Updated October 8, 2026 · Lukáš Březina

What does a contractor's website actually need?

A contractor's website has one job: when someone hears your name or finds you on Google, it convinces them to call you rather than the next company. That takes one page — what you do, which towns you cover, your license and insurance, photos of real jobs, reviews, and a way to call or ask for a quote in one tap.

What should a contractor's website include?

Whether you're a plumber, an electrician, an HVAC tech, a roofer, a landscaper, a painter or a handyman, the person on your site is usually standing in a wet basement or looking at a quote from someone else. They want answers fast, on a phone. In rough order of importance:

• A phone number they can tap. At the top, not just in the footer. Most people who need a plumber today will call, not fill in a form.
• What you do — and what you don't. A short list of services in the words customers use: "water heaters", "panel upgrades", "AC not cooling", "roof leak repair". Saying "no new construction" saves you calls you'd turn down anyway.
• Your service area, by town name. "Serving Easton, Millbrook and Cedar Falls" answers the first question everyone has, and it's what people type into Google next to your trade.
• A license and insurance line. "Licensed and insured, License #…" in plain sight. Customers look for it, and in some states it isn't optional (see the FAQ below).
• Photos of real jobs. Your trucks, your crew, a finished deck, a clean panel install. Phone photos are fine. Stock photos of smiling models in hard hats do the opposite of what you want.
• A quote-request form. Name, phone, town, what's wrong, how soon — and a photo of the problem if they have one. It lands in your inbox, so the 9 p.m. "can you look at this next week?" doesn't get lost in voicemail.
• A link to your reviews. A couple of short quotes on the page and a button to your Google reviews. Your Google Business Profile is free and is where most people will read them anyway.
• Hours, and whether you do emergencies. "24/7 for burst pipes, regular jobs Mon–Fri" tells the panicked customer to call and the planner to book. If you don't do emergencies, say that too.

What a contractor's website doesn't need

A blog

"5 signs your water heater is failing" won't get written after a ten-hour day, and an empty blog from 2023 looks worse than none. Spend that energy asking happy customers for a Google review.

A page for every service and every town

Marketing agencies love building forty near-identical pages. For a one- or five-truck outfit, one clear page that lists your services and towns does the job, and nobody has to keep forty pages true.

Online booking with a calendar

Most jobs need a look or a conversation before you can price them, so a quote form fits better than picking a time slot. The exception is fixed-price work — a furnace tune-up, a gutter clean — where a booking link can make sense.

A chat bubble, a pop-up and a newsletter

Each one gets between the customer and your phone number. Leave them out.

Do I need a website if I already get jobs from Angi or Thumbtack?

They do different jobs. Lead platforms and Google's Local Services Ads find you strangers who need work done; you pay for each lead and you compete with other pros for it. Your own website is where people who already have your name — from a neighbor, a truck sign, a yard sign, a Google search — go to check you out before they call. It costs the same whether ten people call or a hundred.

What would a plumber's one-page site say?

Here's the shape, top to bottom. Swap the trade and the towns and it works for an electrician or a roofer just as well.

How do I keep the job photos fresh?

You describe the change in a sentence — "add these three photos of the bathroom in Millbrook and put them first" — in the WebSmoothly chat, or straight from ChatGPT or Claude if you use them. You see it in a preview, then publish. Thirty edits a year are included, which for most contractors means a new batch of job photos every couple of weeks with room to spare; 30 more cost $9.99. Raised your rates, added a town, hired a second crew? Same thing — one sentence each.

Questions contractors ask

How much does a contractor website cost?

With us, $59 a year: the .com in your name, hosting and 30 edits a year, and the price stays $59 when you renew. A freelancer or agency usually charges a four-figure sum up front. We compared the options in how much a small business website costs.

Do I have to put my license number on my website?

It depends on your state and trade. In California, for example, the Contractors State License Board counts websites as advertising, and advertising has to show your license number. Check your own state's licensing board. Even where it isn't required, customers trust a number they can look up.

Can customers send me a photo of the problem?

Yes. The quote form can take a photo or two along with the description, and it all arrives in your email.

Should I put prices on my site?

Where you can, yes — a service-call fee, "water heater installs from $…", a free-estimate line. Even one number filters out people who were never going to hire you. Where every job is different, saying how you price is enough.

How long does it take?

A first working version is ready in about ten minutes after you describe your business. Getting it really right — your photos, your wording, your domain — usually takes about two hours of back-and-forth, spread over however many days suit you. The draft is free; you pay only to go live on your own .com.

How we checked: platform details come from Thumbtack's help center (lead prices and refund policy), Angi's own FAQ and investor reports, and Google's Local Services help pages, read on October 8, 2026. The license-number rule is from the California Contractors State License Board's advertising bulletin. We didn't quote lead prices: they depend on your trade, your town and your own settings, and none of these platforms publishes one fixed price list. Check the current terms before you sign up.

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