fisicx

I used to run a 'websites for dummies' evening class. Apart from getting paid to teach it generated some decent leads. And I've done a 'fix your website' thing at the local library where people come and ask questions. Again, a useful source of leads. Everywhere has a tradesmans pub. Go there when the knock off work and you can pick up loads of work - you just need to be chatty. Getting out the house and talking to people still works. Those letters I used to write were followed up with a visit. Sit in their office and listen to them talk about their business. Nod and agree and the contract is pretty much yours for the asking.

Hi Charlotte and welcome to the forum. Spending money on marketing is a good investment. Back in the days when I used to build websites I wrote to hundreds of local businesses. Whilst most went in the bin it did get me a number of good leads. Trawling through Google Business Profiles can also generate decent leads. I paid for a billboard for a while - that made more than it cost. The trick on all of this was to sell business improvement not websites. I showed how to increase income for a small expenditure. But now I do custom plugins. Far more lucrative and less stressful. Don't have to deal with clients who don't have a clue about what they want.

There is an agency in London charges over £5000 for anything. Businesses pay because they think they are getting a superior service. What they are actually paying for are some expensive offices in the city. A freelancer could do just a good a job at a fraction of the cost. As an aside: almost everyone who tells you they do custom work and not use pre-made templates is lying through their teeth. Everyone uses templates. Nobody designs from scratch. The template they use might be coded in-house but everyone uses something on which to build the design. Most of the custom bit is CSS.

Take a complete backup of the files and databases of the sub-domain which you wish to move. Create a new cPanel account for the new domain. Upload the files and databases. Finding all the databases can be fun. Or pay your host to do it for you. I've got a fully managed dedicated server. Worked out far more cost effective than a VPS. I host about 20 sites for clients and that pays for the server.

Ask your server support to move the account. That way you won't lose anything.

Nothing wrong with templated. Using familiar layouts means people don't have to go hunting for products and services. They know where to look and what to expect. There was a test some time back where a major ecommerce brand split test their boring site against one with a more dynamic feel. The boring site converted way above the new design. If I can find the report I'll post it here. Then of course - there is whole discussion about what you mean by templated. Your own site uses a theme which is by default a template. You use standard form plugins and you use tailwind which is a framework. Your main menu is is about as standard as it gets as is your footer... Nothing wrong with anything you are doing but how far do you take the concept of custom v template?

Knowing the platform helps the designer as you can develop using features already in place without the need to additional code. And the design will depend very much on your target customer (and marketing plan) - fonts, features, colours and even site structure should align with you you want to sell to. So many websites are built based on the preferences of the owner rather than the needs of the customer. You did say it was for your hosting site so I assumed you meant hostox. Apologies if I got the wrong one. But as you now have a selection of designers to choose from it's all good. Not really sure I'm in it just to up my post count.

What platform are you currently using? Do you want to stick with this platform? Who is your target customer? Where is your target customer (your website is very confusing)? What is your marketing plan? This one is key as it drives the whole site design.

Google has lots of data abut the website. That being said, the output is never going to be of much use as many use alternate browsers and blockers. Server stats show around 70 visits per day. Analytics only registers about 20. Might be worth removing this element of the audit. The lighthouse test won't give you number of visitors - it's a performance measures. Unless I've misunderstood the purpose of the audit.

Get claude.ai to do it for you.

No it's not. It's rubbish. Get yourself a proper website not that useless canva thing.

Interesting. It was there the other day. But all good now. One of the audit items says: "Real visitor data. Not enough real visitor data from Google yet, so test scores are used instead." From where are you getting this data?

https://tradesman-theme.co.uk/

I've checked the code: <a href="tel:07921859802">Call 07921 859802</a> I'll look into adding an H1 without breaking the layout (there isn't an obvious place it can go on the homepage).

Things have changed a lot. Those sort of pages no longer have the authority they used to. Google takes a more holistic approach to ranking. I do. In two places The page has a very good structure for it's intended purpose. It ranks #2 for the range of keywords I'm targeting. Other pages have an H1, it's just not necessary on this particular homepage. It's a gallery of thumbnails each one of which link to an inner page. Lazyload in this case isn't really appropriate. I added the code to other pages (that have more images) and the difference was insignificant. All the images are webp and fully optimised, the page loads in under 2 seconds. Lazy load in this case slowed things down a little. OK. But it didn't work so I couldn't see what result it would have provided. Everything else in your post is subjective and we may never agree. But I use a lot of freelancers (not just for web work) and I tend to ignore those who promote themselves as you do. A lighter background with your portfolio to provide the colour may work better. But it might not. Like everything webby, you won't know until you try. I can go through dozens of iterations and content rewrites until I find one that works best with my marketing strategy. As a complete aside, I've found custom apps and plugins far more lucrative and less stressful than building websites. I can often turn round a £1000 project in a day or two. Plugins and apps don't require endless discussion about layout and style, all I need to do is match their current site.

You make some very good points in your post and I agree with much of what you say. But I'm assuming the primary purpose of the site is to generate leads rather than educate. For that to happen you need to sell the services rather than yourself. Of course potential clients will want to know about you but that comes later along the buying chain. When they land on the site they are interested in what you do rather than who you are. Still have the image, just don't make it the first thing you see. Split testing works. Try different layouts and style and see which ones work. One of my sites is about as boring as it gets but it converts 1 in 5 with a bounce rate below 10%. The audit told me I didn't have a phone number. It does, three places on the homepage. It also said there wasn't an H1. This is no longer necessary (and hasn't been for a while). It says I should use lazy load on a page where all the images are above the fold Pagespeed timed out (but it scores 97)

Irrelevant. Potential clients aren't interested in any of this. They don't care what you look like. Put a picture on your aount me page if you want but the likelihood is you will never meet the client so the picture could be of anyone. I had a picture of my cat for a while, made no difference to conversions. Not easy on my eyes. Split test and see what happens. Wordpress is not slow on mobile if done right. My test sites score well over 90%. You are making the client hunt around to find out. Your USP should be front and centre on the homepage. And what is tracer? Is tracer a branding thing, your surname, where you live? The domain says: made by tracer. My wife said 'what's a tracer'? She was confused and other may be as well. Made by Glynn makes more sense. A potential client will be on your site because of your marketing. It means they are in the market for a new website. All you need to do is show them your work. You don't need to mention technologies, have a blog or even the resources. Just show them the stunning sites - not as thumbnails - big full width images as they will almost certainly be looking on their phone. I tried the website audit tool. You might want to check how is audits the site as it reported incorrect errors.

And what is this Tracer? If it's made by tracer I'd expect to see something about Tracer on the site

Am I missing something? Looks exactly the same. Why do you have this random chap looking all hollywood on the homepage? Why the dark mode? Have you split tested light v dark? Are all your sites next.js? Are they built as a CMS so the owners can edit the content, add pages etc? What makes you any different to all other website builders? Why would I choose you over anyone else in Kent? Change the focus of the site away from you and start talking about the needs of a prospective client. You are unimportant. Your background doesn't matter. You first need to get a visitor to say 'I want one of these' and pick up the phone.

Depends on the site. Most of the time it's low quality junk and will be ignored. If you want to appear as a reference in the AI summary provide high quality and accurate answers to questions. In other words, do the same thing good marketeers have been doing for years.

@Peter Billings posted so their mate could reply with a link drop to a naff directory posting service. That advert has no been deleted.

Nothing you have described is new. The search engines have been doing this for years. Those who have done their research stopped focusing on keywords and now consider search intent. It's not even SEO, it's basic marketing.

Used to be worth doing but not any more. NAP consistency is also not longer so important.

None of them. Citations are recommendations for your business. A business directory can add value but it's not a citation. If you want to improve local search visibility, Google rankings, and customer trust begin with demonstrating you actually deliver locally. To do this begin reporting on work you have done (case studies). Then begin collecting reviews from customers. Then become a member of professional organizations. Almost all local SEO is onsite. Inbound links add very little value. Ones you create yourself even less value.

Took me less than a minute to get an answer from both Google and ChatGPT