Web design in High Wycombe

Provenance is the argument against cheaper competition

A maker competing purely on product specification is competing with imports on price, which is not a fight worth having. Provenance changes the comparison: who made it, where, with what training, to what standard, using what materials.

Apprenticeships served, techniques used, how long the workshop has operated and what the process actually involves are all persuasive and all verifiable. Most sites in this sector omit every one of them.

Photographs of the work being made — not just finished — do a disproportionate amount of this job, because they prove the claim rather than asserting it.

Trade and retail want different pages

Many makers here sell both to the trade and direct to the public. The trade buyer wants lead times, minimum orders, tolerances and terms; the retail buyer wants to see the thing and know what it costs.

One page attempting both usually reads as a catalogue with no prices, which serves neither.

Selling well beyond the town

Specialist makers are rarely constrained by geography. If the work is distinctive, the customer will travel or have it shipped, and the site should be built for a national audience rather than a local one.

Questions people here ask

Is craft heritage worth mentioning?

It is often the strongest material a maker has and the most commonly omitted. Training, techniques and process are verifiable and they move a buyer who is otherwise comparing on price.

Should I separate trade and retail?

Yes. Trade buyers want lead times, minimums and terms; retail buyers want to see the piece and the price. A blended page satisfies neither.

How important are process photographs?

Very. Showing work in progress proves the claims that finished shots only imply, and it is what distinguishes a maker from a reseller.