# Websites for groundworks contractors

> Websites for groundworks contractors, built for developers, builders and self-builders who need foundations, drainage and site prep done on programme - and want proof you have the kit and the people.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/industries/groundworkers
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-27

There are 3,190 site preparation businesses across 332 UK local authorities (ONS UK Business Counts, SIC 43120, 2025, OGL v3.0).

## How customers choose

Groundworks are mostly bought by people who know exactly what they want. Builders, developers and self-builders need footings dug, foundations poured, drainage laid, sites cleared and slabs cast, usually to a drawing and a programme. They choose on capacity - plant, people, and whether you can start when the job needs you - and on a track record of similar jobs. A delay in groundworks holds up every trade after you, so reliability is the whole purchase. Self-builders are the most research-heavy group: they are more likely to find a groundworker online, ask a lot of questions, and value a contractor who explains the process. Homeowners appear for smaller jobs - drainage problems, soakaways, extension footings, bases for garden rooms - and are often unsure what they actually need.

## What most websites in this trade get wrong

Groundworks websites usually undersell capacity. A contractor with a yard of diggers and dumpers and a regular gang presents as a phone number and a single photo of a trench, which gives a developer no way to judge scale. The projects that prove capability - a set of house foundations, a drainage run, a large slab - are rarely written up with what was involved. Contractors also forget the self-build and domestic market, which searches online far more than developers do and wants clear explanations of footings, drainage and building control inspections. And the site paperwork a main contractor checks - cards, risk assessments, waste carrier registration - goes unmentioned.

## What the website has to do

- **Tender or quote request with drawings attached** - Groundworks are priced from drawings; a form that takes them saves a round of emails.
- **Self-build enquiries** - Whole-project work from clients who choose on clarity and trust.
- **Domestic drainage and footings** - Smaller jobs that keep plant working between larger contracts.

## Pages

- **Home** - A real job in progress, with your plant visible.
- **Foundations and footings** - Extensions, new builds and garden rooms.
- **Drainage** - New drainage, soakaways and connections.
- **Site clearance and excavation** - Muck-away, levelling and access.
- **Concrete slabs and bases** - From garage bases to larger pours.
- **Self-build groundworks** - The process explained for people doing it once.
- **Plant and capacity** - What you own, gang size, how soon you can start.
- **Projects** - Write-ups with scope, duration and photos.
- **Contact** - Form with drawing upload.

## Features that matter

- **Drawing upload on the enquiry form** - Groundworks cannot be priced without them.
- **A plant list and capacity page** - Answers the developer’s real question: can you handle this job?
- **Project write-ups with scope and duration** - Lets a client recognise their own job in yours.
- **A self-build guide to the groundworks stage** - The most online-researched buyer in this trade.
- **Cards, insurance and waste carrier registration listed** - Main contractors check these before they check anything else.

Trust signals: Project write-ups with scope and photos; CSCS cards and CPCS or NPORS plant operator cards; Waste carrier registration; Public and employers’ liability insurance; Owned plant, where true.

Seasonality: Wet winters turn sites to mud and slow excavation, so work builds from late winter into a busy spring and summer. Self-builders plan through the winter to break ground in spring.

## Local authorities with the most

| Local authority | Businesses |
|---|---|
| North Yorkshire | 50 |
| County Durham | 45 |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 45 |
| Cornwall | 40 |
| Leeds | 35 |
| Somerset | 35 |
| Mid Ulster | 35 |
| Buckinghamshire | 30 |
| Wiltshire | 30 |
| Dorset | 30 |

## The offer

- **Monthly**: £299 upfront, £99/month (the upfront is a setup fee), 12-month minimum term. We build it, host it and look after it - and after 24 monthly payments, it is yours.
- **Own It**: £1,795 upfront, £49/month, no minimum term. Buy the website outright. It is yours to keep, move or cancel.
- **Pro**: £6,950 upfront, £299/month, 12-month minimum term. No limits. For large, multi-site and fast-growing businesses.
- Payment: The setup fee is paid when you book, and it starts the design. Monthly fees are collected by Direct Debit, covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee, from the day your site goes live.
- Guarantee: You see your finished design on your phone and approve it before anything goes live, with two full rounds of changes included. Nothing launches until you are happy with it. The Monthly plan runs for 12 months from launch.
- Bolt-ons: Google Business Profile management £29/month; Local SEO pack £49/month; Business email £5/month. Coming soon, not yet on sale: Missed-call text back, Review booster.
- VAT: We are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT to add to these prices.

## Questions

### Should a groundworks contractor list their plant and machinery on their website?

Yes - a clear list of the plant you own and the size of gang you run is one of the most persuasive things a groundworks website can show. Developers and main contractors are judging whether you can handle their job and start on time, and a list of machines with a few photos answers that faster than any paragraph. Keep it current, because a contractor who expected a bigger machine will remember.

### Is it worth writing for self-builders on a groundworks website?

Self-builders are worth a dedicated page on a groundworks website, because they research online far more than developers and often choose the contractor who explains things best. Someone managing their own build wants to know how footings, drainage and building control inspections fit together, and roughly what happens in what order. A clear page on that brings enquiries from people who are otherwise hard to reach.

### What if I do not have photographs of my work?

Start taking them now, on your phone, before and after every job. Photographs of your own finished work convert better than any stock image or any amount of copy, and in the trades they are the single biggest factor in the size of job you get asked to quote for. We will lay out the site to work with whatever you have and improve as you build up a library.