Websites for steel fabricators
Web design for steel fabricators: £249.99 to build, then £49.99 a month, no minimum term. Execution class, capacity and lead time. Everything else is decoration.
Structural steelwork is bought by people working to drawings and a programme. They need to know whether you are certified to supply it, whether you can make what is on the drawing, and whether it will arrive when the crane is booked.
Nothing about that is emotional, and a site written in marketing language actively gets in the way. The fabricators who win enquiries publish the facts an engineer or contractor is looking for and let them do the work.
What your customers want answered
- Are you certified to supply structural steelwork, and to what execution class
- What are your capacity, section sizes and lifting limits
- Are your welders coded, and to which procedures
- What is your current lead time
- Do you deliver and erect, or fabricate only
State the certification in the buyer's termsFabricated structural steelwork placed on the market has to be marked under the Construction Products Regulations, which requires certification to the harmonised standard and a documented Factory Production Control system, assessed to the relevant execution class. Saying which class you hold answers the first question a specifier has.
Hiding the workshop
Photographs of the shop floor, the machines and work in progress tell a buyer what you can actually handle. Rendered images of finished buildings tell them nothing about your capacity.
Two kinds of customer
Structural steel for builders and engineers, and decorative work such as gates, railings, balustrades and staircases for homeowners and architects. They search differently and judge differently. A page for each lets builders find your capacity and certification, and homeowners find photos and finishes.
Certification and capability
For structural work, say whether you are certified to the relevant standard for fabricating structural steel (UKCA/CE marking under the execution class required), whether you work from engineers' drawings, and whether you install as well as fabricate. Say what your workshop can handle: sizes, welding processes, finishes such as galvanising and powder coating.
Show the work in place
Photos of beams going in, finished staircases, gates and railings show what you can do. A short note on each, such as the finish and how it was installed, helps clients picture their own job.
A form that accepts drawings and measurements is far more useful to clients than a generic contact box.
Common questions
- What should a steel fabricator's website include?
- Separate pages for structural and decorative work, your certification, workshop capability, finishes, whether you install, photos of completed jobs and a form that accepts drawings.
- Should I mention UKCA or CE marking?
- If you fabricate structural steel, yes. Builders and engineers look for it.
- Can clients upload drawings?
- Yes. Accepting drawings through the site makes pricing much faster.
Other sectors we build for
Tell me about your business.
One message is enough to start. I’ll read it and reply myself, usually with a couple of questions and a clear price.
Liam Tapp, Website Builds