Contractor Website Checklist: 16 Must-Haves That Win Calls

A contractor website checklist, in short: name, phone and license number on every page (California counts websites as advertising), one page per service, a tap-to-call number and booking link at the top on phones, LocalBusiness schema, a main image that loads in 2.5 seconds or less, only real reviews, accessible forms, and Bing Webmaster Tools set up next to Google.

More on this topic: Marketing, leads and reviews, every guide in one place.

A contractor website has one job: turn a homeowner with a problem into a call or a booking. Most sites fail at the basics: a phone number that isn't tappable, no license number, thin service pages and slow loading on a phone. This checklist covers HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing sites, with the rules behind each item.

Key takeaways

• License number: California's CSLB says a website that solicits business is advertising, and advertising must carry your license number. Texas requires it in air conditioning and refrigeration advertising too.
• Phones first. Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your pages.
• Speed targets: largest content in 2.5 seconds or less, responses to taps in 200 milliseconds or less, layout shift of 0.1 or less.
• Reviews must be real. The FTC bans fake testimonials and hiding negative reviews on your site.
• Don't skip Bing: verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools and turn on IndexNow.

What should a contractor website have?

Here are the 16 items, in the order a homeowner meets them. Score your site: each row is pass or fail.

Do you have to show your license number on your website?

In some states, yes. The rules are written about advertising, and some boards treat a website as an ad. Two examples:

• California: CSLB's advertising guidelines list “any website or post that solicits business on the Internet” as advertising and say licensed contractors must include their license number in all forms of advertising. A first offense carries a civil penalty of $100 to $1,000. CSLB also bars advertising that you're bonded, and advertising work outside your license classification.
• Texas, HVAC: 16 TAC 75.71(h) says all advertising by air conditioning and refrigeration contracting companies that solicits that work must include the affiliated licensee's license number. Exemptions include signs at your permanent business location and promotional items like caps. The rule doesn't name websites either way, so treat your site as advertising.
• Texas, electrical: TDLR requires the name and license number on proposals, invoices, contracts and both sides of each vehicle. Its guide doesn't address websites.

Other states and trades have their own rules. Check your licensing board's advertising page. The safe default is a footer on every page: “Peak Air Heating & Cooling, CA License #123456.” This isn't legal advice.

Which pages does a contractor website need?

• Home: what you do, where, the phone number and a booking button.
• One page per service you want calls for: the problem, what you do, rough cost, how fast you come and the warranty. Write the way customers ask: “water heater leaking from the bottom,” not “hydronic solutions.”
• Service area: one page listing your towns and ZIPs. Add a separate page per town only if you have something real to say about it, such as local jobs, permits or common housing stock.
• About, reviews and contact, plus maintenance plans if you sell them.

Be careful with city pages. Google's spam policies name “pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page” as doorway abuse. Twenty copies of the same page with the town name swapped won't help, and can hurt.

How should calls and bookings work on a phone?

Make the phone number tappable, keep it on screen, and put a booking link beside it. Google indexes and ranks the mobile version of your site, and says the mobile pages should have the same content, titles, descriptions and structured data as desktop. So test on your own phone, not your office monitor:

• Tap the number. Does someone answer, or does a text go out within a minute if no one can?
• Tap “Book online.” Can a homeowner pick a time in under a minute, with no account?
• Fill in the form. Does the lead reach a person's phone right away? Slow replies lose shared leads; see speed to lead.

What is LocalBusiness schema, and do contractors need it?

LocalBusiness schema is a small block of code (JSON-LD) that tells search engines your name, address, phone, hours and website. Google says it doesn't guarantee any special display, but it's a 15-minute job. Google lists name and address as required and recommends the most specific type.

Don't mark up your own reviews to get stars. Google's guide says the review and rating properties are for sites that collect reviews about other local businesses. Keep the markup the same on mobile and desktop, and match your Google Business Profile exactly; our Google Business Profile checklist covers that side.

How fast does a contractor website need to be?

Fast enough to pass Google's Core Web Vitals at the 75th percentile of real visits, on mobile and desktop:

Run your home page and top service page through PageSpeed Insights. The usual fixes: compress the hero photo, drop auto-playing video, remove unused chat and popup scripts, and set fixed image sizes so the page doesn't jump.

What are the rules for reviews and testimonials on your site?

The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (16 CFR Part 465, in force since October 21, 2024) applies to your own site. In plain terms:

• No fake or made-up testimonials, including ones written by staff, family or an AI tool, and no reviews you bought.
• Reviews by owners, managers or employees must say so.
• If your site has a reviews section, don't hide or delete negative reviews from it. The FTC says sorting isn't suppression, but arranging reviews so the bad ones are hard to find could still be deceptive.
• Never offer a discount or gift that depends on a positive review.

The FTC cites penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. Show a few recent real reviews and link to your Google profile for the rest.

Does a contractor website need to be ADA accessible?

The Department of Justice says the ADA applies to the goods and services businesses offer on the web, but it has no regulation setting a technical standard for private businesses. Its 2022 guidance calls WCAG and the Section 508 Standards helpful references; W3C's current version is WCAG 2.2. Label every form field, add alt text to photos, keep contrast high and check the booking form works with a keyboard. This isn't legal advice.

How do you get your site into Bing as well as Google?

Verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit your sitemap, and turn on IndexNow, which tells search engines when a page changes. Its participating engines are Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep; Google isn't listed. Bing says Wix Studio, Duda, GoDaddy and Shopify have it built in, and WordPress plugins such as Yoast and Rank Math support it.

How do you audit a contractor website in 15 minutes?

1. On your phone, search your trade and town, open your site and count the seconds until the main photo shows.
2. Tap the phone number and the booking button. Both should work in one tap.
3. Find your license number without scrolling past the footer.
4. Open three service pages. Does each say what you do, roughly what it costs and where?
5. Read the reviews. Are they all real, recent and from customers?
6. Run the home page through PageSpeed Insights and note the three Core Web Vitals.
7. Check Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for errors and a submitted sitemap.

Fix the call and booking items first. Directories send traffic too; see our guides to Yelp for contractors and whether Angi leads are worth it.

Where CrewRobin fits

CrewRobin doesn't build or host websites. It covers what happens after the tap. Your site's phone number can be answered by the AI receptionist, and a missed call gets a text back within a minute. The “Book online” button can point to your online booking page, which checks the ZIP and turns each booking into a scheduled job. The lead form can go on your site with one line of code, and each lead gets a customer record and a text straight away.

Frequently asked questions

What should a contractor website have?

Your name, phone and license number on every page, a tap-to-call number and booking link, one page per service, a service-area page, real photos and reviews, LocalBusiness schema, fast mobile pages and accessible forms.

Do contractors need their license number on their website?

In some states. California's CSLB counts websites as advertising and requires the license number in all advertising. Texas requires it in air conditioning and refrigeration advertising. Check your board.

What is a good page speed for a contractor website?

Google's Core Web Vitals call Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less, Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less good.

Can I post testimonials on my contractor website?

Yes, if they're real customers' words. The FTC's rule bans fake or bought testimonials and undisclosed staff reviews, and bars hiding negative reviews in your site's review section.

Should a contractor website be on Bing?

Yes. Verify it in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit a sitemap and turn on IndexNow, which many website builders and WordPress plugins support.

Put it to work this week

Make every tap on your website's phone number and booking button end in a booked job. CrewRobin is free until your first 10 booked jobs, no card up front. Start free or see pricing.

Sources

Figures from outside CrewRobin were checked against these pages in October 2026. Most industry benchmarks come from vendors and agencies, so treat them as ranges, not rules.

• CSLB: Advertising guidelines for contractors, license number in all advertising including websites (PDF, checked October 2026)
• 16 Tex. Admin. Code 75.71(h) and (i), air conditioning and refrigeration advertising and invoices (Cornell LII, checked October 2026)
• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: Electricians compliance guide, section 5 (checked October 2026)
• Google Search Central: Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data (updated September 8, 2026)
• Google Search Central: Mobile-first indexing best practices (updated December 10, 2025)
• Google Search Central: Spam policies, doorway abuse (updated August 28, 2026)
• web.dev: Web Vitals, Core Web Vitals thresholds (checked October 2026)
• eCFR: 16 CFR Part 465, Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (current as of October 2026)
• FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, questions and answers (checked October 2026)
• FTC: Warning letters to 10 companies under the review rule, penalties up to $53,088 per violation (December 2025)
• U.S. Department of Justice: Guidance on web accessibility and the ADA (March 18, 2022)
• W3C: WCAG 2 overview and versions (checked October 2026)
• Schema.org: HomeAndConstructionBusiness types (Electrician, HVACBusiness, Plumber, RoofingContractor)
• Bing: IndexNow getting started (checked October 2026)
• IndexNow.org: participating search engines (checked October 2026)