Carpenter and remodeler website: what earns the estimate

A remodel means a stranger in the house for weeks, so people check you out before they ask for a visit. They want to know you work in their town, what a job like theirs costs, that you're licensed, and how a job runs once they say yes. Most sites answered the first and stopped.

In October 2026 we opened 29 independent carpentry and remodeling websites in 12 states, on a phone and on a computer. Seventeen had a tappable phone number on the first screen. Only three showed a price, seven a license number, and one mentioned lead-safe work. This guide goes through them in order of how much they matter, with the steps to set each one up.

Make calling one tap

Twelve of the 29 sites had no phone number on the first phone screen.

1. Click Business info in the left menu and check your Phone.
2. Click Menu. Under Header button, turn on Call bar on phones. A Call button then stays at the bottom of every phone screen.
3. Put your town and what you do in the first line, like "Remodeling and carpentry in Asheville, NC", with your license number or a rating under it.

See Add a call bar on phones.

Ask for the address and a photo

Twenty-eight of the 29 offered a free estimate, but a plain contact form doesn't save you a trip.

1. Add a Form section to your home page and a Get a quote page. Under Start from, choose Quote request. It asks for a phone number, the project address and when they'd like to start.
2. Turn on Ask what they need help with and list your jobs as Topic choices, like "Kitchen", "Deck" and "Built-ins".
3. Turn on Let people attach photos, so you can see the room first.
4. In Thank-you message, say when you'll call. Put your phone number beside the form.

See Start from a ready-made form.

Show your license number

Seven of the 29 showed a number, though 16 said "licensed". Rules differ by state: Oregon says a contractor's website must show the number, and all three Bend sites did. Idaho wants it on advertising. Montana dropped its advertising rule in 2025.

1. Click Business info, and under Location type your number into License number, like "CCB #123456". It shows in your footer, so it's on every page.
2. If your state uses two numbers, put both in the one line.
3. Say "licensed and insured" in a Highlights section, and say you can send a certificate on request.

Say "licensed", "registered" or "master" only if you hold it. See Business info and hours.

Say how you price

"Kitchen remodel cost", "bathroom remodel cost" and "home addition cost" are the most common searches in this trade. Three of the 29 sites gave any price, and the other 26 said "free estimate" and stopped. The first remodeler in a town to say a range gets the click from people comparing.

You can't price a room you haven't seen. You can:

• Give a range for the jobs you do most, in a Price list / menu section: "Kitchens usually run $35,000 to $70,000 here". Add what moves it: layout, cabinets, appliances, permits.
• Say it isn't a quote, like "typical ranges from our recent jobs".
• Say how you charge: by the project, or by the hour for small jobs, with a minimum.
• Say what the visit costs: free, or a design fee credited toward the job.

Only call a price "regular" or "from" if you really charge it.

Show how a job runs

Fifteen of the 29 described their process, but only four said anything about a deposit or a change order. "Contractor scams" and "contractor deposit" are searches people make before they hire.

1. Add a How it works section: consultation, written estimate, deposit and schedule, permits, the work, a final walk-through.
2. Say what the first visit includes, and that you give a written price before work starts.
3. Say how changes work: "If we open a wall and find a problem, you get a written change order with a price before we go on."
4. Say what a deposit secures in a sentence, like "A deposit schedules your project; the rest follows the schedule in your written contract." Put amounts in the contract, not here.

Show your finished work

Twenty-three of the 29 had a gallery, but only two said "before and after". People weighing a kitchen or a deck want proof from a house like theirs.

1. Click Lists, then Edit projects, and add each job with its Project name, Kind of work, Town or neighborhood, Before photo and After photo.
2. Add a Projects section to a page, and let it show one kind of work on each service's page.

Stand in the same spot for both photos. See Take good before and after photos. Show only your own work; a stock kitchen is someone else's job.

A photo shows a family's house. Ask first, keep house numbers and faces out, and keep the answer on file: the Signed forms and waivers add-on has a Photo release page. See Start from a template.

Name the jobs you do

People search for the job: "deck builder near me", "built in bookshelves", "trim carpenter near me", "basement finishing cost". Name at least six in a Services section.

Give your biggest jobs their own page. Click Pages, then New page, and start from the Service page template: a deck page that says what you build, how long it takes and what it includes, with a search title like "Deck builder in Ithaca, NY". See Set a page's search title and description.

Say where you work

1. In Business info, under Location, list your towns in Service area.
2. If you work from a home office or truck, leave Street address empty and fill in just the city and state. Google asks service businesses to hide a home address too. A real shop is worth showing.
3. Add a Service areas section, and make a page for your busiest towns with Town pages: "remodeling contractor in Weaverville". See Make pages for the towns you serve.

Show your reviews

Seventeen of the 29 sites showed reviews, and three showed a rating with a count.

1. Add your best recent Google reviews to your Reviews list, with the date and the job.
2. Add a Reviews section to your home page, and your rating and count to your Highlights, like "4.9★ · 22 Google reviews".
3. Paste your Google review link into Leave-a-review link in Business info.

Ask every customer the same way after the job; the Review requests add-on can send the email. See Reviews and Ask customers for a review.

Say what you're booking now

Four of the 29 said how far out they were booking: "Now booking December", "Now booking spring summer". A good builder is booked, and visitors want to know there's room.

• Use the Announcement bar: click Seasonal offer and change the words, with a Show from and Last day shown so it comes down by itself. See Announcement bar.
• Say how long cabinets, windows or permits add to a schedule.

For design consultations, the Bookings & RSVPs add-on lets people pick a day or a window. See Offer visits in arrival windows. If you use Jobber, Housecall Pro or Buildertrend, paste its request form or link into an Embed code section (Add embed code).

Warranty and financing

Five of the 29 mentioned a warranty and only three said how long. Say it in Highlights and your FAQ: "1-year workmanship warranty, plus the manufacturer's on the products".

Three sites mentioned financing, with no rates. Say "Financing available through" and name your lender, with a link, and let the lender's page give any rate or minimum. Don't write "0%", a monthly payment or "no credit check" on your own site unless the lender's page says exactly that.

Working on older homes

Eight of the 29 sites talked about old, historic or Victorian houses; only one mentioned lead-safe work. In a house built before 1978, work that disturbs painted trim, siding or walls needs an EPA lead-safe certified firm, and the EPA's rule says a firm may not perform, offer or claim to perform that work without it. If you're certified, say so in Highlights with your certificate number. If you're not, get certified before you advertise old-house work. See epa.gov and search "Renovation, Repair and Painting".

Photos that build trust

Real photos of your work beat stock photos, and your phone is enough. In daylight, take:

1. A finished kitchen, bath or built-in from the doorway
2. Before and after of the same room
3. Your crew at work, and your truck with your name, number and license number
4. A deck from the yard and from the steps; a close-up of trim or joinery
5. Your shop and your team

Ask the customer first. Until you have your own, Free photos has usable ones for framing, decks, workshops and built-ins; the door, crown molding and basement searches return the wrong things. See Free photos.

Answer the questions customers ask

Add an FAQ section. Questions customers ask carpenters most:

• Are you licensed and insured? Do you charge for estimates?
• How much does a kitchen, bath or deck cost?
• Do you need a deposit? How do payments work?
• How soon can you start, and how long will it take?
• What happens if you find a problem in the wall?
• Do you handle permits? Do you do lead-safe work?
• Do you offer a warranty or financing?

In Lists › FAQs, Suggest questions drafts more from your own site. See Use suggested questions.

Rules worth knowing

This isn't legal advice, and the rules for contractors vary by state and town, so check yours with your state's contractor board and attorney general. In October 2026 we looked at these:

• Licenses. Oregon requires a license for work over about $1,000, and its website rule names the number. Minnesota requires a residential building or remodeler license. North Carolina requires one from $40,000. Pennsylvania requires registration from $5,000 a year and the number in the contract. We didn't check every state, and many towns license too.
• Contracts and deposits. Maine requires a written contract over $3,000 and caps the down payment at one-third. Pennsylvania caps it at one-third on contracts over $5,000. New York requires a written contract with a three-day right to cancel. The contract holds these, not the website; ask your lawyer.
• Work sold at the customer's home. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives three days to cancel a sale made at home, but its exception for a visit they asked for covers repairs to personal property, which may not include work on the house. Put the notice in your contract.
• Reviews and financing. Google bars discounts or gifts for a review, and an ad with a payment amount needs full terms and the APR. See Plumber website.
• Plans that renew by themselves. See Car wash website.
• Logos and names. Show a window or cabinet maker's logo only if you're in its program. Google bars a made-up address or a P.O. box.

Tips

• Your first phone screen should hold the call button, your town, the kind of work and one proof, like your license number or rating.
• Once a season, take down anything out of date: a special, a "now booking" banner, a price range.
• Hiring? A Job openings section shows you're busy. See Job openings.
• Every site can have a Spanish version at no extra cost. See Show your site in Spanish.