Here’s a list of top things a local service website needs. In fact, we can say that EVERY good local service website needs to implement these things.
Your website is your online salesperson. Treat it as such.
It should represent your brand in a way that makes you proud. But, it also needs to bring you more business. So let’s make sure it’s doing that.
Here I’ll share with you the top things essential for a local service business website.
Don’t just read this. Make sure you’re implementing as much of this as you can.
Testimonials
This is simply to help your visitors who are ready to buy, actually push them into buying or contacting you. Client testimonials are a very powerful tool to help you gain more customers. Put some on the home page close to the top. Also add some to service pages.
If you don’t have any reviews yet, that should be a top priority. Don’t feel shy about asking for feedback. Happy customers are usually good for the couple minutes it takes to write up a review. Make sure it gets submitted to google my business profile also.
You can take screenshots of your google or facebook reviews for example. Or build testimonials on your page and copy the text over. Use your customer profile pics also. It gives an added amount of trust.
This is possibly the most effective way for you to convert more sales. It’s easy to do. And, conversions go up. More of your visitors will contact you after reading a good review. It’s that simple.
Business Information
This should be obvious, but we need to say it anyway. Put your contact information on your website.
There are two reasons for this. First, you want your customers to know how to contact you. An email or phone number or both. You can add a contact form or a way to schedule a call.
Second, is more about getting results in search engines and map listings. If you’re a local service business, you will rely on search engines to generate visitors for you. Google looks for your NAP (name, address, phone) to be on your website and published on local directories, to be matching everywhere. Make sure every spelling is correct. It matters.
Use schema markup data in your html, especially for a local business.
Visual Effect
First off, you want to provide a clear layout. No one likes a messy website that is hard to interact with. You want a clean layout with easy-to-read sections.
Large, simple icons and colors are helpful for visual navigation. Don’t use too many, but don’t keep it all plain and boring. Choose a general color pallete that you can use throughout your website for attractiveness as well as simplicity.
Don’t get too fancy with background images or they might distract from your call to action.
Animated effects are cool, but they can really slow down your site. You don’t want your aesthetics to interfere with your User Experience (UX). Make sure you have a good balance.
Call to Action
This is simply telling your visitors what you want them to do. Are you trying to generate more phone calls? Then put your phone number in a place that is easy to see and add some text beside it. For example: “Call us at: 888-555-5555”. Use big buttons to make it stand out even more.
Balance of Text and Images/Video
You want to make sure the reader isn’t falling asleep from too much writing. The average website visitor isn’t employing a lot of attention span. “Walls of text” will generally make them skip over what you’re saying. Shorten your paragraphs and use headings between sections. Bullet points work well and bold important text.
“Bites” of information keep your readers’ eyes moving. However, you should also include enough writing to show the information needed in order to support your product, services, and expertise.
The truth is, it all comes down to layout. Less is more in a sense, so that the reader can quickly read what you have written and get a good snapshot of who you are. This is true for everything from your introduction, to the service pages, and even any blog posts you might publish. Who you are, and why that matters to the reader, should be an up-front and simple message throughout your site.
Real Photos and/or Videos
If you can provide proof of your work with real images or videos, that acts like a good testimonial.
Depending on the type of website you are creating, media and photos are crucial to making a website look professional. High quality images that have a great angle and decent resolution add a good touch to any website.
Many businesses utilize instructional videos to illustrate the efficacy of their product or service. Media and videos that are filmed in a high quality, such at 1080p or 4K, will catch the readers eye. We all enjoy a sharp, well filmed video.
Social Media
It’s a great opportunity to link any social media you have for your business to your website. This can be things like Facebook, Twitter, or media platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Adding these features allows your clients to become followers, and thereby remain updated on new discounts, specials, and other features your company may be offering.
Conclusion
There are so many other things we could mention here, especially when you get into what’s needed for seo purposes. After adding all the things we’ve listed here, your site will have a good foundation to make sales.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions or wish to add something else to the list.
