What the money is buying
A windscreen customer is not browsing. There is a chip spreading across the driver's eyeline, or a crack that failed an inspection, and they want three answers before they will ring anybody: can this be repaired or does the glass have to come out, what will it cost me after insurance, and can somebody come to the car today.
A site that answers those three in the first screen wins the job from the shop that says "call for a quote". The bands below are what the market charges to build one.
Band 1: a listing and a Facebook page
Cost: nothing.
You get: a phone number, an area you cover, and some photographs of a van.
You do not get: a quote form that takes a photo and a registration, an insurance page, anything about ADAS recalibration, or a way to book a mobile slot at eleven at night when the crack appeared on the drive home.
Right for: a one-van operator working entirely off garage referrals who does not want direct work. Almost nobody else.
Band 2: a template or builder site, $600 to $2,000 (roughly £500 to £1,600)
A theme with your logo, a services list, and a contact form asking for name, email and message.
You get: something presentable that ranks for your business name.
Usually missing: photo upload on the form, registration capture, a page that explains the insurance route and excess, an ADAS page, any statement of price for a standard chip repair, and separate handling for mobile and in-shop work.
Right for: a new business that needs a placeholder while it decides whether direct work is worth chasing.
Band 3: a purpose-built auto glass site, $2,500 to $6,000 (roughly £2,000 to £4,800)
Built around the quote. A form that asks for the registration, takes two photographs of the damage, asks the size against a coin, and asks whether the customer intends to claim. An insurance page that says which insurers you work with, whether you bill them direct, and how the excess works. An ADAS recalibration page that explains why a modern windscreen needs the camera reset and whether that is included in your price. Mobile and in-shop booking with the areas you cover and the facilities you have. Stated prices for common repairs. Accreditations and Google reviews.
You get: a site that is found for the searches drivers actually make, quotes most jobs without a visit, and stops the insurance conversation eating your phone day.
Not usually included: photography and copy, unless the quote says so.
Right for: an established fitter, mobile or shop-based, who wants direct retail work alongside the trade and insurance book.
Band 4: larger builds, $8,000 and up
Several depots with different coverage areas, live technician availability by postcode, a glass lookup that prices from the registration automatically, or a fleet portal where an account customer logs damage across a hundred vehicles.
After launch
- Hosting: managed WordPress at $20 to $50 a month, or often free on a framework host, in your name.
- Domain: small, annual.
- Job management: Jobber, ServiceM8, Housecall Pro or Autoflow, typically per user per month.
- Maintenance: a care plan at a monthly fee, which is where prices, coverage areas and insurer lists get kept current.
- Photography: half a day covering the van, the workshop and a fitting in progress.
Where the band 3 money goes
- The quote form, with photo upload that survives a phone camera's file sizes, registration capture, and a repair-or-replace question the customer can actually answer.
- The insurance page, because it is the single most-read page on a site like this and the one that decides whether you get called.
- The ADAS page, which is now a trust signal rather than a technical footnote.
- Mobile and in-shop routing, so a driver in your area gets a different next step from one two counties away.
- Stated prices for a standard chip repair, so the site is not a dead end for the cheapest job you do.
- Speed, local search foundations and tracking, so you know which page produced the enquiry.
Reading a quote
Ask five things. Does the quote form take photographs and a registration, and where do they land. Is there a page explaining insurance and excess. Is ADAS recalibration covered as its own page. Does the site distinguish mobile from in-shop work. Whose name is the domain and hosting in. A quote that cannot answer those is a template quote whatever the figure at the bottom.
Where this sits
Our auto glass websites sit in band 3 at a fixed price, with the photo-and-registration quote form, the insurance page, the ADAS page and mobile or in-shop booking included. The wider approach across the trade is on the automotive page. The glass work is the same everywhere; what changes between shops is whether the site quotes it or just asks people to ring.