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Step one: decide what a buyer must learn
Start from the buyer's urgent questions, not the provider's biography. For a plumber, a homeowner wants to know what jobs are handled, which suburbs are covered, whether emergency calls are accepted, and how to reach someone now. Turn each question into a required field: services, service area, availability, phone, and a short description. Keep optional fields separate, such as licence number, years trading and photos. A worked example might read: blocked drains and water heater repair, covering three named suburbs, evening callouts available, call or request a quote. If a field does not help a decision, remove it.
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Step two: structure fields so pages compare
Consistency is what makes a directory more useful than a search result. Define each field with a fixed format: services as a short checklist, areas as a list of place names, hours as day and time ranges, pricing as a statement such as call-out fee stated or free quote. Limit free text to one summary paragraph so pages stay scannable on a phone. Add a clear primary action, usually call or request a quote, placed above the fold. In the plumber example, two listings should be comparable within seconds because the same headings appear in the same positions.
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Step three: test, verify and keep it current
Before publishing widely, fill the template with three real or realistic plumber profiles and ask a few people to find an emergency repair using only the pages. Note where they hesitate: unclear service areas and missing hours are common. Then decide how details will be checked, for example asking providers to confirm contact information and licence details, and showing a last-updated date. Set a regular reminder for providers to review their page. Revise the template after the test, remove unused fields, and only then copy the pattern to electricians, cleaners and other trades.