Compare your options

A specialist, a general agency, or do it yourself.

A UK construction company has three realistic ways to get a website. Each one is the right answer for somebody. This page sets out the differences plainly so you can decide which one is right for your company.

Side by side

Criteria	Construction SitesConstruction specialist	General web design agencyAny sector	DIY website builderWix, Squarespace, GoDaddy
Who does the work	A company that only builds websites for construction firms. More than 1,000 built.	A general agency serving every sector: dentists, restaurants, law firms, and occasionally a builder.	You, or someone in the office, in the evenings and between jobs.
Understanding of the trade	We know what a main contractor, QS or procurement team looks for, and where CHAS, Constructionline and Gas Safe need to sit.	Learned from scratch on your project. Accreditations often end up as small logos in the footer.	Yours, which is real, but the template does not know how to present it.
What you see before paying	A complete first version of your new website, built and shown privately before any money changes hands.	Usually a proposal document and a mood board. The design comes after a deposit.	A blank template. You find out what it looks like as you build it.
Written content	All service, project and location pages written for you from a conversation about the company.	Often left to you to supply, or charged as a separate copywriting line.	Written by you, usually in a hurry, usually unfinished.
Project and case study pages	Built as standard. Completed work presented as proof, with the detail a client checks for.	Possible, but typically a gallery grid unless you specify and pay for more.	A photo gallery. Captions if you have the patience.
Search foundations	Structured for search from day one: page structure, titles, metadata, sitemap, location pages, indexing checked at launch.	Varies widely. Many design-led agencies treat search as an add-on package.	Basic settings are there, but the structure that ranks a construction company is not something a template gives you.
Time to first full version	Days.	Six to twelve weeks is typical, with a discovery phase first.	A weekend for something rough. Months for something you would put on a van.
How you pay	One fixed project fee for the package you choose, paid once you have seen the preview and decided to go ahead.	A quote, usually with a deposit, stage payments and an hourly rate for anything outside the scope.	A monthly subscription to the builder for as long as the site exists, plus your own time.
Ownership	The website, content and web address are your company's assets from day one.	Normally yours once the final invoice is paid. Check the contract for who holds the hosting and the web address.	You rent the platform. Stop paying and the site goes. Moving it elsewhere is rarely possible.
Hosting and support	Twelve months of hosting, security, monitoring and edits included in every package.	Sold separately as a monthly maintenance retainer.	Included in the subscription. Support is a help centre and a chat window.
Moving from an existing site	Every page Google already values is mapped and preserved. Your old site never goes dark and rankings carry across.	Depends on the agency. Lost rankings after a redesign are common when redirects are an afterthought.	Rarely handled. Most rebuilt DIY sites start from zero in search.
Best suited to	Established construction companies with a trading history, doing serious turnover, where the website is checked by clients and tenders.	Companies that need something unusual outside construction, or already have an agency relationship they trust.	Sole traders and start-ups who need a basic online presence and have more time than budget.

Who does the work

Construction Sites: A company that only builds websites for construction firms. More than 1,000 built.
General web design agency: A general agency serving every sector: dentists, restaurants, law firms, and occasionally a builder.
DIY website builder: You, or someone in the office, in the evenings and between jobs.

Understanding of the trade

Construction Sites: We know what a main contractor, QS or procurement team looks for, and where CHAS, Constructionline and Gas Safe need to sit.
General web design agency: Learned from scratch on your project. Accreditations often end up as small logos in the footer.
DIY website builder: Yours, which is real, but the template does not know how to present it.

What you see before paying

Construction Sites: A complete first version of your new website, built and shown privately before any money changes hands.
General web design agency: Usually a proposal document and a mood board. The design comes after a deposit.
DIY website builder: A blank template. You find out what it looks like as you build it.

Written content

Construction Sites: All service, project and location pages written for you from a conversation about the company.
General web design agency: Often left to you to supply, or charged as a separate copywriting line.
DIY website builder: Written by you, usually in a hurry, usually unfinished.

Project and case study pages

Construction Sites: Built as standard. Completed work presented as proof, with the detail a client checks for.
General web design agency: Possible, but typically a gallery grid unless you specify and pay for more.
DIY website builder: A photo gallery. Captions if you have the patience.

Search foundations

Construction Sites: Structured for search from day one: page structure, titles, metadata, sitemap, location pages, indexing checked at launch.
General web design agency: Varies widely. Many design-led agencies treat search as an add-on package.
DIY website builder: Basic settings are there, but the structure that ranks a construction company is not something a template gives you.

Time to first full version

Construction Sites: Days.
General web design agency: Six to twelve weeks is typical, with a discovery phase first.
DIY website builder: A weekend for something rough. Months for something you would put on a van.

How you pay

Construction Sites: One fixed project fee for the package you choose, paid once you have seen the preview and decided to go ahead.
General web design agency: A quote, usually with a deposit, stage payments and an hourly rate for anything outside the scope.
DIY website builder: A monthly subscription to the builder for as long as the site exists, plus your own time.

Ownership

Construction Sites: The website, content and web address are your company's assets from day one.
General web design agency: Normally yours once the final invoice is paid. Check the contract for who holds the hosting and the web address.
DIY website builder: You rent the platform. Stop paying and the site goes. Moving it elsewhere is rarely possible.

Hosting and support

Construction Sites: Twelve months of hosting, security, monitoring and edits included in every package.
General web design agency: Sold separately as a monthly maintenance retainer.
DIY website builder: Included in the subscription. Support is a help centre and a chat window.

Moving from an existing site

Construction Sites: Every page Google already values is mapped and preserved. Your old site never goes dark and rankings carry across.
General web design agency: Depends on the agency. Lost rankings after a redesign are common when redirects are an afterthought.
DIY website builder: Rarely handled. Most rebuilt DIY sites start from zero in search.

Best suited to

Construction Sites: Established construction companies with a trading history, doing serious turnover, where the website is checked by clients and tenders.
General web design agency: Companies that need something unusual outside construction, or already have an agency relationship they trust.
DIY website builder: Sole traders and start-ups who need a basic online presence and have more time than budget.

Which one is right for you

When a general agency is the right call

If your company is diversifying into something outside construction, or the website needs a custom application, a good general agency may be the better fit. You will pay more for the learning curve, and you should ask to see their construction work specifically, but the option is a sound one.

When doing it yourself is the right call

If you are a sole trader or a company in its first year, a DIY builder is a sensible place to start. It will do the job of proving you exist until there is a trading history worth presenting properly. We would rather you came to us then than now.

When Construction Sites is the right call

If the company is established, clients and main contractors are already checking you online, and the current website no longer matches the standard of the work, then a specialist saves you time, money and the risk of a redesign that costs you rankings. You see the finished standard before you commit to anything.

The easiest way to compare

See your own website built to our standard, then decide.

We build a complete first version of your new website and show it to you privately. Put it next to your current site, or next to any other quote you have, and judge us on the work.

Request your preview See the packages

Questions, answered straight

Is a specialist more expensive than a general agency?

Usually not. A general agency quotes for the time it takes to learn your sector as well as build the site. We already know the sector, so the fee goes on the design, the content and the search work rather than the research.

Can we not just use Wix or Squarespace?

You can, and for a sole trader it is often the right choice. The limits show when a procurement team or main contractor checks the company: template sites rarely present accreditations, project history and locations in a way that holds up, and you never own the site.

We already have an agency-built site. Why change?

You may not need to. If it still reflects the size and standard of the company, keep it. If it was built years ago, loads slowly, or hides your best work, we will build a full preview of what it could be and you can compare the two side by side before deciding.

What do we lose by switching to Construction Sites?

Nothing you own. Your web address, your content and your rankings come with you. We map every existing page before the switchover and the old site stays live until the new one is ready.