A free directory for small and medium-sized businesses, with the checks written down.

Why we started

Finding a good local business is harder than it should be. Search results are full of ads, review scores are easy to game, and “top 10” lists are often just the businesses that paid. And if you run a small or medium-sized business, getting seen online is hard work. We wanted something smaller and simpler: a short list, free to join, with the checks we did written down in plain English.

Who runs this site

Best Rated Company is run by Adrian, who also runs Bellwoods Removals & Storage, a family removals business in Huddersfield trading since 1977. Some businesses in this directory are affiliated with us. A business counts as affiliated if Adrian owns or runs it, someone in his household runs it, or he has a financial interest in it, including being paid to work on it. Affiliated businesses are labelled, shown separately, never given a Verified badge or Featured, and do not take one of the places. Businesses run by other relatives go through the same three checks as everyone else.

What we check

We list up to three businesses per trade in each town, and a business gets a Verified badge only after three checks: we look it up online, we ring the business, and the business confirms its listing through a link we email to it. You can read each one on the How it works page.

We do not check insurance, audit accounts or finances, inspect anyone’s work, or guarantee any job. A Verified badge tells you what we checked and nothing more, so please ask for a business’s insurance certificate, get quotes and ask questions before you hire.

Small and medium-sized businesses are welcome

You do not need years of trading history, a limited company or existing reviews to apply, and a business does not have to be new. We would rather list a good local business than a big name. Listing is free, and it stays free for as long as you pass our checks.

How we make money

From Featured listings. A business that is already listed and Verified can choose to pay for 12 months of extra visibility: a labelled card on our home and browse pages and on other pages for the same town, extra details on its listing such as photos, services and opening hours, and a monthly email with its views and clicks. Featured does not renew automatically.

Featured never buys a place, a Verified badge or a higher position on a trade and town page. The order on those pages changes every day for everyone. Every Featured card is labelled, and links that a business pays for are marked as paid links for search engines. We take no commission and no referral fee if you hire a business you find here.

Local, not national

We list independent local businesses rather than national chains, so you can speak to the person who runs the firm.

Where we are

We started in Yorkshire and add towns as businesses apply. If your trade or town is not listed yet, list your business and we create the page when you pass our checks.

A note on honesty

We are a young site and we would rather earn your trust slowly than fake it quickly. We do not invent ratings or pad our lists, and where we have not checked a business we say so on its listing. If we get something wrong, tell us and we will put it right.