Lead platforms sell you introductions to customers. MyShopfront gives you a website you own. They solve different problems, and it's worth knowing which one you're actually paying for.
From £39/month · no contract · free preview first
| Lead platforms (Checkatrade, Bark, MyBuilder) | MyShopfront | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Individual leads or introductions | A website that's yours, working continuously |
| Who owns it | The platform | You |
| Ongoing cost | Membership fee and/or pay-per-lead | From £39/month, no contract |
| If you stop paying | Leads stop immediately | Your site stays live for as long as the subscription runs |
| Competition on the page | Often shown alongside rivals bidding for the same lead | Just your business, not sat next to a competitor |
An introduction to a customer who's already looking for someone. You're paying for access to demand that already exists on their platform, not for something that's yours afterwards.
Once you stop paying, the leads stop, and there's often no lasting asset left behind. You're frequently shown next to two or three other tradespeople for the same enquiry, competing on price or speed of reply rather than on your own reputation.
It's yours regardless of whether you keep paying for a lead platform on top. It can be found directly by someone searching your business name or type, and it doesn't put you next to a competitor's listing on the same page.
A lot of tradespeople use both, a lead platform for a flow of new enquiries, and a website as the place that flow, and everyone else who finds you elsewhere, lands on. Having a website also gives a lead platform profile somewhere real to link to.
Not necessarily, they solve different problems. A website is a stable base that keeps working even if you scale back or stop using a lead platform later.
It depends on usage. Lead platforms can cost more overall for a business getting a high volume of leads, since fees are often pay-per-lead on top of membership, while a website is a flat monthly cost regardless of enquiry volume.
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