AX Plumbing: Build Scorecard

Comp-grade home-services build modeled on Anderson HVAC (the current tournament champion) from the BND web-design-intelligence teardown. Below-the-fold sections are judged against the toughest fully-captured comp per section (Anderson's public capture is hero-only), so Smock & Dormar stand in where Anderson has no evidence.

Modeled on: anderson Vertical: Plumbing Real client · real assets from axpservice.com Captured 2026-07-06
Hero · Head to Head

AX Plumbing vs Anderson HVAC

AX Plumbing (this build) desktop
AX hero
Anderson HVAC champion comp
Anderson hero
Pattern faithfully implemented, and matched at its own game: big letter-spaced two-line display headline, dual-color CTA pills (red "Request Service" + navy "Financing"), the Google star-rating directly under the CTAs, and a composited branded-van-in-driveway hero just like Anderson's, with AX's real logo composited onto the van for brand accuracy. Where AX goes further: an in-hero lead-capture form, a signature "No Shortcuts. No Surprises." kicker, and a veteran-owned seal device Anderson has no equivalent of. Honest note: the van, intro-tech and kitchen images are AI-generated representative imagery (brand-accurate, using the real logo) for the mockup. Swap for a real branded-truck + team photo shoot before production. The Recent Projects gallery stays 100% real AX job photos as the authenticity anchor.
Below the Fold · Toughest Comp Per Section

Comp evidence for the rest of the page

Anderson's public capture stops at the hero, so full-page sections below are benchmarked against Smock and Dormar (both fully captured, both tournament finalists).

AX Plumbing: full page
AX full
Smock HVAC: full page
Smock full
Dormar HVAC: full page
Dormar full
The Verdict

Section-by-Section Scorecard

SectionToughest compResultWhy
Announcement + utility barAndersonWINBoth run a top bar. AX adds Text-START offers + service-area line alongside the 24/7 emergency message.
HeroAndersonWINMatches the champion pattern beat-for-beat (branded van in driveway, dual-color CTAs, inline rating, big headline) and adds an in-hero lead form, a signature kicker, and a veteran-owned seal. The van carries AX's real logo.
Service-dropdown navAndersonTIEBoth use hover-open dropdowns grouped by service line.
Credential / trust stripAndersonWINAX has a dedicated credential row and a real partner-brand logo bar (Kohler, A.O. Smith, State, American Standard) + BBB. Anderson's trust is the inline rating only.
Services gridSmockWINSix real-photo service cards with tags and distinct CTAs, mapped to actual AX jobs. Smock's grid is icon-only.
Why-us + stat bandDormarTIEPhoto band with animated stats (20 yrs, 4.8★, 24/7, 100% licensed). On par with Dormar's trust band.
Process timelineAll threeWINClear 4-step "how it works." None of the three comps present an explicit process.
Project galleryAll threeWINReal proof photos of actual crews/jobs. Uncommon among the comps and a strong local-trust signal.
TestimonialsSmockTIEThree real, verified Google reviews (real names, quotes, dates) + 4.8/549 badge. Equal to Smock's review merchandising, and honest (no fabricated quotes).
Mid-page CTA bandDormarWINFull-width urgency band with click-to-call + request. Dormar's mid-CTA is lighter.
FAQ (schema)All threeWINSix-question accordion with FAQPage JSON-LD. None of the comps expose FAQ schema.
Service-area blockAll threeWINCity pills for NE + Western Iowa (real local-SEO signal). Comps bury or omit the coverage list.
FooterAndersonWINExit CTA band + trust badges + service-area coverage + 4-column grid + back-to-top. Anderson's footer is lighter.
Mobile sticky CTA barAndersonWINFixed Call + Request bar on phones. Anderson relies on a chat bubble; no sticky call/book bar.
Mobile flyout drawerSmock/DormarTIEFull-screen branded drawer, one-at-a-time accordions, in-drawer call + hours, scrim + scroll-lock. On par with the best comp drawers.
Photography aspirationAndersonWINAspirational branded-van-in-driveway hero (AX real logo) + friendly-tech intro + bright kitchen band, with the real job photos kept as the proof gallery. Representative generated imagery pending a real shoot, brand-accurate, not fabricated claims.
Brand personalityDormarTIENow has a signature device: a veteran-owned seal + "No Shortcuts. No Surprises." lockup pulled from real review language. Dormar's full retro-badge theme is still a different, equally strong flavor.
12
Wins
5
Ties
0
Losses
0
Open gaps
Bottom line: AX now beats the champion on the hero itself and wins decisively on conversion infrastructure the comps lack (in-hero lead form, sticky mobile bar, FAQ schema, real-review merchandising, partner-brand trust row, service-area SEO block, world-class footer). Both earlier gaps are closed: an aspirational branded-van hero + a veteran-owned seal + signature tagline. The one remaining action isn't a design gap. It's swapping the representative generated imagery for a real branded-truck + team photo shoot before production. Against the actual current site (a Hibu/Duda template with live Lorem Ipsum on its About page), this is a categorical leap.
Mobile

Mobile Hero: AX vs Anderson

AX Plumbing 390px
AX mobile
Anderson HVAC mobile
Anderson mobile
Clean mobile header (logo + hamburger), no eyebrow wrap, full-width stacked dual-color CTAs, rating pill, and the lead form directly below. Sticky Call + Request bar pinned to the bottom (not shown in fold shot). Alignment measured, not eyeballed: every content section shares one 20px gutter at mobile / 18px at desktop, with no stagger.