Interior design clients hire on two things: do I trust this person in my home, and do I like what they make. They decide both from the website, usually in the first minute, usually at night, usually on a phone.
Most interior design websites are built to impress other designers. Full-bleed photos, a serif logo, a grid of projects with no words. Beautiful, and silent on everything a client needs to know: what you do, what it costs, how long it takes, and whether you will take a project of their size.
This is the checklist we use for designers, decorators, and home brands. It assumes the photography is good; nothing on this list fixes bad photography.
1. Project pages that tell a story
A grid of finished rooms shows taste. A project page shows judgment, which is what clients actually buy. Each project deserves its own page with the client’s brief in a sentence or two, the constraint that made it interesting, what you decided and why, and the result. A before photo, if the client allows, is worth more than three afters.
Caption the photos with the room, the key pieces where you can, and the photographer’s name. Add project details: location, square footage, scope, and timeline range. This is also what search engines read, since they cannot see the room.
2. A process page that filters out the wrong clients
The single most valuable page on a designer’s website is the one that explains how you work. It sets expectations, reduces the number of first calls that go nowhere, and gives serious clients the confidence to reach out.
Describe the phases in plain language: discovery, concept, design development, procurement, installation. Say roughly how long a typical project takes. Explain how you charge, whether flat fee, hourly, percentage, or a mix, and give a starting point or a minimum. Designers worry that stating a minimum scares people off. It does. That is the point.
3. An inquiry form that asks about budget without apology
The inquiry form is the beginning of the working relationship. It should ask what you need to decide whether the project is a fit: location, type of home, rooms or scope, timeline, an investment range with brackets, and how they found you. A short open field for anything else.
Tell them what happens next: a reply within two business days, a short call, then a proposal. If you are booked for six months, say so on the form; clients who are worth having will wait, and the ones who will not were going to be difficult.
4. Photography credits and rights
Every professional photograph on the site was made by someone who retains copyright unless the contract says otherwise. Credit the photographer on every project, confirm in writing that your license covers the website, social media, press submissions, and any print use, and keep those licenses somewhere you can find them. Magazines will ask. Product brands who want to feature the room will ask. Having the answer ready is part of looking professional.
5. A trade or press page that saves hours a week
If you work with architects, builders, and realtors, or if editors regularly request material, a page for them removes a recurring chore. For trade: how you collaborate, what you need from them, a direct contact. For press: a downloadable kit with high-resolution project images, credits, a bio, a headshot, and a list of prior features. Password-protect it if you want to know who is downloading.
6. For home brands: a shop that does not slow the site
If you sell product, the store is the business, and it has to be fast, clear about shipping and returns, and consistent with the rest of the brand. Product pages with real dimensions, materials, care, and lead times. Trade pricing behind a login. Wholesale inquiry form for retailers.
The Platinum Concierge needed a brand experience as tailored as the luxury tours it sold, from the first online visit to the hotel concierge’s recommendation. We carried one identity through the logo, the e-commerce booking system, the printed guide, and the hotel introduction card. A home brand needs the same discipline: the unboxing should feel like the website, and the website should feel like the showroom.
7. The mailing list and the lead magnet
An email list of past clients, prospects, and admirers is worth more than any social following. Give people a reason: a room-planning checklist, a paint guide, a seasonal note with real sourcing. For The Platinum Concierge we designed a printed and downloadable city guide as the signup offer; it did the work of introducing the brand’s taste before anyone booked.
8. Speed, mobile, and image handling
Photography-heavy sites are the slowest sites on the web, and clients browse them on phones. Serve images in AVIF or WebP at the size the screen needs, lazy-load below the fold, and use a CDN. Test the home page on a mid-range phone on cellular; if it takes more than three seconds, remove images until it does not. A beautiful site nobody waits for is not beautiful.
9. Accessibility and the boring foundation
Alt text on every project photo describing the room. Real text for headlines, not images of type. Contrast on captions over photos, which is where most design sites fail. Labeled forms. HTTPS, a maintained WordPress install, backups, a firewall, and a host that will not fall over when a project is featured in a national magazine.
10. What to leave out
A full-screen video that plays before the visitor can do anything. A project grid with no words. An Instagram feed as the portfolio. “Luxury” used as a noun. Vague pricing language like “investment starts with a conversation.” Testimonials with only first names. Each of these makes a client wonder whether you are hiding something.
Case study: The Platinum Concierge
A luxury brand carried consistently from logo to website to print.
A designer’s website should feel like walking into a finished room you did not know you wanted, then being handed a clear folder that explains how it happened and what it would take to do it for you.
If yours is not doing that, we can help. We have built for luxury service brands, studios, and product companies, and we handle the technical parts so you can stay with the work.
How we help Interior Designers & Home Brands →
This article is general information, not legal advice. Photography licensing, sales tax on product, and trade program terms vary; confirm yours with counsel or an accountant.