What should a general contractor's website show?

Real projects with photos, the town and the scope, a page for each kind of job, how you handle contracts and changes, your license and insurance, and a way to start a conversation. Budget ranges help too, if you're comfortable sharing them and they're your own numbers.

What does a commercial contractor's website need?

Commercial buyers look for other proof: past projects by type and size, license classes, bonding capacity, your safety record, and certifications such as woman-owned or veteran-owned if you hold them. A page for subcontractors who want to work with you, with a form for their trade and license, helps as well.

Can my office manager update the site?

Yes. There's no limit on people. Anyone with a member role or higher can edit by hand or ask for a change in plain words. Every version is kept, so a bad edit can be undone, and visitors see nothing new until someone publishes.

Can I reuse what's on my old construction website?

Yes, if it's your own. Paste the address of one public page and choose Clone, which copies its words, photos and design, then offers the pages in its menu one at a time. It keeps the old words as they are, so check anything out of date, such as old license numbers or past staff, before you publish.

Can I keep my contractor site if I stop using Shingle?

The plan includes a code download, an ordinary project you can host elsewhere or hand to a developer. Forms and visit counts need Shingle's hosting, and the download's notes say what to set up instead. Your domain is already yours, because you buy it from your own provider.

Show your builds before the big bid

A remodel takes months to decide on. Your site gets read many times before the call.

What the home page says

Section by section, in the order a visitor reads it.

Kinds of job
A homeowner planning a basement wants to know you've done basements. Give each kind of job its own page, with real photos and what it usually involves.
Finished projects
For each job, show the before, the after, the town, the scope and the rough budget if the client agrees. A range tells a visitor more than any adjective can.
How we work
People fear the unknowns: who's on site, who pays the subs, what happens when something changes. Walk through it, from the first meeting and written contract to change orders, lien waivers and the final walk-through.
Budget ranges
A line saying projects like this usually start around a set figure saves both of you a wasted visit. Say it's a range, and use your own numbers.
Who you'll deal with
A big project means months of someone in your house. Name the project manager and the crew leads, with photos, and say how often clients hear from you.
Inquiry form
Ask for the kind of job, the town, the rough budget and when they'd like to start. A dropdown for each lets you sort serious projects from early ideas.

How they search

general contractor near me
home remodeling contractors
kitchen remodel contractor
home addition contractors
basement finishing near me
custom home builder near me
design build firm
commercial general contractor

What earns their trust

Your contractor license number, where your state or city requires one
Liability and workers' comp, with certificates on request
Bonding, where you hold it or your state requires it
Real projects with towns, scope and photos
Written contracts, change orders and lien waivers explained
Who pulls the permits and who's on site each day
References a visitor can ask for, with past clients' permission

How it gets found

What moves a general contractor up in a town's results.

Give each project type a page
Kitchen remodel contractor and home addition contractors are searched by different people at different budgets. A page for each can name your process, your usual range and real jobs, which a list of services can't.
Write for the second visit
A remodel is researched for months. Posts on what an addition involves in your county, or how long permits take there, give people a reason to come back, and they're something only a local builder could write.
Show the office if it's staffed
With a staffed office or showroom, you can show the address on Google and still set a service area. If you run the business from home, clear the address, as Google asks.
Match the category to the work
General contractor suits mixed work. If you mostly do kitchens and baths, or new homes, look in Google's picker for a closer label. Choose the one that finishes the sentence this business is a.

How to sell one

One job can run into six figures, and the buyer spends months deciding. Most work comes by referral, so the site's role is to back up a recommendation, and many builders know theirs still shows the work they were doing years ago.

If they have an old site, build the demo from their Google listing, which reads what that site says, so they see their own business in a new design. Then ask for photos of three finished jobs and show what a project page does with them. In Radar, general contractors sit under Builders, with remodelers and masons.

“All our work comes from referrals and architects.”: Good. Those people look you up before they call, and so does anyone they ask for a second opinion. The site's job is to make the referral look as good as it sounded.
“Every job is different, so I can't post prices.”: You don't need to. A rough range or a minimum project size screens out the wrong calls, and the real number still comes from you after you've walked the job.
“I don't have good photos.”: Phone photos from the last three jobs are enough to start, and they beat stock, because a buyer spending real money looks hard at what's real. Take the next set on the day of the final walk.
“Our old site is fine.”: Open it on a phone together. If it's hard to read, hides recent jobs or says nothing about how you work, show the demo next and let them decide.