Landscapers’ Web sites range from simple, straightforward and informational to showcases of projects, available services and more. Regardless of your style, the way to create an effective site is to ask this question: What will benefit my customers?
Chris Porter, owner of Cumming, Georgia-based GreenIndustryWebsites.com, says the planning stage for a Web site is the most important. “I conduct many seminars on Web sites that work and the effective ones always start with a clear understanding about what should be accomplished,” Porter explains. “Most landscapers think a Web site is to extend their sales, but there are so many other uses for them.”

How do you want to use your Web site?
In many cases, landscapers want a Web site so potential customers can find them through a search engine. But Porter encourages you to think about what part of the sales process you want the Web site to serve. Lead generation is a common wish, but not always the most useful. Up-selling can be an effective tool a Web site provides. Usually, landscapers want to peak curiosities by directing them to a finished projects section of their Web site.
“Calculators for mulch needs and waterfall materials are becoming popular, as are customer functions such as online invoicing and payment and a work history showing what was done and when,” Porter says.

What are you driving the customer to do?
Your Web site should ultimately give the customer a call to action. Some landscapers want a phone call inquiry, others want an e-mail. “If you want a phone call, make the phone number very large on every page of the site,” Porter suggests. “If you want an e-mail or quote request, make that button or link very large. Sometimes these are even located on the home page.”

Provide key information.
“If you are a new company, especially, you want your customer to be able to find you,” says Jennifer Lemcke, chief operating officer of Weed Man, a network of locally owned and operated chemical application and lawn care companies. “Let them know who you are, what you do, historical background on the company, the areas you serve and the services you offer.”
This information helps with search engine optimization and builds your company’s name and brand as an expert resource in your area. “You can also market very inexpensively using e-mail, so always try to capture a site visitor’s e-mail address,” Porter says.

How can you be more efficient?
What are the business and sales processes that take up your time? Can you move some of those tasks to a Web site? “That’s really how our plant guide came about,” Porter explains. “We had a customer who took plant books to jobsites and took customers to nurseries to show them plants.” Implementing a plant coverage map on your Web site can save everyone’s time.
“We have fact sheets about different turf diseases and pests on our Web site that landscapers or homeowners can access and read,” Lemcke says.
Weed Man is hoping to implement several online business tools in the near future, including online account access.

Choosing a domain name.
“Probably 60 percent to 70 percent of our customers have an existing site or name when they come to us,” Porter says. “In the rest of the cases, we help them come up with a name.” It’s important that your site name be memorable, especially if you are marketing on the side of your trucks or on billboards. Remember: the domain name does not have to match your company name.