Websites for builders that turn visits into enquiries
I'm John, a web designer in Exeter who builds fast, fixed-price sites for builders and tradespeople. Real photos of your work, a page for every service and every town you cover, and a quote form that lands in your inbox rather than the void.
John created a fantastic website which I am really happy with. Lots of my customers have commented on how professional the site is. It really has helped to make my business stand out from my competitors.
JoeOwner, JB Garden & Property Services · Torquay
About me
Hi, I'm John: the geek behind the face
I started designing websites in Exeter over 20 years ago, back in the days of the dot-com bubble, when domain names were super expensive and school kids were becoming internet millionaires overnight. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. 🙂
Since then I've worked in all sorts of technical roles, from 50p-a-minute helpdesks in the dial-up days (remember that sound?) to senior technical positions. The common thread has been taking complicated ideas and making them easy to understand.
These days I build a different kind of website: faster and simpler than WordPress, with nothing for you to maintain. GeekFace is deliberately small, so you always deal with me.
20+years on the web
0plugins to update
1person to deal with
Trade proof
Sites I've built for tradespeople
Builders, fencers, landscapers, plumbers and property services. Every one live, every one earning its keep. Slide through and click a card to take a look.
Neil had a great reputation around Torquay but a website that could have belonged to anyone. The rebuild puts him front and centre: his face on the homepage, his reviews doing the talking, and a "send it to Neil" form on every page instead of a buried contact form.
Underneath, there's a page for every service and every area he covers, so someone searching for a kitchen extension in Torquay lands on a page about exactly that. It's a static build, so it loads instantly and there's nothing to maintain or hack.
Garden offices, gyms, hobby rooms, entertainment spaces: the site could have sprawled into six competing sections. Instead it funnels everything into a single quote journey, so no matter what a visitor wants built in the garden, the next step is always obvious.
There's a dedicated page for each room type and each town covered across Devon, so "garden office Torquay" and "garden gym Plymouth" each land somewhere relevant rather than a homepage trying to be everywhere at once.
David's tiling business needed the fundamentals done properly: real photos of real bathrooms and kitchens, his reviews front and centre, and his phone number impossible to miss. Sometimes the best website is the one that simply shows the work and gets out of the way.
This one was built on WordPress before I moved to static sites. It still earns its keep, but if I built it today it would load faster, cost less to run and have nothing to update, which is the honest reason I've changed how I build.
Real jobs, real photos, your name on the van. Customers hire builders they trust, and nothing builds trust faster than showing your actual work instead of a model holding a drill upside down.
Pages that match searches
One page per service, one per town. "Loft conversion Newton Abbot" lands on a page about loft conversions in Newton Abbot, which is why it ranks and why it converts.
A form that reaches you
Quote requests go straight to your inbox, not a spam folder. WordPress contact forms have a proud tradition of quietly failing; mine don't have the parts that fail.
Need something that doesn't fit neatly in a box? Tell me what you're after and I'll quote a fixed price before we start. The number we agree is the number you pay.
Common questions
Websites for builders: the stuff people ask
Straight answers to the questions tradespeople ask before getting a new website.
Will a website actually get me more work?
That's the whole point of how I build them. A page for every service and every town you cover means someone searching "garage conversion Torquay" lands on a page about exactly that, not a homepage trying to be everything. That's how Torquay Fencing and NL Elite win work without paying for ads.
I'm flat out on the tools. How much of my time does this take?
Very little. A chat about your business, the photos already sitting on your phone, and your list of services and towns is enough for me to write the whole site. You check it, I launch it. Most builders spend less time on this than on pricing a single job.
Do I need professional photos?
No. Decent phone photos of real jobs beat polished stock photography every time, because customers can smell stock photos from a mile off. A slightly wonky picture of a wall you actually built is worth more than a perfect one of somebody else's.
What about Checkatrade, Facebook and word of mouth?
Keep them, they all feed the same funnel. But directory listings rent you visibility and change the rules whenever they like. Your website is the one bit of the internet you actually own, and it's where your reviews and best work should live permanently.
How much does a website for a builder cost?
A fast brochure site starts at £950, fixed and quoted before we start. The popular option for trades is the Lead Engine at £2,500, which adds a page per service, a page per town and your Google Business Profile set up properly. No hourly billing.
Can I update it myself when I finish a job?
Just email me the photos and I'll add them. There's no dashboard to learn and nothing you can accidentally break, which most tradespeople tell me is exactly what they wanted anyway.
Tell me what you build
Extensions, renovations, landscaping, fencing or something else entirely? Tell me your trade and the areas you cover, and I'll come back with a straight answer on what your website needs.
Photos on your phone are all I need to start. Honestly.let's launch something great
Not quite ready yet? That's fine.
Here to help. Whenever you're ready!
Whether it's next week or next year, drop me a line when you're ready. There's no hard sell, just a friendly chat about what would help your business.
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