It's not enough to just have a website to differentiate from your competitors any more. Nearly everyone has a web presence in some form or another, you've got to make sure yours is clear and compelling enough to get that prospect to reach out and become a customer — before they visit your competitor's website.
1. Contact information
You could be the best glazier in the world, have the best website in the world, but if your customers don't know how to contact you then it's all for naught. Make sure your contact details are front and center on your website — a contact page and contact information in the the footer of your website is essential. Adding your phone number to the top of your website isn't a bad idea either — make it easy for people to get in touch.
2. Services provided
Not listing your services may be doing you more harm than you realize. If you offer backsplash installation but don't list it on your website, you can't expect the average prospect to call and check. They'll assume you don't and look elsewhere. Equally important is removing services from your website if you no longer offer them.
Clarity around what products and services you offer is essential for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — Google can only list you for what they know about.
3. Demonstrate credibility
There's no shortage of glazier websites on the internet so ensure yours is the one that instills trust encourages them to get in touch. Establishing authenticity and credibility is a must — it's hard on the web when you don't have the opportunity to meet someone personally.
- Highlight your years of experience in the industry
- Include your company registration number
- Use plain, easy-to-understand language and correct spelling!
4. Previous work
You do good work, show it off! Take pictures of jobs when you're done (if your customer is okay with it) and share them on your website, most smart phones take great photos nowadays. A caveat though: it's better to have no photos than poor quality images that do a disservice to your work.
Whether or not you decide to use photos, you should always be asking for testimonials to show on your website. Perhaps you've received nice feedback about your work in an email from a customer? Ask them if they're happy for it to be published on your website (if they don't want their full name up that's fine, ask if you can just use their first name).
Testimonials are an essential trust-building element for any website, which is why we have them at the bottom of most pages on the Smart-Builder website.
5. Logical navigation structure
People are busy and they don't go to a glazier's website just to browse, they're looking for something. Make it easy for them to find by structuring your site in a clear and logical way:
- Limit the number of items on your menu and prioritize key pages
- Use obvious names for menu items — the navigation is not the place to get creative!
- Link pages within your website if they're relevant to each other (known as 'internal linking')
We've barely scratched the surface of all the things you need to be aware of when optimizing your website to both attract visitors and convert those visitors into inquiries, then customers. We'll touch on design in future 'tips for glaziers' blog posts — it isn't just about 'prettiness', good design is a huge credibility boost! Treat your website as a living, breathing work in progress and look after it — there's always improvements to be made.
