Create car workshop website yourself: Here's how!

As an operator of an automotive repair shop, you have always gained your reach through a good reputation and the recommendations of your existing clientele. However, the potential is far from exhausted. Regardless of whether you research and compare at home or have a breakdown on the road, the Internet has long been used to search for the right automotive repair shop. Here, there are now a large number of repair shops or car dealerships with numerous specializations. That's why it's important for both authorized and independent repair shops to be present online and to stand out from the competition. In this article, I would like to show you why a homepage is advantageous for your car repair shop and also give you helpful tips and tricks for a good web presence.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for automotive repair shops to have their own homepage. This is, of course, due to the digitalization of everyday life and brings with it a number of advantages for repair shops. You can find out what these advantages are in this chapter.

As already explained, the common search engines on the Internet are now also used when searching for a car repair shop. With a competent web presence of your master workshop you radiate professionalism and leave a modern impression with the visitors of your website. In addition, you can stand out from your competitors, who are probably also represented online, and convince potential customers of your range of services. Just like in the real world, word of an impeccable workshop service spreads quickly among Internet users, resulting in many satisfied customers.

Regardless of whether a car owner needs an accident repair, is looking for a car workshop for tire service or wants to have the brakes of his motorcycle checked, for example, the handover to the selected workshop is a matter of trust. Through your Internet presence, you can reach many new interested parties and persuade them to visit your master workshop with the help of your appealing homepage. All you have to do is convince them of the quality of your service on site.

Another useful function of the garage homepage is that you can keep your existing customers up to date as well as new customers. In this way, you offer them the possibility to find out about news concerning your workshop at any time. For example, you can share important information about the latest news and appointment scheduling on your website, which makes planning much easier for you and your customers.

Increasing the number of customers and orders while at the same time reducing the workload of your employees sounds contradictory at first. However, your workshop website gives you the opportunity to increase the efficiency of your work. By integrating useful tools, you can, for example, optimize your scheduling, save your employees a lot of phone calls and at the same time ensure the best possible utilization of your team.

Internet users often decide in the first few seconds whether they stay on a website or leave it again. Since the patience for online searches is constantly decreasing, the first impression of your workshop homepage has to be right. You need a suitable name for your website, a modern design and a structured structure so that prospective customers of your master workshop can quickly find their way around. In this chapter, you will learn how to successfully implement these points.

An important point to increase your recognition value on the Internet and to communicate to interested parties which topic your homepage deals with, is the choice of a suitable domain name. The domain is, in short, simply your Internet address, whereby each domain name is assigned only once. To help you get found quickly, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

Checklist: What you should pay attention to when choosing your domain:

• Choose a name that is easy to remember

• You should be able to pronounce the domain name easily

• The domain must not be trademarked

• The name should be concise and meaningful

Use important and relevant keywords:

• name of your workshop or your name

• exact name of your workshop

• Place where your workshop is located

As mentioned above, a good domain name is crucial for your recognition value, your web presence in general and for the ranking in the well-known search engines.

An appropriate design is also crucial for the length of time customers spend on your workshop homepage. No Internet user likes to spend time on a boring website that consists only of text and offers no variety. Therefore, pay attention to a simple, interesting appearance in order to convey a professional and modern impression that will be positively remembered by the visitors of your homepage.

Once you have found a suitable domain and optimized your website with an appealing design, you can focus on the structure of your page. This should appear as structured and natural as possible. Especially important is a simple navigation, with which you can quickly reach the desired subpages. The user should always be able to keep track of where he is and reach the information or menu items he is interested in with just a few clicks. Also, avoid overloading your pages with too much content, as it quickly becomes confusing and the pages take too long to load.

When creating your car repair shop homepage, you must also observe some legal requirements. According to the German Telemedia Act, all operators whose website serves business purposes are required to provide an imprint. The imprint should provide users with information about the provider of the homepage and thus guarantee the seriousness of the site. This requirement is regulated in § 5 of the Telemedia Act (TMG) and § 55 of the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty (RStV). In addition, you as the operator must inform Internet users about the privacy policy (according to DSGVO) and always observe copyright law when using content (e.g. photos, videos or articles). Like a vehicle that has been maintained with a checkbook, a website that has been designed to be legally compliant makes a more transparent impression on customers.

When designing your automotive homepage, the content is the be-all and end-all. After all, what good is a flawless web design if the content of your homepage is not convincing? A perfectly painted, good-looking car will not convince anyone to buy it if the engine performance is not of any quality. That's why in this chapter you'll learn which content should never be missing from your website.

Inform visitors to your automotive repair shop homepage about your range of services and the repair shop services you offer so that they can be sure that you are the right expert for their car repair, for example. Before you go into detail about individual service offerings, however, you should tell users exactly what kind of business your repair shop is. In the following checklist you will find some questions that can help you to define your car repair shop more precisely.

Possible specializations of your repair shop:

• Do you operate an authorized repair shop or an independent repair shop?

• Is it a multi-brand workshop?

• Do you specialize in certain types of vehicles?

• Do you present yourself on the Internet as a master workshop?

• Do you offer immediate service?

Since Internet users do a lot of research when choosing a suitable workshop, it makes sense to present your services openly and in detail. A wide range of services is also evidence of extensive expertise. However, don't use too many technical terms and, if necessary, explain them sufficiently so as not to confuse your potential customers. In addition to general auto repair, accident repair or standard maintenance, there are a few other services you can highlight to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Examples of additional services:

• Complete tire service (tire change + tire storage).

• Spontaneous services for walk-in customers (immediate service)

• Regular appointments for general inspection and exhaust emission test (HU/AU)

• Free or low-cost services (e.g. checking brakes, measuring oil levels, free holders for license plates)

• Provision of a replacement car

Offering additional services or service packages on your homepage not only has a positive effect on customer loyalty, but also brings some marketing advantages. For example, free license plate holders with your Internet address or a replacement car with company inscription can arouse the interest of new customers.

TIP: Design the subpage with your services clearly and structured, because it is easy to become confusing with a wide range of offers.

To get a first impression of the mechanics and the rest of the workshop team, a detailed presentation with meaningful pictures is the perfect tool.

Since handing over the vehicle to a workshop, for example for a major car repair, is always a matter of trust, you should create as transparent and competent an impression as possible. Use sympathetic photos that you upload together with the names and job titles of your employees to introduce them to Internet users. In this context, it makes a serious impression if you introduce yourself as the owner in a little more detail. Feel free to share information about your previous experience, the history of your workshop and what makes you and your mechanics special. Quality features are also certificates and awards of you and your workshop, which you can show on your website.

Of course, the workshop itself should not be neglected in your presentation. Again, using quality photos is a great way to showcase your space. Make sure that the workshop looks tidy but still natural, because this is where the mechanics repair vehicles. Feel free to show yourself and your team "in action" and highlight any special equipment in your facility, if applicable.

If your website has convinced the Internet user and he wants to visit your garage to have his vehicle repaired, he must find the most important data for contacting you without much effort. These are usually located directly on the home page. However, you are free to create a separate subpage or to place it somewhere else on the website. The most important thing is that the user can quickly find out when your workshop is open, how he can best find you and how he can contact you for inquiries about repairs or his individual order.

In addition to your regular opening hours, also indicate possible restrictions, such as tire change days, lunch breaks or, if applicable, opening hours of your office, so that your customers do not have to wait long. Also, your contact information should be detailed and complete. If possible, offer the user several ways to contact you.

TIP: At homepage-baukasten.de you have one of many extras at your disposal, the contact form, which you can easily implement into your homepage.

In addition, if you book the premium package, you will receive your own e-mail domain, which will make a professional impression on your customers and is easy to remember. This could be called "kontakt@kfz-meier.de", for example, and will automatically forward your incoming messages to the e-mail address you specify.

Finally, to make it easier for people to find you, you should add your repair shop to "Google My Business". This allows you to register your company (e.g. car repair shop) on Google Maps. Afterwards, you can even insert the section of the map on which your repair shop can be seen into your website.

There are many interesting extras with which you can fill your car workshop homepage to convince customers of your master quality. However, this is about quality instead of quantity. Your content should always offer users added value and regularly attract them to your site with helpful content.

Depending on the type of your company (e.g. car repair shop or car workshop specialized in classic cars), it is advantageous to adapt the content exactly to your target group. For example, regularly publish news about your workshop and write interesting guides or explanations on specialized topics to always encourage interested parties to visit your homepage.

If you offer used cars or vehicles after a repair, you can already provide initial data and photos of the vehicles on your website. This will continuously attract interested visitors to your homepage and increase your reach on the Internet.

If you have taken all precautions, nothing stands in the way of a flawless web presence for your workshop. In order for your site to be easily found by your target group in the well-known search engines, you must optimize your homepage. This adjustment of your website is called search engine optimization (SEO). Don't worry, this sounds more complicated than it really is. In this chapter, I'll show you three simple methods for giving your workshop homepage a tune-up so that you'll be at the forefront of the race for the first places in the search engine results.

Think about what terms your customers might search for on the Internet to find your site. Collect some ideas and write them down if necessary. For the optimization of your website it is important to use these so-called "keywords" in your texts and headlines. This helps search engines to recognize which topic your homepage deals with. If the search queries of your target group match the keywords used, you will appear higher up in the search results. However, you should also pay attention to the quality of your texts, i.e. make sure that they are optimized in terms of readability and not obsessively filled with keywords.

TIP: Create a mind map to identify the right keywords.

Useful keywords might include:

• The location of your workshop (e.g. "Berlin").

• The name of your company (e.g. "auto repair shop", "Meisterbetrieb")

• Specializations (e.g. "Audi", "classic cars", "brand-independent repairs")

• Services (e.g. "tire storage", "replacement car", "exhaust emission test")

It always makes a good impression when websites are up-to-date. Users can tell that you care about a serious appearance and want to offer them the best possible experience on your site. By keeping them up to date and writing helpful text, you will generate more traffic, as mentioned earlier. This in turn signals to search engines that your site offers added value, which is why they show your homepage higher up in the results.

Especially with a local business, like a repair shop, you have numerous opportunities to collect links to your site. Once your homepage is up and running, you can submit your Internet address to local business directories. In addition, you can refer to your new website in various forums and, if necessary, ask partners, such as suppliers, to link to you on their site. With these methods you will reach many new people on the Internet and at the same time increase the value of your car repair shop website in terms of search engine optimization.

The aim of this article is to help you, as the owner of a car repair shop, to design your website. As already explained in the introduction, today it is hard to imagine a professional field without its own website. Accordingly, there are now also systems, such as homepage-baukasten.de, which make it possible to easily create your own website without prior knowledge. This way, you too can benefit from the many advantages of an Internet presence and welcome many new customers in the future to take their orders.

In the following checklist you will find a summary of the most important aspects that you should consider when designing your car workshop homepage.

Checklist - How to create a homepage for your car repair shop:

• Choose a suitable and concise domain name

• Use an appropriate and professional design

• The layout and navigation should be clear and structured

• Pay attention to the legal security of your website (imprint, DSGVO etc.)

• Fill your website with quality content

• Services

• Team and workshop

• Contact details and opening hours

• Helpful and useful texts

• Optimize your homepage for search engines

• Important keywords

• Actuality of the page

• Links

With the knowledge gained from this article, you can now start right away and soon welcome your (potential) customers on the Internet!