Contractor website checklist before launch

How to use this list

Do the checks on a phone first, with Wi-Fi off, because many visitors will see the site that way. Then do a pass on a computer. Have one other person go through it too, ideally someone outside the trade. They'll catch things you read past.

1. Contact works

• Tap the phone number on every page. It should open the dialer with the right number.
• Send a test through every form. Confirm it arrives in an inbox you check, and not in spam.
• A thank-you message appears after sending and says when you'll reply.
• Hours and the email address shown are correct.

2. The facts are right

• Business name, phone and service area match your Google Business Profile exactly.
• Every service listed is one you offer today.
• License, insurance and warranty statements are current and shown as issued.
• Every review is real, quoted exactly, and says where it was posted.
• Every photo is your own work, and the owners agreed to have their homes shown.
• No "best" or "#1" claims, no numbers you can't back up, and no leftover sample text or placeholder photos.

3. It reads well

• Spelling checked on every page, including town names. Read it out loud.
• Each page has one clear headline that says what the page is about.
• Every menu item and button goes where it says. Click all of them.

4. It works on a phone

• Text is readable without zooming, and buttons are big enough for a thumb.
• Nothing runs off the side of the screen.
• Pages load quickly on a cell connection. Run the home page through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool and fix what it flags. See fast websites on phones.

5. Search engines can read it

• Each page has its own title and short description.
• The setting that hides the site from search engines during building is turned off. This one is easy to miss.
• The site loads with https and no security warning.
• If you're replacing an old site, the old page addresses forward to the new ones.

None of this decides where you show up in search. It just makes sure nothing is in the way.

6. Basic accessibility

• Text has strong contrast against its background, and photos have short text descriptions (alt text).
• You can move through the menu and the form with the Tab key, and form fields have visible labels.

This is a starting point, not a legal review. More in accessibility basics.

7. You own it

• The domain is registered in your account, with auto-renew on.
• You have the logins for hosting, the website itself and any form or email tools.
• You know who to call if it goes down, and there's a backup.
• A privacy policy is linked in the footer if you collect details through forms. Ask a lawyer if you're unsure what yours should say.

After launch

1. Add the site link to your Google Business Profile.
2. Update the link on your social pages, email signature, estimates and invoices.
3. Put a reminder on your calendar to send a test form once a month and to re-read the whole site every six months.

Want a second pair of eyes on a site that's already live? See our free website check.

Simple ways to make a contractor website fast on phones

Test it first

Open your site on your own phone with Wi-Fi off. Then run it through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool (pagespeed.web.dev). It shows what slows the page down.

The usual causes

• Huge photos: a photo straight off a phone can be several megabytes. Resize to the size it's shown and save as WebP or compressed JPEG.
• Heavy page builders and plugins: each one adds code every visitor downloads.
• Auto-playing video at the top of the page.
• Too many fonts and tracking scripts.
• Cheap, slow hosting.

Quick wins

• Resize and compress every image
• Remove plugins you don't use
• Replace the background video with one good photo
• Use one or two fonts
• Put the phone number in plain text at the top, so it shows even before images load

Want us to look? Our free website check includes phone speed.