How to Make a Before and After Video That Wins Jobs (Guide for Contractors)

Homeowners can't judge your technique, your chemicals or your crew. They can judge a driveway that went from black to bright in two seconds. That's why before and after content is some of the most shared and saved content in the trades, and why it works on every platform your customers use.

A short video does three jobs at once:

• It stops the scroll. Movement catches the eye in a way a still photo doesn't, and the reveal gives people a reason to watch to the end.
• It proves the result. The same spot, before and after, is harder to argue with than any description.
• It carries your name. Your business, your town and your number travel with every share, repost and "look at this" text between neighbors.

You don't need a camera crew, a drone or editing skills. You need two good photos from the same spot and about a minute. This guide covers the formats that work, how to make one for free, the right sizes for each platform, what to write, and where to post it.

If you only use one, use the wipe. It's the format most people picture when they hear "before and after video", and it mirrors what actually happened: the surface cleaner, the roller or the mower moving across the job.

The fastest route is our free before and after video maker. It runs in your phone's browser, needs no signup, and your photos are never uploaded anywhere. Step by step:

1. 1Open the tool on your phone and tap "Choose before & after photos". Pick the before first, then the after, straight from your camera roll.
2. 2Add more jobs if you want. Up to six before and after pairs play one after another, which makes a great weekly or monthly highlight reel.
3. 3Pick a design: Wipe, Split, Framed or Bold. The preview updates instantly.
4. 4Pick the size: 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, 4:5 for the Instagram and Facebook feed, or square for Google.
5. 5Add your details: business name, what you did ("Driveway cleaning"), the town and your phone number. Pick your brand color.
6. 6Tap "Make my video" and download the MP4. You can also download a still image of each pair for posts and your website.

There are trade-specific versions with sample jobs and shooting tips for pressure washing, painting and landscaping.

Other ways to make one

If you'd rather edit by hand, general video apps like CapCut, InShot or iMovie can do it too. The usual method is two photo clips on a timeline with a "wipe" or "slide" transition between them, then text layers for "Before", "After" and your name. It works, but expect 10 to 20 minutes per video, and it's easy to put your text where the app's buttons will cover it (more on that below).

A structure that holds attention

1. 1Seconds 0 to 1: the hook. A title card with the job ("Driveway cleaning, Orlando") or straight into the before photo. Don't start with your logo.
2. 2Seconds 1 to 3: the before. Long enough to register how bad it was.
3. 3Seconds 3 to 5: the reveal. The wipe, split or cut to the after.
4. 4Seconds 5 to 7: hold the after. Let people enjoy the result. A slow push-in helps.
5. 5Last 2 seconds: who and how. Your business name, phone number and "free quote".

Short videos get replayed. A 10-second video that people watch twice does better than a 45-second one they leave halfway through.

Keep text out of the "danger zones"

On TikTok, Reels and Shorts, the caption, username, audio label and buttons sit on top of your video. On a 1080 x 1920 video, roughly the bottom 320 pixels and the right-hand edge get covered, plus a strip along the top. Put your business name and phone number in the middle band of the frame, not along the bottom edge. The free maker's Reel layouts already keep text inside the visible area.

Our full guide to taking before-and-after photos covers this in depth. For video specifically, four habits matter most:

• Take the before first, before anything moves. Once ladders, tarps and tools are out, the before is gone.
• Mark your spot. A fence post, the corner of the driveway, a doorway. Stand there again for the after.
• Use the main camera at 1x and hold the phone level. Ultra-wide lenses bend lines, which makes the wipe look warped.
• Shoot the best angle vertically as well. Vertical photos fill a 9:16 video without heavy cropping.

Some hook lines that work for home services:

• "This driveway hadn't been cleaned in 10 years." (only if it's true)
• "Same house. Two days apart."
• "Wait for the wipe."
• "Would you believe this is the same deck?"
• "Before we started vs when we packed up."
• "The HOA letter is going to stop now."

Then a simple caption structure:

1. 1What and where: "Full driveway and patio clean in Winter Park, FL."
2. 2One detail that shows expertise: "Soft-washed first so we didn't etch the concrete."
3. 3The call to action: "Free quotes in Orange County. Link in bio or call (407) 555-0142."

Use three to five hashtags: one or two for the service (#pressurewashing, #housepainting), one or two for the place (#orlando, #winterparkfl), and one broad one (#beforeandafter). Location beats volume: a homeowner nearby is worth more than a like from another state.

Trending sounds help short videos get shown to more people. But popular songs are licensed for personal use, not for businesses advertising a service. TikTok business accounts get a Commercial Music Library of tracks cleared for commercial use, and Instagram business accounts get a smaller catalog of commercial-safe audio. Pick your sound there, inside the app, when you post.

That's also why it's best to export your before and after video without music. You can add a different sound on each platform without copyright problems.

Don't re-upload a video you downloaded from TikTok with TikTok's logo on it to Instagram. Post the original file to each platform. Instagram has said it favors original content in Reels.

For a bigger picture of what to post and how often, see our guide to social media for contractors. For Google, our Google Business Profile checklist covers photos and updates.

Pressure washing and soft washing

Driveways, patios, roofs, house washes, fences and pool decks. The wipe format is made for this work. Try a multi-job reel of the week's best surfaces, or the "half-cleaned stripe" as the opening shot. More ideas and a sample job are on the pressure washing video maker.

Roofing

Shoot the roof from the same spot on the street, plus one close-up of the damage (missing shingles, algae streaks) and one of the new ridge or flashing. Split screen works well because roof angles are hard to match exactly. Never show the homeowner's address.

Painting

Exterior repaints from the curb, cabinets, one room per job, or a single wall with a bold color change. Match the time of day so the color reads true. The painting video maker has shooting tips for exteriors and interiors.

Landscaping and lawn care

Overgrown to finished, bare dirt to fresh sod, or the same bed at installation and again six weeks later. Shoot from a raised spot so people see the whole layout. See the landscaping video maker.

Cleaning, windows and gutters

Close-ups do the work here: a streaky window, a stained grout line, a gutter full of debris. Use split screen so both close-ups stay visible.

Remodeling, decks, fences and concrete

The same corner of the room before and after, the rotten deck boards next to the new ones, the cracked slab and the new pour. Photo cards suit multi-room remodels because each room gets its own card.

• Different angles. The wipe jumps and the viewer can't tell what changed.
• Over-editing the after. Brighter, more saturated after photos look fake, and they set expectations you then have to meet. Fix brightness and crop; never change the work.
• Logo first, job second. Nobody stops scrolling for a logo. Lead with the result.
• Too long. If it runs past 30 seconds, split it into two videos.
• Text under the buttons. Your phone number sitting behind the like button is invisible.
• No call to action. Say what to do next: call, message or tap the link.
• Posting it once. One video can live on five platforms and your website.
• Private details on screen. House numbers, license plates and faces should be cropped or blurred, and ask before posting interiors.

Views are nice. Calls pay. Make sure there's somewhere to send people who want to know more:

• Link in bio to a page showing this job (or your best recent jobs), not just your homepage.
• A quote form on that page, ideally one that lets homeowners attach photos of their own project, so you can quote faster.
• Reply fast. The first contractor to answer often wins the job, so turn on alerts for new requests.
• Ask for the review the same day you send the customer their video, while they're happy. Our review request scripts help.

That's what DonePages is built for: the same photos from your video become a project page with a quote form and instant lead alerts, the customer gets a review request, and the job is posted to Google. If you've just made a video with the free tool, your photos carry straight over when you start a trial.

1. 1On every job: take the before on arrival and the after before you leave, from the same spot.
2. 2Friday: pick the best one or two jobs of the week and make the video (about a minute).
3. 3Post: Reels and TikTok on Friday or the weekend, the square version to Google Business Profile, the feed version to Facebook.
4. 4Send it to the customer with a thank-you and your review link.
5. 5End of the month: make one highlight reel with the month's best six jobs.

That's about 15 minutes a week, and after three months you have a portfolio of real, local proof that no competitor can copy.