Your portfolio photos are killing your Google ranking
01 / 04Cabinet makers live and die by the portfolio. A kitchen renovation client spending $30,000–$80,000 makes most of their decision based on photos. Getting those photos online in a way that actually converts browsers into callers is the whole game — but most BC cabinet shops are doing it in a way that actively hurts their Google ranking.
The mistake is almost universal: upload the original camera photos directly to the website. A DSLR or iPhone 15 Pro produces files between 8–20MB per image. A portfolio of 40 photos is 320–800MB of images the browser has to download before showing the visitor anything.
The difference between appearing on page 1 for "custom cabinet maker Surrey BC" and page 3 is, in many cases, site speed. Not the quality of the work — the quality of the file management.
How much of a problem is it, exactly?
Google's Core Web Vitals — the scoring system it uses to rank pages — measure how quickly the largest visible element on the page loads (LCP), how stable the layout is (CLS), and how responsive the page is to interaction (INP). Unoptimised portfolio images fail all three tests simultaneously.
The image optimization playbook — what to do with every photo
02 / 04The good news: image optimization is a solved problem. It requires one tool, one step, and produces dramatically better results. Here is the exact process.
Step 1: Convert everything to WebP
WebP is the image format Google invented for the web. It produces smaller files than JPEG or PNG at equivalent visual quality. For portfolio photos — high-detail woodgrain, cabinetry close-ups, full kitchen shots — WebP typically produces a 75–85% file size reduction with no visible quality loss at screen resolution.
Free tools: Squoosh.app (Google's own tool, browser-based, drag and drop), ImageOptim (Mac desktop app), or tinypng.com (web-based, handles bulk uploads). Any of these will take a 10MB JPEG and produce a 180–350KB WebP in under 30 seconds.
Step 2: Resize to display dimensions
A portfolio gallery on a desktop displays images at roughly 800–1200px wide. There is zero benefit to uploading a 6000px wide photo — it downloads the whole file and then the browser scales it down. Resize to 1400px max width before compression. This alone cuts file size by 60–70% before any format conversion.
Step 3: Lazy load images below the fold
Lazy loading means images only download when the visitor scrolls toward them — not all at once when the page loads. This is a single HTML attribute: `loading="lazy"` on any `<img>` tag that isn't in the first screen of content. Every Rainmaker-built site includes this by default. WordPress themes often don't, or implement it incorrectly through a plugin that adds overhead.
Portfolio structure that converts — not just looks good
03 / 04Speed gets the visitor to your portfolio. Structure is what converts them into a caller. Most cabinet maker portfolios fail at the structure — they're galleries of unlabelled photos with no context for what the viewer is looking at.
A cabinet renovation client isn't just looking at aesthetics. They're asking: "Can these people do what I need? Have they done something similar to my project? What's the price range?" A well-structured portfolio answers all three questions before they have to ask.
Don't show photos — show projects. "Kitchen renovation, Langley BC — full custom cabinets, island, pantry, quartz countertops." Each project gets a title, a location, and a brief scope line. Gives the viewer context and gives Google content to index.
Organize by project type: kitchens, bathrooms, offices, built-ins. A prospect looking for a bathroom vanity should land immediately in bathroom projects — not scroll through 40 kitchen photos to find them.
Curate ruthlessly. A before, a wide shot, a detail, and a finished reveal is more compelling than 15 process photos. Quality over quantity — it also means faster load times and a tighter, more professional presentation.
"Like what you see? Get a quote." After every third project block. A visitor who's made it through 3 projects is already qualifying themselves. Put the contact action where they are, not just at the top and bottom of the page.
"Custom white shaker kitchen cabinets, Langley BC" — not "IMG_4892.jpg". Alt text is what Google reads when it can't process the image. It's also how visually-impaired visitors understand your work. 5 seconds per image, significant SEO return.
A single well-structured /portfolio page concentrates all your SEO authority in one place. Splitting into multiple pages (/kitchens, /bathrooms) dilutes link authority. One page, well-organized, with anchor links to each section.
What a properly built cabinet maker site looks like — the full picture
04 / 04Put it all together: optimised WebP images, lazy loading, clean portfolio structure, and a static HTML foundation. Here is how that combination compares to the typical BC cabinet shop website.
| Factor | WordPress (typical) | Static HTML (Rainmaker) |
|---|---|---|
| Image format | JPEG, PNG — uploaded from camera | WebP, compressed to 150–300KB per image |
| Lazy loading | Requires plugin. Often breaks on updates. | Native HTML attribute. Zero plugin dependency. |
| PageSpeed mobile | 18–35 with large portfolios. Penalised by Google. | 94–98. Positive ranking signal for local searches. |
| Monthly cost | $30–$150/month hosting + maintenance | $0/month. Domain ~$15/yr only. |
| Update workflow | Upload via Media Library → correct alt text → check display across devices | Edit HTML, drag to Netlify. Live in 30 seconds. |