
A professional arborist website does three crucial things:
- It helps you be found by new leads searching online.
- It makes it easy for new and existing customers to book appointments.
- It helps to legitimize your business, showing visitors what you do and why they should trust you over anyone else.
Point #3 is especially important because the tree care industry is built on trust.
Since nearly everyone today researches businesses online before hiring them, having a website says: “I understand your needs, and I want to make it as easy as possible for you to hire me.”
But the truth is that most arborists aren’t web designers. How are you supposed to know what makes a good tree service website that converts visitors into customers?
That’s why we created this guide. You’ll learn the key elements of any great arborist website and see real examples from tree care companies we know.
Let’s get started.
What Makes a Good Arborist Website?
The best tree service websites have the following in common:
- A user-friendly website design
- A professional logo and clear branding
- Visible contact information
- An online booking form
- Tree care services you provide
- Business accreditations, insurance, and awards
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Original photos of your work
- Your competitive difference
- Mobile and search engine optimization
Now, let’s go through real examples of each one. Use them as inspiration and guidance when creating your own website.
If it seems like a lot, don’t worry! Making a service business website is easier than it seems.
1. A user-friendly design
New visitors will judge your website in a matter of seconds.
Avoid cluttering your home page with too much information. Instead, keep things simple and give the reader the information they need:
- who you are
- what services you offer
- what region you serve
- how clients can contact you
Ken’s Tree Service manages to showcase all this above the fold (that means you can see everything you need to know without having to scroll.)
Overall, this tree service website is clean, friendly, and very well-designed.
2. A professional logo and branding
Having a well-designed logo makes your business look more professional. It also helps customers know they are dealing with the right person, not a competitor, because they’ll see the same logo on your flyers, invoices, uniforms, and vehicles.
Adding your logo to the top left corner of your website is one of the easiest ways to make your website look instantly more professional.
Another design tip is to use a limited colour palette across the rest of your website that compliments your logo.
Choose one to three colors maximum to keep the design clean and on-brand.
Here’s how Aspen Arboricultural Solutions does it:
3. Visible contact information
If you don’t make it easy for clients to contact you, they won’t.
Always include your phone number in a very visible spot on your website. Include an email or a contact form for prospects who don’t want to call.
ArborGreen’s website does a great job of this. They even went a step further by making their phone number clickable. Customers don’t need to waste time punching digits to call.
4. An online booking form
In addition to including contact details, we strongly recommend adding an online booking form so visitors can request new work without calling.
Online booking forms speed up the entire sales process because you instantly have the information you need to create a quote. Plus, customers love it because they can book work when it’s convenient for them.
Here’s an example from Axe and Wedge Tree Works. When you click on “Get a Quote Today” it goes straight to a work request form.
Another example is Field’s Tree Service. They’ve included separate options for new and returning clients.
Returning clients can log directly into their client hub, while new clients can create a new work request.
“My clients love it,” says arborist Gordon Field. “They have access to all of their information all of the time, and can do things on their own schedule. If they’re busy, they can shoot me a work request in the middle of the night.”
5. List of tree care services you provide
Prospects want to know if you offer the exact tree service they need. Don’t waste anyone’s time: make sure you clearly list which services you provide.
Muskogee Tree, for example, lists four core services (tree removal, tree pruning, fence-line and bush, and stump grinding) on their services page.
Pro tip: Mentioning your services also helps you get found in search engines, like Google, when clients search for words like “Arborist near me.”
6. Tree care certifications, insurance and awards
Tree work is built on trust. Clients are looking for professionals they can trust to do the job safely and properly.
Showing off your business accreditations, insurance information, and awards you’ve won is a clear sign that you take your business and your work seriously. It gives prospects peace of mind so they’ll be more willing to hire you.
Matt and Tracy Logan of Logan Tree Experts have chosen to list all their certifications and insurance on the ‘About’ page of their site.
You can also add it to the home page, footer, and to your social media profiles to really drive home the point.
7. Customer reviews and testimonials
Social proof is a powerful way to tell clients you’re the right company for the job.
Most shoppers today won’t even call you if they can’t find good reviews online. So adding them directly to your website is a smart move.
Here’s how Green Leaf Tree Services does it:
You can also use a service like NiceJob to automatically pull customer reviews onto your website.
If you don’t have many reviews, or your tree care business is just starting out, follow these steps to get more reviews.
8. Original photos of your work and your crew
Clients who aren’t familiar with your work need to see it to believe it.
Original photos—that means no stock photos!—of your team and your work builds trust and credibility.
Most smartphones are equipped with high-quality cameras, so you can snap some professional-looking photos yourself and upload them to your website in minutes.
Here are a few ideas of photos to include on your tree service website:
- Before and after photos of jobs completed
- Your company vehicles
- You and our team in uniform and on a job-site
- A short video talking about your background story, services you offer, and mission
And here’s a great example of TreeCareLA using images to their benefit. On their About page, they have photos of their crew with short descriptions of what each employee does. It shows they are a legitimate company you can be comfortable letting onto your property.
9. Your competitive difference
Consumers today are used to comparison shopping. They’re looking at multiple tree service websites to decide which one suits them best.
If you want to win their business, your website needs to clearly explain what makes you different from the rest.
What unique service or offering do you bring to the market? What do you specialize in or do differently than anyone else in the area? For example, maybe you’re the only local business that can do stump grinding, or the only tree care business that exclusively hires certified arborists.
Once you know your competitive difference or USP (Unique Selling Proposition), add it to your website as a tagline or a “Why Choose Us?” section.
For example, Verdant Plant Health Care’s website lets prospective clients who want environmentally responsible services know they’re in the right place.
10. Mobile and search engine optimization
This step is a little bit more advanced, but it’s worth it if you want to make sure your website converts.
Search engine optimization helps you show up in search results when customers are looking for a tree care professional in Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
An excellent place to start is to use keywords related to your services and the area you serve.
For example, if you offer tree trimming services in Chicago, make sure you use words like “tree trimming Chicago” and “tree expert Illinois” across your website.
If you want to go deeper, here’s a guide to SEO for contractors.
Besides having the right keywords, having a responsive website design is just as important.
A responsive design simply means that your website automatically resizes to adjust to the visitor’s screen size, whether they are using a desktop computer, laptop, phone, or tablet.
Take a look at Advanced Tree Care’s website. It displays correctly across all devices.
Mobile:
Desktop:
Win More Business with Your Arborist Website
Wondering what all of these great tree service websites have in common?
They all use Jobber business management software to improve client communication, add online booking to their websites, and manage their client hub.
Want to see it in action? You can try Jobber for your tree care business for free.