In this 6-minute read:
- Features to include on your auto services website
- Use a website builder
- Examples of top auto services sites
We are in the digital age, and the need to have information at our fingertips isn’t going away anytime soon. So, you should absolutely make sure your auto services business has a website that can help guide new customers to you.
Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.
Throughout this article, we’ll list the most important features to include on your auto services website and show you some examples of other companies that have done this well.
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Features to include on your auto services website
What should you include in your auto services website? Websites can be useful in a lot of ways, but we want to narrow it down to the fundamentals for you. Make sure to include these features on your site:
- Helpful, informative content
- Professional quality photos or videos
- Strong call-to-action
- Clear way of contacting you
- Brand representation
Create helpful, informative content
The way any website is organized starts with the content (or it should at least). The amount and type of information you include on your website should determine the layout and design of the site.
So, it’s important to figure out what kind of content you will include. For auto services businesses, there are a few types of content that customers expect to find on your website:
- Contact information
- Information about the services you offer (and prices if possible)
- Information about your staff and your shop (let them get to know you)
If you want to add a little something extra, you can include a blog with repair tips or updates on discounts and new offerings.
This is a great place to feature YouTube tutorials or other how-to content. Several auto shops have made online social media content a significant portion of their revenue.
Some tips for writing good content:
- Write the way that you would talk to a customer. Keep the tone natural and friendly
- Check your grammar well before publishing your content. Poor grammar is a quick way to lose credibility
- Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Two to three sentence in a paragraph is plenty
- Break up long pages of text with headings, bulleted lists, and images. This makes the content easier to scan and helps keep customers engaged
Use professional quality photos or videos
Photos aren’t a requirement for a good website, but they certainly help. Lots of people respond well to visuals, so put images and videos on their website that will help to draw them in.
Photos and videos of your work can also help establish your brand and what your company is all about. It’s a way to help your customers get to know you before they ever step foot in your shop.
You don’t have to hire a professional photographer to get good quality photos or videos. You can easily take photos from your phone or a personal camera and put those on your website. As long as they aren’t fuzzy and are appealing to look at, you’re going the right direction.
Check this out: Top 3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your small business
Strong call-to-action
Your website’s main purpose should be to drive in more traffic to your physical business. To do that, you need a strong call-to-action that is present throughout your website. This can be an invitation to book an appointment or call your office.
Whatever you decide you want that first point of contact to be, make sure it is highly visible. We recommend placing a button in the header of your website.
A clear way to contact your business
Along with your call-to-action, you need to have an easy way for customers to get in contact with your business. Most people look for a “contact” or “contact us” page in your main menu at the top of the website.
On that page, make sure that you have a phone number listed, your address, and a way for people to message you (whether that’s a contact form or email address).
The more ways that you can receive communication from customers, the more opportunities you’ll have to gain new business.
Additional options you might prefer for contacting your business:
- Text messaging
- Facebook messaging
- Live chat on your website
Well-represented brand
Lastly, your brand needs to be well-represented throughout your site. Your website should feel like an online extension of your physical business. And for many of your customers, your website may be their first impression of your business, so it’s important to have your brand established on your website for customers to recognize your business when they arrive at your shop.
Easy ways to incorporate your brand throughout your website:
- Include your logo
- Use your brand colors throughout the site (keep it simple though, not too overwhelming with loud splashes of color everywhere)
- Use fonts from your logo or other print materials (business card, brochures, flyers, etc.)
- Include photos or videos of your shop, signage, and employees
Go deeper: How to create and build an effective brand
Website builders can help you implement the right features
If you’re not sure where to start in creating your website, you should look at a website builder. These are DIY sites that you can use to create and host your new auto services website. And if you get stuck, you can usually find a web developer nearby who is familiar with the popular online website builders.
Here are some helpful resources to get you started:
- Small business basics: What’s the easiest way to build your website?
- How to build your own business website (step-by-step walkthrough)
- How much do online website builders cost?
Examples of effective auto services websites
To provide some inspiration for your website building journey, we’ve gathered a few top-quality auto services websites that we really like.
Otto Haus
Otto Haus keeps a simple navigation at the top of their website to help customers easily find the information they are looking for. Their phone number is always present in the top corner, so it is easy to contact them too.
They also use beautiful, professional images throughout their site that help set the tone for their high-class brand.
Visit their site: https://www.ottohausofcharleston.com/
Christian Brothers Automotive
Christian Brothers Automotive does a good job of representing their brand throughout their site. Obviously they’re using the green from their logo, but it’s important to note that the way that they use it isn’t overwhelming or difficult to look at.
They also have well-written content that they supplement with photos and videos of their shop. This helps the customer get to know them better through their website.
Visit their site: https://www.cbac.com/
Jay Barkers Auto Repair Service
Jay Barkers Auto Repair Service has a strong call-to-action with their “appointment request” button being highly visible. They also have everything a customer would need to find on that first page-load in the header–contact info, hours, social links, address, links to other relevant information.
Caution: It doesn’t always work well to provide all of this information in the header so be careful to find the balance between helpful and overbearing.
Another thing we really like on this site is that they go above and beyond by sharing tips with their customers.
Visit their site: https://www.jaybarkerautorepair.com/
You may also like: 5 reasons your auto services business needs a website
Optimize your online presence and get more customers to your website
Once your website is published and you are happy with it, it’s time to spend some of your marketing efforts maximizing the rest of your online presence.
With reputation management software, you can manage all of your reviews on all the popular sites in one place with one login, and easily reply for better customer retention. Online reviews are hugely important in converting new customers.
Plus, getting regular reviews online and managing your profiles across various online business listings are great next steps to really help you show up well in the search engines in local searches.
Womply Reputation Management can help with that. Womply also offers business intelligence, customer relationship management, email marketing, payments, and a dynamic customer directory that updates automatically with each transaction.
Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!
Extra cool content: Read how Womply helps one local auto shop thrive!