Why the quote form matters more than the design
Most people who find a tradie online are on a phone, often at night or on a break, and often with a problem they want sorted. If your form is long, fiddly or asks for things they do not know, they close the tab and try the next business. If it takes 30 seconds and lets them snap a photo of the problem, you get the job details before your competitors get a call.
A good quote form does three jobs: it makes asking easy for the customer, it gives you enough detail to quote or book without three phone calls, and it gets the lead to you fast enough to act on it.
What to ask (and what to leave out)
Every extra field costs you some enquiries. Ask only what you need to call back with a useful answer.
| Field | Keep? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Job type (tap to choose) | Yes | Quick to answer and lets you sort leads at a glance |
| Suburb or postcode | Yes | Tells you if the job is in your area before you call |
| Short description | Yes, but optional | Useful, but do not force a minimum length |
| Photos (up to 3) | Yes, optional | Often worth more than the description |
| When they need it | Yes | "Urgent / this week / just planning" helps you prioritise |
| Name | Yes | One field, not first and last |
| Mobile | Yes | Most tradies call or text back |
| Optional | Handy for sending a written quote | |
| Full street address | Later | Ask on the phone once you are booking the job |
| Budget | Usually no | Most homeowners do not know, and a guess can mislead you |
| How did you find us? | Optional | Tells you which marketing works |
Use two short steps, not one long form
A form split into two steps usually feels easier than one long one, even with the same fields. Start with the easy, low-commitment questions, then ask for contact details once they have started.
- Step 1, the job: job type, suburb, when, a short description and photos
- Step 2, the person: name, mobile, optional email, and a send button that says what happens next, such as "Send my quote request"
Show progress ("Step 1 of 2") so people know it is nearly done. If someone goes back, keep what they typed.
Photo uploads: the trade secret
A photo of a leaking hot water unit's compliance plate, a scorched power point or a cracked roof tile tells you more than a paragraph. It lets you bring the right part, give a ballpark on the phone and spot jobs that are not worth the drive.
- Let people take a photo straight from the camera or choose from their gallery
- Allow up to 3 photos. Most people send one or two
- Shrink photos on the phone before upload (about 1,600 pixels wide is plenty). A 12-megapixel photo on a weak 4G signal can take long enough that people give up
- Show a thumbnail once each photo is attached, with a way to remove it
- Keep photos optional. Some people are filling in the form at work and do not have the problem in front of them
Built for phones: bottom sheets and big buttons
On a phone, the best pattern is a sticky "Get a quote" button that stays in reach of the thumb and opens the form as a bottom sheet: a panel that slides up from the bottom of the screen, without sending people to a new page. They can see the form is short, and closing it takes them back to where they were.
A few details make a big difference:
- Big tap targets. Buttons and choices at least 44 pixels tall, with space between them
- The right keyboard. The phone field should bring up the number pad, and the email field the email keyboard
- Autofill. Set up the fields so the phone can fill name, mobile and email in one tap
- Text at least 16 pixels. Smaller text makes iPhones zoom in when someone taps a field, which is disorienting
- Tap-to-choose job types instead of drop-down menus where you can
- Clear errors. If something is missing, say which field and why, next to the field
Keep a click-to-call button alongside the form. Some customers, especially for urgent jobs, would rather ring.
Speed to lead: why minutes matter
The fastest tradie to reply often wins the job, especially when the customer has sent the same request to three businesses. A study published in the Harvard Business Review, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, audited more than 2,000 US companies and found that those who replied to a web enquiry within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead as those who replied an hour later. Only 37% replied within the hour. It is an older study, and not about trades, but it matches what most tradies see: the leads you call back while you are still on their mind are the ones you win.
Make speed easy:
- Send each lead to your phone as an email or text within seconds, with the job type and suburb in the subject line
- Include the photos in the email so you can look at them on site
- Send the customer an instant confirmation email or text, saying when you will get back to them
- If you cannot call within the hour, send a quick text: "Got your request, I'm on a job, will call you by 4pm"
Stopping spam without annoying customers
Any public form attracts spam. The trick is to stop the bots without making real customers solve puzzles.
- Honeypot field. A hidden field people never see. Bots fill it in, so the form quietly rejects those
- Time check. Reject forms sent within a second or two of the page loading. No person types that fast
- Invisible checks. Tools like Cloudflare Turnstile run in the background and only ask the odd suspicious visitor to tick a box
- Checks on the server, not just the page. Check phone numbers and required fields again on the server
- Limits. Cap how many forms one address can send in an hour
Avoid the old "pick all the traffic lights" puzzles where you can. They cost real enquiries, especially on phones.
Privacy and trust
You are collecting names, phone numbers and photos of people's homes. Say in one line under the form what you do with them ("We only use your details to reply to this request"), link to a privacy page, and store leads somewhere secure. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has guidance on what businesses need to do. Show your licence number and a couple of reviews near the form, too. They reassure people at the moment they are deciding whether to hit send.
Examples by trade
The core form stays the same. What changes is the job type list and one or two trade-specific questions.
Plumbers
Job types: blocked drain, hot water, leak, gas, toilet or tap, renovation. Extra question for hot water: gas, electric, solar or heat pump? Prompt: "A photo of the label on the unit helps us bring the right part." See our websites for plumbers page.
Electricians
Job types: power fault, switchboard, lights and fans, power points, solar or battery, EV charger, smoke alarms. Extra question: is any power off right now? Prompt: "A photo of your switchboard with the door open is really helpful." See websites for electricians.
Builders and carpenters
Job types: deck, pergola, renovation, extension, doors and windows. Extra questions: rough size in square metres, and whether plans or council approval are in place. Allow a PDF upload for plans. See websites for builders.
Landscapers
Job types: full landscape, turf, retaining walls, garden makeover, maintenance. Extra questions: rough area in square metres, and whether there is side access for a small excavator. See websites for landscapers.
Roofers
Job types: leak repair, restoration, re-roof, gutters, inspection. Extra questions: tiles or metal, and single or double storey. Prompt: "Photos from the ground are fine. Please don't climb up." See websites for roofers.
Quick quote form checklist
- Two short steps, job first and contact details second
- Optional photo uploads, shrunk on the phone before sending
- Opens as a bottom sheet from a sticky button on phones
- Big buttons, the right keyboards, autofill and 16-pixel text
- Leads to your phone in seconds, with an instant confirmation to the customer
- Honeypot and invisible spam checks, no puzzles
- A privacy line, licence number and reviews near the button
Every WilJam Digital site includes a quote form built this way, and our Tradie and Local Pro plans add the two-step form with photo uploads. Plans start from $990, or see our Sunshine Coast web design page and the rest of our guides for tradies.