What a cabinet maker website needs: pages, words and photos

A cabinet maker's website has one main job: show enough finished rooms that a homeowner thinks "they could build ours", then tell them how long it takes and how to start. That means a gallery sorted by room, a plain description of how a project runs from first visit to install, and an enquiry form that asks for the few things you need to give a rough idea of cost. Here is what each page should hold and what you can leave off.

Who is looking, and what they check first

Three kinds of people find a cabinet shop online, and each looks for something different.

Homeowners planning a kitchen or a bath. They look at photos first, for a style close to theirs. Then they look for the lead time ("can you do it before the holidays?"), whether you install, and whether you work in their area. Many also want to know if you are a shop that builds or a dealer that orders from a catalog, though they may not know how to ask it.

Contractors and designers. They want to know if you take trade work, how you handle drawings, and whether you hit dates. A short page for them is worth having.

People with one smaller job. A mudroom bench, a built-in desk, a vanity. They want to know if you take small projects at all. Say yes or no clearly; it saves both of you a phone call.

The pages a cabinet maker site needs

Home page. The top line says what you build and where: "Custom kitchens, vanities and built-ins, made in our shop in Lancaster County." Then one large photo of your best kitchen, your phone number, and a button to start a project. Below that, three blocks for the kinds of rooms you do, a few reviews, and the area you serve.

Our work. The gallery, grouped by room: kitchens, bathrooms, built-ins and bookcases, offices, furniture pieces if you make them. More on what to photograph below.

How we work. The steps from first call to final install. This page answers the lead time question and sets expectations about deposits and decisions. A simple version:

Call or send the form with a few photos and rough measurements.
We visit, measure and talk through what you want.
You get drawings and a price.
Once approved, we build in our shop. Say your usual build time in weeks.
We install, and come back for adjustments if a door needs it.

If you want to go deeper on describing steps like these, how to describe your process on your website has a pattern you can follow.

About the shop. Who builds the cabinets. A photo of you at the bench or the table saw, how long you have done this, where you learned. If it is a family shop, say which family. This page is where you are different from a big box store, so make it about people and the shop floor.

For contractors and designers. A short page: you work from their drawings or make your own, which file types you accept, how you schedule installs around other trades, and who to call.

Contact. Phone, form, the shop address if people can visit, and hours. If the shop is by appointment only, say so plainly.

Optional pages: a materials page and a page of frequently asked questions. Both help, but they can wait until the core pages are right.

What to photograph, and how

You probably have hundreds of finished jobs on your phone. A few rules turn them into a gallery that does its job:

Shoot the whole room, then the details. One wide photo from the doorway, then three or four close-ups: a drawer open, a corner where cabinets meet the wall, the hardware, the inside of a pantry pull-out.
Turn off the overhead lights when there is daylight. Mixed light makes painted cabinets look two colors.
Clear the counters. Ask the owner if you can move the coffee maker and the mail for five minutes.
Name each project. "White shaker kitchen with walnut island, Lititz" helps someone searching for that look and tells them you work nearby.
Fewer, better. Twenty strong kitchens beat two hundred mixed shots. Put your best three at the top.

The separate guide on custom cabinet websites that show craftsmanship goes into shop photos, joinery close-ups and how to talk about materials.

What to leave out

Stock kitchen photos. If a photo is not your work, do not use it. Homeowners compare galleries closely, and one borrowed photo makes them doubt the rest.
Brand logo walls, unless you are also a dealer. A row of manufacturer logos tells visitors you sell catalog boxes, which is the opposite of your point.
Every hinge and finish option. Customers choose those with you, in person. Listing them all on the site overwhelms more than it helps.
"Call for pricing" with nothing else. You do not need a price list, but one sentence about how prices are figured helps. For example, "Our kitchens are priced by the size of the room and the materials you choose. We give a written estimate after we measure." Should you list prices on your website talks through the options.
Old projects you no longer like. Your gallery shows what you want to build next, not everything you have built.

The phone and enquiry path

Cabinet jobs are big decisions. People often look at your site several times before they get in touch, so make the first step feel small.

Put your phone number at the top of every page, as a link that starts a call when tapped on a phone. Add a "Start a project" button that leads to a short form with:

Name, phone, email
Town
Which room or rooms
Rough timing: "this year", "in the next three months", "just planning"
Photos of the current room and any pictures of styles they like
A box for notes, such as "we are also redoing the floors"

Under the button, one sentence on what happens next: "We reply within two business days to set up a visit." If your schedule is full for months, say so honestly: "We are currently booking installs for spring." It filters out people who need something next week and earns trust from those who can wait.

What to do this week

Choose your best ten projects and put them in room groups.
Write the five steps of a project in your own words, with your real lead time.
Take one photo of yourself in the shop for the about page.
Look at your site on your phone. Can you find the phone number and the enquiry form without scrolling much?
Remove any photo that is not your own work.

If your site already shows your work but looks dated or fiddly on a phone, you can see your site rebuilt first, with your own kitchens and words, and decide from there.