“Do you come to my area?” is one of the most common questions plumbers, cleaners, caterers, florists and delivery services receive. Every time a visitor has to call or email just to ask, some of them give up. A postcode checker answers instantly, right on your site.
Who needs a service area checker?
- Home services: plumbing, heating, cleaning, gardening, removals.
- Local delivery: restaurants, bakeries, florists, grocery shops.
- Mobile professionals: hairdressers, photographers, driving instructors, coaches.
What a good checker does
- Several zones, each with its own message: free travel here, a fee there, a longer delay further away.
- Flexible rules: exact postcodes, ranges (83000-83999) and wildcards (13*).
- Two clear outcomes, each with a button: “Book now” when covered, “Contact us anyway” when not.
- Demand insights: knowing which uncovered postcodes people type helps you decide where to expand.
Setting it up
- Install Zonecheck.
- Create your zones and their messages (fees, delays, days).
- Set the buttons for covered and not covered visitors.
- Insert
Type a few postcodes on the live demo: 83200, 13008 or 75001 to see both outcomes.
Where to place it
Put the checker near the top of your home page and on every service page. It removes a doubt early and sends qualified visitors straight to your booking or contact form.
Pair it with the right tools
Once visitors know you cover their area, make the next step easy: show when you are open and offer a one-tap WhatsApp or call button. The Local Business Pack bundles these plugins together.
Defining your zones
Before configuring a checker, take a map and draw your real service area. Most businesses end up with two or three zones rather than one: a core area served at the standard price, an extended area with a fee or a minimum order, and everything else. A postcode checker can reflect this precisely:
- Exact postcodes for small, well-defined areas.
- Prefixes such as “75” or “SW1” to cover a whole district at once.
- Ranges such as 31000 to 31200 when codes follow each other.
Attach a clear message to each zone: delivery fee, minimum order, delivery days or “on request”.
Messages that convert
The result message matters as much as the check itself. A positive answer should push to the next step: “Great news, we deliver to 31400! Order before 2 pm for same-day delivery” followed by a button. A negative answer should never be a dead end. Offer an alternative: click and collect, a contact form, or a way to leave an email to be notified when you expand. You keep the lead instead of losing the visitor.
Use your zones for SEO too
A checker answers the question for visitors, but search engines also need to know where you work. Mention your main towns and districts in plain text on your service pages and in your footer. If you cover very different areas, a short page per main city with real local information can help you appear in local results. Keep your Google Business Profile service area consistent with what your checker says.
Common mistakes
- Hiding the checker at the bottom of a page: put it near the top and in the order or booking flow.
- Forgetting to update zones when you hire or lose a driver.
- Answering “no” without any alternative or contact option.
Test the full experience on the ZoneCheck demo, and see the other plugins every local business site needs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set different fees per area?
Yes. Each zone has its own message, so you can show free travel in one area and a fee or a longer delay in another.
Does the checker store personal data?
Zonecheck keeps anonymous statistics about searched postcodes, without storing personal data.
Can it handle postcode ranges?
Yes: exact codes, ranges like 83000-83999 and wildcards like 13* are supported.