Who is Digital 4 Trades? A small Liverpool web and social agency
Digital 4 Trades is a small in-house agency based at Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool, with a DesignRush listing that places it in Frodsham, Cheshire. Its pitch to tradespeople is simple: you stay on the tools, we do the marketing. This profile covers what that means in practice and what the money side looks like.
Who they are and where they sit
The firm describes itself as a small in-house team. No founder is named on the public material we have, and no founding date is given, so we will not guess at either. What is clear is the geography: Liverpool, with a secondary reference to Frodsham in Cheshire, and a client base that reads as North West.
A small team is not a bad thing. It usually means the person you speak to on the phone is the person doing the work. The flip side is capacity: a two or three person outfit can only take on so many sites a month, so ask about lead times.
The services list
That is a broad menu for a small team, and the weight of their public portfolio sits in websites and social rather than paid ads. The case studies they publish are for a roofing firm and a taxi firm, with a wider portfolio of sites across joinery, locksmiths, groundworks and heating.
The trades they name are electricians, plumbers, roofers, joiners, locksmiths, heating engineers, garden services and groundworkers. If your trade is on that list there is probably a site in the portfolio you can compare against. If you are a conservatory installer or something more niche, ask whether they have done one before.
- Website design
- Logo and brand design
- SEO
- Social media management
- Lead generation
- Google Ads
The no-hostage promise
The most distinctive thing about Digital 4 Trades is what they say they will not do. They say they do not use lock-in rental contracts and they will not hold a website hostage. In plain terms: the site is yours, and if you walk away you take it with you.
Anyone who has dealt with a pay-monthly site provider that owned the domain, the hosting and the content will know why that matters. It is one of the main things we tell people to check in our piece on how to spot a cowboy marketing agency.
How the pricing works
They do not publish a full price list, but the model is described clearly enough. Websites are bought outright or paid for over roughly a year. There is no pay-monthly rental where you never end up owning anything. Ongoing content management, which covers things like social posting and site updates, is described as starting from a couple of hundred pounds a month.
So a realistic shape for a small firm might be a one-off site cost spread across twelve months, plus a modest monthly fee if you want them posting your job photos and keeping the site fresh. Get the exact figures in writing before anything starts, because 'from a couple of hundred' can mean quite a few different numbers.
Who should be ringing them
A North West tradesperson who wants a personal relationship with a small agency, wants to own their website, and is more interested in a tidy web presence and active social pages than in a hard-nosed paid lead machine.
If you are a growing firm with two or three vans and a target of doubling turnover, you will probably want something with more measurement and more ad spend behind it, and our guide to marketing agencies for growing trade firms is the better place to look.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Can I see the roofing case study in full, including what the firm spent and over what period?
- If I pay for the site over a year, what happens if I stop paying at month seven?
- Who does the social posting, and where do the photos come from? (Hint: they should come from you.)
- What does 'lead generation' mean here: ads, SEO, or both, and how is it reported?
- Who answers the phone when I ring, and is that the same person building my site?
Frequently asked questions
Where is Digital 4 Trades based?
Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, according to its own site. A DesignRush listing gives Frodsham, Cheshire.
Do they tie you into a contract?
They say they do not use lock-in rental contracts and will not hold a website hostage. Websites are bought outright or paid over about a year.
How much is ongoing management?
Content management is described as starting from a couple of hundred pounds a month. Exact figures are not published.
What trades have they worked with?
They name electricians, plumbers, roofers, joiners, locksmiths, heating engineers, garden services and groundworkers, with case studies for a roofing firm and a taxi firm.