You need a website.

A website is absolutely necessary when running an interior design business. Without one, you could be losing clients. You may not be seen as credible and professional. People (including magazine editors and clients) won’t be able to find you. A website can be your best employee - helping you onboard clients, educate, market, schedule appointments, and answer questions.

Read more: Why Not Having a Website is Hurting Your Business

Your portfolio should reflect the work you want.

I see designers posting dozens of photos of every angle of every project -even ones they wouldn’t want to repeat. It’s important to edit your portfolio down to represent projects that you want, not necessarily everything you’ve done. This will help you attract the types of projects that you want.

Remember, this is your portfolio not a magazine editorial. Edit your photos to the top few from each project. If you want to include them all - do so on a blog post rather than your portfolio.

Also read: How to Get Photos When You’re Just Starting Out

Imagine your website as a home.

I always recommend designing your website like you would a home. Many of the same principles that are used in interior design can be used in website design - harmony, balance, proportion, symmetry, scale, emphasis, focal points, etc. Most importantly, take people on a tour of your space (your website), make it a journey, and lead them where they should look and go next in your online home.

Exercise: As you navigate websites, notice which ones lead you through their site intuitively and naturally and others that just feel like they are dumping info in your lap and letting you figure it out yourself. You want to be the former.

Make Your Website About Your Client, Not You.

Clients don’t care so much about YOU, they care about what you can do for THEM. Keep this in mind when designing your website and writing your website text. Make it all about what you can do for your clients. Watch how many times you say “we” or “I” or “our” or your name on your website and see if you can turn that statement into a benefit to the client.

I like to shift from the first-person point-of-view (I, me, our) to the second-person (you) and speak directly to the potential client. I think this is more personal and inviting for prospects. And even if you don’t shift to second-person you can still make your first-person point-of-view about the client.

Don’t: We have over 15 years of experience providing turn-key service for our clients.

Do: With over 15 years of experience, you will experience a customized, full-home turn-key service providing the best value for your money.

A good rule of thumb is to always ask yourself - Why should they care? And then tell them.

Learn Basic SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you get found online. Knowing SEO basics for your website can help you get seen by more potential clients and it’s not difficult. What are your potential clients searching for online when they’re looking for you? Make sure those words you think they are typing into the search box are on your website. Too many interior design websites have very little text and are photo-heavy, but Google can’t “read” photos - so text is important.

• Use important keywords in your website text.

• Add a FAQs page.

• Add alt-text to photos with good keywords.

• Use clear, concise page titles. Remember - use words that people are searching.

• Guest blog - SEO improves when you have links to your website on other’s (high-quality) websites.

If you want to know more about SEO I recommend: melissamcgraw.com

Share Below! What’s the single biggest tip that’s made a difference to your website?

About The Author

Hi! I’m Capella and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers build their businesses. Forget secrecy and competition, I believe designers should support and uplift each other. By helping and boosting one another, we can elevate the business of interior design together! Hang around a bit and I’ll share all the business “secrets” no one else wants to talk about.