How to Build a Great Roofing Website (That Generates Leads) in 4 Simple Steps

You’re an exceptional roofer, so it doesn’t matter what your site looks like as long as people can find your phone number, right?

Well, 80% of people will research a business online before contacting them to make a purchase – so we know that creating a website is non-negotiable.

And 4 out of 10 people will stop visiting a website if the layout is unattractive – that means the design of your website is crucial.

Oh, and longer pages generate 220% more leads than short pages – so it’s not just how your site looks, but what you put on it that matters.

With so much riding on your roofing website, we don’t blame you for feeling overwhelmed. Luckily, building a website in 2021 is easy. So easy you don’t need any experience to do it – not a single minute.

Website builders allow any roofer to pick a theme and click a button to generate a full website’s worth of pages and design. You’ll need to add the content and images – which again sounds scary until you realize how easy it is (we’ll share our simple content creation secret with you). And then round out the site with a few key features guaranteed to increase your leads.

If that sounds easy…it is.

Read on to discover how to build a great roofing website (that actually generates leads) with zero experience.

In a word – trust.

Trust is the currency of the internet. And the roofing sites that build trust end up getting more leads and more customers. This shouldn’t come as a huge shock, you don’t spend your money on a business that’s untrustworthy.

You wouldn’t pay for tools that “might” work or that look like they were made in the 1970’s and have long since become outdated. You spend your money on tools that you trust to get the job done and give you value for money.

In the same way, your roofing website needs to make people feel like their money is going to someone who’s an expert in the field (i.e YOU) and that you’ll deliver great value for money.

So here’s how you build a site that generates trust and generates leads – in four simple steps.

You’ve decided to build your own website which will keep thousands of dollars in your pocket, that’s an exciting step.

To make sure you don’t end up down the rabbit hole trying to learn how to write code or enrolling in web design night classes, you’ll want to use a website builder.

What is a website builder? Well, website builders are the IKEA furniture of the internet.

They come with clear instructions and the majority of the site is already built for you. In fact, by choosing one of the ready-made templates that come with all website builders you can apply a full site’s worth of design with the click of a button. Instead of making each page and deciding where to put pictures or text, your ready-made roofing template pre-populates your site with pages for you.

You’ll still need to add your own content and pictures (don’t worry, we’ll show you how), but the design of your new roofing site is finished with one click. And if you’ve got a step-by-step guide you can add high-converting features in under an hour…

Oh, look at that, we already wrote that guide – learn how to develop your own site in less than 60 minutes).

But, like every product in the world, you’ve got your choice of provider. And each website builder offers a slightly different experience for roofers. For example, a Wix website is super simple to build, but the finished site can lack lead-gen features. While a Pedestal website comes with built-in marketing features that help generate leads for you.

While there are hundreds of little fish in the big pond of website builders, the most popular website builders for roofers are:

• WordPress
• Wix
• Pedestal
• Weebly
• Squarespace

Each of these website builders comes with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as costs. But with free trials, you can try before you buy, and with our ultimate guide to the best website builder for roofers, you can knock this first step on the head and move onto step number two.

Check out that guide below.

Ready to find the PERFECT website builder? Check a full comparison and cost breakdown of the top 5 website builders for roofers

You’ve got your favorite website builder in Step One, great. Next, you’ll need to pick a template you like.

Every website builder comes with ready-made templates for you to choose from. And by selecting a ‘roofing’ or ‘construction’ template you’ll instantly have a site that’s been built for service-based businesses like yours.

This is important because your customers are going to be very different from people looking to buy products from an eCommerce store. While online stores list rows of products to replicate a real store; a roofing website needs to be able to field urgent requests for help (for example storm damage or leaking roofs), and solve the problems people have.

Thankfully, roofing templates take these considerations into account. Though you’ll still need to check out multiple roofing templates to see which one suits your needs (the quality varies so it’s always best to spend a little time comparing your options) and to make sure your new site will be set up for success.

As an example, the following template comes from Pedestal. It includes design features to quickly connect with customers who want emergency roofing – in the form of a ‘Call Us Now’ button in the top corner. And design features for customers in the process of finding a roofer – as Free Roofing Evaluations OR Free Quotes (inside 24 hours).

This template comes with elements strategically built with lead-gen in mind, automatically populating your pages with elements that help you get more business. It’s worth noting not all roofing templates from all website builders come with these features, so make sure you look for marketing features as well as eye-catching design.

While the next example, from a Wix roofing template, is more focused on visuals, without multiple clickable buttons or options for potential customers…

Neither of these roofing templates is right or wrong, but they do show that your needs should always come first.

Don’t get sucked in by popularity or reviews you read online. Test out each template to see if they suit your roofing website vision. In this case, if you want a focus on pictures of your awesome roofing work then the simple Wix template would suit you.

But if you’re after more leads then the Pedestal template is more appropriate to help you reach your goals.

You’ve made it to Step Three, and this one is going to require a little homework on your end.

Your roofing website looks great since you found a website builder (Step One) and picked a roofing template (Step Two), but it’s still empty.

To breathe life into your site, you’ll need to add your own unique content and images to give people something to read and galleries to look at. When adding pictures make sure they’re professional and high-quality because people will connect the quality of your pics to the quality of your business – so no blurry iPhone shots.

In terms of your text, adding unique content has two benefits you’ll want to tap into:

• Content makes people see you as a roofing expert which helps you generate more leads
• Content makes your roofing site more attractive to Google which helps you rank higher

As Google gives additional weight to roofing sites that regularly publish content – and we’re talking 600 to 1,000 words of truly helpful content, not 300 words that only talk about yourself – you can boost your SEO and rank higher by publishing content.

This content can be published on your services pages, for example, ‘slate roof repair’, ‘slate roof cleaning’, and ‘slate roof replacement’.

Or, you can publish content to your roofing blog, which gives you the freedom to write about anything you like.

And we hear you, you’re not a trained writer and that’s 100% fine.

People won’t read your content because you know when to use a semicolon (does anyone actually know?). They’ll read your content because it helps them with their roofing problems, whether it’s leaking, how to protect against hail, or the cost of a replacement roof, so pick a subject you know a lot about and write as if you were telling a friend over the phone.

For example, let’s say you wanted to write a blog called ‘10 DIY roofing mistakes to avoid’. You’ve probably seen a few nightmare DIY botch jobs in your time, so all you have to do is knock up a 1,000-word blog as if you were telling a friend about the 10 worst mistakes you’ve seen and how those mistakes could be fixed.

See how easy writing is? It’s scary until you realize you’re a roofing EXPERT. When you put that expertise on paper, people will come to read it.

Learn how many pages your roofing website needs if you want to get more leads

Successful websites aren’t built-they’re assembled.

All great roofing sites share the same features, not because they’re copying each other, but because these features build trust with your site visitors. And the more they trust you, the higher the chances of them requesting a quote or an estimate.

You’ve picked a website builder (Step One), chosen a template (Step Two) and filled your site with content and pictures (Step Three). The final step is to add the lead-generating features that will turn your site from ‘Digital Business Card’ to ‘Customer Conversion Engine’.

Ready to round out your new roofing site? These are the features you need to assemble.

PLEASE NOTE: Your choice of the template may already include these features.

Clickable phone number

It’s easy to connect ‘website’ and ‘computer’ but with each passing year, websites are more connected to mobile phones.

Over 50% of worldwide traffic comes through mobile devices, so 1 out of every 2 people ending up on your site browsed your site on their phone. It’s crucial you design your site with these people in mind, especially as 76% of people who searched for a business on their smartphone end up visiting the business within a day.

The easiest way to build your site for these people? Add a clickable phone number at the top. Add a simple call-to-action (CTA) like “CALL NOW” or “GET AN INSTANT QUOTE” to drive clicks.

On mobile phones, this button can be set up to trigger a call, so that when someone hits your phone number, you’ll be speaking with them within seconds.

Catchy headline with clear call-to-action (CTA)

The real estate at the top of your roofing site is super valuable as this is where most people will form their first impression of your business.

Make sure the headline you add here is:

• Easy to read
• Clear and to the point
• Has an emotional impact

For example, a headline in this location – known ‘above the fold’, that said “BEST LOCAL ROOFERS” isn’t exciting. It doesn’t inspire people, and it won’t help you generate leads.

In contrast, a headline like “10% Off Your Next Roofing Service – Save Time & Money With One Call” is stronger. It tells site visitors what they’ll get if they call you, and reinforces the benefits (who doesn’t love saving time and money?).

Always include a CTA under your headline so people know how to take their next step. For example ‘Call Now’, ‘Click Here’, ‘Request a Quote’, or ‘Sign Up’.

Trust symbols

Sick of us talking about trust yet? Because we’re not done.

The content and images you include will help build trust, but don’t stop there. Adding trust symbols in the form of major clients you’ve worked with (ideal for commercial roofers) or brands you stock (ideal for residential roofers) can give people the confidence they need to reach out to you.

If your suppliers include Colorbond, BlueScope, Lysaught, Fielders and Bradford, then include their logos so people associate their quality with you.

Customer testimonials

OK, just one more tip to build trust, and then we’re done (promise!).

Make sure your new roofing site includes customer testimonials either in written or video form. Every site visitor is looking for a reason to either trust you, or distrust you. Their subconscious ‘trust-o-meter’ scans your entire website looking for clues, and seeing reviews from real people is a huge green flag that you can be trusted.

The more descriptive the better when it comes to your testimonials. So a review that says “5-star service, would highly recommend” is good. But a detailed review that says “I had cracked tiles on my roof that were replaced within an hour of my call” is better.

Studies have shown that 92% of people read reviews before committing to a purchase, and 88% of people trust online reviews as much as they do recommendations from friends and family – so this is a feature you need to be adding to boost your leads.

Offer something for FREE

You don’t close a sale in the roofing industry, you open a relationship.

Your customers aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet or figures in a report, they’re your neighbours, fellow homeowners, and business owners in your suburb and surrounding postcodes. Building rapport with these people helps drive repeat business, and that relationship needs to start on equal footing.

If you want them to pay for your services, you need to give them something to show your value.

The most common form of giving something for free is a free quote or estimate which has become the standard in the roofing industry. With every roofer offering free estimates you’ll quickly fall out of contention if you don’t offer the same.

However, this can make ALL roofers blend in and look the same.

How do you compensate? Offer a free guide or downloadable resource.

Website builders like Pedestal come with pre-populated sections for free guides (you don’t even need to brainstorm the titles, those are generated for you), while apps and plugins can add free guide download boxes on alternate website builders.

“We’ve got a professional website, why aren’t we getting any new leads?”

We hear this from roofers every week who either built their own site without a plan or shelled out a few grand to an agency to build a website. These sites often look great – but the way your site looks isn’t nearly as important as how it makes a site visitor FEEL.

By following the 4 simple steps we’ve outlined here you’ll be keeping money in your pocket and creating a site packed full of features that build trust, and in turn, generate leads.

Ready to build your site? Find out EXACTLY how much a roofing website costs to build in 2021 so you don’t spend a cent more than you need to