Originally published August 2017 ยท Updated October 2026 · By SM Web Development
Building a website is easier than it used to be. You don’t need to know how to code, and the tools are cheaper and better than they were a few years ago. What hasn’t changed is that a website only helps your business if it’s built to do a job.
Here are the steps, in order, whether you do it yourself or hire someone.
1. Decide what the site has to do
Before you pick a single tool, answer one question: what should a visitor do when they get there?
For most local service businesses, the answer is call you or ask for a quote. A plumber in Sherwood Park wants a homeowner with a leaking water heater to tap the phone number. A renovation company wants people to send a few photos of the kitchen they want redone. Everything you build should make that one action easy. We cover this in more detail in why you need a call to action.
Then list the pages you need. For a trades business, that’s usually:
- A home page that says what you do and where, in the first line
- A page for each main service
- The areas you serve
- Reviews and photos of your work
- About you, including licences, insurance and WCB coverage
- A contact page with a short quote form
2. Get a domain
Your domain is your web address. Keep it short, easy to spell and easy to say over the phone. If your business name is long, a shorter version or your trade plus your city can work.
A domain costs about the price of a lunch each year. Whoever registers it, make sure it’s in your name and on your account, not a past web designer’s or a nephew’s. Getting a domain back from someone else is a common headache when a business wants to move its site.
3. Choose where the site will live
Hosting is the service that keeps your website online. Think of it as renting the building your shop sits in. When you compare options, look at these in order:
- Uptime. Your site only works for you if it’s up. Look for a provider that’s rarely down.
- Room to grow. You want to be able to move to a bigger plan without switching companies.
- Support. When something breaks, you want a person who answers quickly and fixes it.
- Price. Last on purpose. A cheap host that’s often down or slow costs you more in lost calls than you save.
4. Pick a platform
The platform is the software you use to build and edit the site. You have two main choices:
- An all-in-one website builder. You pay one monthly fee and the hosting is included. Quick to start, but you’re tied to that company, and moving away later can mean starting over.
- WordPress. Free, open source and used by a huge share of websites, from small business sites to large online stores. You’ll need your own hosting, but you own everything and can move it anywhere. It’s what we build on.
Either way, choose a design that looks good on a phone first. Many people looking for a trade are on their phone, often standing in the room with the problem. Before you commit to a design, open it on your own phone and try to call yourself from it.
5. Add only what you need
Platforms let you add extra features: forms, booking, review displays and so on. Start with a few:
- A quote or contact form that lets people attach photos, so you can price small jobs without driving out first
- An SEO tool that helps you set the page titles and descriptions Google shows
- Automatic backups, stored somewhere other than the site itself
Every add-on is something else to update. Fewer is better.
6. Write the pages
This is the step people underestimate. Write the way you’d explain your work to a customer at their door. Say what you do, where you do it, and what happens after someone gets in touch. Use your own photos of real jobs rather than stock pictures.
If you want people to find you on Google, our SEO basics post covers the starting points.
7. Connect your Google Business Profile
For a local business, your Google Business Profile is often seen before your website. Make sure your name, phone number and service area match on both, and link the profile to your site. Ask happy customers for reviews there.
8. Keep it running
A website isn’t finished at launch. The platform and its add-ons need regular updates for security. Your prices, services and photos change. Test your own form every month or two to make sure messages still arrive.
Should you do it yourself?
If you enjoy this kind of thing and have the evenings to spare, you can build a decent site yourself. Many owners start that way.
But for most busy trades owners, the hours are the problem. Learning the tools, writing every page and fixing things when an update breaks them all comes out of evenings and weekends. If that’s you, read our five reasons to talk to a web designer first before you start. And if you’re a trade, Trades Launch is a fixed-price website we write for you from a short questionnaire, then look after every month.
Already have a site?
If you already have a website and aren’t sure whether to fix it or start again, ask for a free website review. We’ll look at your site on a phone, the way your customers do, and tell you the three things we’d fix first. Request your free website review.