Does your website include the information potential buyers most want to see? Is it mobile responsive and optimized for the search engines?
If you aren’t sure how your website stacks up against the competition, learn more about some of the most common mistakes builders make when creating their websites. Then, see how your own business website compares.
1. You don’t have a website (yet)
Unless you’re drowning in referral leads and can’t keep up with existing business, your residential construction business needs a website.
If you’re worried about the cost, don’t stress too much: There’s no rule saying you must pay a web designer thousands of dollars to create a website. It’s completely possible to build your own website, and here’s how you can get it done.
2. Not displaying the information buyers most want to see
If your website primarily showcases awards won and accolades received, it’s time to re-think your approach. While those pieces of information can help demonstrate expertise, most would-be buyers are looking for different information:
- What types of homes do you build?
- What does life look like in a new home built by your company?
- What does the building process entail?
- Do you have a particular building niche, like eco-friendly design?
A builder’s website should answer the questions potential buyers are most likely to ask while offering a glimpse into the life they can build in their new home. If you aren’t sure what kind of information to include, simply pay attention to the most common questions you get asked, and then include the answers on your website.
3. Hard-to-find contact information
If a visitor can’t find your phone number, email address or a contact form, they’ll leave your website and contact other builders. Make it easy for leads to contact you by:
- Including a phone number and email address in the footer of each page.
- Displaying a prominent “Contact” link in your website’s navigation bar.
Prominently displaying contact information makes it easier for potential customers to reach out, but you’d be surprised by how many builders make this website mistake.
4. Ignoring search engine optimization (SEO)
When your website has “good” SEO, people are more likely to see your website on the first page of their search results. For example, when someone types ‘custom home builder Denver’ into Google’s search bar, you want your business showing up near the top of the results.
You can increase your website’s visibility in the search engines by thinking about the types of searches that a potential buyer might make when looking for a home builder. Then, use that information to guide how the website is written.
Using the ‘custom home builder Denver’ example from above, the owner of this business would include those terms in page titles and in content on the website’s pages. Local SEO is also very important for builders, and you can learn more about the ins and outs of local SEO here.
5. Neglecting mobile-friendly Web design
Nowadays, people use many different devices to access information online. That means a website needs to look good on a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet and more. The design technique that makes it possible is called responsive design, which helps a website’s layout adapt to the size of the screen being used. Google even penalizes websites that aren’t responsive with lower rankings in their search results.
If you use a website building service with themes, those designs are likely mobile responsive. Not sure if your website is responsive? Try this Mobile-Friendly Test from Google.
Structural Warranties can protect builders and their buyers from devastating structural problems. But, maybe even more importantly, they give homeowners that all-too-important peace of mind that when something goes wrong, they’re covered.
