Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark vs your own website: which is right for you?

Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark and Rated People are the first places many tradesmen turn for work, and for good reason: they can produce enquiries within days. But "should I be on Checkatrade or have my own website?" is the wrong question. They do different jobs. This guide explains how each platform works, what you are really paying for, where your own website is stronger, where it is weaker, and how to use both without being dependent on either.

How each platform works

The platforms change their pricing and rules regularly, so check their current terms before signing up. In broad terms, at the time of writing:

• Checkatrade is a membership directory. You pass their vetting, pay a membership fee, and appear in searches by trade and postcode alongside your reviews. Customers contact you directly.
• MyBuilder is a job board. Customers post a job, tradesmen express interest, and you pay a fee when the customer shortlists you.
• Bark works on credits. Customers submit a request, and you spend credits to respond to the ones you want.
• Rated People is similar to MyBuilder: customers post jobs and tradesmen pay to receive the customer's details.

All of them have one thing in common. You are paying for access to customers on a platform you do not control, in a list that also contains your competitors.

Leads versus presence

A directory sells you leads: a customer with a job, today, who may or may not choose you. A website builds you a presence: when someone searches for "roof repairs Bolton" next March, your page for roof repairs in Bolton is there to be found. The lead is immediate and expires. The presence takes time to build and then keeps working.

That is why the comparison is not either-or. A new business needs leads now. An established business wants a presence it owns. Most tradesmen are somewhere in between and want both, with the balance shifting towards their own site as it gains traction.

The problem with renting your customers

• You appear beside your competitors. The customer who found you can see five other tradesmen with similar ratings on the same screen.
• The reviews are theirs, not yours. Years of five-star reviews live on the platform. Leave, and they are no longer working for you.
• The pricing is theirs to change. Membership fees, lead prices and credit costs have all changed over the years, rarely downwards.
• The enquiries stop when the payments stop. There is no residual benefit. Every month starts from zero.
• The customer relationship belongs to the platform. Their branding is on the profile, and some customers remember "I found him on Checkatrade" rather than your business name.

What your own website gives you

• A page for each service in each area you cover. Up to 240 of them with Tradesmen's Websites, each one matching a specific local search. Directories cannot give you that; you are one entry in their list.
• Nobody else on the page. When a customer lands on your site, the only tradesman they can ring is you.
• Reviews that follow you. Your live Google rating and review count on your own site, tied to your Google Business Profile rather than to a subscription.
• Your own domain. On the van, on the invoices, on the business cards. It is yours for as long as you renew it.
• Control of the message. The services you want, the areas you want, the photos you choose, and no "get three quotes" button sending customers elsewhere.
• A place to send people. Every recommendation, every Facebook post and every quote can point to a page that closes the deal.

The honest downsides of a website

A website is not a lead machine on day one. It takes time for Google to find and trust a new site, and results depend on competition in your area, your reviews and the quality of your Google Business Profile. No ethical provider can guarantee rankings. If you have no work this week, a directory will probably help faster. A website also needs looking after, which is one reason to choose a subscription that includes hosting, security and updates rather than a one-off build that slowly goes stale.

Directory listing versus your own website

The "both" strategy

The tradesmen who get this right rarely cancel a directory the day their website goes live. They run both, measure, and shift spend gradually:

1. Keep the directory for now if it is producing work you want. Note what it costs you per month and per job.
2. Launch a website built around your services and areas, and point your van, invoices and Facebook page at it.
3. Send every happy customer to Google for their review, not to the directory. Google reviews help your map listing and your site at the same time.
4. Track where calls come from for three to six months. Ask, and write it down.
5. Reduce directory spend as your own enquiries grow, or drop to the cheapest tier that keeps the reviews visible.

Our guide to getting found on Google locally explains what "built around your services and areas" means in practice, and the website cost guide sets out what each route costs over time.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

See how a site built around services and areas looks on the live demo website. When you are ready, enter your details, see a preview of your own website, and pay £59 for your first month only if you are happy with it. £0 setup fee, no long-term contract.