Window replacement is a specialty within the general contracting field. To find the best professional for your job — someone who’s experienced and who you’ll feel comfortable having in your home — we have some tips to aid your search and vetting process.

Once you have a few names in hand, it pays to spend a little time doing preliminary research before moving forward with meetings. Here are a few ways to begin doing this:

What do customer reviews and ratings say?

There are various places you could go to read customer reviews of a contractor’s work. A good place to start is with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is an organization that seeks to “establish marketplace trust.” Customers can contact the BBB when they have complaints about a business. They can also leave reviews, and report scams. The BBB assigns grades to businesses based on various inputs. The grades are easy to understand, the website is free to use, and you can search by location. In addition to BBB ratings and reviews, you could check out sites like Google or Angi’s (formerly Angie’s List).

What can you learn from their online presence?

Checking out a contractor’s website or social media presence can help you get a sense for the quality of their work, the types of projects they typically take on, and even their standing within the industry and community. Look for the following:

• Recent project pictures on their website or their social channels.
• Badges from the BBB or awards or recognitions their business or employees may have won.
• Mentions of certifications or licenses they have — more on this in the next section.

Keep in mind that contractors spend most of their days out in the field. This means that not every contractor will have prioritized or invested in developing a robust online presence, particularly if their business is smaller. So, while it’s nice to find a contractor’s business has a well-established online presence, they could very well still do quality work if they don’t.

Is there a contractor licensing program in your state? If so, do they have the state-issued license?

It can be reassuring to work with a contractor who is state-licensed, because it typically means they’ve passed some sort of exam and might be required to participate in continuing education in order to retain that license. Like any professional license, it’s an indication of their expertise in the field.

Your state’s department of labor can be a good place to find out if there's a licensing program for contractors. Once you understand what professional credentials your state might provide, you can ask about this during a meeting with your contractor (if their online presence doesn’t make their status clear).

Once you have a shortlist of contractors you might be interested in working with, your next step is to set up meetings with these pros. We can help you work through what to discuss at your first meeting with them.