Website Best Practices for Residential Roofing Contractors

Author: Lee Polevoi | April 23, 2020

While new projects often come from referrals, a vibrant website can help you generate additional sales leads. Roofing contractors who follow website best practices can help build a strong online presence for their business. Here's what your site needs to stand out from the competition.

Start With the Basics

Cookie-cutter website templates are available online, but it's better to opt for a customized site where you can choose elements that highlight what's special about your business. Potential customers expect to see three mandatory elements on every high-quality roofing contractor website:

• Descriptions of the full range of services and materials you provide.
• A call-to-action such as "call today for a repair estimate" that tells viewers what to do next. This should be in an obvious spot on every page, especially for mobile users.
• Easy-to-read phone, email and other contact information on every page.

Introduce Yourself

A custom website offers a great opportunity to share the story of your company. As Fine Homebuilding notes, users check out your "About" or "Meet the Owner" page to see if you're a person they want to work with. The goal is to build trust so customers will invite you into their homes and businesses to provide great service.

Make the Site User-Friendly

Ever visit a business site with no clear path from one page to the next? Navigation is critical to the user experience. Page titles should be clear and easy to find so viewers are never more than one click away from obtaining the information they want.

You can also hook visitors with interactive features like slideshows highlighting your work, quote calculators or "Test Your Knowledge" quizzes about roofing problems. The longer a viewer stays engaged, the more likely they are to take the next step towards conversion.

Include a Colorful Portfolio of Your Work

Catch a viewer's eye with photos that showcase your finished projects. A before-and-after section can be very effective, particularly when there's a stark contrast between the two stages.

If you already have marketing materials, it's a good idea to use your brand colors and logo for a website design that appears consistent and organized for viewers.

Optimize for Mobile

How do you engage with the web while you're out and about? Chances are it's on a smartphone or tablet. The sites you look at have incorporated responsive design, also known as mobile optimization.

Without this key factor, your website can appear distorted and hard to navigate, which may lead frustrated prospects to go elsewhere with their business. A few website best practices like sticking to a simple layout and testing your site with Google's Mobile-Friendly test tool can make sure users have a positive experience on any device.

Highlight Customer Testimonials

Satisfied customers are often happy to share their experiences with others. If you ask for a brief testimonial (and make it easy for them to provide it), you'll soon have enough glowing customer quotes to fill a page. Another option is filming brief customer videos that include homeowners alongside footage of their new roofs.

Keep Content Fresh

Anyone interested in roofing services will return to your website if you keep replenishing it with fresh, related content. Update your site with photos of your latest projects, staff bios and how-to blog posts with practical guidance. The more expertise you share, the stronger the bond between you and a prospective customer. (Just remember that the focus should be on the roof repairs that customers are seeking, not on how wonderful your company is!)

Strong website design isn't a mystery you have to crack. Keeping a few key tips in mind will help you craft the perfect website for your roofing business.