Change or stagnate: why construction companies need to update their websites

A website for a construction company can tell a lot about the company. Long gone are the times when a website was a portfolio or ‘business card’. Change or stagnate; the same applies to websites. In this article, we will review what websites construction companies have and what websites they should have.

We researched hundreds of construction company websites and categorized them into four categories:

1. Outdated website made several years ago. 
2. None; contractors don’t have it.
3. Website that sends the wrong message about contractors businesses
4. The right website sends the right message to clients and employees.

Outdated website 

It depends on the country, but roughly 70% of construction company websites are outdated. Their website design was made 5+ years ago, or their content hasn’t been updated for the past 12+ months. If the website is old, that doesn’t mean you have to change the design every year or so. Sometimes, when a design was made by an agency, it can still be up to date even after 10+ years. But frequent content updates are vital. Would you like to do business with a company whose last update was one year ago? Also, what we noticed is that whenever a company creates a new website, they also add news, certificates, and other types of content, and then everything is left. There are no updates. Nothing. This is actually the worst thing that could be done to the website. 

Construction company without a website

This is mainly noticed in emerging countries. A website is critical for any type of business. It tells who you are, what you do, what you have done, and more. This is a place where your clients will look up to you. On average, we noticed that only 5% of companies don’t have websites, and most of them have low turnover. 

Website with the wrong message

Sadly, around 60–80% of construction websites don’t send the correct message to their leads and potential employees. For example, a construction company that is performing concrete services has pictures of finished houses. Are they investors, or are they facade contractors or real estate companies? They should have pictures of concrete works. Or, for example, a company talks about how they care about the environment, workers, and what kind of certificates they have. But they don’t have actual pictures of the people who really work behind the scenes, who are doing the hard work. 

The right construction website

Ok, only 5–10% of construction companies have a website that really talks with their customers, employees, and generates leads. Let’s review one of our latest work, Thompson & Underwood. 

Once the page is opened, it immediately sends the message that they are performing groundwork; there is no second doubt about it. 

When we scroll further, we can see their work and services. This is where your leads and clients will confirm whether the company is the right fit for their work. 

Further on, we see what their values are and what their testimonials are.

Then comes the most important part: meet our team. This is the place where we took pictures and showed who was behind them. We showed the real people who are behind it and doing the actual work—diggers and not blue collars. Every construction company knows that every employee who performs actual work on site is an asset. Companies that value those who are behind it and doing actual work always hire better staff. Their staff feels valued, and they stay with the company much longer. 

Finally, we come to contact us. This is the place where you should show contact information about  your sales team, not your office. 

Where should I start from? 

If you noticed that your website fits into one of the first three categories, then we suggest you update your website. 

Today, every construction website should send a message to your leads: what you do, how long you have been working, what are your works, and so on. 

The second message, which is actually the most important message, is for your new hires. Every new hire who applies to your job positions will look up to you. They want to imagine how it is to work with you, what the values of the company are, and what the greatest achievements are. Every great talent wants to be deserved, and they want to express themselves. They want to reach their maximum potential with great companies and leaders. This then makes website design for a construction company a not-so-easy job. 

We at EcontractorsLab don’t offer just another website design; we are also from the construction industry, and we build websites with stories. We make contractors stand out from the crowd.