Would a website work?

[pedderwo]

Can as many as possible answer even if it was a simple YES or NO.

Would you search the WWW if you required the services of an electrician?

Also if you have the time..........

If the answer is YES what would you expect to see on the site?

Many Thanks in advance (I hope)

[ugly_bob]

personally, i'd get one of my mates from the pub

[pedderwo]

Thanks for the honesty.

[stoo_pid]

(2 parts)

If I could not get a personal recommendation from friends, yes, I would use the web. I would start with Yell.co.uk and depending on how many local sparkies there were (ideally with a link to their own website), I may not look any further. If I did want to extend my search I would Google for the terms Electrician, Domestic, then my town and/or the first part of my postcode.

As with all tradesmen I've used, unless one is personally recommended to me, I'll always seek at least 3 quotes. I also Google to see if anyone has made any recommendations/complaints about a particular company (e.g. I'd Google Company Name and complaint or review).

If I were to find your site I would expect:

• your company name (duh! :-)


• a landline phone number


• evidence that you are IEE registered.


• a list of the type of work you undertake


• geographical areas that you cover


• a fairly simple, basic site with as few pages as possible


• easy to follow & consistent navigation around the site.

It would also be nice to see:

• a mobile number and/or an out-of-hours phone number


• verifiable testimonials by satisfied customers


• an easy to remember URL

/cont...

[stoo_pid]

...cont/

I would instantly be put off by:

• 'clever' graphics, flash animations etc - aside from the fact they're annoying and have nothing to do with how good your electrical skills are, they slow the site down - if it doesn't load within 10 seconds I won't wait.


• out-of-date information - if you're getting someone else to design your site (and thereby have to pay them every time you change something), make sure it needs very little updating
  

Hope that helps in some way & good luck!

[pedderwo]

Thanks stoo_pid thats brill. Ever thought of changing your name to Use_ful. I have been contacted by some organisation that allows you to design and update your own site using very simple software that I have sampled. This service will cost in the region of �250/year. They have advised that it may take several months before you get high rankings on the main engines. I will look into Yell.com to see how much to get a listing there. Again many thanks, any more advice will always be welcome.

[undercovers]

i'm doing this all the time these days - moved to a new area quite recently so no personal recommendations... also used yell.co.uk but only hired the ones that had their own website for some reason - i guess it was the more info i was looking for e.g. properly registered, types of job done, testimonials etc as stoo_pid said... though some web sites did but me off i know it doesn't make any sense really but if i see a poor web site i assume any work they do will also be of poor quality even though the two are unrelated - silly i know but thats just me... (i'm also always impressed by a very clean and tidy van - i know nothing of electrical matters - so if you have a nice van with a good sign on the side stick that on the webpage and i'll be the first to call!!!)

[WoWo]

No

[WoWo]

That was my simple one word answer. I would however use something like Yell or Scoot.

To be honest I can't see what you could put on a website that would make it worth �250 a year, the money would be much better spent on Yell/Yellow Pages etc. All I want is your phone number.

Any idea what you would put on the site?

[chazza]

I would just search yell.com

[pedderwo]

Thanks for all the feedback so far, the only reason I am considering a website is that it seems essential nowadays, do people think your not up to date if you don't have one?

The feedback about Yell is very good, in fact I have made an appointment with them for next week.

And just one word answers are fine I just hope enough people give me feedback to get a consensus.

Thanks All

[milly143]

Probably not, again I would go through Yell although if you got yourself on Yell.com and had a link to your website, I would like that aspect. Also, I would want to see a fairly impressive site that was clean, clear and bright with no rubbish fonts and not looking like it was made 10 years ago.

[Karen2005]

Hello pedderwo,

Yes, I would search the WWW for an electrician and I have done in the past. Although personal recommendation is ideal, sometimes this isn't possible if, like me, I had moved to a new area.

I tend to go to yell.co.uk or the NICEIC website (or equivalent for other trades) to search for companies in my area. I've only ever shortlisted companies with their own website. I like to get an idea of the type of work they carry out (no point in calling a company for a domestic job if they specialise in large corporate jobs for example). I also like to get a rough idea of how much it would cost me. An email address or a contact form to complete on the site is also essential. I agree with everything else that stoo_pid mentions.

To me, if you have a nicely organised and well maintained website you will definitely leap to the top of my list when it comes to shortlisting companies to contact. Think of it as a marketing tool. You need to be ahead of the game and stand out from the competition. Even if websites aren't important to most people, they are important to some people and it could make a big difference to the success of your company.

Something else to remember - your website will be available for potential customers to view 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Can you say the same about being able to answer calls on your telephone?