Mobile detailing website: packages, add-ons and where you go

A mobile detailing website has to answer something a shop's site never does: will you come to me, and what do you need when you get here? Get that right, along with packages people can compare in seconds and a booking form that captures the address and the vehicle, and the site does most of your scheduling for you. Get it wrong and you spend evenings on the phone explaining the same three things.

Name packages so people can choose without calling

Detailers love clever package names: Platinum, Showroom, The Works, Stage 2. Customers don't know what any of those mean, and they can't compare yours to the next detailer's. Names are fine as long as each one is followed by a short, plain line about what it is.

A pattern that works:

Maintenance wash (exterior hand wash, wheels, tires, windows, quick interior vacuum). For cars that are already in decent shape.
Interior detail (deep vacuum, seats and carpet shampooed, all surfaces wiped, glass, door jambs).
Full detail (interior plus exterior wash, clay, and a sealant).
Paint enhancement or correction (machine polishing to remove swirls, priced after you see the car).

Three or four packages is plenty. More than that and people freeze. For each one, list:

What is included, as a short checklist a customer can tick off in their head.
How long it takes at their place. Customers working from home want to know if you'll be in the driveway for one hour or five.
Price by vehicle size, or a starting price with "SUVs, trucks and vans cost more" next to it.

Set out what is not included, too. If a full detail doesn't cover heavy pet hair, sand from a beach trip or a mildew smell, say so in the package description, not at the end of the job.

Add-ons are where mobile detailers make a lot of their margin, and also where they get most of their bad reviews, because the customer didn't expect the extra charge. Treat add-ons like a restaurant menu: listed, priced, chosen up front.

Common add-ons to list with a price or "from" price:

Pet hair removal
Odor treatment (ozone or enzyme), with an honest line that some smells need more than one visit
Stain extraction on seats
Headlight restoration
Engine bay cleaning
Clay bar and sealant on a wash package
Leather cleaning and conditioning
Third-row seats or cargo area for larger vehicles

Then add one sentence of policy: "If we arrive and find something that needs an add-on you didn't book, such as heavy pet hair, we'll show you and ask before we do it." That one sentence prevents most arguments at the end of the job. If you run bundle deals, such as a full detail with headlights at a lower price, special offers done right covers how to word them so the fine print never surprises anyone.

Where you go: service area, in town names

"Serving the greater metro area" doesn't help someone decide whether you'll drive to their suburb. List the towns and neighborhoods, or describe the area in a way a local would recognize: "Anywhere inside the beltway, plus Clarksville and Ellicott City."

If you charge a travel fee outside your main area, say where it starts and what it is. People accept a travel fee; they don't accept one they find out about from the invoice.

Say where you do the work, too:

Home driveways and garages.
Workplace parking lots, if you do them. Mention that the customer should check with their building manager or employer first, since many lots don't allow it.
Apartment and condo complexes, with the same note about property rules.
Dealers, fleets and rental lots, if you do commercial work.

If you can't work in some places (busy street parking, parking garages with low ceilings for your van), say so. A service area page explains how to lay this out.

What you need on site: water, power and space

This is the question that ends half your phone calls if it's on the website. Customers want to know whether they have to provide anything. Be specific:

Water. Do you carry your own tank? If so, say so loudly: "We bring our own water, so we can work anywhere you can park." If you need a hose bib, say that.
Power. Do you run a generator, or do you need an outdoor outlet? If you need an outlet, how far away can you be?
Space. How much room you need around the car to open doors and work. A tight one-car garage may not be enough.
Shade and weather. Many products shouldn't go on hot paint in full sun. Say what you do on very hot days and what happens if it rains: reschedule, or work under a canopy.
Water runoff. Some towns and homeowner associations restrict washing runoff into storm drains. If you use a water reclaim mat or a waterless method, mention it, since that answers the HOA question before it's asked.
Keys and presence. Do they need to be home, or can they leave the car unlocked with keys in a lockbox?

All of this fits on a short "What to expect" page, linked from every package. It's also exactly the kind of thing a frequently asked questions page is for.

Booking: get the right details the first time

A mobile detailing job can't start until you know where, when and what vehicle. A booking form or online scheduler should ask for:

Name and mobile phone
The service address
Vehicle year, make and model, and size if it isn't obvious
Package and add-ons
Preferred day and time window
Anything special: pets, kids' car seats, a stain, where to park

Avoid asking for things you can work out on the day. Every extra field loses a few people.

If you use an online booking tool, block travel time between jobs so it doesn't offer slots you can't reach. Set how far ahead people can book, and state your deposit and cancellation rules next to the button, not hidden in a policy page. Booking tools for service businesses compares the common options.

For bigger jobs like paint correction or coatings, a "send us photos" form works better than a booking slot, because you need to see the paint first.

Weather, rescheduling and reminders

Mobile work lives and dies by the weather. Tell customers on the site how you handle it: "If rain is forecast, we'll text you the day before and offer the next open slot. No charge for weather changes." Also say how you send reminders, by text or email, so they look out for them.

What to do this week

Rewrite each package with a plain one-line description, a checklist and a duration.
List every add-on with a price and the "we'll ask first" sentence.
Put your towns, travel fee and the places you can't work on the service area page.
Add a "what we need" section: water, power, space, keys.
Book a fake appointment on your own phone and count the fields.

If your current site lists all this but is hard to read or book from on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt first and check the new version with your own packages on it.