Scaffolding company websites: who searches, and what they check before they ring

A scaffolding company is looked up by three different people, and each checks something different before ringing. A homeowner whose roofer has said the job needs a scaffold wants to know who sorts the pavement licence, what gets fixed to the walls and how long it stays up; a roofer or builder who hires every month wants to know you can come this week and what paperwork arrives with the scaffold; a main contractor's buyer wants NASC membership, CISRS cards, TG20 compliance sheets and method statements. A scaffolder's website that answers each of them on its own page gets the call, and a gallery of tube with a mobile number answers none of them.

Three buyers, and the first thing each checks

One home page cannot speak to all three at once. The homeowner does not know what TG20 is and does not need to; the buyer does not care about the neighbours. Give each a page and let the home page send them there in one line each.

The pavement licence: the line a homeowner looks for

Many terraced houses open straight onto the pavement, so a scaffold for the roof, the chimney or the front wall stands on the highway. Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 says nobody may erect or keep scaffolding that obstructs a highway without a licence in writing from the highway authority, and HSE's scaffolding guidance repeats it: scaffolds over the highway, pavements included, need a licence from the local highway authority. The licence holder must keep the structure lit from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and breaking the section is an offence carrying a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale. The section applies in England and Wales, and each council sets its own form, notice period and conditions.

The homeowner knows none of that and does not need to. What they want to read is one sentence: we apply for the licence, we light and sign the scaffold, and the council's notice period is built into the start date we give you. Near the top of the domestic page, that sentence answers the worry before the phone rings.

Two more lines belong beside it. NASC's Guide to Appointing a Scaffolding Contractor (August 2025) recommends telling the occupier before drilling for masonry anchors on domestic premises, so say that you will. And if the scaffold has to stand on a neighbour's drive or garden, say who arranges it with them.

CISRS cards: what the trade checks, and how

CISRS, the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme, describes itself as the UK's industry-recognised training and competence scheme for scaffolders, and it is owned by NASC. Its cards run from Labourer through Trainee Scaffolder and Scaffolder to Advanced Scaffolder, with supervisor and inspection training alongside, and CISRS says most of its cards are valid for five years, with Scaffolder and Advanced Scaffolder cards renewed through a CPD course. HSE's scaffolding page points to CISRS for guidance on the expertise expected of labourers, trainees, scaffolders and advanced scaffolders, and NASC's appointing guide says trainees work under the direct supervision of a CISRS Scaffolder or Advanced Scaffolder at all times.

The buyer who matters checks. CISRS says a card can be verified online with the NOCN Card Checker or the CSCS Smart Check app, which show the holder, the qualification and the expiry date. So the site should tell the buyer what they will find: if every gang is led by a card-holding scaffolder or advanced scaffolder, say so; give the supervisor's grade; and invite the buyer to check the cards on site. Leave staff card numbers off the website; the grades and the invitation do the work.

NASC and TG20: say which you have, and what you hand over

NASC, the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation, is the trade body, and its FAQ says its members are strictly audited and agree to its charter and code of conduct. Its appointing guide, written for clients and principal contractors, lists full contractor membership of NASC among the requirements for the scaffolding contractor. If you are one, the membership belongs on every page a buyer reads. If you are not, say what you do hold and leave the logo off, because a contractor's buyer will check.

TG20 is NASC's guide to good practice for tube and fitting scaffolding, and TG30 its equivalent for system scaffolding. NASC's FAQ describes a TG20 or TG30 compliance sheet as a two-page document summarising the dimensions and criteria of a scaffold built to a standard configuration, and says a scaffold outside that scope needs a bespoke design with input from a competent engineer; temporary roofs, shores and suspended scaffolds always do. HSE says the same in its own words: unless a scaffold follows a recognised standard configuration, it must be designed by calculation. The trade page should therefore say what comes with each job: a compliance sheet with every standard scaffold, a design for anything beyond one, and the structures you design regularly, such as temporary roofs.

Inspection and handover: the paragraph that settles who is responsible

HSE's guidance says a scaffold must be inspected after installation and before first use, then at intervals of no more than seven days, and again after anything likely to affect its safety, such as high winds. NASC's appointing guide adds a line that changes what a homeowner or a small builder should ask: the seven-day inspection is the responsibility of the hirer or user, not the scaffolding contractor, unless the contractor is instructed separately to carry it out.

A scaffolder's site should carry that sentence, because it is also a service you can sell. Say that every scaffold is handed over with a handover certificate (NASC's FAQ says there is no legal requirement to issue one, and that NASC recommends it). Say whether you tag your scaffolds: NASC says tags are not required either, but they show at the ladder when the last inspection was done. And say whether you will carry out the weekly inspections for a builder or a homeowner who has nobody qualified to do them. A roofer reading that knows the paperwork is covered before ringing.

The site, page by page

1. Home: the towns you cover, the three buyers in one line each, the licence sentence, and one photograph of a scaffold on a house in a town you work in.
2. Domestic scaffolding: the licence, the neighbours, the fixings, the weeks, the alarm if you fit one, and what happens when the roofer finishes early or runs late.
3. Trade and contract: lead times, how to book, the handover certificate, compliance sheets and designs, weekly inspections, and the insurance certificates with their expiry dates.
4. Projects: each with the type of building, the town, the weeks the scaffold stood and what it was for. A chimney on a terrace and a temporary roof over a loft conversion both deserve a page.
5. About: the people, the card grades, the memberships, and the yard if customers visit it.
6. The quote form: the postcode, what the scaffold is for, which sides of the building, whether it crosses the pavement or a neighbour's land, the start date and the weeks needed, and a photograph of the house from the street.

We build sites for the building trades with a page for each buyer and the paperwork answered in words a customer can follow. The pages and what each one does are set out on our website design for builders page, and the quote form takes your town and the work you want more of.