What a painter's website needs so people text for an estimate

A homeowner who wants a house or a kitchen painted is about to let a stranger into their home for a week. They ask four things, in this order.

1. Will they come and quote?
2. Can I trust them in my house?
3. Can I see work like mine?
4. What will it cost?

I read six Vernon-area painting sites. All six have a free estimate button. Not one answers the fourth question.

1. Will they come and quote?

Five of the six have a phone number you can tap. The sixth is a single form. The estimate itself is free on all six.

What most skip is how fast. Two of the six say when you'll hear back, one with "within 24 hours". Put your turnaround next to the button: "Send me photos and I'll reply the same day."

Name the work too. All six say what kinds of painting they do. Interior, exterior and cabinets are different jobs, so give each its own line.

2. Can I trust them in my house?

This is the question that turns a click into a text.

• Reviews. All six show reviews or customer quotes. One counts them: "120+ reviews".
• Years, or who owns it. Four of the six say how long they've been going, or that the owner does the work. "Since 2017" and "owner-operator" both work.
• Insured. Three say so. A painter on a ladder at someone else's house is a liability question, and "fully insured" answers it in two words.
• A warranty. One of the six mentions a workmanship guarantee. A paint job is judged a year later, when it has peeled or hasn't, and a written guarantee is the answer to that. If you give one, say how long.

Leave out "licensed painter" unless you hold something you can name. A Red Seal certificate counts if you have one.

3. Can I see work like mine?

Five of the six have a gallery. The photos are the proof. Label each: what the house was, what you did, which town. "Exterior, cedar siding, three coats, Coldstream" tells a homeowner more than the picture does.

Show the prep. Three of the six describe it, and one puts it plainly: "Our prep work is what truly sets us apart… fill every hole, caulk every gap and sand every imperfection." Prep is where a paint job succeeds or fails, and homeowners know it. Say what you do before the first coat.

Say which paint. One of six names its brands. A homeowner asks "what paint?" the day you arrive, so answer it before.

4. What will it cost?

None of the six give a price. One promises "an itemised estimate" and stops there.

You don't need a price list. A range for a typical job is enough: "A three-bedroom interior is usually between $X and $Y." Or say how you work it out: by the room, by the hour, by the square foot. The homeowner who sees any number is a step ahead of the one who sees none, and every other painter in the sample leaves them with none.

Two things nobody shows

1. WorkSafeBC. You have workers in a home. None of the six mention being covered, or that you can send a clearance letter. One line does it: "WorkSafeBC clearance letter on request."
2. Older homes. Older homes are common here, and old paint can contain lead. None of the six say how they handle it. A line like "I test old paint for lead before I sand" answers a worry the homeowner may not know to raise.

What to leave off

"Quality workmanship", "free estimates" as a headline, and paragraphs about paint chemistry. Photos and a number say it better.

You can see how a made-up painter lays this out in my painter example.

If your best photos are in your phone and nowhere else, text them to me with the town and what you did. We'll start there.

Written by Mackenzie Bowes in Vernon, BC. October 26, 2026.