How to use this contractor website checklist
A contractor website wins jobs when a homeowner on a phone can see what you do, where you work and how to reach you in a few seconds, and when Google can tell the same thing. This checklist covers the 25 things that decide that, and you can check almost all of them yourself, on your own phone, in about 30 minutes.
Open your website on your phone, not your office computer. That is how most of your customers see it. Go through the list, tick what passes, and note what fails. The table in the next section is the whole checklist; the sections after it explain each item and how to test it. Where Google or another source sets a rule, we link to it.
The 25-point checklist at a glance
| # | Check | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trade and area stated in the first screen | Open the home page on your phone; read only what shows before scrolling |
| 2 | Tap-to-call phone number at the top | Tap it; your phone should offer to dial |
| 3 | Text readable without zooming | No pinching needed to read a paragraph |
| 4 | Buttons big enough for a thumb | Tap every button with a thumb, gloves off, in the truck |
| 5 | One page per main service | Each service you want to sell has its own page and address |
| 6 | Service area listed in plain words | Towns and counties named on the page, as text |
| 7 | A short quote form | Five fields or fewer; submit a test |
| 8 | Form submissions actually arrive | Send a test; check the inbox and spam folder within a minute |
| 9 | Instant confirmation to the customer | The test sender gets a "we got it" reply with next steps |
| 10 | Business hours and response time stated | Visible near the form or phone number |
| 11 | Photo upload on the quote form (optional) | Customer can attach a picture of the job |
| 12 | License number shown | Visible on the site; matches the state record |
| 13 | Real job photos with captions | Your own photos, with town and job type, not stock |
| 14 | Real reviews, linked to their source | Each review traces to Google or another public profile |
| 15 | An about section with real people | Owner's name and a line on experience |
| 16 | Warranty and process explained | A homeowner knows what happens after they call |
| 17 | Google Business Profile claimed and verified | Search your business name; you can edit the profile |
| 18 | Name, phone and area match everywhere | Website, Business Profile and directories say the same thing |
| 19 | Right primary category on the profile | The most specific category for your core trade |
| 20 | Steady flow of new reviews, all answered | Recent reviews; a reply on each |
| 21 | Business details marked up for search engines | Google's Rich Results Test shows your business data |
| 22 | Fast on mobile | PageSpeed Insights, mobile tab, Core Web Vitals pass |
| 23 | Secure address (https) | A padlock in the browser, no warnings |
| 24 | Unique title and description per page | Search site:yourdomain.com and read the results |
| 25 | You own the domain and accounts | The registrar, hosting and analytics are in your name |
Phone-first basics (items 1–6)
1. Say what you do and where, in the first screen
A homeowner who lands on your site should know in one glance that you are, say, a roofer serving two named counties. Put the trade and the area in the main heading, not a slogan. "Quality you can trust" tells a stranger nothing.
2. A tap-to-call phone number at the top
Most service calls start on a phone. Your number should sit at the top of every page and dial when tapped. If tapping it does nothing, the number is an image or plain text; ask whoever runs your site to make it a phone link.
3 and 4. Readable text and thumb-sized buttons
If a customer has to pinch and zoom to read, or keeps hitting the wrong button, they leave. Check this with your thumb, standing up, the way a customer would.
5. One page for each main service
A single "Services" page with a list of ten bullet points gives Google very little to match against a search like "tile shower remodel". A page for each service you most want to sell, with what it includes, photos and common questions, gives each one a fair chance to be found.
6. Your service area in plain words
Name the towns and counties you work in, as text on the page. A map image alone can't be read by search engines. Don't create dozens of near-identical "town" pages; Google treats thin, copied pages as low value (Google, creating helpful content).
Quote forms and calls (items 7–11)
7. Keep the quote form short
Ask only what you need to call back: name, phone or email, town, the job, and maybe a photo. Every extra field is one more reason to give up. You can ask the rest on the call.
8. Make sure the form actually delivers
This is one of the most common silent failures, and the easiest to test. The form looks fine, but submissions go to an old email address or land in spam. Send yourself a test today. Then do it once a month.
9. Reply instantly, even if it's automatic
A homeowner who requests three quotes often goes with whoever answers first. An automatic reply that says "We got your request; we'll call within two business hours" buys you time and sets an expectation you can meet.
10. State your hours and how fast you respond
If you don't answer the phone on weekends, say so and give the alternative. It stops the "nobody ever called me back" review.
11. Let customers send a photo
For repairs, a photo upload can save a site visit. It's optional, but a photo lets whoever quotes see the job before the first call.
Trust, license and reviews (items 12–16)
12. Show your license number
Homeowners check, and in some states the licensing board expects your license number on your advertising. Confirm the rule for your trade with your state's licensing board, show your license number on the site, make sure it matches the public record, and link to your state's license lookup so customers can check it themselves. Examples: Florida's DBPR license search, California's CSLB license check and Texas's TDLR license search.
13. Real job photos, captioned
Stock photos of smiling models in spotless kitchens look like every other site. Your own before-and-after photos, captioned with the town and the job ("Bathroom remodel, [town]"), prove you do the work and give search engines useful text.
14. Reviews that trace back to a real source
Show reviews from Google or another public profile, with a link to the source, so a visitor can check they're real. Never write or buy reviews; the U.S. Federal Trade Commission banned fake reviews and testimonials in 2024 (FTC, August 2024). Google's own guidance also says offering an incentive in exchange for a review "is strictly prohibited" (Google Business Profile Help, tips to get more reviews).
15. Real people on the about page
People hire people. The owner's name, a sentence on how long they've been in the trade, and a photo of the crew (when you have one) do more than a paragraph about "excellence".
16. Explain the process and the warranty
A short "what happens after you call" section (visit, written estimate, schedule, clean-up, warranty) answers the questions a nervous homeowner won't ask out loud.
Google Business Profile and local search (items 17–21)
17. Claim and verify your Business Profile
For a local trade, your Google Business Profile often brings in more calls than your website. Google says verified businesses are "more likely to show up in search results" (Google, tips to improve your local ranking). Our Google Business Profile guide walks through setup step by step.
18. Match your name, phone and area everywhere
Use the same business name, phone number and service area on your site, your profile and every directory. Google's rules say your profile name should reflect your real-world name, with no extra words (Google, guidelines for representing your business).
19. Pick the right primary category
Google asks you to use as few categories as possible and to pick the most specific one for your core business. "Roofing contractor" beats "Contractor" for a roofer.
20. Ask for reviews and answer every one
Ask every happy customer with a direct review link or QR code, which Google provides. Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely. Google says replies are public and "help you build good relationships with customers" (same Google reviews page as above).
21. Mark up your business details
Structured data is code that tells search engines your business name, phone, area and hours in a format they read reliably. Google documents it for local businesses (Google, LocalBusiness structured data). Test any page with the free Rich Results Test; zero errors is the goal.
Speed and technical health (items 22–25)
22. Fast on a phone
Run your home page through PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile tab. Google's "good" thresholds are: the main content loads within 2.5 seconds, the page responds to a tap within 200 milliseconds, and the layout shift score stays at 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of real visits (web.dev, Web Vitals). If your site doesn't have enough visitors for real-world data, the tool shows a lab score instead.
What one run looks like: on 27 October 2026 we ran Lighthouse once on the founder's personal site, shaunpatrickstewart.com. It scored 95 for mobile performance and 100 on desktop, with 100 in the other three categories on both. The mobile run was the one that fell short of 100, which is why this item starts with the mobile tab. The full result is on our proof page.
23. A secure address
Your address should start with https and show no browser warnings. Most hosts include a certificate free.
24. A unique title and description on every page
Search site:yourdomain.com on Google. If every result has the same title, Google has little to go on. Each page's title should name the service and area; Google explains how it builds the title it shows (Google, title links).
25. Own your domain and accounts
Log in to your domain registrar. If you can't, or the account belongs to a former web designer, fix that before anything else. Your domain, hosting, analytics and Business Profile should be in your name.
What to fix first
If you failed several items, fix them in this order: ownership (25), a working form and phone link (2, 8), your Business Profile (17–20), then speed and pages (5, 22). The first group stops leads leaking today; the rest helps new leads find you.
Want this checked for you? Our free Site X-ray runs Google's PageSpeed Insights on your site (performance, accessibility, best-practice and SEO scores, plus real-user speed data when Google has it) next to our own site, and links to Google's Rich Results Test for the markup.