Why does a craftsman need a good website?

Hopefully every craftsman will ask himself this question? Why do I need a website? After all, I carry out my craft with my hands. Perhaps there is even a certain aversion to the Internet?

The Internet is also becoming increasingly important for tradespeople. There are now online platforms for finding tradespeople (as has long been the case in other sectors). Examples of this are

• http://www.handwerker-mieten.ch
• https://www.expertado.ch/
• https://www.my-hammer.de/

Closing your eyes and hoping that this is just short-term hype would not be very far-sighted and could end badly in the long term.

I’ve looked at a few sites like this recently and I have to say: I hope that these craftsmen meet higher standards in their work than their website does:

• Use of completely outdated technologies
• Amateurish design
• Use of Comic Sans as font
• Not optimized for search engines(What does SEO mean?)
• Outdated and poor content
• Visitor counter from 1999

If these craftsmen worked according to the same principles and standards, they would quickly find themselves without orders.

I would divide these pages into three categories:

1. The do-it-yourself page
2. The business card for craftsmen
3. Professional in the trade, professional on the web

Category 1: The do-it-yourself page

You can still find them.

It’s amazing that the DIY site from the last millennium still exists. It often greets the visitor with colorful tickers and a friendly \”Welcome to the site of XYZ\”, but an imprint is missing. However, there is almost always a visitor counter, which has counted an impressive 6,314 visitors since 1998. However, if you subtract robots and personal use, it becomes very difficult to determine visitor numbers.

It would be better if these pages did not exist at all. Two pages to illustrate this:

Not to offend anyone, but if I have to choose between one or the other based solely on the website, I’ll go for the second painter and at least contact him first.

Category 2: The business card for craftsmen

The second category would be as follows:

Craftspeople have realized that they need to be visible in today’s digital world. For this reason, they have often turned to an agency or an experienced programmer to create a professional website. These pages are well structured, tidy and often contain an imprint and a contact form to get in touch with the company. They also feature beautiful pictures of the employees and information about the company and its range of services.

This site is a good start, but there is a risk that it will slip into category 1 in a few years. However, it also has the potential to be promoted to category 3. This requires a little interest, perseverance and the will to learn.

Category 3: Professional in the trade, professional on the web

And last but not least, the third category:

These sites have been professionally planned and the owner of the site has commissioned an agency with the ongoing maintenance or, ideally, is able to manage the site himself. The site is integrated into the company’s marketing and communication concept and the success of the site is constantly monitored and efforts are made to attract even more traffic. Due to the high number of visitors and a usual conversion rate, there are always rewarding orders for our craftsman.

By constantly generating new content, the site gains value (both for visitors and for Google) and is thus found/visited better and more often. Possible regular content could be the following:

• Blog on relevant topics in the industry. For example, the master painter could give tips and tricks for DIY enthusiasts on how to become better painters themselves.
• Maintain a portfolio of successfully completed projects.

Ideally, visitors will flock to the page to read the interesting content and share it via Facebook, attracting more people to the page. More visitors = more customers.

And now?

I don’t believe that Category 2 sites are bad per se. Traffic via Google Maps can also be particularly relevant for tradespeople. If you can show these visitors a nice \”business card\” with telephone number and e-mail address, you have certainly already won something.

However, a rethink is necessary to land in category 3. The following questions could help you make a decision:

• What does my website/marketing look like at the moment?
• What will my company look like in 5 years?
• What goal do I want to achieve with a website?
  • Position myself as an expert in area xyz
  • The website as inspiration for customers
  • Rent out machines via the website to increase capacity utilization
  • …
• How much time can I invest per week?

We are happy to support your project from planning to implementation and will provide you with the necessary tools to ensure that the site remains in category 3.

We specialize in web design for craftsmen. Get in touch with us so that we can see where the shoe pinches.