For upholsterers and furniture restorers
Upholsterer websites that answer "is it worth re-covering?"
Almost every upholstery enquiry begins with the same private doubt: would it be cheaper to buy new? An upholsterer's website that answers that honestly, and then makes it easy to get a quote from a few photos, is doing most of the selling before the phone rings.
Worth re-covering, or cheaper to replace?
Customers often assume reupholstery costs less than a new sofa and are surprised when it does not. Others assume it costs a fortune and never ask. Both groups are better served by a page that explains honestly when reupholstery makes sense: a solid hardwood frame, a piece with sentimental value, an antique, a shape you cannot buy any more, or a quality sofa whose fabric has simply worn out.
Read moreShow less
Say when it does not make sense too. Recommending that someone replaces a cheap flat-pack sofa rather than paying to re-cover it costs you a small job and earns a customer who trusts everything else you tell them. That honesty is persuasive precisely because so few trades bother with it.
Quoting from three photos and a tape measure
Most upholstery jobs can be roughly priced from photographs, which saves you a visit and the customer a wait. The enquiry form should ask for exactly what you need, and a short note on how to take the photos makes the replies far more useful.
Read moreShow less
- Photos from the front, side and back, plus any damage close up
- Approximate width, depth and height
- Whether it needs new foam or springs, or just a new cover
- Whether they have chosen a fabric or want help choosing
- Their postcode, for collection
Fabric books, customer's own fabric and fire safety
Fabric is where upholstery quotes vary most, and customers rarely understand why. A page explaining the choices, such as fabrics you supply from pattern books, the customer supplying their own, and roughly how many metres a typical armchair or sofa takes, removes a lot of back-and-forth.
Read moreShow less
It is also the place to explain fire safety in plain terms. Upholstered furniture for use in the home has to meet fire safety requirements, and some fabrics need a fire-retardant interliner to do so. Customers bringing their own fabric often do not know this, and a clear explanation before they buy saves an awkward conversation later.
★★★★★
“… He took the vision for my brand, Byte & Batter, and built a premium, high-converting digital storefront entirely from scratch. …”
The sofa that will not fit in a hatchback
Whether you collect and deliver is one of the first practical questions an upholstery customer has, because a three-seater sofa is not something most people can bring to a workshop. If you collect, say so near the top of every page, with the area you cover and any charge. If customers bring pieces to you, give clear directions and opening times.
Read moreShow less
That service area also shapes how you are found. A Google Business Profile set up with your workshop or your collection area, photos of finished pieces and a steady trickle of reviews covers the local searches. Specialist work, such as antique restoration or traditional hand-stuffed upholstery, can draw customers from much further away, provided there is a page about it.
Banquettes, booths and boat cushions
Upholstery for pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices and boats is a different customer altogether. A restaurant refurbishing its booths wants durable contract fabrics, work scheduled around opening hours and a reliable finish date. That work often returns every few years as the fabric wears, and it can keep a workshop busy between domestic jobs.
Read moreShow less
If you want it, give it its own page and its own photographs. A hospitality owner will not assume a workshop full of wingback chairs can handle a whole restaurant's banquette seating unless the site shows it.
Before-and-after stories, told with the grandmother's chair
Upholstery is one of the few trades where customers often become emotionally attached to the result, because the piece belonged to a parent or grandparent. Reviews and short stories about those pieces, with the before and after side by side, are some of the most persuasive content an upholsterer can have. Ask customers if you can tell the story, and add it to the site.
Read moreShow less
Paid search is rarely the first priority for an upholsterer, since many searches are for small jobs. The website and the map listing should be earning enquiries first, with calls and forms tracked. Growth Care then keeps new before-and-afters, fabric ranges and your current lead time on the site without you having to update it yourself.
What it costs
From £1,400, one-off.
That is the whole Growth Website™ rebuild for an upholsterer’s business, up to 6 pages. It covers the audit, rewriting how you explain the work, design, build, the conversion and local search groundwork, tracking, speed and launch. It is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch, and you own it outright.
Growth Care™ is optional: £149 a month. Cancel any time, with a month’s notice. Every price is fixed and published, so you know the cost before you speak to us.
In our clients’ words
What our clients say.
Questions
The ones that come up.
Should an upholsterer's website tell people when reupholstery is not worth it?
Yes. Customers are unsure whether re-covering costs more or less than buying new, and an honest page explaining when it makes sense, such as solid frames, antiques, sentimental pieces or quality sofas with worn fabric, and when it does not, builds real trust. Turning away a poor-value job costs little and makes every other recommendation you give far more believable.
Can customers get an upholstery quote from photos?
Usually a rough one, yes. The enquiry form asks for photos from the front, side and back, approximate measurements, whether the filling needs replacing, and whether they have a fabric in mind. A short guide on how to take the photos makes the replies more useful. You can give a guide price without visiting, and the customer gets an answer quickly.
How should my website explain fabric and fire safety?
On a dedicated fabric page. Explain the options, such as fabrics from your pattern books or the customer's own, and roughly how much a typical chair or sofa needs. Then explain, in plain terms, that home furniture has to meet fire safety requirements and that some fabrics need a fire-retardant interliner. Customers supplying their own fabric especially need to know this before they buy.
Is it worth having a page for commercial upholstery?
If you want the work, yes. Restaurants, pubs, hotels and boat owners need durable contract fabrics, work scheduled around their business and reliable finish dates, and they often return when seating wears out. A separate page with photos of banquettes, booths or marine cushions you have done shows you can handle that scale, which a domestic gallery alone will not convince them of.
Should my upholstery website say whether I collect and deliver?
Yes, near the top of every page. A sofa or a pair of armchairs is not something most people can bring to a workshop, so collection is one of the first things they want to know. State whether you collect, the area you cover and any charge. If customers drop pieces off instead, give clear directions and the times someone will be there to receive them.
Where to next
Also for upholsterers:
Related trades we build for:
Upholsterer websites
Find out what your website is costing you.
A free Growth Audit™: a written, prioritised audit of your website, with the three fixes worth making first. It is yours to keep whatever you decide.
We take on a limited number of builds at once, so there is usually a short wait before a new one starts. Once yours starts, it is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch.