I’m Kayla. I’ve made sites for landscapers who smell like grass by noon. I’m one of those people who loves clean lines, bold buttons, and photos that show dirt under the nails. Last year, I built three landscaping sites with three different website builders. If you want the step-by-step version with screenshots, I broke it all down in this full case study. If you're still comparing options, this roundup of landscaping website builders is a solid reference point.
You know what mattered most? Not fancy tricks. Just clear stuff:
- A big phone number up top
- A “Get a Free Estimate” form that’s easy
- Before-and-after photos
- A map or list of towns you serve
- Reviews people can trust
- Seasonal notes (spring cleanups, fall aeration, winter plowing)
If you want a quick snapshot of which builders consistently top the charts for service businesses like landscaping, check out the current rankings at the Website Builder Awards.
Let me walk you through what I did, what I liked, and what I’d change.
Job 1: A Simple, Clean Site on Squarespace (Dayton, Ohio)
Client: Green Ridge Lawn & Stone. One truck. Two helpers. Busy in spring. Dead tired by July.
What I used:
- Squarespace Business plan
- A clean template with a wide hero photo
- Built-in Forms (sent to their Gmail)
- Gallery pages for before-and-after
What I built:
- Home, Services, Gallery, About, Reviews, Contact
- A sticky call button on mobile
- A “Service Area” section with a short list: Beavercreek, Kettering, Centerville, Dayton
- A quote form that asked five things: name, phone, address, service needed, photos upload
I thought I’d need fancy effects. I didn’t. I used 12 photos to start. Then we added more after the first week. I wrote short service blurbs like “Mulch install, starting at $95 per yard, includes edging.” Simple beats cute.
Results and time:
- Build time: 1 long Saturday, plus a few tweaks on Sunday
- Cost: about 23 bucks a month, plus a domain
- First two weeks: 8 quote requests, 5 turned into jobs (mostly mulch and shrub trim)
- Mobile speed felt snappy; desktop was fast
What I liked:
- It looked pro, even with phone photos
- Forms were easy
- SEO fields were clear (page title, description)
- The gallery loaded quick after I shrunk images under 200 KB
What bugged me:
- Limited layout tricks
- No true before-and-after slider, so I made a side-by-side grid
- The editor hid a few controls under tiny menus; I had to poke around
Bottom line: If you just need calls and clean photos, Squarespace hits the mark.
Job 2: A Photo-Heavy Site on Wix (Phoenix, Arizona)
Client: Sonoran Bloom Landscapes. They do design and install. Lots of stone. Lots of sun. They live on visuals.
What I used:
- Wix Business plan
- A Landscaping template with big gallery blocks
- Wix Forms and Wix Bookings for “Design Consult”
What I built:
- Home, Design & Build, Pavers, Turf, Lighting, Gallery, Reviews, Contact
- A bold “Book a Consult” button that linked to a simple calendar
- A map at the bottom (I kept it small; big maps can slow things down)
- SEO titles like “Phoenix Paver Patios | Sonoran Bloom Landscapes”
I added 36 photos and cut them small. I grouped images by job: patios, turf, lighting. I tuned the mobile layout so pictures stacked clean. I turned off Wix Chat because spam got weird at night.
Side note: Live chat widgets can be a quiet conversion booster. They range from generic pop-ups to niche platforms tailored for very specific audiences—think mature-audience chat rooms for casual socializing. For an example of how a specialized chat experience can be packaged and deployed, take a peek at InstantChat’s MILF chat, where you’ll see a purpose-built interface that demonstrates how keeping conversations on-site can hold visitor attention and model engagement strategies you might adapt for your own industry. Another angle on streamlining user interaction is the “skip-the-games” model embraced by some local dating boards; studying their ultra-lean funnels can inspire you to trim unnecessary fields in your own quote forms. To see that minimalist approach in action, check out Skip the Games Antioch—the page shows how stripped-down listings, clear calls to action, and tight location targeting keep visitors moving forward without distractions.
Results and time:
- Build time: two evenings and one morning for photo cleanup
- Cost: about 27 bucks a month, plus domain and email
- After two months, they averaged about 3–4 leads a week, mostly patio quotes
What I liked:
- Drag, drop, done—it was friendly
- The gallery layouts looked rich
- The booking tool saved back-and-forth texting
What bugged me:
- The editor felt heavy and lagged on my older laptop
- Mobile speed dipped with big galleries; I had to shrink images again
- Some spacing got wonky between desktop and mobile, so I fixed sections twice
Bottom line: If photos sell your work, Wix is easy and pretty. Just keep images light.
Job 3: A Bigger, Flexible Site on WordPress + Elementor (Chicago Suburbs)
Client: Lakeview Outdoor Co. Three crews. They wanted service pages, a blog, and hiring.
What I used:
- WordPress on SiteGround
- Elementor (free) with the Hello theme
- WPForms for the quote form
- Smush for image compression
- Yoast SEO for titles and descriptions
- A simple before-and-after slider add-on
What I built:
- Home, Lawn Care, Hardscape, Drainage, Snow, Gallery, Blog, Careers, Contact
- A “Request a Quote” form that let folks attach photos
- A “Service Areas” page with towns: Naperville, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn
- Three blog posts to start: “When to Aerate in Naperville,” “Paver Care After Winter,” “French Drains: Do You Need One?”
I thought this would be overkill. It wasn’t. They needed room to grow. We added a Careers page with a short form and a note: “No experience? We train.” That page got them two solid hires in spring.
Results and time:
- Build time: one week with content and photos
- Cost: hosting around 8 bucks a month; domain extra
- Speed: fast after caching and image shrink
- Leads: lawn care form hit 10 the first month; snow calls picked up in November
What I liked:
- Full control of layouts and sections
- Real blog tools for SEO
- Before-and-after slider looked great
I later duplicated this WordPress+Elementor approach for an electrician crew—see what translated and what flopped—and the lessons were nearly identical.
What bugged me:
- Updates—plugins want love every month
- More moving parts means more chances to break stuff
- Extra setup for security and backups
Bottom line: If you need a bigger site with a blog and hiring, WordPress pays off.
A Quick Tangent: Photos Sell the Job
I shot a bunch of photos myself. iPhone. Late afternoon. Warm light. I wiped the lens on my shirt. It helped. I named the files like “phoenix-paver-patio.jpg” and “dayton-mulch-bed.jpg.” That tiny thing helps search. I also showed close-ups: clean edges, even lines, tight joints on pavers. People look for that.
Before-and-after is gold. Muddy patch to fresh turf? That’s your hook.
Little SEO Moves That Helped
- One page per service (don’t cram)
- Town names in headings and text
- A clear phone number at the top and bottom
- Same name, address, and phone as your Google Business Profile
- Short page titles that say what you do and where
Need a deeper dive on ranking for paver patios and walkways? Check out this comprehensive hardscaping SEO guide for extra tactics.
None of this is fancy. It’s like edging a walkway—slow and steady. I saw the exact same gains when I built a clutch of cleaning business sites—here’s the rundown if you need proof outside the lawn game.
Costs and Time (What I Actually Paid)
- Squarespace: about $23/month; one weekend to build
- Wix: about $27/month; three sessions to build
- WordPress + Elementor: about $8/month hosting; one week to build; a few hours each month for updates
Domains run about $12–$20 per year. I also pay a few bucks for a good email with