Having a website is essential as is website design for architects. As the construction sector is so crowded, having a good website is not enough.
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As the architectural industry has strong ties with the construction sector, it too felt the effects of the downturn in 2005.
Many of the top firms in the UK (Foster & Partners, Aedas, Nikken Sekkei) currently have websites in place, but many of the smaller ones do not. Web design for architects reflects the brand, whether you are a top architect, or a local one.
Since 2005 the construction sector has been up and down. Now that things have stabilised, there is the need to be seen. Website design for architects does need to reflect your brand. Branding is an important area of your marketing as it sends the message to people about what your practice represents.
It needs to look modern and engaging. The ‘bounce rate’ is when someone comes onto your website, and then clicks ‘back’ to leave. When you get a visitor, you want them to stay and contact you.
With tens of thousands of web companies around the UK; choosing one that has a track record in the industry is sensible. It is important that they know about marketing for architects and has worked in the market before.
Certainly if they have worked within the industry in the past; they will be at a tactical advantage of knowing what is needed and what designs work well for you.
Marketing is all about communication. The website designer needs to be able to communicate your message to your audience. The only way that they can really do this is to really understand your market. Understand what it is that your customers are looking for.
Getting the balance between standing out and fitting in is important as far as website design goes. Based on the sector being saturated, it is vital for you to stand out in your geographical area, and your areas of expertise.
As was said earlier, the internet is a big place, you need to stand out to you potential clients.
However, there is also the need to fit in; you need to project a certain image (competency, professionals) so fitting in to what the industry says is very important. Website design for architects is what makes you stand out.
Getting the balance between fitting in and standing out is a tricky one; and only through experience is this possible. This is why choosing a web designer that has designed sites in this market in the past is important, as they know what makes you stand out.
Look at their portfolio; do they have construction marketing experience?
Having a clear construction marketing strategy is important, charging into marketing is ill-advised as marketing is a complicated muddle of different marketing channels that need to all work together.
All creative marketing agencies set their own fees, larger ones will charge more than freelancers as they have more staff, expensive offices, higher profit margins. Web design prices also vary on the size of the site, the more pages that are needed, the higher the price will be (of course the skill of the agency also affects the price). Web design for architects does not need to be expensive.
In today’s world, shopping around and comparing quotes is necessary for anything (cars, houses, clothes) in order to avoid overpaying (and adding to their next holiday). Paying a little more for a great and skilled company is fine, but paying more just because of a sales pitch is not good.