Do you need one?
Does a tree surgeon need a website?
Tree surgeons get good referred work, so it is a fair question. But customers check for insurance before they call, and storm-damage work goes to whoever is found fast. Here is the honest answer.
From £297, live in 7 days, on your own domain.
Do you need a website?
The honest answer
Does a tree surgeon need a website? If referrals keep you as busy as you want, and you have no interest in searched or storm-damage work, then honestly, no. Some tree surgeons run steadily on word of mouth. I am not going to pretend it is compulsory. But if you want the cautious searchers who check your credentials, and the well-paid storm-damage work that goes to whoever is found fast, then yes, and the reason is specific to how this trade is chosen. The real question is not “website yes or no”. It is “when a nervous customer checks whether a tree surgeon is insured and qualified, and when a tree comes down and someone searches urgently, can you be found and can you reassure them”, because those two moments decide a lot of tree work.
Customers check your credentials online
The defining feature of tree surgery, for this question, is that the customer is anxious and checks before they commit. Tree work is dangerous and close to property, so before letting anyone near their tree, a careful homeowner wants to confirm the tree surgeon is insured and qualified. Increasingly they do that check online, looking for proof, and if there is nothing to find, the reassurance they need is absent.
If you have no website, you have nowhere to prove your credentials at that moment. The cautious customer searching for a tree surgeon cannot confirm you are insured and qualified, so they choose one who could show them, or worse, cannot tell you apart from the uninsured cowboy they are afraid of. You are not losing on competence, you may be the safer, better tree surgeon, you are losing because you had nowhere to prove it. That is the quiet cost of having no website in this trade: not fewer referrals, but missing the careful, well-paying customers who choose on reassurance you could not provide.
Storm work goes to whoever is found fast
There is a second, well-paid stream that having no website costs you: storm damage. After high winds, trees come down or are left dangerous, and people search urgently for a tree surgeon, because an unstable tree is a safety risk that cannot wait. They book whoever they can find and reach quickly. Without a website ranking for tree surgery in your area, you are simply not in that race, and it repeats after every big storm.
This work is immediate and well paid, and it goes almost entirely to findable tree surgeons. Referrals cannot help here, because the customer needs someone now and searches rather than waiting to ask around. So having no website does not just cost you the cautious planned customers, it hands the entire urgent storm stream to competitors who bothered to be found.
When you can skip it, and why the solo tree surgeon gains most
To be fair, if referrals keep you busy and you have no interest in searched or storm work, a website is not urgent. But given that customers check for insurance online and storm work goes to whoever is found fast, that is leaving well-paid work on the table. The moment you want that searched and emergency work, the calculation flips.
And it is often the solo tree surgeon who gains most, because being findable and visibly insured lets a one-man operation win cautious customers and catch storm work against anyone. Tree jobs are worth a good deal, so a single one covers the build. In a trade where the customer’s fear is hiring the wrong person, a small operation that clearly proves it is insured and qualified competes strongly for the careful, well-paying customer, and being findable means it also catches the urgent work.
I build the site on spec and send it finished, so you see how well it reassures customers before you pay anything, from £297. You are not gambling on the idea of a website, you are looking at your own and deciding then. So the real answer is: not if referrals keep you content, but yes the moment you want the searched and storm work, because customers check your credentials online and the urgent jobs go to whoever is found, and a website is where you win both.
How it works
From message to live in four steps.
- 01
Message me
Tell me your trade and your town on WhatsApp. No forms to wade through, no call to book.
- 02
£99 to start
A £99 deposit gets your build going and comes off your quote. It covers some of the build time.
- 03
I build it, you see it
I build the whole site, framed around your work, and send it to you finished to look at.
- 04
Pay the rest, go live
Happy with it? You pay the balance, it goes live on your own domain, and it is yours to keep.
What you get
What a tree surgery site from me includes.
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Built on spec
I build it first and send it finished. You see the real thing before you decide, not a mock-up.
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Live in 7 days
From the go-ahead, your site is live within a week. No months of back and forth.
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On your own domain
It goes live in your name. You own the site and everything on it, with no lock-in.
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Genuinely fast
Static pages, no WordPress. Fast pages rank better and turn more visitors into calls.
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Found on Google
Built to be found in local search, with the plumbing done properly from day one.
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Looked after
Someone looks after it and changes it when you need. Two small edits a month, your listing kept current.
What it costs
A straight price.
From £297 to build it, first three months of Care included, then £49 a month.
You own the site outright and can stop the monthly plan whenever you like. Hosting is part of Care and Grow, so one of those keeps it online after the first three months, or you host it yourself. See the full pricing.
Common questions
Questions I get asked.
Does a tree surgeon really need a website?
If you want the searched work and the storm-damage jobs, yes. Customers check that a tree surgeon is insured and qualified before letting them near their property, and they do that online. And storm work goes to whoever is found fast. Without a website you cannot prove your credentials or be found in an emergency. You can run on referrals, but you miss the cautious searchers and the urgent work.
Isn't word of mouth enough for a tree surgeon?
It brings good work, but it cannot reach the person whose tree just came down and who searches urgently, nor the many who search for a tree surgeon and want to see proof of insurance before calling. Both are online, not asking a neighbour. Word of mouth misses them. A website captures them, proving your credentials and catching the emergency work referrals cannot reach.
What tree work am I missing without a website?
The cautious searchers and the storm-damage rush. People search for a tree surgeon and check for insurance and qualifications before choosing, and after storms they search urgently for someone to deal with a dangerous tree. With no website you cannot reassure the first or be found by the second, so both go to a findable competitor. The storm work especially is well-paid and largely missed by those who cannot be found fast.
I get tree work by recommendation. Do I still need a site?
Recommendations help, but they leave gaps. Even a referred customer often looks you up to confirm you are insured before letting you near their property, because the risk is high. And storm-damage customers need someone now and search rather than wait for a referral. A website confirms your credentials to the referred customer and catches the urgent searchers your referrals cannot reach.
When can a tree surgeon skip having a website?
If referrals keep you as busy as you want and you have no interest in searched or storm-damage work, you could manage without one. That is a fair position. But given that customers check for insurance online and storm work goes to whoever is found fast, you are leaving well-paid work on the table. The website matters the moment you want that searched and emergency work.
Is a website worth it for a one-man tree surgery business?
Often especially so, because being findable and visibly insured lets a solo tree surgeon win cautious customers and catch storm work against anyone. Tree jobs are worth a good deal, so a single one covers the build. In a trade where the customer's fear is hiring the wrong person, a one-man operation that proves it is insured and qualified competes very well for the careful, well-paying customer.
Tell me your town and I'll build you a tree surgery site on spec, so you can see it before you pay. Or read A Checkatrade alternative, see the full pricing, or get in touch.