The short answer: a home improvement contractor website needs your license number and exact business name where homeowners can see them, project pages that show real jobs from start to finish, a "how we work" page that explains your process, honest reviews and a short estimate form. Build it yourself with WordPress or the website builder, or have it built for a written fixed price and pay separately for domain, hosting and email.
Where to show your contractor license on your website
Put your license number and the exact business name on your license on the home page, in plain readable text and not buried in the footer, and repeat them on your estimate page. Homeowners often look up a contractor before they let anyone into the house, and a number they can check right away removes a reason to hesitate.
The legal rules for license numbers in advertising are set by each state, so they vary. In Arizona, for example, the Registrar of Contractors explains that since 2021 a licensed contractor's vehicle, radio, internet or billboard ads can leave out the license number if they include a web address that goes straight to a home page showing the business name and ROC license number clearly, in a readable size and not in the footer. Bids, contracts, estimates and customer correspondence still need the number, and people who are not licensed must say "Not a Licensed Contractor" in their ads.
Other states have their own rules, and some trades are licensed locally instead of by the state. Check with your state's contractor licensing board before you print a truck wrap or launch a site, and if you are unsure what applies to you, ask the agency or an attorney.
Next to your license number, link to your state's public license lookup page so homeowners can confirm it in one tap. It shows you have nothing to hide, and it costs you nothing.
Your license name, your truck and your domain should match too. The home improvement domain names guide explains why and how to pick a domain that does.
How to build project pages that sell remodeling work
Build one page per significant project instead of a single gallery, because a project page tells the story a homeowner needs before spending serious money: what was wrong, what you did, how long it took and how it turned out. A wall of unlabeled photos shows you can take pictures; a project page shows you can run a job.
| Part of the page | What to write or show | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | The type of job and the city, such as “Hall bathroom remodel in Chandler.” | Matches what people search and tells them right away if it is relevant. |
| The starting point | Two or three sentences on the problem: outdated layout, water damage, not enough storage. | Homeowners recognize their own house in it. |
| Scope of work | What you did, in plain words: demolition, plumbing moves, tile, cabinets, lighting. | Shows the range of work you handle yourself. |
| During photos | Framing, waterproofing, wiring or drainage before they are covered. | Proves the quality of work nobody sees once the job is done. Few contractors show this. |
| After photos | Wide shots from the same angles as the before photos, then details. | The result, shown honestly. |
| Timeline and notes | Real duration and anything that changed along the way, like a hidden problem found during demolition. | Sets realistic expectations for the next customer. |
Ask the owner's permission before posting, leave out house numbers, and link each project page from the matching service page, so someone reading about kitchen remodels can see your kitchens.
What to put on a contractor's "how we work" page
A "how we work" page walks a homeowner through every stage of a job with you, from the first call to the final walk-through, and answers the questions that make people nervous about hiring a contractor. It is one of the most useful pages you can write, because the biggest fear in home improvement is not the price; it is not knowing what happens next.
First contact
How people reach you, what you ask, and how fast you reply.
Site visit and measurements
Who comes out, how long it takes, and whether you charge for it.
Written estimate
What it includes, how long it is valid and how you handle allowances for materials the customer picks. Where your state requires it, the estimate carries your license number.
Contract and payment schedule
How deposits and progress payments work at your company. Some states set rules on contracts and deposits, so confirm yours with your state agency or an attorney.
Permits
Who pulls them, how long they usually take in your area, and how inspections fit into the schedule.
Work and communication
Working hours, who the customer's contact is, how you protect floors and furniture, and how you send updates.
Change orders
That any change in scope or price is agreed in writing before the work is done.
Final walk-through and warranty
How you review the work together, fix punch-list items and what your written warranty covers.
Write each stage in your own words and only promise what you actually do. A clear process page also saves you time, since you can send the link to every new lead instead of explaining it on the phone.
How to collect and show contractor reviews the right way
Ask for a review at the final walk-through, when the customer is happiest, and send a direct link to your Google review page the same day. Then show a few real reviews on your website, with a link to where they were posted, so visitors can see they are genuine.
Stay inside the rules. The FTC's final rule on fake reviews and testimonials bans fake reviews, offering rewards on the condition that a review is positive, undisclosed reviews by employees or relatives, and using threats or intimidation to get negative reviews removed. It also bars presenting a hand-picked set as if it were all your reviews when negative ones were suppressed. Reply to criticism calmly and specifically; a fair answer to a bad review often builds more trust than ten perfect ones.
How to design an estimate form that qualifies remodeling leads
The high-value action on a contractor website is the estimate request, and the form should collect just enough to tell a serious project from a quick question. Too short and you waste site visits; too long and good leads give up.
- Project type: kitchen, bathroom, addition, roofing, flooring, other.
- Address or ZIP code: to confirm you work in that area.
- Timeline: as soon as possible, in the next three months, just planning.
- Budget range (optional): helps both sides avoid a wasted visit.
- Short description: one box, with a note that you will ask for photos after your first reply.
Put a tap-to-call button next to the form and say when you reply. For the bigger picture of designing a page around one action, see user journey and high-value actions.
What to put on your contractor Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile should use the same business name as your license and website, the category that matches your main trade, a service area that reflects where you really work and photos of finished projects. If you have a showroom where customers visit, it can show your address; if you only work at customers' homes, it is set up as a service-area business. Link the profile to your website and keep asking for reviews there. The step-by-step setup is in how to set up your Google Business Profile.
Other trust signals that help contractors get hired
Beyond your license and reviews, the signals that matter most are proof of insurance, a written warranty, real photos of your team and memberships you actually hold. Say you carry liability insurance and offer a certificate on request, if true. If you are bonded, say so. Show certifications from manufacturers or trade groups only if they are current, and do not use their logos without permission.
What a contractor website costs
A remodeler's site grows one finished project at a time, so the real question is who will keep adding those project pages. If that is you, a monthly plan is enough; if not, we can build it for a fixed price set in a written quote. A domain and business email are part of every path. Current storefront prices:
| Path | What you pay | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Build it yourself | WordPress Deluxe at $16.99 a month or Website Builder Business Plus at $14.99 a month, plus a .com at $24.99 the first year and email from $4.99 a month per inbox. | Owners comfortable writing project stories and editing pages between jobs. |
| Have Force Domains build it | A written quote with a fixed price before we start. You pay for domain, hosting and email separately, at storefront prices, and you own everything. | Contractors who would rather spend their evenings on estimates than on web pages. |
| Start with domain and email | A .com at $24.99 the first year and email from $4.99 a month per inbox. | New companies that need contracts and estimates coming from a real address right away. |
For a fuller breakdown, read what a small business website costs, or compare plans on our prices page.
Which storefront products fit a home improvement contractor
For most remodelers and contractors, WordPress Deluxe plus Professional Email Pro is the best fit, because project pages grow over time and estimates live in email.
- WordPress Deluxe ($16.99 a month) includes daily backups, a Cloudflare CDN for photo-heavy project pages and a staging site to test changes first. Free SSL is included, so you do not need a separate certificate.
- WordPress Ultimate ($22.99 a month) adds unlimited malware removal and on-demand backups, if you want extra peace of mind.
- Professional Email Pro ($5.99 a month per inbox) adds read receipts, so you know when a homeowner opened your estimate, plus an invoice builder.
- Professional Email Premium ($7.99 a month per inbox) adds email templates and branding, useful if you send the same estimate follow-ups every week.
If you would rather have it done for you, request a website quote. We put your license number and business name on the home page, organize project pages so Google and AI assistants can read them, add the estimate form and tap-to-call, and connect your domain, email and hosting, in English, Spanish or both. You own all of it.