What not to put on a contractor website

Claims you can't prove

• "#1", "best in town" or "top-rated" with nothing behind it
• "Lowest price, guaranteed"
• "Thousands of happy customers" when you haven't counted
• "Lifetime warranty" without written terms
• Years in business that quietly include the years before the business existed

Instead: say things a customer could check. How long the company has been open, what the written warranty covers, what you do on every job. Advertising is generally expected to be truthful and backed up, so if you can't show it on paper, leave it off.

Reviews that aren't real

Never write your own reviews, buy them, trade for them, or post reviews from "customers" who didn't hire you. Don't offer a discount or gift for a review. Fake reviews are treated as deceptive advertising, and they can bring penalties and get a Google profile taken down.

Instead: quote real reviews exactly, with a link to where each one was posted. Asking for Google reviews the right way covers how to get more of them.

Photos that aren't yours

A stock photo of a perfect roof or patio suggests that you built it. So does a photo lifted from a manufacturer or another contractor, and copying someone else's photo can also be a copyright problem.

Instead: a few plain phone photos of your own jobs.

Badges and credentials you don't hold

Leave off license numbers that have lapsed, "bonded" if you aren't, association logos you've stopped paying for, and manufacturer certifications that expired. Show only what's current, exactly as issued.

Insurance promises

If you do storm work, don't write "we'll cover your deductible", "free roof" or "your insurance will pay for it". The insurer decides what's covered, and many states have laws against contractors paying or waiving deductibles. Describe the general steps of a claim and stop there.

Things that slow the page or annoy people

• Video or music that plays automatically
• Pop-ups that cover the phone number
• Chat widgets nobody answers
• Rotating banners with five messages
• Giant uncompressed photos

Out-of-date information

An old phone number, a holiday notice from last year, a "now booking spring" banner in the fall, services you've stopped offering. Each one can make a visitor wonder whether you're still in business. If you can't keep something current, don't add it. That includes a blog: an abandoned one is worse than none.

Private details

• Your home address, if you work from home and don't want visitors
• Customers' full names, addresses or house numbers without permission
• Photos showing license plates or people who didn't agree
• Forms that ask for Social Security numbers, bank details or card numbers

Filler

Long paragraphs stuffed with town names and keywords, written for search engines instead of people. Pages copied from another site. A mission statement above the phone number. If a line doesn't help someone decide whether to call you, cut it.

A quick way to check your own site

Read each page and ask two questions about every claim: is it true today, and could I prove it if a customer asked? Anything that fails comes off. For what should be there instead, see our website checklist before launch.