Checkatrade gives you a listing. ProWebsite Co gives you a lead machine.
Checkatrade is a UK trades directory and vetting service. You pay for a listing — typically £600–£1,200 per year — and appear when customers search for local tradespeople. That can work for visibility, but you compete on the same profile template as dozens of rivals, pay ongoing listing fees, and the enquiry often stays on their platform — not your phone workflow. ProWebsite Co builds an asset on your domain plus automations that recover missed calls and web enquiries, so you own the relationship instead of renting a row in someone else's directory.
Directories rent visibility. A site plus automations is an asset you control.
What Checkatrade actually is
Checkatrade vets you (basic checks: insurance, qualifications, ID), you collect reviews through their platform, and their brand recognition means some customers trust a Checkatrade-listed business more than a random Google result.
For a new trade business with no online presence, that's a legitimate start. The problem comes when it becomes your only strategy.
What you're actually paying for — and what you don't own
When a customer finds you on Checkatrade, they're on Checkatrade's platform. Your reviews live on Checkatrade's servers. If you stop paying, the listing disappears and so do those reviews. You don't own the customer relationship — Checkatrade does.
More practically: Checkatrade shows that customer three, five, sometimes eight other trades at the same time. The customer picks based on who has the most reviews or the lowest price. You're competing on a platform designed to show them alternatives.
For any trade with more than a few years of trading, this arrangement works against you. You've built a review history that belongs to someone else's domain, and you're paying every year to keep accessing it.
Where ProWebsite Co is different
ProWebsite Co builds you a website on your own domain. Every lead that comes through it belongs to you.
The site is paired with automations built for how trades businesses actually lose work. When someone fills in a contact form at 9pm while you're on the sofa, they get an instant text reply from your number. When someone calls and you're under a sink, they get an SMS within 60 seconds. When you quote a job and hear nothing for a week, the system follows up at 3, 7, and 14 days — automatically, in your voice.
Checkatrade charges you to appear alongside your competitors. ProWebsite Co gives you a channel where you're the only option.
- Own domain, brand, and page structure for UK trades
- Missed call SMS in ~60 seconds (automation A1)
- Web forms with instant alerts and optional customer confirmation (A3)
- Quote follow-up on estimates you already sent (A4)
- Call tracking and monthly source reporting through the Lead Recovery add-on
Typical setup path
Many clients keep a basic Checkatrade profile for NAP and trust while sending serious traffic to their own site. Start with the Website + TradesFlow core system from £4,997 setup + £299/mo, then add missed-call and follow-up automations once the workflow is in place.
Use Checkatrade for what it's good at — and build the channel you own in parallel.
Who is Checkatrade for?
Checkatrade suits new trade businesses with no online presence who need quick credibility and a first source of leads while building their own website and Google presence.
ProWebsite Co suits established trade businesses — or new ones that want to build on owned ground from day one — who want a consistent inbound lead channel they control entirely, with automations that recover the leads most trades let slip through.
- Checkatrade: new trades with minimal web presence who accept shared listings
- ProWebsite Co: trades who want to own leads, track sources, and recover missed calls automatically
- Many trades use both — directory for trust, owned site for serious enquiries
ProWebsite Co vs Checkatrade
| Feature | ProWebsite Co | Checkatrade |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £299/mo + £4,997 setup | £50–£100/mo (annual contract) |
| Leads shared with competitors | No — you're the only business on your site | Yes — typically 3–8 trades shown |
| You own the reviews | Reviews go to Google — you own them | No — reviews live on Checkatrade |
| Works when you miss a call | Yes — SMS within 60 seconds | Not included |
| Quote follow-up automation | Yes — 3, 7, 14-day sequences | Not part of listing |
| What happens if you stop paying | Your website and automations continue | Listing removed, reviews gone |
| Google ranking potential | Your domain builds authority over time | Only ranks Checkatrade.com — not your business |
| Call tracking by source | Lead Recovery add-on | Limited / not your analytics |
Why trades businesses switch
1. You're paying to appear alongside 5 competitors
Every Checkatrade search puts you in a shortlist with rivals. A fast missed-call text and instant form reply on your own site helps you win the job before they dial the next plumber.
2. Your reviews are on their domain
If you leave Checkatrade, you start from zero on reviews. We help you collect Google reviews on your domain after jobs complete — reviews you actually own.
3. Checkatrade doesn't follow up on missed calls or cold quotes
Directories don't text the homeowner when you miss a call on the tools. Our missed-call SMS and quote follow-up automation add structured recovery to every enquiry you already generate.
4. A 5-year-old trades business should own its customer relationships
Listing fees add up year after year without giving you a domain, design, or automation you control. ProWebsite Co builds an asset on your name and wires response systems behind it.
Who ProWebsite Co is best for
Trades who want to own leads and response speed, not only appear in a shared list.
Use Checkatrade for what it's good at — and build the channel you own in parallel
Checkatrade isn't wrong. For new trades it's a reasonable first step, and some customers specifically look for that vetting badge. But it shouldn't be your only channel, and your review history shouldn't live on someone else's domain. ProWebsite Co builds the owned channel — the site, the automations, the Google ranking — that works whether you keep Checkatrade or not.