— Bryon McCartney, Chief Creative Strategist, Archmark
Architecture websites
are
no longer only about making your portfolio look good. They're about attracting, engaging and converting visitors and referrals into potential clients.
We've been designing websites for more than 20 years. During that time, things have changed significantly. Recently, we reviewed and tested more than 550 architecture firm websites and, based on our findings, it’s clear that a significant majority of architects — from new to very established firms (including some in the TOP 100 ) — are not keeping pace with current website standards and trends.
As an architect, you cannot underestimate the role your website can play in helping attract and engage new clients. There are five website factors you need to get right to get real business results from your online presence:
I can hear you already, “But wait! What about design or style?”
Sure, design and style are important, but isn’t this a basic-level expectation of an architecture and design firm?
The best architecture website design or most popular architecture websites not only grabs your potential clients’ attention, it helps to attract and engage them as well. These five factors are critical to making that happen.
If you'd rather focus on architecture than become a website expert, you’re in luck. We invite you to schedule a free, one-on-one website strategy call with us. We’ll even provide you with a free architecture website design evaluation (a $297 value). Click here to book your call.
If you prefer to DO-It-Yourself, keep reading to learn how each of these factors impact your architecture firm website and the actions to take to make improvements.
Website performance/site load speed refers to how quickly a website loads in a visitors web browser on their computer or mobile device.
Research shows that if your site does not load within a few seconds, many visitors will leave, including referrals. Google also includes load speed as a top factor for search engine ranking.
Your site speed can be affected by many factors like server speed, plugins installed on the site, and other technical issues, but for architects, the most common problem is full-screen, high-quality portfolio images, which can slow your site speed to a crawl.
Make sure your portfolio images are properly optimized. We recommend keeping files to 1500 pixels on the longest edge, with image file sizes no larger than 200 KB max. Ideally you want your images to be about 100 KB on average. Use Photoshop or an app like Squash to compress images before adding them to your website.
A mobile responsive architecture website design adjusts your site’s layout to look good on any size screen, from smartphones and tablets to desktop computer screens.
Look at your website on your phone and/or tablet. If it's not easy to read and navigate, it's time to make changes.
When installed on your website, a Secured Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate allows secure connections from a web server to a visitor’s web browser.
As of July 2018, Google began penalizing websites that do not have an SSL Certificate. Without this security protocol your website could be at risk of losing search ranking and may get blocked by search engines. Imagine how potential clients might react to seeing this alert come up when they visit your website. (See image)
If your site is properly secured, your URL will start with https:// in the address bar. However, if it begins with http:// it is not a secure site and needs to be fixed.
When someone searches a topic or question online, the answers come back as search results. These results include links and descriptions to websites based on how their content answers that specific search topic or query.
A clear SEO strategy will help you get found online. As search engines crawl the web, they index and categorize the data on your website. When your website copy and content is properly optimized, you appear higher in search results and get found more easily by potential clients.
Learn how with these 5 Tips To Improve SEO for Architecture Firms
Many factors can affect your search ranking. Be sure to include relevant keywords and content on your site, get high-quality links that point to your site, and update your site regularly to improve your search ranking. Read more about SEO Strategies for Architects here.
The messaging on your homepage helps visitors understand what your site is about, whether they have come to the right place, and what they should do to take action.
When someone visits your homepage, you have about 8 seconds to capture their attention. If they are not immediately interested in going further into your site, they will leave.
Architects can easily fall into the trap of relying on their portfolio and reputation to convince clients that they are the right choice. But without a clear message, those images have little meaning, and won't keep visitors on your site for long.
The goal of architecture website design should be to bring visitors deeper into the site and get them to share their contact details with you so you can continue to engage them until they are ready to hire you.
Your website copy is critical in engaging visitors. Take time to ensure that your homepage clearly and concisely answers three important questions:
Getting your message right is your best opportunity to convert website visitors into leads and eventually into clients!
Architecture and website design have some similarities. In both fields, it's important to have a website that makes a great first impression to
"Wow!" prospective clients. But that can only happen when your architecture website design meets current web standards and takes advantage of the best practices to attract, engage, and convert the right visitors. That's why these five essential factors are so critical to your online marketing success!
Archmark specializes in branding and digital marketing strategies for architecture firms. Stop waiting for referrals, take control with a lead generating website from Archmark.
We work with architects to help them build a strong brand foundation for business growth, establish authority to take a leadership position in their market, and create awareness that attracts qualified leads and better clients. In short, Archmark focuses on helping build up your business, so you can focus on leading your firm.
It starts with a free 20-minute strategy review call to learn how your firm can benefit from online lead generation.
Find out how we can help you. .
Archmark, a leading marketing agency for architects, has helped more than 3,000 architects use branding and marketing to attract, find and connect with better clients & projects.
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