Your website has one job. Get the phone to ring.

Not "build brand awareness." Not "establish thought leadership." Get homeowners to pick up the phone or fill out a form. Everything else is decoration.

I've audited hundreds of contractor websites. Most look decent. Most also convert at 1-2% when they should be hitting 5-8%. The difference between a 2% conversion rate and a 6% conversion rate on 1,000 monthly visitors is 40 extra leads per month. Same traffic, same ad spend, triple the results.

Here's what separates websites that generate leads from websites that generate compliments from your nephew who "knows computers."

Why Most Contractor Websites Fail

Three problems kill most contractor websites. They're so common that I can predict them before seeing the site.

The phone number is buried.

I've seen roofing websites where you have to scroll past a hero image, company history, and three service descriptions before finding a phone number. On mobile, that's four thumb swipes before someone can call you.

When a homeowner's AC dies at 2pm in August, they're not reading your "Our Story" page. They're looking for a number to call. If they can't find it in 3 seconds, they hit the back button.

The site loads like it's 2003.

Google's data shows 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Most contractor websites load in 6-8 seconds because they're running on cheap hosting with unoptimized images and bloated page builders.

Every second of load time costs you leads. Not metaphorically. Literally.

No proof that you're legitimate.

Stock photos of smiling contractors with perfectly clean uniforms. Generic testimonials that could apply to any business. No photos of actual jobs. No real customer names (even first names). No licensing information.

Homeowners are about to let a stranger into their house to do work they can't evaluate themselves. They're looking for reasons to trust you. Most contractor websites give them nothing to work with.

Essential Pages for Home Services Websites

Skip the corporate bloat. You need five core pages that work, not fifteen pages that exist for the sake of having content.

Homepage Structure

Your homepage is a sorting mechanism. Visitors should immediately understand what you do, where you do it, and how to contact you.

Above the fold (no scrolling required):

Clear headline stating what you do and where. "24/7 Emergency Plumbing in Austin" beats "Welcome to Our Website."
Phone number. Large. Click-to-call on mobile.
One primary call-to-action button. "Get a Free Quote" or "Schedule Service."
Trust indicators: years in business, number of jobs completed, average review rating.

Below the fold:

Services overview with links to dedicated service pages.
Social proof: reviews, testimonials, logos of review platforms.
Service area map or list of cities served.
Secondary CTA to capture visitors who aren't ready to call.

The homepage shouldn't try to do everything. It should route visitors to the right next step quickly.

Service Pages (One Per Service)

Each service you offer needs its own page. "Roof Replacement" and "Roof Repair" are different services with different search intent. They need different pages.

Structure for service pages:

H1: Clear service name + location ("Roof Replacement in Austin, TX")

Opening paragraph: What this service is, who needs it, and why they should choose you. Skip the industry jargon.

Process section: Step-by-step breakdown of what happens when they hire you. Homeowners fear the unknown. Explain your process clearly.

Pricing guidance: You don't need exact prices. Ranges work. "$8,000-$15,000 for most Austin homes, depending on size and materials." Transparency builds trust.

Before/after gallery: Real photos of real jobs. This is the most persuasive element on any contractor page.

FAQ section: Answer the specific questions people ask about this service. This also captures featured snippet opportunities in Google.

CTA: Phone number + form. Always.

Each service page should be 800-1,500 words of genuinely useful content. Not keyword-stuffed fluff. Actual information that helps homeowners understand the service.

For SEO implementation details on service pages, that's a whole separate discipline. But the content structure above provides the foundation.

Location Pages (Service Area Coverage)

If you serve multiple cities, each city needs its own page. "HVAC Contractor in Round Rock" is a different search than "HVAC Contractor in Austin." Google treats them as separate intents.

What makes a location page work:

Unique content about serving that specific area. Mention neighborhoods. Reference local landmarks or conditions. "We've been serving the Mueller development since its first homes were built" is more compelling than generic copy.

Service list specific to that location. If you offer different services or have different response times in different areas, say so.

Testimonials from customers in that area. If you have five reviews from Round Rock customers, feature them on the Round Rock page.

Local phone number if you have one. Or at minimum, mention your proximity to that area.

Avoid the temptation to create location pages by find-replacing city names. Google knows the difference between unique content and templated pages. So do visitors.

About Page (Trust Building)

The about page isn't for you. It's for converting skeptics into customers.

Elements that build trust:

Founder story with real details. Not "John started XYZ Company because he saw a need in the community." More like "I started roofing in 1998 after watching my dad run his crew for twenty years. Grew up on job sites in North Austin."

Team photos with real names. Even just first names. Real photos of real people, not stock photography.

Licensing and insurance information. In Texas, roofing contractors need specific licensing. Display your license number. Show proof of insurance. This separates legitimate contractors from chuck-in-a-truck operations.

Credentials and certifications. GAF Master Elite. Carrier Factory Authorized. NATE certified. Whatever applies to your trade. These matter to homeowners even if they don't fully understand them.

Community involvement. Sponsor a Little League team? Support local charities? Mention it. Local credibility compounds.

Contact Page

The contact page should make it insultingly easy to reach you.

Required elements:

Phone number (large, click-to-call enabled).

Business hours. When can they call and expect someone to answer?

Contact form. Short. Name, phone, email, brief description of what they need. Five fields maximum. Every additional field reduces form completions.

Physical address if you have a legitimate business location. If you're a service-area business operating from home, skip this.

Service area description or map. "We serve Austin and the surrounding 30 miles, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Georgetown."

Reviews/Testimonials Page

Aggregating your reviews in one place serves two purposes: converting skeptical visitors and giving you a page that can rank for "[your company] reviews."

Implementation that works:

Pull reviews from Google, Facebook, and trade-specific platforms like Angi. Don't just screenshot them. Embed them or recreate them with clear attribution.

Organize by service type if you have enough volume. Someone researching roof replacement wants to see roofing reviews, not HVAC reviews.

Include video testimonials if you have them. Video converts better than text.

Link to your profiles on review platforms. Let visitors verify the reviews are real.

Conversion Elements That Matter

Having the right pages isn't enough. Those pages need the right conversion elements.

Click-to-Call Buttons

Over 70% of local searches happen on mobile devices. When someone searches "plumber near me" on their phone, they want to call. Make that stupidly easy.

Technical implementation:

Use tel: links for all phone numbers. `512-555-1234` makes the number clickable on mobile.

Place click-to-call buttons in your header (sticky on scroll), after every major content section, and in your footer. You can't have too many.

Use button styling, not just text links. Buttons get more clicks.

Test your click-to-call functionality on actual devices. I've seen sites where the tel: link was formatted wrong and nothing happened when you tapped it.

Contact Forms (Short!)

Not everyone wants to call. Some prefer forms. But long forms kill conversion.

Optimal form structure:

Name (first name is enough)
Phone number
Email (optional but useful)
Brief message or dropdown for service type
Submit button with action-oriented text ("Get My Free Quote" beats "Submit")

That's it. No address fields. No budget dropdowns. No "how did you hear about us" questions. Collect that information during the follow-up call.

Every additional form field reduces completion rates by 10-15%. A 4-field form converts dramatically better than an 8-field form.

Chat Widgets (Pros/Cons)

Live chat can work for contractors, but it comes with tradeoffs.

Pros:

Captures visitors who won't call or fill out forms
Provides immediate engagement
Can qualify leads before calling back

Cons:

Requires someone to actually respond in real time
Chatbots frustrate users if they're obviously not human
Can slow down page load
Poorly implemented chat can feel desperate or spammy

If you can commit to responding to chats within 2 minutes during business hours, add chat. If you can't, skip it. A chat widget that takes 10 minutes to respond is worse than no chat at all.

Trust Badges and Certifications

Display these prominently, but avoid visual clutter.

What to include:

Review platform ratings (Google 4.8/5, etc.) with actual numbers.

Trade certifications with recognizable logos. GAF, Carrier, manufacturer partnerships.

Association memberships. BBB (if A rated), Chamber of Commerce, trade associations.

License and insurance statements. "Licensed, Bonded, and Insured" is standard but necessary.

Years in business or jobs completed. "Serving Austin since 1998" or "Over 2,000 roofs replaced."

Keep badges above the fold on the homepage. One row of 4-5 badges is better than a wall of twenty logos nobody recognizes.

Mobile Optimization Requirements

If your website doesn't work perfectly on mobile, you're losing half your potential customers. Not an exaggeration.

Speed Requirements

Google's threshold: pages should load in under 2.5 seconds on mobile connections. Most contractor websites fail this.

Technical fixes that matter:

Image optimization. Compress images aggressively. Use WebP format where possible. Lazy load images below the fold. A single unoptimized hero image can add 3+ seconds to load time.

Hosting upgrade. Cheap shared hosting can't deliver fast load times. Upgrade to a managed hosting provider or use a CDN. Budget $30-50/month, not $5/month.

Page builder bloat. If your site runs on a visual page builder (Elementor, Divi, WPBakery), it's probably loading 2MB+ of unnecessary JavaScript. Consider a cleaner theme or custom development.

Third-party script audit. Every chat widget, analytics tool, and marketing pixel adds load time. Remove anything that isn't essential. Test impact by disabling scripts one at a time.

Use Google PageSpeed Insights and Google's Core Web Vitals report to identify specific issues. Anything with a red score needs attention.

Thumb-Friendly Design

Mobile users navigate with thumbs. Design accordingly.

Implementation specifics:

Touch targets (buttons, links) should be at least 44x44 pixels. Tiny links that require precise tapping frustrate users.

Primary CTAs should be reachable from the bottom half of the screen. That's where thumbs naturally rest.

Avoid horizontal scrolling. Ever. If elements overflow the screen horizontally, something's broken.

Forms should use appropriate input types. `type="tel"` for phone numbers brings up the numeric keypad. `type="email"` brings up the email keyboard. These small details reduce friction.

Click-to-Call Prominence

On mobile, the phone number isn't just visible—it's the primary action.

Implementation:

Sticky header that persists as users scroll. Phone number always visible in the top corner.

Click-to-call button in the hero section. Big enough to tap easily.

"Call Now" buttons after every major content section.

Bottom navigation bar on mobile with a prominent call button. Some sites dedicate 50%+ of the bottom nav bar to the phone action.

Technical SEO for Service Websites

SEO goes beyond keywords. For service websites, technical implementation determines whether Google can properly understand and rank your content.

Schema Markup

Schema tells Google explicitly what your pages are about. For local service businesses, this is particularly important.

Required schema types:

LocalBusiness (or more specific: RoofingContractor, Plumber, HVACBusiness). Include name, address, phone, service area, hours, and aggregate rating.

Service schema for each service page. Defines what service is offered, provider, and area served.

FAQPage schema for FAQ sections. Makes your Q&As eligible for rich results in search.

Review schema if you display reviews on your site. Can trigger star ratings in search results.

Implementation: Add schema as JSON-LD in the head of each page. Test with Google's Rich Results Test before deploying.

Page Speed Optimization

Speed affects both rankings and conversions. Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor, and slow sites directly reduce conversion rates.

Core Web Vitals targets:

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Under 2.5 seconds. How fast your main content loads.
First Input Delay (FID): Under 100 milliseconds. How fast the page responds to interaction.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Under 0.1. How much elements jump around while loading.

Common fixes:

Pre-load critical assets (fonts, above-fold images). Defer non-critical JavaScript. Specify image dimensions to prevent layout shift. Use a CDN for static assets.

Core Web Vitals Compliance

Check your Core Web Vitals in Google Search Console. Google shows field data from real users, which is more accurate than lab tests.

Fix pages with "Poor" or "Needs Improvement" scores before worrying about new content or features. A fast site with average content outperforms a slow site with great content.

Content That Converts

Beyond structure, the actual content on your pages matters for both SEO and conversion.

Before/After Galleries

The single most persuasive content element for any contractor.

Implementation best practices:

Real photos from real jobs. Not stock photography.

Consistent angles. Before and after shots from the same position make transformations obvious.

Include location context when possible. "Roof replacement in Travis Heights" connects the job to a real neighborhood.

Add brief captions with project details. Material used, timeframe, any interesting challenges overcome.

Make galleries easy to browse. Lightbox functionality, clear navigation, mobile-friendly grid.

Homeowners want to see your work. Give them plenty to look at.

Video Testimonials

Written testimonials are good. Video testimonials are better. Video proves the customer is real in a way text can't.

Capture methodology:

Ask happy customers at the end of successful jobs. Not every customer—just the ones who express genuine satisfaction.

Keep videos under 60 seconds. Attention spans are short.

Film horizontally on a phone. Don't stress about production quality. Authenticity matters more than polish.

Simple questions: "What was the problem?" "How did we help?" "Would you recommend us?"

Post videos on your website, YouTube, and Google Business Profile. Cross-platform presence compounds the value.

Case Studies

For higher-ticket services (new construction, major renovations, system replacements), case studies provide depth that galleries can't.

Case study structure:

The problem: What was the customer's situation? What needed to be fixed or built?

The solution: What did you do? Be specific about materials, methods, and decisions made.

The result: How did it turn out? Include photos. Quote the customer if possible.

This format demonstrates your expertise while showing prospects what working with you looks like. It also creates natural opportunities for keyword optimization around specific services and locations.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

I see these constantly. Every one of them costs leads.

Stock Photos Everywhere

Generic images of contractors with perfect teeth and spotless work boots fool nobody. They signal that you don't have real work to show.

Fix: Use actual photos from actual jobs. Phone cameras are fine. Document every project. Build your gallery over time. Even mediocre real photos outperform polished stock images.

No Pricing Information

"Request a quote" with no pricing guidance whatsoever makes prospects assume you're expensive. Or hiding something.

Fix: Provide ranges. "Most roof replacements in our area run $10,000-$18,000 depending on size and materials. We provide free written estimates." This qualifies leads and builds trust through transparency.

Slow Load Times

Every second over 3 seconds costs you roughly 10% of visitors. A 7-second load time means half your traffic is gone before they see anything.

Fix: Prioritize speed over aesthetics. Compress images. Upgrade hosting. Minimize plugins. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to identify specific bottlenecks.

Missing Service Areas

If visitors can't immediately tell whether you serve their location, they'll assume you don't and leave.

Fix: List every city and neighborhood you serve. Create location pages for your primary service areas. Include a service area map on your homepage and contact page. When someone searches "plumber in Cedar Park," they should land on a page that specifically mentions Cedar Park.

Buried Contact Information

If finding your phone number requires scrolling or clicking through menus, you've already lost the emergency caller.

Fix: Phone number in the header. Sticky header that follows scroll. Click-to-call everywhere. Contact buttons after every section. Make it impossible to miss.

Building a Website That Converts

Your website is a lead generation machine. Every decision—from page structure to button color—either helps or hurts that goal.

Start with the fundamentals. Fast load times. Mobile-first design. Clear calls to action. Real photos and testimonials. Then layer in the details: schema markup, conversion optimization, and ongoing content that attracts search traffic.

Most contractors outsource their website to whoever's cheapest and wonder why it doesn't generate leads. The contractors who dominate their markets treat their website as a critical business asset and invest accordingly.

If your current site isn't generating 5-8% conversion rates, something's broken. Usually multiple things.

For a deeper dive into the full marketing stack beyond your website, read our complete home services marketing guide. And if you want help fixing what's broken, let's talk. We build contractor websites that actually convert.

Home Services Website Design: Conversion-Focused Best Practices