Painter website: what earns the estimate

A painter's website has two jobs. First, get the estimate request. Second, show why a stranger with ladders and drop cloths can be trusted in the house. Most sites did the first well and thinned out on the second.

In October 2026 we opened 25 independent painting company websites in eight towns. Twenty-two offered a free estimate, but only two showed a price, five a license number, and none a lead-safe certification number, though six claimed to be certified. This guide goes through them in order of how much they matter, with the steps to set each one up.

Make calling one tap

Eight of the 25 sites had no tappable number on the first phone screen, and seven showed no number at all.

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 "House painters in Asheville, NC", with a rating or "free estimate" under it.

See Add a call bar on phones.

Ask for the address, the age of the house and photos

"Free estimate" was the main button on 22 of the 25 sites. Only five of the forms let visitors send photos.

1. Add a Form section to your home page and a Get a quote page. Under Start from, choose Quote request.
2. Turn on Ask what they need help with and list your jobs as Topic choices: "Interior", "Exterior", "Cabinets", "Deck or fence".
3. Under More questions, add "What year was the house built?" You need it for lead-safe work (below).
4. Turn on Let people attach photos, and in Thank-you message say when you'll call.

See Start from a ready-made form.

Say what an estimate includes, and what it costs

Two quotes for the same house can differ by thousands, because one skips the prep. Twenty-one of the 25 sites mentioned prep or primer somewhere, but only two said who buys the paint, none said how long an estimate holds, and only two gave a price: one a range ("about $1,800 to $13,000") with each project's price and size. People search "how much to paint a house" and "painter cost per hour".

1. Add a How it works section: "1. We visit and measure, free. 2. You get a written estimate: the surfaces, the prep, the primer and coats, the trim, who buys the paint, and how long the price holds. 3. We prep and paint. 4. We walk through with you and clean up."
2. Post a few starting prices or ranges in a Price list / menu section, like a room, an exterior and a set of kitchen cabinets, and say what moves them.
3. If you post a special, give it an end date and what it excludes, and take it down when it ends. Only call a price "regular" if you really charge it.

Lead-safe work: say it only if it's true

Many houses people want repainted were built before 1978, when lead paint was still sold. Under the EPA's lead rule (RRP), paid work that disturbs paint in those homes, and in child care centers and schools, needs a certified firm with a certified renovator on the job. Small jobs are exempt: 6 square feet of paint per room inside, or 20 outside, but never window replacement. The rule also bars a firm from offering or claiming that work without certification. Some states (we read Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont) run their own program in place of EPA's.

Six of the 25 sites said they were certified. None showed a number. Nine sites in Arizona, Idaho and Washington said nothing about lead.

1. If you're certified, say who certified you (EPA or your state) and your number, like "EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm, NAT-12345". Put it in Business info › License number, so it's in your footer, and in a Highlights item on your home page.
2. Don't write "EPA approved" or "EPA licensed". EPA certifies firms; it doesn't approve painters. Its logo may be used only by a currently certified firm, with the firm's number.
3. If you're not certified, say what you paint: homes built in 1978 or later, or small jobs under the limits. Don't say "we paint older homes" without saying how. Don't promise to remove lead paint; that is a separate licensed job.
4. Give owners EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet before you start. That belongs in your estimate visit and contract, not on the website.

Show your license number

Twelve of the 25 sites said "licensed", and five showed a number.

1. Click Business info in the left menu. Under Location, type your number into License number, like "AZ ROC #123456". If your state wants two, put both in the one line.
2. Say "licensed and insured" in words in a Highlights section, and say you can send a certificate on request.

Say "licensed" only if you hold the license your state asks for. See "Rules worth knowing" below.

Say where you work

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

Name the jobs, and give the big ones a page

Painters do more than "interior and exterior": 20 of the 25 sites mentioned drywall repair, 20 decks or fences, 18 pressure washing, 15 cabinets. People search "cabinet painting near me" and "deck staining near me". Name at least six jobs in a Services section.

Give cabinets, decks and exteriors their own page. Click Pages, then New page, and start from the Service page template: what you do, in what order, how long it takes, the finish you use, and what it costs. Give each a search title like "Cabinet painting in Madison, WI". See Set a page's search title and description.

Show your finished work

All 25 sites had a gallery, but only seven showed before-and-after pairs.

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 your home page and a page for each kind of work.

Stand in the same spot for both photos, with the lights on. Show the prep too. See Take good before and after photos. Show only your own work under "Our work".

Help with colors, and name your paint

Sixteen of the 25 sites offered color help and ten named the paint they use. Say which lines you use and why, whether paint is in the price, and how you help choose: samples on the wall, a consultation, a designer.

Say what you're booking now

Only nine of the 25 sites said anything about timing. Exteriors depend on weather, so say your season, the temperatures you need and how far out you're booked.

• Use the Announcement bar: click Seasonal offer or Weather delay and change the words, with a Show from and Last day shown. See Announcement bar.
• For free estimate visits, the Bookings & RSVPs add-on lets people pick a morning or afternoon window and give their address. See Offer visits in arrival windows.
• If you use Jobber, PaintScout or similar, paste its booking link or form into an Embed code section. See Add embed code.

Warranty, financing and discounts

• Warranty. Nineteen sites used the word and eleven said how long. Say what your labor is covered for, what peeling or flaking you fix, and that the paint maker's own warranty covers the paint, not your labor.
• Financing. Three sites mentioned it. Say "Financing available through" and name your lender, with a link, and let the lender's page give any rate. Don't write "0%", a monthly payment or "no credit check" on your own site unless the lender's page says exactly that.
• Deposits and bills. The Payment requests add-on sends a link to pay by card into your own Stripe. See Request a payment. Check your state's limit on deposits first.
• Discounts. Five sites gave a senior, military or first-responder discount. Say who qualifies and how to ask.

Show your reviews

Twenty of the 25 sites showed reviews; five put a rating on the first screen.

1. Add your best recent Google reviews to your Reviews list, with the date.
2. Add a Reviews section to your home page, and your rating and count to Highlights, like "4.9★ · 312 Google reviews".
3. Paste your Google review link into Leave-a-review link in Business info.

The Review requests add-on can email each customer after the walkthrough. See Ask customers for a review.

Photos that build trust

Real photos of your crew and work beat stock photos. With your phone, in daylight, take:

1. Before and after of the same wall or house, from the same spot
2. The prep: scraped siding, caulked trim, masked windows
3. A painter at work, and your crew in front of the truck, with your name and number on it
4. Kitchen cabinets: doors off, sprayed doors drying, the finished kitchen
5. A color held against the wall in the room's own light

Ask the customer first, and crop out house numbers, faces and family photos. The Signed forms and waivers add-on has a Photo release page you can send to say yes in writing. See Start from a template. Free photos has usable ones for rollers and color swatches, but searches for cabinets and decks return finished kitchens and fences, so take your own. See Free photos.

Answer the questions customers ask

Add an FAQ section with these:

• Are you licensed and insured? Are you lead-safe certified?
• Do you give free estimates, and what does one include?
• How much does it cost to paint a house, a room or cabinets?
• Do you supply the paint, and can you help me choose colors?
• When can you start, and how long will it take?
• What does your warranty cover?
• Do you offer financing or a discount?

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 painters vary by state, so check yours with your contractor board and your state or EPA lead program. In October 2026 we looked at these:

• License numbers. Arizona wants a contractor's license number in advertising, or on the website if the ad links there. Washington wants the registration number in any advertising that shows your name or address. Idaho wants it displayed on advertising. Tennessee wants it in print, TV and radio ads. We didn't check whether painters need a license in other states. Putting your number in License number covers a footer rule.
• Lead. See the section above. EPA has fined painting firms from a few thousand dollars to over $100,000, and a firm that hires subcontractors is still responsible.
• Work sold at the customer's home. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives three days to cancel a sale of $25 or more made at someone's home. Its exception for visits they asked for covers repairs to personal property, which may not include a house painting you sold at the kitchen table. Put the notice in your contract and ask your lawyer.
• Paint claims. The FTC warns against vague claims like "eco-friendly" and has acted on "zero VOC" claims. Name the product and quote its label instead of writing "safe for kids and pets". Don't say "authorized dealer" or show a paint maker's logo unless you are one.
• 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.

Tips

• Your first phone screen should hold the call button, your town, "free estimate" and one proof, like your rating or license.
• Once a season, take down anything out of date: a special, a "fully booked" banner, a warranty you no longer give.
• Check your site loads. We found one painter's site down, one with spam on two pages and one wider than a phone.
• Every site can have a Spanish version at no extra cost. See Show your site in Spanish.