Most roofing websites end in a contact form and a wait. Homeowners want to know roughly what a job will cost before they spend time on a call or a visit. Showing a guide figure online can help, but only if it comes from your rates and is clearly a range, not a promise.
Why homeowners want a figure first
Someone looking at 10pm on a Sunday can’t ring anyone. They’re usually trying to answer one question: is this a few hundred pounds or a few thousand? A rough figure there and then helps them make up their mind, go with you and give you a call. Without one, they keep searching, and the next site they find might give them an answer.
The usual worries, and what to do about them
“Competitors will see my prices.”
A range for a typical job reveals much less than a written quote, and other firms in your area already know roughly what the market charges. If you’d rather keep figures behind a step, you can ask for contact details before the price is shown.
“People will hold me to it.”
Only if it’s presented as a quote. A guide range that says plainly “a survey confirms the final price” sets the right expectation. You still survey the roof and confirm your price, the same as now.
“Every roof is different.”
True, and that’s why it should be a range, priced from what changes the cost: covering, area, roof shape, and extras like chimneys and roof windows. Jobs that can’t be priced from a few questions, such as possible asbestos, listed buildings or structural damage, should go straight to a survey with no figure at all.
“It’ll put people off.”
Some homeowners will decide the job is more than they expected. That conversation would have happened anyway, after a site visit. The difference is that the people who do get in touch already know the ballpark.
Fixed price lists versus an estimate from your rates
A price list on a web page (“re-roofs from £X”) is easy to add but says little about the visitor’s own roof. An estimate calculator asks a few questions and works the range out from your rate per m² and your allowances, so a felt flat roof on a garage and a slate re-roof on a detached house get very different figures. Either way, the numbers should be yours, not national averages.
Price first or details first?
Showing the price first gives the homeowner what they came for and builds trust. Asking for details first gets you the enquiry even from people who only wanted a number. Many companies choose differently by job type, for example price first for repairs and details first for new roofs. Firstprice lets you set this separately for repairs, replacements and new roofs.
A sensible middle ground
- Show a range, not a single number.
- Build it only from your own rates and allowances.
- Say clearly that a survey confirms the final price.
- Send awkward jobs to a survey instead of guessing.
- Check the ranges against your past quotes before it goes live.