What a private investigator website needs: pages, words and photos
A private investigator website needs a short list of pages: what kinds of cases you take, who you work for, your license and background, a plain description of how a case starts, and a contact path that feels private. The people calling a PI are usually upset or under pressure, so every page should make the first call feel safe and simple.
Who reads a PI website
Your clients fall into a few groups, and each one reads differently:
- Private individuals. A spouse with suspicions, a parent worried about a child, someone trying to find a lost relative or a person who owes them money. They are emotional and private, and often reading late at night.
- Attorneys. Family law, criminal defense and personal injury lawyers who need witness interviews, background work, surveillance or process service. They want experience, reliability and reports that hold up.
- Businesses and insurers. Employee theft, workers' compensation claims, due diligence on a partner. They want discretion and clear reporting.
A small agency does not need a separate site for each, but the services page should make it obvious within seconds that you work for their kind of client.
The pages to have
Home
The first lines should say what you do and where you are licensed: "Licensed private investigator serving Maricopa County and statewide. Surveillance, background checks, locates and attorney support." Then two buttons, call and send a confidential message, and a short line about confidentiality.
Below that, three to six services as short blocks, each with one sentence and a link to its page.
One page per main service
Typical PI services that deserve their own page:
- Surveillance, including domestic and insurance cases
- Background checks on people and businesses
- Locating people: missing family, witnesses, debtors
- Infidelity investigations
- Child custody investigations
- Workers' compensation and insurance claims
- Attorney support: witness interviews, record research, trial preparation
- Process service, if you offer it
Each page should explain in plain words what the service involves, what kind of result to expect (a written report, photos, video, a located address), roughly how long it can take, and what you need from the client to begin. Keep it honest: say that surveillance does not always catch something, and that some cases end with nothing to report. That honesty makes the rest believable.
About
This page carries a lot of weight for a PI. Include:
- Your name and a photo, unless your work requires you to stay unrecognizable; if so, explain that briefly instead
- Your state license number and the agency license, if separate
- Your background: law enforcement, military, insurance, legal or corporate investigations
- Insurance and bonding if your state requires it or you carry it
- Memberships in state or national investigator associations
How it works
A short page that walks through the first steps: the free or paid first conversation, the agreement and retainer, the investigation, the report. This page often decides whether a nervous person calls.
Contact
Phone, a form, email and your office location or the area you serve. More on the form below.
Words to use and words to avoid
Write in calm, plain sentences. Avoid the language of TV detective shows. "We find people" is better than "No one can hide from us."
Be careful about what you claim to do. A licensed investigator works within the law, and your site should show it. Never suggest you can tap phones, read someone's email or texts, place a tracker on a car you have no right to, pose as police or pull phone records or bank details that require legal process. Clients sometimes ask for those things; a site that promises them attracts the wrong cases and invites trouble with your licensing board. A line such as "Everything we do is legal and documented, so it can be used if your case goes to court" reassures the right clients.
Photos for a private investigator
Photos are harder for PIs than for most trades because the work is not something you can show. Good choices:
- A professional photo of you, or your team, in plain clothes
- Your office or meeting room, if clients come to you
- Neutral detail shots: a notebook, a camera with a long lens on a car seat, a desk with a laptop
- A photo of your city or region, so locals recognize it
Avoid real case photos, even blurred. Avoid cartoon magnifying glasses, fedoras and silhouettes in trench coats; they make a serious business look like a costume shop.
What to leave out
- Case stories with enough detail to identify anyone
- Claims about your success rate
- Long lists of every type of investigation you could theoretically do
- Prices, unless you are sure they are stable; a line about how fees work is usually enough
The contact path
People calling a PI often do not want their partner, boss or family to see what they are doing. Make contact feel safe:
- A clear phone number, tappable on a phone
- A short form with only name, a safe phone or email, the best time to call, and a brief description
- A note on the form: "Tell us how you would like us to reach you. We never leave detailed voicemails unless you ask."
- No requirement to give a home address in the form
If you want more ideas on how forms help instead of scaring people off, see contact forms that people actually fill in. And if your license and credentials are the strongest thing you have, showing licenses, insurance and certifications covers where to place them.
What to do this week
- Check that your license number appears on the site and is current.
- Make sure each main service has its own page that says what the client gets.
- Remove anything that hints at illegal methods or guaranteed results.
- Add a line to your form about how you contact people discreetly.
If your current site covers the right services but looks dated or is hard to use on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt before you decide.