I check contractors’ websites the way their customers do: on a phone, usually in a hurry.
Someone gets your name from a neighbor, looks you up, and decides in a few seconds whether to call. If your homepage takes fifteen seconds to load, shows a security warning, or won’t let them tap your number, they call the next name on the list.
I’m Isaac Varner. I fix and build websites for contractors and small businesses around Culpeper, and it starts with a free one-page check of the site you have now.
What the free check looks like
One page. The problems that are costing you calls, most important first, each with the fix written out. It comes by mail or email, whichever you like.
It’s yours to keep. Fix things yourself, hand it to whoever runs your site, or have me do it.
- On a phone, your homepage takes about 14 seconds to show its main content.FixCompress the photos and cut the heavy scripts.
- Your phone number can’t be tapped to call.FixMake every number a tap-to-call link.
- Your “Get a Quote” button goes to an error page.FixPoint it at the quote form.
What I found around Culpeper this fall
In September I checked the websites of more than 400 licensed contractors in and around Culpeper County. More than a third had something worth fixing:
- 102took longer than four seconds to load on a phone, which Google rates as poor.
- 50listed a phone number that couldn’t be tapped to call.
- 41used a web address for email that led to a parking page or an error instead of the business.
- 24made Chrome warn visitors that the site wasn’t secure.
Most of these can be fixed on the site you already have, often in an afternoon. A parked address needs a simple one-page site.
Prices
Up to five specific problems fixed on the site you already have: a security warning, a number that can’t be tapped, broken links, photos too big for a phone, a pop-up that covers the screen.
Paid when the fixes are done and you’ve seen the before and after.
For a web address with nothing on it yet. What you do, where you work, photos of your own jobs, and a number people can tap. It can grow into a full site later, and you only pay the difference.
Half to start, half at launch.
Up to five pages, rewritten from what you have now plus a short phone call, using your photos. Built to load fast on a phone, with your number one tap away on every page.
Half to start, half at launch.
For sites I build. Hosting, the security certificate, and small edits like new job photos or changed hours, done within two business days of your text.
Month to month. Cancel with 30 days’ notice, no fee.
New sites include two rounds of changes and the first month of hosting. These are introductory prices while I build a portfolio.
Who you’d be working with
Me. I study computer science at Virginia Tech, and Culpeper is home. You deal with me directly, by phone, text or email, and nothing locks you into a long contract.
Your web address stays registered in your name. Once a site is paid for, it’s yours, and if you ever move on, I’ll hand over the files and help with the move.
You can pay by check, or by card or bank transfer through an emailed invoice.
Questions people ask
- You’re a student. Will you still be around?
- That’s the plan, and you’re covered either way. The domain is in your name, the files are yours, and hosting is month to month. If you want someone else to take over, I’ll help them do it.
- Will changing my website affect my email?
- It shouldn’t, and I make sure of it. Before I touch your domain settings, I copy your email settings over, and afterward I send test emails both ways.
- I already have someone who does my website.
- Then pass the check along to them. Most of what it finds is quick for whoever runs the site.
- How long does it take?
- A quick fix usually takes a few days once I have access. A one-page site is usually live about a week after I get your photos. A rebuild takes two to three weeks.
The easiest way to start
Text me your web address. I’ll send back the check, usually within a couple of days, and I answer calls and texts myself.
Or email isaacvarnersites@gmail.com.
Isaac Varner, Culpeper