Should my trade business website have a video on the homepage?

Done well, video builds trust fast — seeing the actual owner, crew, and trucks tells a homeowner more in ten seconds than a paragraph of text can. Done poorly, it's one of the fastest ways to slow down your site and make it look less professional, not more.

Where it goes wrong:

• Autoplaying full video on load, which tanks your mobile load speed and burns visitors' data
• Shaky, poorly lit footage that reads as unprofessional even if the work itself is great
• Stock footage of generic contractors that isn't even your team

If you have the budget for a short, professionally shot clip — or even well-lit phone footage of a real job — a muted background loop or a thumbnail that plays on click can work well. Keep it short, keep it real, and make sure it doesn't block the page from loading fast.

If you don't have good footage yet, skip it. A clean layout with real photos and clear copy converts just fine without video — don't add it just because it feels like something a modern site "should" have.