Home Improvement
Looking for a contractor can be a pain.
Thats where Angies List and sites like it come in.
Each company page acts as a mini-website for that business with the addition of featuring customer reviews.
Lets look through a few of these alternatives to Angies List.
You may just find a new favorite directory site.
Houzz
I like the Houzz site in general because it really has three topic areas.
First, it offers you helpful articles on home improvement.
This is the Get Ideas section.
No wasted calls or contact forms!
It then sends you an email with what its algorithm says are the best matches for your inquiry.
I prefer to use the manual filters to further narrow the selection.
Or you could select what the site calls Standouts.
it’s possible for you to also filter by Languages.
Finally, you’re able to choose the Rating.
This lets you search by the average review score of the company.
Once youve set up all your filters, youll see the list of available contractors.
Keep in mind that the list will only show you the companies that have created a page on Houzz.
Thats where Google is more inclusive.
you could choose to call or send them a message directly from the website.
Houzz is really an all-in-one site for home improvement.
Let me give you a rundown of how this site works.
This second option is usually best.
Once the list comes up, you further filter the results based on relevant criteria.
Thats one of the best perks of this site.
you could then poke the profile for each business in your area and read their page.
Another feature is you could see how many people have hired them through the Thumbtack website.
The filters for finding a contractor, however, seem to be more relevant than those on Houzz.
Porch
Porch is trying hard to compete with Houzz in the advice and pro-matching departments.
Input your zip code to narrow the results.
Theres really no way to search the list yourself.
Of course, like the sites above, this is all based on what the companies have provided.
I dont need to give my email address to every website I visit.
HomeAdvisor
On Home Advisor, you have three options for finding a contractor.
The first is doing a general search by project and zip code.
The second option is searching for a job at a guaranteed Fixed Price.
Of course, you have to input your email.
Adding a phone number is optional.
This lets the site match you with available contractors.
If you confirm service, youll pay through HomeAdvisor.
Before you input your contact information, you might read reviews about the service in general.
With this option, you choose your key in of service and input your zip.
This is my preferred method of searching the site.
