Short answer: a plumber’s website has one job - to get the phone to ring - and most plumbing sites fail at it because they are built like brochures. The site that converts a search into a call has a clickable phone number at the top of every page, a clear list of services with “from” prices, the towns you cover, proof you are legitimate (Gas Safe, insurance, reviews) and loads in under two seconds on a phone. Everything else is optional. Below is the full list, in order of importance, based on the plumbing and heating sites I build.
Start with how customers actually find a plumber
Almost nobody browses plumbers’ websites for fun. The typical visit is: a boiler has failed, someone types “emergency plumber Slough” into their phone, taps one of the first results and decides within ten seconds whether to call. That means:
- The site is viewed on a phone, often outdoors or in a cold kitchen, on a mobile connection.
- The visitor is comparing you against two or three others open in adjacent tabs.
- They want a phone number, a price signal and a reason to trust you - in that order.
Design the site for that person and you have covered the majority of your enquiries. Design it for someone calmly reading about your company history and you will lose them.
The seven things a plumber’s website must include
1. A clickable phone number at the top of every page
Not in the footer, not behind a “Contact” link. A tel: link in the header, visible without scrolling, and repeated at the bottom of each page. On a phone it should dial with one tap. If you offer 24-hour callouts, say so right next to the number.
2. Services with “from” prices
List what you actually do - boiler repair, boiler installation, leaks, bathrooms, blocked drains, radiators, landlord certificates - each with a short description and a “from” price where you can. A price range does two useful things: it reassures the customer they can afford to call, and it filters out people hunting for the cheapest possible quote. “Call for a quote” on every line does neither.
Each major service deserves its own page. A single “Services” page with everything on it ranks for nothing in particular; a page titled “Boiler repair in Reading” ranks for exactly that.
3. The areas you cover, by name
Google matches searches like “plumber Woodley” to pages that mention Woodley. A page (or at minimum a clear list) naming the towns and districts you serve is the single most effective SEO element on a local trade site. If you cover ten towns, ten short area pages will outperform one page that says “Berkshire and surrounding areas”.
4. Proof: Gas Safe, insurance, qualifications
If you work on gas, your Gas Safe registration number should be on the site, with the logo, and it should match the register. Customers check. Add public liability insurance, any WaterSafe or manufacturer accreditations, and how long you have been trading. This is the section that answers “is this person legitimate?” - the question every customer asks before dialling.
5. Reviews, pulled from Google
Show real reviews with names and dates, ideally pulled automatically from your Google Business Profile so they stay current. Three recent reviews beat thirty from 2021. If you do not have reviews yet, the fix is not on the website - it is asking every satisfied customer for one, today.
6. Photos of your work and of you
A photo of you in a branded polo next to your van does more than any stock image of a spanner. Before-and-after photos of real jobs - a new bathroom, a replaced boiler - show what the customer will get. Avoid stock photography; people recognise it instantly and it reads as “we have nothing real to show”.
7. Speed and a page that works on a cracked phone screen
A plumbing site does not need animations, sliders or a video background. It needs to load in under two seconds on a mobile connection and be readable with one thumb. Large tap targets, short paragraphs, no pop-ups. Google measures this with Core Web Vitals and slow sites rank lower for the exact searches you want.
What you can leave out
- A blog, unless you genuinely want to write about boiler maintenance once a month. An abandoned blog with two posts from 2023 looks worse than none.
- An online booking system for emergency work. Customers with a leak want to talk to a human, not pick a slot.
- A long “About us” story. Two paragraphs, a photo, your accreditations. Done.
- A separate “Testimonials” page. Put reviews where decisions are made: next to services and next to the phone number.
Google Business Profile: the other half
For a local plumber, the map results at the top of Google often bring more calls than the website itself. The profile needs the right primary category (Plumber, or Heating Contractor if that is most of your work), your service area set to the towns you cover, opening hours that reflect emergency availability, photos, and a steady flow of reviews. The website and the profile reinforce each other - the profile should link to the site, and the site should carry the same name, address and phone number exactly. If you would rather have it set up properly than fiddle with it, Google Business Profile optimisation is a one-off service.
What it costs
A single-page site with everything above - phone, services with prices, areas, accreditations, reviews - is a landing page from £197. A site with separate service and area pages, which is what you need to rank across several towns, is a business website from £497. Hosting is free on Cloudflare, so after the build the only recurring cost is your domain. Full details for the trade are on the websites for plumbers page.
Summary
A plumber’s website should be built for someone standing in a flooded kitchen with a phone in one hand: number at the top, services with “from” prices, towns by name, Gas Safe proof, recent reviews, real photos, and a page that loads instantly. Pair it with a properly set up Google Business Profile and you have covered how the vast majority of customers choose a plumber. Everything else is decoration.