Website design for carpenters and joiners who build to fit

A carpentry website wins bespoke commissions when each project is told as a story, from the awkward space to the finished piece, when it shows the workshop where the work is made, and when it explains the design-to-fit process before anyone asks. The enquiry form should collect dimensions and photos so the first conversation is a useful one. Unavoidable Marketing is a Leeds-based agency that designs and builds websites for UK carpenters and joiners, on WordPress, owned by you, with founder Andrew Heppinstall on every strategy call.

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Last updated: 18 October 2026

Bespoke work is sold on the story, not the photo

A photo of a finished set of alcove cupboards is nice. But the customer looking at it has a different alcove, a sloping ceiling, a boiler in the way, or a chimney breast that is two inches out of square. What they want to know is whether you can solve their problem, and a single finished photo does not tell them that.

The best carpentry websites treat each project as a short case story. It takes a few minutes per job and it is what turns a browser into someone who books a visit.

How we structure each portfolio project

• The space before: the empty alcove, the dead area under the stairs, the bedroom with the sloping eaves.
• The brief in one or two lines: “Storage for a family of four, hide the meter, keep the window seat.”
• The awkward bit and how you solved it: scribed to a wall that ran out, a hinged panel for meter access, drawers that clear the radiator.
• Materials and finish: oak, tulipwood, MDF for painting, birch ply, and the paint or oil used.
• The finished piece, wide and close: joints, hinges, scribes and the shadow gap at the ceiling.
• A line from the customer, if they are happy to give one.

This also gives Google and AI assistants real, specific text to read about what you do and where you work, which a gallery of unlabelled photos never does.

Let people into the workshop

If you make pieces in a workshop rather than on site, show it. Customers paying for bespoke work want to know it is made by hand by the person they are talking to, not flat packed from a catalogue. A few honest photos and a short clip go a long way:

• Boards being selected and machined
• A carcass dry fitted on the bench
• Hand-cut dovetails or a mortise and tenon in progress
• Spraying or oiling in the finishing area
• Pieces wrapped and ready for fitting

Workshop shots also explain lead times. When the customer can see that a staircase is made over weeks, not days, they stop asking why it cannot be fitted next Tuesday.

Explain the design-to-fit process

Bespoke work feels risky to a customer who has never commissioned it. They do not know what happens after the first call, when they pay, or what they are committing to. A clear process page takes that worry away.

Be clear about deposits and design fees on this page if you take them. Customers who know the terms early are better customers.

Pages for the commissions people search for

Customers search for the piece, not the trade. Each of these deserves its own page with its own projects:

• Fitted wardrobes, including loft and eaves wardrobes
• Alcove units, bookcases and media walls
• Under stairs storage
• Staircases and balustrades
• Internal and external doors, including oak doors and door hanging
• Windows and sash repair, for joiners who do it
• Garden rooms, decking or pergolas, if they are part of your work

Keep first fix and second fix site carpentry on a separate page aimed at builders and developers, so it does not crowd out the homeowner commissions.

A commission enquiry form that collects dimensions

“Can you make me some cupboards?” leads to a lot of calls that go nowhere. A commission form gets you enough to judge the job and the budget before you drive out.

• What they want made, from a short list or “something else”
• Rough dimensions: width, height and depth of the space, with a note that tape measure figures are fine
• Photo upload of the space, straight on and from the side
• Preferred material and finish, or “not sure yet”
• Any inspiration photos they have saved
• Rough timescale, and whether it is tied to other building work
• Postcode

An optional budget question, worded gently as a range, helps you steer the conversation without putting people off.

Trust signals that suit a craft trade

Name the person who makes the work, with a photo. Mention your training or apprenticeship, any guild or federation membership, and your insurance. If you offer a guarantee on your joinery, say what it covers. Pull your Google reviews onto the site and place them next to the matching project type, and keep your name, address and phone consistent everywhere so Google and AI assistants can match them up.

How we do it

We have been building websites since 2012, across 390+ projects, and 92% of clients come back. We judge a carpentry site on the enquiries and commissions it brings in.