Who can stop a page going out.
Most publishers describe their editorial process as a sequence of steps. The more useful question is who holds authority at each one — because a review stage the writer can overrule is not a review stage, it is a formality with a name.
HomeMatchup is 16 people across editorial, expert review, operations, search, design and engineering. 6 carry bylines and 5 review other people's work. Every page is written by one person and checked by a different one — and our technical reviewer, cost reviewer and verification lead each hold a veto that nobody in the business can override, including the founder.
Who owns each stage, and who signs it off.
The last column is the one that matters. Everything else is a job description.
| Stage | Does the work | Signs it off |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioning a page | Priya SharmaSenior Content Strategist & Editor | Emma CollinsHead of Content |
| Research & sourcing | Olivia CarterSEO Content Optimization Specialist | Priya SharmaEditor |
| Writing the draft | Aisha RahmanSenior Copywriter | Priya SharmaEditor |
| Technical accuracy | Michael ThompsonSenior Home Improvement Reviewer | Michael ThompsonExpert reviewer — final say on roofing claims |
| Cost figures & ranges | Sarah WilliamsCost & Technical Review Lead | Sarah WilliamsCost review lead — final say on any number |
| Editorial sign-off | Emma CollinsHead of Content | Emma CollinsHead of Content |
| Contractor verification | Michael CarterOperations Director | Michael CarterOperations — final say on who is listed |
| Refresh & corrections | Olivia CarterSEO Content Optimization Specialist | Emma CollinsHead of Content |
Four vetoes, and who holds them.
A gate is only real if the person holding it can say no to someone more senior. These can.
A roofing claim cannot ship if Michael blocks it
Technical review is a veto, not an advisory. If our expert reviewer says a claim about how a roof behaves is wrong or unsupportable, the writer does not get to overrule it and neither does the head of content. The claim is corrected or it is cut.
Michael Thompson, Senior Home Improvement Reviewer
A number cannot ship if Sarah blocks it
Same authority, over money. Any figure without a source and a retrieval date fails the gate automatically, and a page quoting a single national average does not pass at all. Our cost review lead can hold a finished page indefinitely over one unsourced range.
Sarah Williams, Cost & Technical Review Lead
A contractor cannot be listed if Michael Carter blocks it
Verification is independent of the commercial team, which is the only arrangement that makes it worth anything. Roughly one in three companies that apply do not clear The HomeMatchup Shield — each one is revenue we decline on purpose.
Michael Carter, Operations Director
Nobody in the business can override any of the three
Including the founder. The point of a gate that the chief executive can open is that it is not a gate. Where a commercial decision and an editorial one conflict, the editorial one stands and the commercial side takes the loss.
Jonathan Hayes, Founder & CEOSix departments, 16 people.
Editorial and expert review are deliberately the largest share of the headcount for a company whose product is a match, not an article. That is the bet.
Leadership
Sets what we will and will not do to make a match — including the revenue we turn down.
Expert Review
Reads costs, specs and safety claims before publication. Nothing about money or roofs ships unread.
Content
Writes the guides, cost pages and city pages — in plain English, with the source next to the number.
SEO
Makes sure the person with the leaking roof at 11pm actually finds the page that answers them.
Design
Owns the look, the design system, and whether a page reads as honest before a word is read.
Engineering
Builds and runs the site, the matching flow, and the speed budget every page has to live inside.
Editorial does not report to commercial.
Contractors pay us a referral fee when we match them with a homeowner. That is the entire business model, and it is exactly why the separation is a reporting line rather than a promise on a page. Roughly one in three companies that apply do not clear verification, and each is revenue declined on purpose. Guides that tell a homeowner to repair rather than replace are a normal week's output.
Where this model is still thin
Two reviewers carry the technical and cost veto for the whole site. That concentration is a strength for consistency and a weakness for capacity — it is the reason some categories publish more slowly than our competitors, and we would rather be slow than wave a page through.
Our reviewers are also in-house rather than an externally credentialed board of licensed roofers, adjusters and engineers. We are commissioning for that: it is paid, contributors are bylined on the pages they touch, and they are explicitly free to tell us in public that we are wrong. Until it exists, we will keep saying it does not. Get in touch if that is you.
The rest of the method.
How we research and write
The seven stages every page clears, the ranked source hierarchy, and the six things we refuse to publish.
Read the processMeet the team
All 16 of us, what each person is accountable for, and what our profiles deliberately do not claim.
See the rosterHow we verify pros
The six-point check a contractor clears before they can be matched with you, and the date stamp on each one.
See the method
The job will still be there next month.
It will just cost more, and you will be choosing in a hurry — which is how most people end up with the contractor they regret. Getting matched takes about a minute and costs nothing.
Free • No obligation • Licence & insurance verified