Starting out

Do I need a website for my new contracting business?

Yes, a simple one. Homeowners check you out before they call, and when ChatGPT recommends trade businesses, most of what it cites is their own websites: 229 of 277 citations in our checks of Washington towns.

Isn't a Google profile and Facebook enough?

They help, and you should have both. But a Google profile holds a few lines and some photos, and Facebook pages are hard to search. A website is the one place you control that says everything a stranger wants to know.

What AI search reads

We ask ChatGPT every day, the way homeowners do, who to call for trade work in Washington towns. Across 86 answers, 229 of 277 citations were businesses' own websites, 40 were government sites and only 8 were directories.

What a new contractor's site needs

  • What you do and the towns you cover, in plain words
  • Your licence or registration number
  • Your reviews, as they come in
  • A phone number that's answered, and a way to ask for a quote at 9pm

It doesn't have to cost much

It's not that you don't care about having a site. It's that every way of getting one means learning something new, or paying somebody thousands for a site you'll never touch again. Pick something you'll never have to maintain yourself.

See your free website preview. Free until we send you your first new customer enquiry, then $197.50/mo for 6 months, then $395/mo.

See your free preview

Questions

Can I use a Facebook page instead of a website?

As well as, not instead. In our checks, ChatGPT cited businesses' own websites far more than any other source, and Facebook pages hardly at all.

What should a contractor's website include?

Your services, the towns you cover, your licence number, reviews, photos of real jobs, and a way to call or ask for a quote.

Sources

More guides: How to start a contracting business in Washington · What it costs to become a contractor in Washington · How to get a contractor's license in California · How to get your first customers as a new contractor · How to get your new business on Google Maps