Why websites are essential for interior designers and architects

Globally, most Architects and Interior Designers embrace and acknowledge the transformative potential of the Internet.

Many young firms are learning from their peers and correcting their course, but there are still many who believe that word of mouth is the end all and any investment in "marketing" is nothing but a farce. Marketing has such a negative reputation in the industry that it calls for a separate discussion of its own.

For now, I am going to explain why a good website is indispensable for any Architecture or Interior Design firm in the world. If your current website is barely giving you any business, that means you are fighting with a wooden sword.

Let’s see if you are reaping the full potential of your website or not. If you have a website and it isn't providing you the benefits described in this article, you might want to make some changes. This article is not just about what a website can do for you, it is about what a website should do.

Word of mouth is great - but is that really the full scope of your business?

Let’s take a moment to consider what your client does after hearing about your business. Do they pick up the phone and start ringing you right away?

Do you buy from a new brand right after hearing of it for the first time? Unless it’s an emergency, you are going to look for more opinions, compare your choices, and verify their sources before making a purchase. Website is one of the very first resources that you will refer to - and one of the most important ones.

Now think of this from the perspective of your client. Potential clients love to see the work you've done and understand why you are being recommended. Moreover, your clients likely aren't under life-threatening pressure to make a hasty decision, so they have the time to make an informed decision.

If you are generating a lot of word of mouth, you need a website to redirect them and answer most of their questions before they ever tap the dial. That leads us to our next point in this discussion

Comparing a website to a fancy business card may not fully capture its potential. Treating it this way could limit its impact in today's saturated online environment.

The first step of the sales is always something out of all of our hands. In the case of word of mouth, you can't control anything that anyone says about you. You do good work and hope that inspires people to say good things about you.

When it comes to websites, there is a silver lining – you are never present in the first part of the sale, but you can control it.

Your website is the first line of communication that opens up between you and your client. They want to make an informed decision, so inform them!

This actually makes the sales cycle much smoother. Many of the common questions or objections your prospects have can directly be answered on the website. Not only does this let your prospect be at more ease, but it also lets them know you understand them well.

Say the first ‘hi’ – then go beyond it!

If you are considering booking a hotel, you will not only check their reviews on a single app but scour the internet for anything you find on them. If they have a website, great! They get to influence me on their terms.

It’s not necessary that most of your clients would have a similar behavioural pattern, but the chances are they are going to dig up the internet before deciding to move ahead.

This is a great opportunity for you to alleviate your client's fears and let them know exactly the details you need them to know about your business. If you do it correctly, you can also end up with them forming a connection with you, without you ever having met them.

Let's say you are getting good word of mouth, but you want more clients.

You want to scale. What now?

Chances are you don't believe this. Many architects and interior designers, even those who want or have a website, don't believe they can get any actual business from the internet. Well, they are wrong.

Most of them who don’t get clients from the Internet either don't have their websites optimized to rank well on platforms, or their websites simply aren't very functional.

We have analyzed over 3000 architecture and interior design websites and unfortunately, most of them do not pass the bar. It’s not surprising that most of them don't get any business.

Wix, WordPress or Squarespace templates that open excruciatingly slow and look the same as 90 percent of the rest of the internet sure aren't gonna do wonders.

Such websites do you more harm than good. They drive clients away. To reiterate, if you treat your website poorly, it isn't going to treat you any better.

If you optimize your site well for Search engine purposes, design it in a way that is attractive for your target audience, develop it in a way that helps you convert clients, and write copy for it that connects your vision to theirs, your website will then absolutely do wonders.

Hard to believe? Argue with the millions of businesses getting their revenue in this exact way and trillions of dollars floating through the digital space each and every hour.

We can either complain about how the entire internet is a sham or put in the work.

Posting on social media is a good way to increase awareness about your brand. However, social media apps however take away one thing from you; control.

Whatever you post on their platform is completely under their control. They decide the rules of posting and if they want to show your post to anyone. You have to adhere to their absurd political whims day in and day out.

With a website, this is simply not the case. You have complete freedom of speech and significant control on what you want to express to the world. With SEO, you can fix the distribution problem as well. \Having a well-maintained website is not just important but non-negotiable for any business

It is equivalent to owning your own digital space on the internet rather than renting it. A website is more equivalent to an office than a business card.  And who understands the importance of a well-designed office better than you do?

What does your office do for you?

Digital offices are no different from the physical ones. When the prospects come over to your website they form a perception about your business, or more precisely, your "brand". If they have a good experience, they will associate that with you.

Whether you are new or established, you need people to see your skill as a designer through a well-designed experience. This is a great way to showcase your best work and raving testimonials that your clients have given you.

Research shows that visitors decide within 3 seconds whether they like a website. This is the time window within which a perception of your brand will be formed in the mind of your client. Most people in the industry underestimate how ridiculously important this window is. Don't be one of them.

Within the first three seconds, you must give your visitors exactly what they want – a little information about your firm, what sets you apart, and a reason for them to stick around.

Contrary to popular practice, just putting a picture of your grandest work will not always have the desired effect (unless you already are a huge name). Your clients are not architects or Interior Designers who understand the intricacies of your work the same way you do.

Your website helps you scale. Unlike a physical office space, your website can change and improve   regularly to ensure that your clients are getting exactly the experience you want them to have.

This is where the parallel with the physical office ends. It does not deteriorate over time if given attention. It gets better and better as long as you are willing to test and experiment with it.

A website not only helps you scale, but if built well, it scales with you. Dynamic scaling is perhaps one of the biggest powers given to us by the software world. Adaptability is intelligence.

This makes it one of the safest marketing bets in the digital space.

My job here is not to convince you to get a website, but rather to help you make a decision if you are on the fence, with appropriate facts and reasons.

It’s important to reiterate that just because you have a website, none of the above things will magically start happening. That is akin to asking whether your car can run on every surface on the planet. Before you get a car, you need to know why you are buying the car.

You need to know what business problems you want your website to solve. Just pondering on this one simple question will help you get a lot of clarity. This will also help you understand if you should or shouldn't buy one.

If you are building a website just because your competitor has one, that's generally not a good idea. If you don't have any real business problem you need it to solve, chances are it won't be made with any particular intent in mind.

For the most of us, a website can resolve the specific problems holding our business back. I will leave you with a quote by writer Paul Cookson,

“Websites promote you 24/7: no employee will do that.”