Every tree service business needs a website. It’s non-negotiable if you want to succeed in this day and age.

Most people who need to remove a tree stump, prune or plant trees will look online for a local tree service. Your success depends on being visible where people are looking, but it’s important to remember that yours is not the only tree service website your prospective customers will visit.

You need your website to stand out from the crowd and make the right first impression on your visitors. To build a great website for your tree care business, there are a few features you need to include.

3 must-have features for your tree service website

#1. A user-friendly, mobile-first design

Too often, tree care businesses design their website on a desktop computer, for desktop users. But since most of your visitors will be visiting your website on a smartphone, this is a big mistake.

Don’t make mobile friendliness an afterthought when designing your website. Build it for mobile users first, and then test your design on desktop to ensure a great user experience for everyone.

A modern website is a responsive website. A responsive design will reconfigure itself based on the device being used, which ensures consistent functionality and appearance across devices. Start with a responsive design, and always test any changes you make on your phone.

In addition to making sure your tree service website is mobile-friendly, it also needs to be user-friendly. You should make sure that it’s always easy for your visitors to find what they’re looking for. Make sure your website is easy to use with a simple, menu-style navigation.

#2. Optimized, informative service pages and blogs

Most service industries don’t have a high entry bar, at least not for the basics. For example, most people can unclog their own toilet or paint their own walls. But, tree care is on a different level.

The majority of people don’t know a whole lot about tree care and can’t begin to know how to safely remove a dying tree or revive a tree that’s been damaged or injured. It’s important that your website content provides the information your visitors need.

Make sure that you have a dedicated page for each of your tree care services. These pages should include detailed information about the services you offer, what they consist of and why they’re necessary.

It’s also a good idea to write blogs on your website. Blogs will give you a chance to go into detail about things your prospective customers need to know about tree care, like how to keep trees healthy, why pruning is important, etc.

Not sure where to start when it comes to writing blogs? Think about common questions your customers have about your service or tree care in general. Dedicate a blog to answering each of these questions.

Not only will adding informative pages and blogs to your website help you better educate visitors and prospective customers, but it will also help your tree care website rank higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

#3. Trust indicators

Tree service is a dangerous business. If things go wrong on the job, someone could get hurt or even killed. Property damage is also a big concern when it comes to tree care. The danger is a big reason why people turn to arborists and tree service experts to begin with.

In such a dangerous industry and with so much on the line, trust is a vital thing to build on your website. The more trust you can build on your tree service website, the more likely your visitors are to convert into leads and customers.

Here are just a few ways you can build trust on your website:

• Showcase testimonials and reviews – People will trust what your customers have to say about your business a lot more than what you say about your business. Highlight what your happy customers have to say by adding testimonials to your homepage and by adding a reviews page.
• Highlight your qualifications and protections – Are you certified or licensed? Do you have liability insurance? Do you have an A+ rating with the BBB? Make sure to include this information on your website where visitors can easily find it.
• Add trust badges – Trust badges are seals that help to build trust on your website. They can be used to indicate that your website is secure, that you’ve been endorsed by a third party and that you offer guarantees on your services.

It takes a lot of trust to take the leap and hire a tree service business, especially a new tree service. Anything you can do to build that trust on your website will help to increase your conversion rate.

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