How to Write Website Content for a Trade or Service Business
A repeatable structure for writing home, service and about pages that read like a person wrote them.
Website content is the thing that stalls most projects. It doesn't need to be clever — it needs to answer the questions you already answer on the phone every week.
Start by listing the questions you actually get asked
Do you cover my suburb? How much does this usually cost? How long will it take? When can you start? Do I need council approval? Are you licensed? Write those down — that's most of your website.
The home page
- One line saying what you do, who for, and where.
- Two or three sentences on why someone would choose you — specific, not slogans.
- Your main services, each linking to its own page.
- Proof: photos, reviews, licence, years in the trade.
- Areas you cover.
- A clear way to get in touch.
A service page
- A heading using the customer's words.
- One or two sentences confirming they're in the right place.
- What the job involves, step by step.
- What it typically costs, or what changes the price.
- How long it takes and your current lead time.
- Photos of that specific work.
- A relevant review.
- What to do next.
The about page
Not a company history. Who you are, how you got into the trade, how long you've been at it, what work you enjoy, your licence and insurance, and how you like to work with customers. One good photo of you.
Rules that make copy better
- Use their words. "Power keeps tripping", not "RCD nuisance tripping".
- Be specific. "Most decks take 5–9 days" beats "fast turnaround".
- Short sentences. If you run out of breath reading it aloud, cut it.
- Second person. Write "you", not "our valued clients".
- One idea per paragraph. Phones make long blocks unreadable.
- Cut the warm-up. The first sentence should say something.
Phrases to delete
- "Welcome to our website"
- "We pride ourselves on quality workmanship"
- "Second to none"
- "Committed to customer satisfaction"
- "Solutions" used as a noun
- Anything you couldn't prove if asked
A quick way to get it written
Record yourself explaining one service out loud, as if to a customer. Transcribe it, cut the waffle, add a heading and a call to action. That's a service page — and it'll sound more like you than anything you'd have typed.
Before you publish a page
- It answers the questions you're actually asked
- It uses customer language, not trade jargon
- It says something specific about price or timing
- A competitor couldn't copy it word for word
- It reads well aloud
- It ends by telling the reader what to do next
If writing it yourself is what's stopping you, content is written for you as part of the website package — see what's included, or how to structure your service pages.
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Common questions
- How long should a page be?
- Long enough to answer the question and no longer. Service pages usually land between 500 and 900 words; padding it out helps nobody.
- Should I use AI to write it?
- It can help you get a first draft out of your head, but rewrite it in your own voice and add real detail — generic copy is exactly what makes websites forgettable.
Written by Mike — Web Guy Mike
I build and look after websites for Australian tradies and small service businesses. Every site is built by me — no outsourcing, no account managers. More about Mike.