When you work in a creative field, it can feel like there is extra pressure on your shoulders to have a website that stands ahead of the rest in terms of visual design.
A website for an interior designer, photographer, copywriter, PR firm or creative agency will naturally rely heavily on branding and portfolio, and whether you choose to go bold and rich or minimal and clean, totally modern and groundbreaking or more traditional or classic, it needs to flow visually and feel beautifully considered and put together. As any designer knows, your visual preferences are personal, but whatever your vibe, consistency is key and your site must look intentional.
Let’s look at the 5 components of a beautiful website for an interior designer, photographer or creative:
1. Portfolio
Your website will rely heavily on visuals and needs to prioritise high-quality images and galleries to effectively convey your skills and style. Your portfolio is at the heart of your website and needs to be organised, visually appealing, and easy to navigate, allowing potential clients to see the quality and diversity of your work. Ensure you use high resolution images, as well as a good quality image optimisation plugin to ensure your visuals don’t slow your page speed and affect your search engine rankings. Your portfolio or gallery could be tagged or categorised for easy filtering. If your a garden or interior designer and photographing your work isn’t your strength, investing in a photographer to showcase your talents is absolutely crucial – however great your testimonials, your website can’t impress with below-average photography.
2. Branding
As a creative, you want your websites to reflect your creative flair and unique style using design elements and colour schemes. Establish a consistent brand identity (including the tone of voice used for your content) that reflects your style and personality. Consistency is key, and you can use reliable spacing and beautiful typography to showcase your eye for detail.
3. About
Feature client testimonials or reviews to build trust and credibility. Include photos or video testimonials if available. Provide a compelling “About” page that focuses on the why rather than the features. What sets you apart? How will the service you provide enhance your clients’ lives? Introduce your team so prospective clients feel comfortable with communications from others going forward and can put a face to the name.
4. Discovery Form
I know from working with interior designers how frustrating it can be when a client books a call and you give it your all for a full hour…only to find at the end of the meeting that your prospective client’s timeline, budget or preferences vary massively from what you can offer. To counter this, we will create a beautiful and responsive form to understand the prospective client’s expectations, budget and their timeline. This allows you to prepare for the discovery call or refer your clients to a more suitable designer if they’re firmly outside of your style or fee structure.
5. Services
This will form the nuts and bolts and help clients understand your offer. Having worked with designers, my best advice is to hire a copywriter to make your offering shine on your services page (and on the rest of the site if you can).
SEO, website security, optimisation, responsive design, clear contact information, social media integration, privacy policies and analytics are all must-haves too, and as your business grows consider adding a Resource Hub to include blog posts, podcasts, guest speaking and your contributions to and mentions in magazines or journals. A client login space is also a great functionality to add, allowing clients to review designs, images, timelines and payment details in a password protected space.
I love working for interior designers, photographers and other creative agencies, and if you know your website is due an overhaul I would absolutely love to support you. Let’s book a call to discuss your needs!
