For architectural practices
Architect websites that show how each project was won, from brief to finished building
Homeowners planning an extension rarely know what an architect does beyond drawing. Your website has to show them: the problem each project solved, the planning route it took, how your fees work, and why appointing an architect is worth it at all.
A protected title, and why it deserves a line near the top
In the UK, only people on the register kept by the Architects Registration Board can call themselves architects. Clients rarely know this. They compare you with architectural designers, technicians, planning drawing services and design-and-build firms, many of whom describe themselves in very similar language. Your registration, and RIBA chartered status if you hold it, should be visible where that comparison happens, which is the homepage and each service page.
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Do not stop at the badge. Explain in two sentences what that training means for the client: design thinking that goes beyond the drawings, experience with planning and building regulations, and professional responsibility for the advice. It is the most honest point of difference you have.
Case studies that start with the brief and the site
Architecture websites often show finished photographs and very little else. A prospective client learns more from the story: a narrow Victorian terrace with no light in the kitchen, a conservation area, a neighbour with concerns, a budget that had to hold. What you proposed, how it went through planning and roughly what it cost to build turns a nice picture into evidence that you could handle their project.
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Group projects the way clients think about them: rear and side extensions, loft conversions, new homes, listed buildings, commercial work. Someone planning a loft will go straight to the lofts and judge you on those alone.
- The brief and the constraints, including any planning designations
- Sketches or drawings alongside the finished photographs
- The planning route: a householder application, permitted development or listed building consent
- A cost band and the time from first meeting to completion
Fees, stages and what the client receives at each one
Fees are the question clients are most nervous about asking. You do not have to publish a number, but you should explain how you charge, whether a fixed fee per stage, a percentage of construction cost or hourly for early advice, and what each stage delivers. The RIBA Plan of Work gives you a recognised structure; translate it for a homeowner who has never heard of it.
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Many clients do not know they can appoint you for part of a project. If you offer a fixed-fee feasibility visit or a planning-only service, say so clearly. That lower-risk first step is often what persuades someone to contact you rather than a cheaper drawing service.
★★★★★
“… He took the vision for my brand, Byte & Batter, and built a premium, high-converting digital storefront entirely from scratch. …”
Local planning knowledge as a reason to choose you
Clients worry most about planning. A page showing that you know how the planning authorities you work with tend to handle extensions, where the conservation areas are, and when permitted development or a lawful development certificate is the better route speaks directly to that worry. It is also content that nobody outside your area can write convincingly.
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Keep it accurate and careful. Explain how things generally work rather than promising outcomes, and revisit the page when local or national policy changes.
Enquiries for a kitchen knock-through, and the ones you would rather have
Architects receive plenty of enquiries that do not fit: projects too small for a full service, budgets that do not match the ambition, or someone who wants drawings by next week. An enquiry form that asks for the project type, the postcode, a rough budget and the stage they have reached lets you answer the right ones quickly and point the others elsewhere politely.
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The same thinking applies to paid search. Generic searches for an architect near me bring a mix of all of these. If you advertise at all, focus on the project types you most want and the area you really cover, and judge the results on enquiries you would accept rather than on clicks.
Clients who start with a saved picture
Many clients begin on image-led platforms, saving extensions they like long before they search for an architect. Your own site should be where those images lead, with each project page titled and described in text so search engines and AI assistants can understand what it shows and where it is. Your Google Business Profile, with project photos and reviews from past clients, covers the searches that start closer to home.
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Projects take years, so a practice website can go stale quietly. With ongoing care, new completions, planning approvals, awards and team changes are added as they happen rather than in a rush every few years.
What it costs
From £1,400, one-off.
That is the whole Growth Website™ rebuild for an architect’s business, up to 6 pages. It covers the audit, rewriting how you explain the work, design, build, the conversion and local search groundwork, tracking, speed and launch. It is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch, and you own it outright.
Growth Care™ is optional: £149 a month. Cancel any time, with a month’s notice. Every price is fixed and published, so you know the cost before you speak to us.
In our clients’ words
What our clients say.
Questions
The ones that come up.
Should an architect publish fees on their website?
Architects do not need to publish exact fees, but your website should explain how you charge. Say whether you work on fixed fees by stage, a percentage of build cost or hourly for early advice, and what the client receives at each stage. If you offer a fixed-fee feasibility visit or a planning-only service, state its price. Clarity about the first step is what turns interest into a meeting.
How many projects should an architecture website show?
An architecture website should show fewer projects than most practices think, each told properly. A handful of well-written case studies, grouped by project type and covering the brief, constraints, planning route and outcome, persuade more than dozens of photographs without context. Choose projects that represent the work you want more of. If a project type you want is missing, one well-documented example is far better than none.
Can I show projects that are still in planning or on site?
Projects still in planning or on site can be shown, with the client's permission. They show that you are busy and let you explain the process as it happens: design, planning submission, then the build. Label them clearly as ongoing and update them when they complete. A planning approval is worth a short note of its own, since that is the milestone clients are most anxious about.
Is Google Ads worth it for an architecture practice?
Google Ads is sometimes worth it for an architecture practice, for specific project types in a defined area, such as loft conversions or rear extensions near your studio. Broad searches bring many small or poorly matched enquiries. Before spending, make sure your site asks for the project type, budget and stage, and that calls and forms are tracked, so you can judge the adverts on the enquiries you would actually take.
Should ARB registration and RIBA membership be on the homepage?
ARB registration and RIBA membership belong on the homepage, briefly, with a sentence on what they mean. Clients often compare architects with designers and drawing services without knowing the difference, and the protected title is a genuine distinction. Place it near the top, repeat it on service pages, and point to the public register so a careful client can check it for themselves before getting in touch.
Where to next
Also for architects:
Related trades we build for:
Architect websites
Find out what your website is costing you.
A free Growth Audit™: a written, prioritised audit of your website, with the three fixes worth making first. It is yours to keep whatever you decide.
We take on a limited number of builds at once, so there is usually a short wait before a new one starts. Once yours starts, it is about 14 working days from agreed direction to launch.