What a plumber's website needs (and what it can skip)

Nobody visits a plumber's website for fun. They visit because water is coming out of somewhere it shouldn't, or the water heater made a noise they didn't like. They're on their phone, probably standing in the problem, and they want two answers fast. Do you cover my area? How do I reach you?

Everything on a plumber's site should help with those two questions. Anything that slows them down can go.

The first screen does most of the work

On a phone, the first screen is what someone sees before they scroll. For a plumber, it should hold:

• Your business name and what you do, in plain words. "Plumbing and drain repair in [your area]."
• A big button to reach you. Call, text or "Request a visit." Pick the one you actually answer fastest.
• The area you cover, in one line.

That's it. If someone with a leak sees those three things in the first two seconds, the site did its job. The rest of the page is for people who have a minute to read.

Must-haves

A services list, one short line each. Drains, water heaters, leaks, fixtures, sewer lines, remodels. People search for the specific problem, and a clear list tells them (and Google) that you handle it. You don't need a paragraph per service unless there's something useful to say.

The towns and neighborhoods you cover. Write them out. "Serving the north side" means something to you and nothing to a stranger. A plain list of towns does more than a map graphic, because people can read it and so can search engines.

A request form that lands in your email. Name, phone, address or town, what's wrong, and a photo upload if you want one. Keep it short. Every extra field is a reason to give up and call someone else.

Photos of real jobs. Your own phone photos of real work beat stock photos every time. A clean install, a before-and-after under a sink, your van. They don't need to be pretty. They need to be yours. (If they're dark or crooked, that's fixable.)

Licenses and insurance, if you want them shown. Some customers look for them, and some areas require license numbers in advertising. Check what applies where you work.

Hours and emergency service. If you take after-hours calls, say so near the top, and say how. If you don't, say that too. It saves you calls at 2am that you'd rather not get.

What you can skip

Stock photos. Especially the smiling man holding a wrench. Everyone has seen him. He doesn't work for you.

Long "about our values" pages. A short paragraph about who you are and how long you've been doing this is plenty. People hiring a plumber want to know you'll show up and fix it.

Sliders. The rotating banners at the top of a page. They push your phone number down, they load slowly, and people rarely wait for the second slide.

A blog you won't keep up. A blog with three posts from 2021 looks worse than no blog. If you won't write, skip it.

Pop-ups. Someone with a leak doesn't want to sign up for your newsletter.

Google basics for trades

Your website and your Google listing work together. A few basics:

Google Business Profile. This is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in the box on the right of search results. If you don't have one, it's free to set up through Google. Google changes the setup screens now and then, so follow its own help pages for the current steps. I wrote a step-by-step post on the parts that stay the same.

Set your service area right. If you go to customers instead of them coming to you, set a service area instead of showing a street address. Pick the areas you really cover.

Same name everywhere. Use the exact same business name, phone number and website address on your site, your Google listing, Yelp, and any directory you're on. Small differences ("Smith Plumbing" vs. "Smith Plumbing & Heating LLC") make it harder for Google to tell they're all you.

A fast site. Google looks at how a site works on phones. A light, simple site helps there without any tricks.

I'd be careful with anyone who promises you a spot at the top of Google. Nobody can promise that. What you can control is a clear site, a correct listing and the same details everywhere.

What it looks like put together

I made a sample plumber site to show the layout: the big button, the services list, the towns, real-looking job photos and a short form. It's a concept build, not a real client, and it's labeled that way on the work page. Use it as a picture of the idea.

What it costs

With me, a plumber's site is a build from $1,500, usually about five pages. The Steady plan at $149 a month covers hosting plus 1.5 hours of changes a month, which is plenty for new job photos and seasonal changes. Or start at $0 down when you take Steady or Busy for 12 months, if you'd rather not pay the build up front.

Everything I put on a site for contractors and plumbers, and what I leave off, is on the contractors and plumbers page. Full prices are on pricing.