Start from what your future client needs to know
A pro website is neither a CV nor a company brochure. It has a single job: give someone who doesn't know you enough to decide to get in touch. Before opening a template, take a sheet of paper and write down the questions a prospect actually asks. What exactly does this person do? Do they work at my place, in my neighbourhood, in my area? Have they already done what I need? How do I reach them, and when?
The answers to these questions form the skeleton of your website. Everything else — colours, mood images, effects — comes later. If “Build my website” is new to you, the launch article explains how it works in general; here, we focus on independent professionals who sell a service.
The five elements of a website that makes people call
- Who you are: your name, your trade, and one sentence about your background or the way you work. A clear, friendly photo of you is more reassuring than a logo.
- What you do, and for whom: a short list of your services, worded the way clients talk, and the kind of clients you serve — individuals, small businesses, freelancers.
- The area you cover: the town, neighbourhoods or region where you work, or a note that you work remotely. A prospect outside your area saves time, and so do you.
- Proof written by you: photos of finished jobs, examples of typical engagements, how a session runs. Never make up reviews: quote a real client only with their consent, and in the form they have approved.
- How to contact you: a phone number, an email address, the hours you are available and, if you receive clients, the address of your workshop or office.
What each trade should put forward
Scroll the table
| Trade | What to put forward | Useful sections |
|---|---|---|
| Artisan (plumber, electrician, carpenter, tailor…) | Photos of your work, before and after if possible; the area you cover; how you put together a quote | Services, gallery of work, area covered, quote request, contact details |
| Consultant | Your method, in a few clear steps; the typical engagements you run and what the client ends up with; your experience in a specific sector | Approach, typical engagements, background, first conversation, contact details |
| Coach or trainer | Your approach and who it is for; the session format (length, in person or remote, one-to-one or group); how the first meeting goes | Approach, formats and flow, who it is for, booking, contact details |
Write plain, direct copy
The headline at the top of the page does much of the work. One formula suits almost every trade: what you do + for whom + where. “Electrician in [your town]: repairs and renovation for homeowners”; “Organisation consultant for small businesses, remote or on site”; “Public speaking coach for managers and freelancers”. Visitors know straight away whether they are in the right place.
Then write the way you talk to a client on the phone. Prefer “I fix leaks and replace water heaters” to “comprehensive sanitary plumbing solutions”. Short sentences, concrete words, one paragraph per idea. Avoid the jargon of your trade, unless it is also your clients' jargon.
Finally, choose one single action to offer visitors — call, write, request a quote, book a first conversation — and repeat it at the top and bottom of the page, with the same wording. Several buttons saying different things scatter attention. For a more general method, our step-by-step guide to creating a free website also covers choosing images and ordering sections.
Client reviews: only real ones, and with consent
A made-up or embellished client quote gets spotted, and it damages the very trust it was meant to build. If a happy client agrees to be quoted, ask for their consent in writing, have them reread the sentence you picked, and ask how they would like to be named: first name only, initials or job title. Otherwise, let your work, your method and your explanations speak: they are often enough to convince.
Build the website, from template to preview
Choose a template
Open “Build my website”, browse the templates and pick the one whose structure is close to your plan: plenty of room for photos if you are an artisan, more space for text if you are a consultant or coach. Click « Choose this template ».
Sign in with a confirmed email address
Sign in to your ServOrbit account, or create one, and confirm your email address if you haven't already. The online editor then opens in your browser.
Replace and adjust
Replace the template's texts with the ones you prepared, put in your own images, adapt the colours to your business, and add or remove sections to match the plan set out above. An empty or generic section does more harm than a missing one.
Review on a phone
Prospects will often open your link on a phone, between two tasks. Review the website on a small screen: is the headline easy to read, do the photos still speak for themselves, can the phone number be found without searching?
Spread the website where clients already come across you
A pro website only works if people see it. For an independent professional, there are many chances to show it, and they cost nothing. Add the link to your email signature, under your name and trade. Put it on your quotes and invoices: a client torn between two offers can take another look at your work or your method. Print it on your business card, and remember to add it to your profile on the messaging apps you use with clients, as well as on your social networks.
When a prospect asks “do you have anything to show me?”, you now have an immediate answer. Businesses that welcome the public follow the same logic with their own landmarks; our article on a free website for a restaurant or café gives another concrete example.
The rules to know before relying on your website
Your free website follows a few simple rules, which are worth knowing from the start. It is deleted after 30 days without the editor being opened, and each opening pushes the deadline back. A website you update from time to time therefore stays in place, but a forgotten website disappears. And a deleted website is gone for good: no backup is kept. So keep your texts in a separate document and your original photos in a folder: that is your safety net.
You can have up to 3 active websites on a single account. Finally, the editor is available in French, English and Spanish; for other languages, it is displayed in English.
One website per activity or per offer
Up to three active websites is a chance to separate what should be kept apart. A carpenter who also fits kitchens can give each trade its own website; a consultant can present business support on one side and workshops on the other; a coach can keep one-to-one sessions apart from group training. Each website stays short, speaks to a single audience and carries a single action. Just remember to open each one's editor regularly.
Once the business is established: your own domain name
A preview link is enough to get started, test a headline or show your work to a client. Once your business is established and clients come back, an address in your own name becomes more useful: it is easy to remember, it prints cleanly on a business card or a quote, and it belongs to you. If you are still torn between a one-page site and a fuller website, our comparison free website or full website helps you decide.
To publish your website under your own address, you need a domain name and web hosting. The procedure is detailed in our article from your free website to your own domain; here are the essentials.
Publish your website on your domain
Order a domain and hosting
Choose a domain name close to the name your clients know you by, along with a web hosting plan.
Open « Publish on my domain »
In your client area, under « My websites », click « Publish on my domain » next to the website in question.
Copy, then paste the sharing code
Copy your free website's sharing code, then paste it into the editor of your domain's site.
Publish
Start the publication: your website is live on your domain, and the free version is then deleted. Next, replace the old link in your signature, your quotes and your business cards.
The final read-through that saves missed calls
Before each send, check that your phone number and email address are correct, that the area shown matches where you actually work, and that no template text or image is still lying around. A prospect who reaches a wrong number does not call back: this check is always worth the effort.
