How to create a website for a tradesperson: from the title you can display to the quote form

Defining the customers the website should get calling

Identify the customers who keep your business going, then the ones you want to win more of.

Emergency call-outs. The customer has a leak, a breakdown or has locked themselves out. They arrive on a mobile and look for your service area, your availability and the call-out charge before ringing. A ten-field form will send them elsewhere.

Renovation projects. Bathroom, roof, extension: this visitor compares two or three firms over several days. They look for comparable jobs, read the reviews and check your qualifications before sending a quote request.

Business clients and specifiers. A property managing agent, an architect or an asset manager wants your insurance details, your qualifications, references and a named contact.

Artisans outside construction. The customers of a baker, a fine cabinetmaker or a garage owner want opening hours, an address, examples of work or ordering terms. The "services" page becomes a "products" or "craftsmanship" page.

Also decide what you will count: calls, quote requests, directions to the shop. Set up before launch, conversion tracking shows which pages and which sources (Google profile, search, word of mouth) actually bring in jobs.

Checking what you are allowed to display

It is better to settle these questions before writing the slogan or registering the domain name.

The word "artisan" and the title you claim

Using the word "artisan" and its derivatives in a business's name, signage, promotion and advertising is reserved by Article L241-1 of the French Crafts Code (Code de l'artisanat) to people who hold that status: artisans, artisans d'art (art craftspeople), maîtres artisans (master craftspeople), maîtres artisans en métier d'art and certain companies whose director holds the required status. A website exists to promote the business, so the rule applies to it. Only display the title you actually hold: "maître artisan" only if you have been awarded that title, "artisan d'art" only if you meet the conditions, which include practising a trade on the official list of art crafts (métiers d'art).

Prices for call-outs, repairs and maintenance

If you carry out call-outs, repairs or maintenance in building and home equipment, the French order (arrêté) of 24 January 2017 applies directly to you. Its annex covers, among others, plumbing, electrical work, locksmithing, roofing, joinery, heating and air conditioning, glazing and painting. Before any contract, you must inform the customer of your hourly labour rates incl. VAT, how time is counted, the prices incl. VAT of any fixed-price services, travel charges, and whether the quote is free or charged. The order requires this information to be easily accessible on any online communication space dedicated to the professional, so on your website, in addition to being displayed on your premises.

The mediator and decennial insurance

If you work for private individuals, the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation, Articles L616-1 and R616-1) requires you to provide the contact details of the consumer mediator or mediators you come under. On the website, their name, postal address and website address must be visible and legible.

Article L132-1 of the Crafts Code requires professionals subject to compulsory insurance, such as the ten-year building guarantee (garantie décennale), to state on their quotes and invoices the insurance taken out, the contact details of the insurer or guarantor, and the geographical coverage. The website is not covered by this rule, but naming your insurer and the activities covered on the company page is still good practice: a property managing agent will ask for it anyway.

Designing the home page and service pages around your calls

The first screen on a phone

On a phone, the top of the home page must state your exact trade, your area and how to reach you. "Plumber and heating engineer in Angers and within 30 km" is more informative than "Your trusted expert for all your building work". Add a tap-to-call number that stays accessible while scrolling, a quote button and proof that is visible straight away, such as a qualification or a review rating.

The contact channel changes from page to page. A locksmith who does emergency call-outs puts the phone first, with honest calling hours. A joiner who builds bespoke staircases prefers written enquiries, with measurements and photos.

One page per type of enquiry

A single "Plumbing" page answers no specific search. Your customers type "water heater replacement", "drain unblocking" or "walk-in shower installation". Go back over the enquiries you get on the phone and group them into four to eight pages; with several trades, each one gets its own section.

A useful service page describes the cases you handle, how the job is carried out, the equipment installed and two or three photos of similar jobs. It ends with a contact prompt that fits: "Send us a photo of your old water heater" gets more response than a generic button.

On call-out, repair and maintenance pages, include the pricing information required by the 2017 order. For other work, check which price information applies to your services, without automatically copying the call-out price grid. Also explain what makes the price of a bathroom renovation vary: floor area, condition of the pipework and wiring, range of fittings. Visitors then reach the form better informed, which is one of the ways to get more quote requests from a tradesperson website.

Gathering proof: jobs, qualifications and reviews

Project sheets organised like your services

Short sheets for each job, with the initial need, the solution chosen, a before photo and an after photo, and the town or area. Sort them into the same categories as your services, then link each service page to the matching jobs, and vice versa.

Ask for the customer's consent before publishing photos of their home, and avoid the exact address, visible house numbers and personal belongings in the frame. For an art craftsperson or a food artisan, this page shows the creations and the workshop. In France, the names "boulanger" and "boulangerie" (baker, bakery) are regulated by the Consumer Code: the rules apply on the website just as on the shop sign.

RGE: by area of work, not for the whole business

The French RGE label (reconnu garant de l'environnement, "recognised environmental guarantor") is awarded for one or more specific areas of work, for example loft insulation, windows or heat pumps. It determines whether your customers can access French grants such as MaPrimeRénov'. Place it on the pages of the services it actually covers rather than as a logo in the header, and update the website at each renewal, because your customers can check it in the France Rénov' RGE directory.

The team and the reviews

A photo of the team and the name of the person who answers the phone carry a lot of weight: the customer is about to let you into their home. Google reviews can be shown on the website, with their source. Exactly what a tradesperson should show to reassure customers before a job then varies by trade and clientele.

Choosing the tool and connecting the quote form

There are three broad families. A self-service website builder lets you get started on your own; the result depends on your time and the limits of the plan. WordPress website creation gives more freedom to organise services, projects and areas, with updates to keep on top of. A custom website starts from your customer journey; what is included afterwards (hosting, maintenance) depends on the contract.

Whatever the tool, check before signing that:

• the domain name is registered in your business's name, and you have access to the registrar account;
• the Google Business Profile belongs to you, with you as primary owner;
• you keep administrator access to the website and can retrieve the text and photos if you change provider;
• the website runs on HTTPS, is backed up regularly, and security updates are planned;
• job photos are compressed so pages stay fast on a mobile network in rural areas.

With subscription offers, the first three points matter most: otherwise, a tradesperson who leaves has to rebuild everything.

The quote form asks for few fields: the type of work (a drop-down list of your services), the town where the job is, the desired timeframe, a free description and the option to attach photos. A photo of the leak sometimes saves a trip. After the form is sent, say when you will call back. If you use quoting software or a CRM, enquiries can go straight into it, with the photos, instead of getting lost in an inbox checked in the evening.

The job address and photos of someone's home are personal data. The form must state what they are used for and how long you keep them, and ask only for what the quote requires.

Becoming visible in your service area

Town pages are only useful if each page has content specific to that area: jobs completed there, real response times, local constraints (planning rules in a historic town centre, the type of roofs in the area, old stone buildings). A "service area" page listing the towns, supplemented by two or three pages for your main areas, is often enough.

The visibility of a tradesperson website in its service area also relies on your Google Business Profile, which often appears above the standard results. Keep the same contact details on the website and on the profile. The website's organic SEO then takes over for more specific searches, such as a service in a given town.

For a redesign, list the addresses of the current pages so you can redirect them to the new ones. A technical SEO audit after launch then checks that the pages are properly indexed, that the redirects work and that the job photos are not slowing the website down.

Setting the budget and the timeline

At Gemeos, the cost of a tradesperson website ranges from €4,000 to €13,000 excl. VAT for a new build depending on the number of pages, specialities and service areas, and from €7,000 to €14,500 excl. VAT to redesign an existing website.

The package for self-employed tradespeople does not include full copywriting. If you don't want to write your pages yourself, a copywriting agency will write "leak after the meter" where a professional would write "work on the supply network". For a redesign, the visual identity is priced separately, as is a professional photo shoot of your jobs. Migrating to another CMS while keeping the existing design is also possible, from €6,500 to €19,000 excl. VAT at Gemeos depending on the number of pages.

The timeline depends on the scope, how ready the content is and the approvals. For a tradesperson, what most often slows things down is finding and sorting job photos, gathering insurance and qualification certificates, and reviews that get postponed during the busy season. Ask for a schedule broken down by stage.

At Gemeos, we build tradespeople's websites around their real customers, from the emergency call to the file for a property managing agent. The artisan title, call-out prices, the mediator and qualifications are built in from the design stage.

FAQ

What budget should you plan to create a tradesperson website?

From €4,000 to €13,000 excl. VAT at Gemeos for a new website, depending on the number of pages, specialities and service areas, and from €7,000 to €14,500 excl. VAT for a redesign. A professional photo shoot, logo design and the visual identity are priced separately.

Can you create a website for your trade business for free?

Yes, some website builders offer a free plan. Its limits soon show: an address under the builder's name, a form that does not always accept job photos, no link with your quoting software, and sometimes advertising. You remain responsible for the mandatory notices, including the mediator and call-out prices if they apply to you.

Does a tradesperson need a website if they work mostly through word of mouth?

Yes, in most cases. A customer recommended by a neighbour often looks up your name before calling, and without a website they only find a Google profile, without your past work.

Does a tradesperson have to display their prices on their website?

Yes, as soon as they carry out call-outs, repairs or maintenance in building and home equipment (French order of 24 January 2017). For other work, check the pricing information required for the service, and explain what will make the quote vary.

Can you write "artisan" on your website without holding artisan status?

No. The French Crafts Code reserves the word and its derivatives for people who hold that status, including online, on pain of a €7,500 fine. The four-month period only serves to prove a status you already held at the time of the inspection.

How many pages does a tradesperson website need?

Around 8 pages for a local business with four services: home, one page per service, projects, company and contact. Allow around a dozen pages with several trades or several areas, and add the legal pages.