view?
Organize your website’s portfolio into categories if your business offers more than one service. For example, if you offer stone and granite countertops and stone showers, separate them into two pages to make viewing more convenient. The same goes for any sub-categories each service has. For example, if you offer stone countertops that come in granite, marble, quartz, split them into different galleries.
Having an advanced photo gallery also means having high-quality, professional-level pictures of your previous work. Photographs can mean the difference between generating a lead or making the potential client ‘X’ out of your page. Hence, having a professional photographer take your portfolio pictures is always a worthwhile investment.
3. Mobile-readiness
More than half of global Internet users use their mobile phones to visit websites instead of desktop devices, and that number is only expected to grow in the future. This means that in order to attract potential customers and keep them on your website long enough to spark interest, your website has to be designed for mobile first, desktop second.
If web visitors can’t view your website properly on their phones, you’re most likely missing out on dozens of potential leads every month. So if your contractor website is still not mobile-ready, this is a feature that you have to have now.
4. Reviews and testimonials
Just like any other website that offers products and services, your home improvement business website needs to feature reviews and testimonials from previous customers. In this way, you can boost your credibility and validate your services to other potential clients.
5. Ever-present phone number
Your goal is to generate leads, so make it easy for potential clients to contact you by making your phone number visible at all times. Of course, putting it on the header (or a sticky navigation bar) is the easiest way to do this. Don’t settle for having your number just on the footer or on your Contact page.
6. Valuable content
Adding a blog to your business website is an excellent way to offer value to your viewers and teach them more about your services. More than that, it helps increase your visibility on search engines, which can increase organic traffic to your page.
However, many contractor businesses don’t have the time to maintain a blog on their website. If you’re on the same boat, consider hiring freelancers who can generate content, figure out SEO, increase internal linking, and schedule posts for you.
7. A striking header
Your header photo is the first thing that people see on your website. In essence, it’s like the ‘face’ of your entire website, which means that it plays a huge part in visitors’ first impression of your business.
Having an attractive, professional-looking header photo is a must for any contractor website. Show your best work on the homepage or display a photo of your people in action to make your website feel more personal. You can also ask your website designer to make the header photos rotate so that visitors can see more of your work just from the homepage. If you want to be more trendy, you can also jump in on the trend of having a video header that can make your website look more alive.
If you don’t have these features on your contractor website yet, then you’re probably missing out on a lot more leads than you think. But don’t worry, it’s not too late! Revamp your website and add these essential features for a more stunning business page.