As a contractor, you want to present your business as professional and trustworthy. One of the first things your potential customers will come across is your website. The impression that the website leaves on them will determine if their interest will increase or get lost completely.
A high converting website demands a professional web design. Only an expert can present your business in the best light. If you are still doubtful about hiring a web designer, just keep reading.
What Does “Professional Web Design” Mean?
A professionally designed website is done by an expert in this field – a web designer.
When your website is designed by a professional, it will make your business appear more credible.
An experienced web designer will know how to incorporate and organize the content. The website needs to contain all the important information that a potential customer might seek. Based on that initial information, the customer will decide whether they’ll take the next step.
A well-designed website can distinguish your construction company among others. Considering that competition is high in this business, this will certainly come in handy.
Working with a professional designer will also help you to optimize your website and improve your search engine ranking.
The Benefits of a Professionally Designed Contractor Website
There are numerous benefits of having a professionally designed website. Just consider the following ones:
Build trust
A professionally designed website will present information transparently. Besides, it will include testimonials which lead to evoking trust in your potential customers.
Present yourself as a professional
When customers see that your company is willing to invest in a website, they will know that you run a serious company. According to some research, 75% of consumers admit that they judge businesses’ credibility based on their website design.
Stand out
Distinguish your business from less experienced contractors. Not many contractors invest their time and money in a perfectly designed website, so this is your opportunity to be different.
Give proof of your good work
The potential customer will feel more trusting towards a company which openly shares previous successful projects.
Make your website visually pleasing
Some customers may instantly back off if they don’t like the look of the website. A professional web designer will know how to make the design’s aesthetics on point.
Features of a Professionally Designed Contractor Website
Even if you are cooperating with a professional on making your website extraordinary, you should still know what you need to focus on. Let’s review some essentials that your contractor website must include.
#1 Simple and effective landing page
The landing page is the first thing your potential customers will see. Based on the following infographic, it only takes around 50 milliseconds for users to form an opinion about your website.
Source: Business2Community
For that reason, you need to have a landing page that is simple, appealing, and effective at the same time.
Take as an example Bechtel Group Inc. They are a global engineering, construction, and project management company. Currently, they are the largest construction firm in the U.S. This is what their customers see when they first open the website.
Source: Bechtel
As you can see, they kept the page simple with one image of their successfully completed project.
#2 Limited site navigation (menu) choices
People should have no trouble finding what interests them. If you crowd the main menu bar, it will just look confusing.
Limit the choices on your navigation menu to a few main ones. A drop-down menu can help you include all the other options.
Consult with your web designer what is the best way to group the menu choices. Here is an example of how to organize your navigation menu.
Source: Kiewit
#3 Client feedback
Offer credibility and build trust by providing customer’s feedback.
You can present the testimonials as quotes from satisfied customers.
Make it accessible by incorporating it in one of the menu choices or just add it on the landing page. It depends on how many testimonials you have to include.
If you only have a few, add them to the bottom of your landing page. But, if you have plenty, you can make it a separate page. Greiner Construction Company has a page that is full of satisfied customers’ quotes.
Source: Greiner
They made it easy to find. All you have to do is to go to the “About Us” page and there it is – “Client Testimonials.”
#4 Photo examples of your work
Provide proof of your work by including images of your projects. The potential clients will trust you more if they see photos of your work.
This is how Turner Construction presented one of its projects.
Source: Turner Construction
The photograph of their team in front of the finished building plays on the emotions of the potential customers.
#5 Unique design
Try to avoid “the cookie-cutter” website that is made from the basic template. This is what many inexpensive web designers do. They use the same template for most of their designs.
This won’t make your website stand out. You need an original design if you want to have an attractive construction website.
Just think that it is an investment that will pay off in the future. Expensive-looking websites attract serious clients.
#6 Optimized website
SEO (search engine optimization) plays an important role in web design. Without it, your website won’t be easy to find.
If you work with a professional who knows how to optimize your website content, your website can end up on the top three pages of Google.
Optimized content needs to include keywords, relevant links (if you mention some statistics for example), and high-quality content. Usually, web designers who aren’t great content writers go through academic writing services reviews and find professional writers who can help them with this part.
#7 Organized content
The main purpose of the website is to provide users with all the necessary information. If you don’t pay attention to how the content is organized on your website, the potential clients will have trouble to find what interest’s them.
You can organize information in a drop-down menu or sort it by categories like in this example by Consultants500.
Source: Consultants500
Discuss with your web designer what is the best way to organize content. His experience should help you determine the best way to present all the relevant information. You can even ask your colleagues what they think about it. An objective opinion can help you finalize your decision.
Rookie mistakes that will turn potential customers away
Mistakes are an inevitable part of any work. But, there are some mistakes that you can easily avoid if you know of them. Learn from other people’s rookie mistakes and try to stay away from the following errors.
Mistake #1: Hard to find contact information
Once you get your potential clients’ attention, the next step is that they contact you. If they can’t find your contact information right away, they might give up. You also can’t expect that they will want to send an email because most people prefer to discuss details over the phone.
Solution: Display a toll-free number on a visible place on the website. The top of the page can be the best choice.
Mistake #2: Lack of content
When you aim for simplicity try not to go overboard. Having a website with insufficient content can turn the customers away. It will make your website seem unfinished.
Solution: Marketers claim that content is the king for a reason. Include all the relevant information about your company to present it as trustworthy.
Mistake #3: Flashy design
Bright colors, GIFs, videos, animations, and similar design elements will make your website look like an entertainment center. As a construction firm, your main goal is to look professional.
Solution: Keep your design simple and effective. Use the colors of your brand and some high-quality images. That will be more than enough.
Mistake #4: Inconsistency
Different font sizes, types of fonts, and colors will look over the top. Keep the choice of the font, font size, and color consistent throughout.
Solution: Consider the elderly customers and use larger-sized fonts. Also, a lighter background with dark-colored content is the easiest to read.
Mistake #5: Music
There is no room for music on a construction website. Music may work for restaurants, but it won’t work for construction companies.
Solution: When working on the website design, keep in mind that your goal is to present your company as a serious business.
Mistake #6: Slow loading speed
In this fast-paced world, there is no time for waiting. People tend to get impatient and leave the website if it takes too long to load.
Solution: Test the page loading speed as soon as the website is finished. If you are not satisfied with the speed, ask the designer to fix that right away.
Mistake #7: Design that’s not responsive
According to ComScore, the number of users accessing content online through their mobile devices has already surpassed those who use a desktop. If your website isn’t responsive, you will lose the potential customers who come across your website on their mobile phones.
Solution: Emphasize to your web designer from the very start that you want a responsive design. In that way, he will be able to construct the website accordingly.
Some final thoughts
While a professionally designed website has become essential in many industries, smaller construction companies still have to recognize the importance of it. As you could learn from the benefits of a well-designed website, your potential customers will trust you more if they come across a professionally designed contractor website.
Promote your business in the right way from the very start. With effective design, customer testimonials, and proof of your work, you should no trouble with attracting new clients.
