We speak to tradespeople regularly who are frustrated that their website “isn’t working”. They’ve had a website for years, they’re paying a monthly hosting fee, but it generates almost no enquiries. When we look at these sites, the pattern is almost always the same: they were built cheaply, quickly, and without any understanding of what makes a trades website generate leads.
What a Cheap Trades Website Typically Looks Like
A £400-£700 trades website typically includes: a WordPress theme (one of thousands using the same template), a homepage, an about page, a services page (singular), a contact page, five stock photos, and basic text. It is indexed by Google. It exists. And it does almost nothing.
Why Cheap Websites Fail to Generate Leads
1. No SEO Foundation
A website that costs £500 has not had any SEO work done on it. The page speed is poor. The content is thin. There is no schema markup. There are no keyword-optimised service pages. Google cannot rank what it cannot understand or trust.
2. No Conversion Optimisation
The contact form is generic. The call to action says “Contact Us”. The phone number is in the footer. There are no reviews. There are no accreditations displayed. Nothing on the page is designed to make someone pick up the phone.
3. Generic Design That Builds No Trust
Stock photos of clean-handed tradespeople in immaculate high-vis. A template design that 10,000 other businesses use. Nothing that says “this is a real, local, trusted business.” Customers feel no confidence.
4. Not Mobile-Optimised
Many cheap sites look acceptable on desktop but break on mobile. Given that 70%+ of trade searches happen on mobile, this is catastrophic.
The True Cost Calculation
If your website generates zero additional enquiries per month due to poor design and SEO: Year 1 cost = £500 website + £120 hosting + £0 in value generated = net loss of £620 plus opportunity cost of dozens of missed jobs. A properly built trades website generating 10 extra enquiries per month at a 30% close rate = 3 extra jobs per month. At £500 average job value = £1,500 extra revenue per month. The maths strongly favour investing properly.
What a Proper Trades Website Costs
A genuinely effective trades website — properly optimised, well-designed, conversion-focused — costs £1,500-£3,500 to build, depending on the number of pages and functionality. Combined with ongoing SEO, this is an investment that pays for itself within weeks for most trade businesses.
See our trades website design service or book a free consultation.