Checkatrade vs your own website is not really an either/or, although it is often sold that way. A lead platform and a website solve different problems. The useful question is what each one is doing for you, and what happens to your business if you stop paying for it.
We build websites, so we are not neutral. But we will say plainly: a platform like Checkatrade does things your own website cannot, and for plenty of trades it earns its fee.
What Checkatrade gives you
Checkatrade is a directory with a strong consumer brand. Homeowners search it directly, and its tick and review system give a new customer a reason to trust someone they have never heard of. At the time of writing its published plans are a Free profile, an Approved membership at £30 a month and a Growth plan from £59 a month, with Approved and Growth on 12-month contracts; lead packages sit on the Growth plan and vary by trade and area.
- Trust by association: customers recognise the brand and the checks.
- Visibility on a site people already use to find trades.
- Review collection and display on a platform customers trust.
- On lead plans, enquiries without having to do your own marketing.
What your own website gives you
- No competitors on the page. A customer on your site is looking only at you.
- Your name and domain on everything: van, invoices, Google Business Profile.
- Control over what you say, what you show and which jobs you ask for.
- Search visibility that builds up over time and does not stop when a membership ends.
- Somewhere to send people who heard of you by word of mouth, so they can check you out.
Side by side
| Lead platform (e.g. Checkatrade) | Your own website | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Membership, and on some plans leads | Build and hosting |
| Who owns the audience | The platform | You |
| Competitors on the page | Yes, other members nearby | No |
| Trust signal | Platform brand, vetting and reviews | Your reviews, photos, credentials |
| If you stop paying | Profile and leads stop | Domain and content remain yours |
| Speed to first enquiry | Fast, if leads are included | Slower; builds over time |
Why they work best together
Here is how it tends to play out. A homeowner finds you on Checkatrade, likes your reviews, then searches your business name on Google before picking up the phone. If they find a clear, professional website with your work, your areas and a phone number, that reinforces the decision. If they find nothing, or a broken page from 2016, some of them will go back and ring the next name on the list.
It works the other way too. Your website can link to your Checkatrade profile as proof, and a Checkatrade badge on your site adds trust to people who found you on Google. The platform brings new people in; the website confirms you are who you say you are.
When to lean on each
Early on, or in a new area, a platform can fill the diary faster than a new website can rank. Once you have steady work and plenty of reviews, your own website and Google Business Profile start doing more of the lifting, and you can decide whether the platform still pays for itself.
The simple test: track where each job comes from for three months. Ask every new customer how they found you. Then compare the cost of each channel against the work it actually brought in.
What your website needs to back up a platform profile
- Your business name, exactly as it appears on your platform profile and your Google Business Profile.
- The towns and areas you cover, so a customer can see you actually work near them.
- Photos of real jobs - before and after works well for most trades.
- Your credentials and memberships, including the platform itself if you are a member.
- A phone number at the top of every page, tappable on mobile, and a simple quote form.
What not to do
- Do not rely on a single channel. If a platform changes its pricing or your area gets crowded, you want another source of work.
- Do not leave your website half-finished because the platform is busy. It is the first thing a sceptical customer checks.
- Do not copy your platform profile word for word onto your site. Write it for your own customers, in your own words.