The Free Website Self-Audit Checklist Every Electrician, Builder or Installer Should Run

Most tradespeople don’t build a new website every year, which means the one you have now might have been fine when it launched and quietly gone stale since. Phones changed, Google changed, and the way customers check out a plumber, electrician or builder before calling changed too. You don’t need a full redesign to find out where you stand — you need ten minutes and this checklist.

Run through it on your own site today. Tick what passes, note what doesn’t, and you’ll have a short, honest list of what’s actually worth fixing — rather than a vague feeling that “the website could be better.”

1. Does the first line tell someone what you do and where?

Open your homepage on your phone. Within two seconds, can a stranger tell what trade you’re in and which area you cover? If your headline is a slogan rather than “Electrician in Bexley” or “Boiler installation across Dartford and Bromley,” you’re making people work harder than they should to confirm you’re relevant to them.

2. Can they contact you in one tap, from a phone?

Most people looking for a tradesperson are doing it on a mobile, often from the job they need doing. Your phone number should be a tap-to-call link, your WhatsApp (if you use one) should be a direct link, and there should be a visible way to get in touch without scrolling to the bottom of the page.

3. Are the photos actually yours?

Stock photos of generic toolboxes or models in hi-vis vests are easy to spot, and customers notice. Real photos of real jobs — even ordinary ones — do more to build trust than a polished stock image ever will, because they show you genuinely do the work you say you do.

4. Does it load quickly on an ordinary mobile connection?

Try your site on 4G rather than office wifi. If it drags, large uncompressed images are usually the cause. A slow site doesn’t just annoy visitors — some of them will simply back out and call the next name on the list before your homepage finishes loading.

5. Do you actually name your service areas?

If you work across Bexley, Bexleyheath, Dartford, Bromley, Greenwich or Lewisham, say so in your text — not just in a map widget. Search engines and customers both rely on words, not just a pin on a map, to work out where you cover.

6. Is your Google Business Profile linked and consistent?

Check that your business name, address (or service area) and phone number match exactly between your website and your Google Business Profile. Small mismatches — a different phone number, a missing suite number — can quietly undermine the local trust signals that help you show up for nearby searches.

7. Could someone with low vision or a screen reader actually use it?

Basic accessibility isn’t just a compliance box to tick — it’s also a sign of a well-built site. Check that images have meaningful alt text, that text has enough contrast against its background to read easily in bright daylight on a phone screen, and that buttons and links are large enough to tap accurately. There are free online accessibility checkers that will flag the obvious issues in seconds.

8. What happens to an enquiry when you can’t pick up?

You’re often on a roof, under a sink, or driving between jobs. If your only contact method is a phone call, every missed call is a lead that might ring someone else next. A simple contact form, a WhatsApp link, or even a clear line about when you’ll call back can be the difference between capturing that enquiry and losing it.

9. Is the padlock showing, with no warnings?

Your site address should start with https and show a padlock in the browser bar, with no “not secure” warning. This is standard now, and its absence is one of the few things that will make a visitor leave before reading a word of your content.

10. Is your business listed the same way everywhere?

Search for your business name and check how it appears across directories like Checkatrade, Yell, or trade body listings. Inconsistent names, old phone numbers or dead links to your website chip away at the trust you’re trying to build, even if your actual website is solid.

What to do with your results

You probably won’t fail everything, and you don’t need to fix everything at once. Pick the two or three items that scored worst and start there — usually contact friction and page speed make the biggest difference to enquiries, while accessibility and consistency build trust over time. None of this requires starting from scratch; most of it is small, targeted work on what you already have.

Livicode Tech Solutions works with tradespeople and home-service businesses across Bexley, Bexleyheath, Dartford, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham. If this checklist turned up a few things you’d rather someone else just sorted, tell us about it — no obligation, and no assumption that the answer has to be expensive.

Livicode Tech Solutions — Your Local Digital Solutions Partner
www.livicode.com · info@livicode.com · WhatsApp: +44 7708 803980