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Architects Website Design: Websites for Architecture Firms That Show the Thinking Behind the Work

Updated October 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Architects website design is the craft of shaping, writing and engineering a website that presents an architecture practice’s projects, people and way of working clearly enough that the right client sends a brief. We design and build sites for residential studios, commercial and workplace practices, civic and institutional firms and multidisciplinary offices, with project pages that explain the brief and the response, fast image handling and an inquiry flow that qualifies the project. Progression Agency is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States and worldwide.

On this page · 21 sections
  1. What is architects website design, and what does it include?
  2. What makes a good architect website?
  3. The best architecture websites: patterns worth studying
  4. Project pages: the brief, the constraints and the response
  5. Photography, credits and image rights
  6. People, licensure and the practice pages
  7. Speed with heavy imagery: fast pages for photography and drawings
  8. Mobile and responsive layouts for architecture sites
  9. Categorized galleries and project-type pages
  10. Interactive elements: film, 3D models and walkthroughs
  11. The inquiry: turning a visitor into a project brief
  12. Architecture website templates versus a custom build
  13. How to build an architecture firm website step by step
  14. Accessibility for architecture websites
  15. Built to be found: what the build hands over
  16. AI answers: how clients ask assistants about architects
  17. How often should an architecture firm redesign its website?
  18. How much does architects website design cost?
  19. How long does an architecture website take?
  20. How to choose an architecture web design agency
  21. Related services for architecture practices

The short answerGood architectural website design puts the work first, then explains it: every project gets a page with the brief, the constraints, the design idea, drawings and credited photography, and every sector the firm wants gets a page that proves depth in it. The site names its people and where each is licensed, loads quickly on a phone despite heavy imagery and ends every page with a way to start a conversation. A focused practice site of five to eight pages is priced from $9,500 and a larger firm site of ten to sixteen pages from $18,000, and the firm owns the domain, the files and the content.

Platform, standard and rule descriptions reflect official pages as read in October 2026 and can change; nothing here is legal advice. Prices are Progression’s published fixed-scope website prices; a quote follows a written scope.

What is architects website design, and what does it include?

It is the whole job of making a firm’s site: deciding which projects lead, writing what each one says, presenting drawings and photography, structuring sectors and people, building it fast and accessible, and setting up the inquiry flow. The visual design is the part clients notice, but structure and writing decide whether a visitor inquires.

Work: Projects lead every page. Image, brief, response.
Plans: Drawings beside photos. Sections, plans, sketches.
Sector: Project-type pages. Housing, civic, workplace.
People: Named team and licenses. Who designs, who signs.
Fast: Heavy images, light pages. AVIF, WebP, srcset.
Inquire: A brief, not a contact form. Site, scope, timing.
What an architecture firm website build delivers
Part of the buildWhat we doWhat the practice receives
Positioning and sitemapAgree which sectors, scales and clients the site is forA page plan where every page has one job
Project selectionShortlist projects with the partners, by sector and strengthA lead set and an archive
Project writingInterview the project lead and write brief, constraints and responsePages that explain, not only show
Image pipelineCrop, size and compress photography and drawings for every screenSharp images that still load fast
People and practiceBios, roles, licenses, awards and press that can be documentedProof that answers a client’s checks
Inquiry flowA short project brief form and routingInquiries that arrive with site, scope and timing
EngineeringImage weight limits, schema markup, redirect map, analytics, WCAG checksA site that performs and keeps its history
HandoverTraining, documentation and every account in the firm’s nameA site the office can update

Who this page is written for

Founding partners, principals and marketing leads at architecture practices, from solo residential architects to firms with several studios. Some need a first proper site; others have a site that shows pictures but says nothing about how the firm thinks.

What this page leaves to other pages

Here the subject is the firm’s site and nothing else. Search work is planned on our architect SEO page, the wider program of positioning, press and referrals on architecture firm marketing, and visibility in AI assistants on AEO for architects. Practices that also run an interior design studio will find the studio side on our interior design marketing page, which sets out how an architecture site differs from a design studio’s.

Architects web design versus a general portfolio site

A photographer’s portfolio sells a look. An architecture site sells judgment: how the firm reads a site, a budget and a client, and what it built as a result. That is why project pages need words and drawings as well as images, and why sectors and people matter as much as the gallery.

What makes a good architect website?

A good architect website shows the strongest work immediately, explains each project in a few honest sentences, proves depth in the sectors the firm wants, names the people behind it and makes the next step obvious. It does all of that quickly on a phone.

Checklist of eight website patterns: four that help an architecture firm site and four that cost inquiries.Checklist of eight website patterns: four that help an architecture firm site and four that cost inquiries.
Editorial assessment, not measured data.

The work appears in the first second

No splash screens, no intro films, no loading animations. The homepage opens on a project image with its name and one line about the idea, and the visitor can reach the project list in one tap.

A clear statement of who the firm designs for

One or two sentences near the top: the kinds of projects, clients and places the firm works on. A visitor deciding in seconds whether to keep reading needs to know if their project fits.

Proof beyond images

Clients commissioning a building check experience, process, references and credentials. Show the client type and scale on each project, a short process page, named team members, and awards and press only where they can be documented.

Brand personality without losing usability

Typography, layout and pacing carry the firm’s character. Navigation, readable text and working links are not where to be experimental; a visitor who cannot find the projects page will not admire the type.

The best architecture websites: patterns worth studying

The best architecture websites share a few patterns rather than one look: an image-led or index-led homepage, project pages that read like short essays, categorized galleries, and a contact path that asks about the project. Galleries such as the Awwwards architecture category are useful for architecture website design inspiration; the patterns below are what to take from them.

Five layouts seen on the best architectural websites and when each fits
LayoutWhat it looks likeFits a practice that
Image-ledFull-width project photography with minimal text on the homepageHas a small number of striking, well-photographed buildings
Index-ledA typographic list of projects with year, place and sectorHas a large body of work across many sectors
Map-ledProjects plotted by locationWorks deeply in one city or region
EditorialEssays, research and process given equal weight with projectsSells ideas, research or competitions
Studio journalRecent work in progress, site visits and modelsWants to show how it works day to day

Architecture website examples: what to look for

When reviewing architecture website examples, open a project page on a phone, time how long the first image takes, look for drawings and credits, and try to find the people page and the inquiry form. Those five checks separate good-looking sites from working ones.

Architect website examples by practice type

Residential studios tend to lead with interiors and light; civic and institutional firms with public spaces and process; workplace and commercial firms with clients, scale and outcomes. The best architect website design for each starts from what its clients judge first.

Award-winning architecture websites and what they get right

Award-winning architecture websites are usually praised for restraint: generous white space, careful typography and photography allowed to speak. The lesson for a practice is discipline, not imitation; copying another firm’s look also copies its positioning.

Architecture website design ideas to borrow carefully

Hover previews on a project index, a slow reveal of plans beneath photographs, grayscale thumbnails that turn to color, and split screens pairing a drawing with its built result. Each works when it serves reading; each fails when it slows the page or hides navigation.

Project pages: the brief, the constraints and the response

Project pages are where commissions are won. Each should say what the client asked for, what the site, budget, code or climate demanded, what the design idea was and how it was built, with drawings beside photographs and the team credited.

Brief: What the client asked for. In two or three sentences.
Site: Constraints that shaped it. Lot, code, budget, climate.
Idea: The design response. One clear idea, stated.
Draw: Plans and sections. Readable on a phone.
Credit: Team and photographer. Licensed images only.
Next: A related project. And a way to inquire.
Fields on an architecture project page and why each is there
FieldExample contentWhy it matters
Project name, place, yearA short title and the cityClients look for work near them and recent work
Client type and scalePrivate client, school district, developer; floor area or unitsLets a visitor see if their project fits
BriefTwo or three sentences in the client’s termsShows the firm listens before it designs
ConstraintsLot, zoning, heritage, budget, schedule, climateShows how the firm solves problems
Design responseThe central idea and how it answered the briefThe part an AI assistant or a juror can quote
DrawingsPlans, sections, sketches, diagramsOther architects and informed clients read drawings
PhotographyCredited images with alt textThe proof that it was built and how it feels
Team and partnersProject lead, consultants, builderCredit and references in one place
Next stepA related project and an inquiry linkKeeps the visitor moving

Drawings and plans online

Export plans and sections as clean, high-contrast images sized for phones, with a larger version on tap. Remove client names and private details from residential drawings, and caption each one so a nonarchitect understands what it shows.

Process and before-and-after stories

Renovation and adaptive reuse projects sell best as before and after pairs from the same angle, with a sentence on what was kept and why. New-build projects can show models, site photos and construction stages.

How many projects should an architecture website show?

Lead with eight to fifteen projects that represent the work the firm wants next, each with a full page. Older or minor work can sit in an archive with shorter entries. A long list of thin entries buries the projects that should win the brief.

Photography, credits and image rights

Architectural photography is usually the most expensive asset on the site and the one most often used without the right license. Know who owns each image, what the license allows and how the photographer is credited.

Who owns the photographs?

Under US copyright law, ownership vests initially in the author of a work, so the photographer owns the images unless they were made for hire or the rights were transferred. The Copyright Office notes that protection begins the moment a work is created and fixed. The commissioning agreement, not the invoice, decides where the firm may use them.

Photographs of buildings in public view

The copyright in a constructed building does not stop people photographing it: 17 U.S.C. 120 allows pictures of an architectural work that is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place. That covers the building’s design, not the photographer’s own rights in a particular picture.

Image rights checklist for an architecture firm website
Image typeWho usually holds rightsWhat to confirm before publishing
Commissioned photographyThe photographer, licensed to the firmWeb use, duration, credit line, sharing with clients and builders
Shared shoots with builders or clientsThe photographer, licensed to several partiesThat the firm’s license covers its own site
RenderingsThe firm or the visualization studioContract terms and labeling as a rendering
Staff phone photosOften the employee or the firmOffice policy and consent of anyone pictured
Press imagesThe publication or photographerPermission to reuse, not only to link
Private homesRights per photo; privacy is the client’sClient consent, no addresses or identifying details

Credit lines and alt text

Credit the photographer on every project page and in image captions where the license asks for it. Alt text describes what the image shows for people who cannot see it, such as “double-height library with timber screens,” not the firm’s name.

Does your site show the work but not the thinking?Share your site and the two projects you are proudest of. A free proposal follows with how we would present them and the fixed-price build that fits.

Get a free proposal

People, licensure and the practice pages

Clients hire people, so the site names them: who leads, who designs, who manages projects, where each is licensed and what they have worked on. A practice page explains how the firm works, from first meeting to completion.

Use of the title “architect” on the site

Licensing is set state by state. New York’s architecture law, for example, says only a person licensed or otherwise authorized under it may practice architecture or use the title architect. List each person’s license jurisdictions on their bio, and describe unlicensed staff by their role. Our architect SEO page walks through state examples.

What licensure involves, for client-facing bios

NCARB describes education, experience and examination as the steps to licensure, with the Architectural Experience Program and the Architect Registration Examination, and notes that each state sets its own rules. A sentence on this in a bio helps clients who do not know what the credential means.

Awards, press and publications

Show only what can be documented, with the year and the awarding body, and link to the publication where possible. A short, current list is more convincing than a long, old one.

Testimonials from clients

The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials bars testimonials that misrepresent the reviewer’s existence or experience. Use real client words with permission, attribute them accurately and never edit them into something the client did not say.

Speed with heavy imagery: fast pages for photography and drawings

Architecture sites carry more image weight than almost any other kind, so speed is designed in, not fixed later. The targets are Google’s Core Web Vitals, met on a phone.

The targets we build to

On an architecture site the hero photograph is usually the element Google’s Core Web Vitals time as Largest Contentful Paint, and the good threshold for it is 2.5 seconds. Responsiveness (Interaction to Next Paint) should stay at or under 200 milliseconds and visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift) at or under 0.1, judged on the 75th percentile of real visits.

Do not lazy-load the first image

Lazy loading saves bytes below the fold, but a web.dev study found that lazy-loading images in the first screen delayed Largest Contentful Paint and that loading them eagerly reversed the regression. We load the hero image immediately and lazy-load the rest.

Image and speed standards for an architecture website
ItemStandardWhy it matters for architecture sites
FormatsAVIF or WebP with a JPEG fallbackSmaller files at the same visual quality
Responsive sizessrcset with several widths and a src fallbackPhones download phone-sized images
Hero imageLoaded eagerly, sized and prioritizedIt is usually the LCP element
Other imagesLazy-loaded below the first screenLong project pages stay light
DimensionsWidth and height set on every imagePrevents layout shift as photos load
DrawingsOptimized raster or SVG where cleanLine work stays sharp at small sizes
VideoPoster image, no autoplay sound, loaded on demandFilm loops are heavy on mobile data

Images that search engines can see

Full-screen background slideshows hide a firm’s best work from image search, because Google’s image guidance states that CSS images are not indexed. The same page lists the formats Google reads in img elements (JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG and AVIF among them), asks for images to sit near related text and cautions against alt attributes packed with keywords.

Mobile and responsive layouts for architecture sites

Many first visits to an architecture site come from a phone: a client who heard the name, a juror checking a shortlist, a developer between meetings. The phone layout is designed as carefully as the desktop.

Google reads the mobile version

Under mobile-first indexing, Google crawls and ranks the phone version of each page, and its guidance asks that phones get the same text, image URLs and alt text as desktops. Trimming project descriptions on small screens therefore trims them from search too.

Portrait images and drawings on phones

Landscape building photographs shrink badly on a phone held upright. We select portrait crops for key images, let drawings open full screen and keep captions readable without zooming.

Responsive navigation

A visible menu with Projects, Practice, People and Contact, and a project filter that works with a thumb. Hidden navigation behind a single icon suits image-led homepages only when the icon is obvious.

Categorized galleries and project-type pages

A visitor commissioning a school wants schools, not every project the firm has built. Filters by sector, scale and location, and a page for each sector the firm wants more of, let them find the relevant work in one step.

Sector first, then scale, location and status (built, in construction, competition). Keep the list of sectors short and in the client’s language: housing, education, workplace, culture, hospitality, civic.

Project-type pages with real depth

Each sector page explains what the firm knows about that building type, lists the relevant projects with one line each and names who leads the work. That page can be sent to a client as an answer to “have you done this before?”

Public sector work and qualification statements

Federal agencies select architect-engineer firms partly from the qualifications they file: under FAR 36.603 firms file the SF 330 and agencies classify them by location, specialized experience, capabilities and capacity, and encourage an annual update. A website that mirrors those categories makes the form easier to support.

Interactive elements: film, 3D models and walkthroughs

Interactive elements can show space in a way photographs cannot, but they are heavy and easy to overuse. Use them on the projects where movement or spatial sequence is the point, and keep a still image and text for everyone else.

Interactive elements on architecture websites: when each earns its place
ElementGood useCost to watch
Short film loopsLight moving through a space, a facade at duskFile size and battery; no sound by default
3D model viewersCompetition entries, unbuilt workLoad time and phone performance
Virtual walkthroughsComplex interiors, sequences of roomsNavigation that confuses first-time users
Before and after slidersRenovation and adaptive reuseAccessibility for keyboard users
Scroll-driven storiesOne flagship project told in sequenceText hidden from readers who skim
Interactive mapsA body of work in one cityMap scripts slow the page

Keeping interaction accessible

Every interactive element needs a keyboard route, a pause control for motion and a text alternative. Our 3D website design page covers heavier builds.

The inquiry: turning a visitor into a project brief

A contact page with only an email address loses inquiries and attracts unqualified ones. A short project form asks the few questions a partner would ask on the phone and routes the answer to the right person.

Project inquiry form fields for an architecture practice
FieldRequired?Why
Name and emailYesSo a partner can reply
Project typeYes, as a short listRoutes housing, workplace or civic inquiries to the right lead
LocationYesConfirms licensure and travel
Site statusYes, three choicesOwned, under offer or still searching
Rough budget or scaleOptional, in bandsFilters fit without scaring clients away
TimingOptionalWhen the client hopes to start
Anything elseOptionalSpace for the story behind the project

Calls to action on every page

Each project and sector page ends with a related project and a line such as “Planning a project like this? Tell us about it.” The phone number and email stay in the footer as text so they can be copied.

Measuring inquiries

We record each form submission and email click as one of the firm’s key events in Google Analytics, along with the page that produced it, so the firm can see which projects and sector pages bring briefs.

Architecture website templates versus a custom build

Architecture website templates suit a new or solo practice that needs a credible site this month. A custom build pays off once the firm has several sectors, a team to present and projects that deserve full pages, because templates rarely handle project structure, filters or image speed well.

Comparison grid of six needs, showing which suit a template or website builder and which suit a custom build.Comparison grid of six needs, showing which suit a template or website builder and which suit a custom build.
Editorial assessment, not measured data.

Architecture website design templates on site builders

Squarespace, Webflow and WordPress themes all offer architecture website design templates with large image layouts. Check that the template supports a real project page with text and drawings, a project filter, readable type on a phone and fast image loading before choosing one.

Is an architect website builder good enough?

An architect website builder can be, for a small practice with a handful of projects and no time for a custom build. It stops being enough when the site needs sectors, many projects, people pages and speed under a heavy image load. Our Squarespace versus WordPress and Webflow versus WordPress comparisons cover the platforms.

Architecture website WordPress builds

WordPress gives a practice ownership, a large pool of developers and a content editor staff can learn. We build architecture firm sites on it with custom project templates; our WordPress development page covers the platform work.

An architecture firm website template checklist

If a template is the right step for now, use it well.

  • Replace every demo image with your own credited photography.
  • Give each lead project its own page with brief, constraints and response.
  • Add at least one drawing to every project page.
  • Name the people and their license jurisdictions.
  • Replace the contact page with a short project inquiry form.
  • Remove intro animations and autoplay sliders.
  • Check every page on a phone over mobile data.
  • Keep the domain registered in the firm’s own name.

Still on a template the practice outgrew?Tell us how many projects, sectors and people the site needs to carry. Our free proposal weighs refreshing the current site against rebuilding it, using our published fixed prices.

Get a free proposal

How to build an architecture firm website step by step

Decide who the site is for, choose the projects that prove it, write each project page, prepare images and drawings, build the structure and inquiry form, test speed and accessibility, and launch with redirects from the old site.

How to create an architecture website from scratch

Start with a one-page positioning note: sectors, scales, places and clients. Then shortlist eight to fifteen projects, write a page for each from an interview with the project lead, gather licensed photography and drawings, and only then choose a platform and design. Writing first keeps the design honest.

How to make an architecture portfolio site as a student or sole practitioner

Keep it small: a short statement, six to ten projects with process work, a CV page and contact details. The generic build for an architect portfolio website and other creative portfolios is on our portfolio design page.

What to gather before the project starts

Project list with dates, clients and scales; photography with license terms; drawings in vector or high-resolution formats; team bios with licenses; awards and press with dates; and access to the current domain, hosting and analytics.

Accessibility for architecture websites

Architecture sites fail accessibility checks in predictable ways: thin gray type over photographs, images without text alternatives and tiny navigation links. Level AA of WCAG 2.2 is the standard each of our builds is tested against.

What WCAG 2.2 asks of an image-heavy site

The W3C’s WCAG 2.2 requires a text alternative for non-text content, a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text, and, at level AA, pointer targets of at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels with listed exceptions.

What the Justice Department says

The Justice Department’s web accessibility guidance says the ADA applies to the goods and services public accommodations offer on the web, and treats WCAG as helpful guidance rather than a mandated standard for private businesses. Our ADA compliant website design page goes further.

Built to be found: what the build hands over

A site can be beautiful and invisible. Our architecture web design work includes the foundations search needs from day one: clean page hierarchy, schema markup, a redirect map, fast templates and analytics. Ranking it over time is the work of SEO for architecture firms, planned on its own page.

Structured data for the practice

The practice is described in LocalBusiness markup; Google’s structured data documentation makes name and address the required properties and asks for the most specific subtype available, with phone, URL and hours matching the firm’s Business Profile.

Redirects when the old site is replaced

Every old project URL gets a permanent redirect to its new address. Google’s guidance on moving a site favors server-side permanent redirects, advises against funneling many old URLs to one unrelated page like the homepage and suggests the redirects stay in place for a year or more. Our guide to traffic drops after a redesign shows what happens when this is skipped.

AI answers: how clients ask assistants about architects

A client planning a library or a house will often put the question to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot or Google AI Overviews, asking for architects who design a particular building type in a particular place, and what to look for in a firm. Assistants name firms whose sites state sectors, places, people and projects plainly in text.

Site features that give assistants something to quote

Project pages with a written brief and response, sector pages in plain language, people pages with roles and licenses, consistent business details and pages that load fully without scripts. Image-only sites give assistants nothing to quote.

Where the AI work continues

Prompt testing and AI visibility measurement for practices are planned on our AEO for architects page.

How often should an architecture firm redesign its website?

Redesign when the site no longer represents the work or the firm: a new sector, a change of partners, a body of work the site cannot hold, or a site that is slow and hard to update. Between redesigns, add projects as they are photographed.

Signs a restyle is enough

If the structure works, inquiries arrive and pages load quickly but the look has dated, a restyle in place changes type, color and imagery without moving pages. Ours runs from $4,800.

Can architecture firms advertise?

Yes. Architecture firms can advertise and promote their work; the limits are the state rules on who may use the title architect and the general rules against misleading claims and fake testimonials. Paid campaigns belong to the wider marketing program, not to this build.

How much does architects website design cost?

A practice site of five to eight pages is priced from $9,500, a firm site of ten to sixteen pages from $18,000, and a site with a thirty to sixty page content program from $36,000. Each fixed price follows a written scope.

Architectural website design cost: Progression’s fixed-scope prices for practices
ScopeFromUsual durationSuits a practice that needs
Single landing page$1,4001 to 2 weeksA competition entry or a new sector launch
Restyle in place$4,8003 to 5 weeksA working site with a dated look
Brochure site, 5 to 8 pages$9,5006 to 8 weeksA small practice with a focused body of work
Business site, 10 to 16 pages$18,0008 to 13 weeksProject, sector and people pages for a growing firm
Bilingual site, 12 to 20 pages$26,00012 to 18 weeksPractices working in two languages
Site plus content program$36,00014 to 20 weeksLarger firms with 30 to 60 pages of projects and sectors
Accessibility remediation$4,0003 to 6 weeksIts current site fixed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA

What changes the quote

How many distinct page templates the site needs, how many project pages we write, photography direction, drawing preparation, a second language and integrations. The full tier comparison is on our website design and development page, and market figures are in our website development cost guide.

What every build includes

Structured data per template, a redirect map, WCAG 2.2 AA, numeric performance targets, analytics and conversion tracking, recorded training and source files on final payment, with thirty days of support after a brochure or business site launch.

How long does an architecture website take?

Plan on six to eight weeks for a five to eight page practice site and eight to thirteen for a larger firm site, with our team writing and the firm supplying photography. Scheduling project interviews and clearing image licenses decide the launch date far more often than design.

Timeline of an architecture firm website build over about thirteen weeks, from discovery to launch and support.Timeline of an architecture firm website build over about thirteen weeks, from discovery to launch and support.
Editorial timeline, not measured data.
Architecture website project steps and what the firm provides
StepWhat happensWhat we need from the firm
DiscoveryPositioning, sectors, clients, current siteA partner’s time for a two-hour session
Project shortlistLead projects and archive agreedProject list, dates, clients and scales
WritingInterviews with project leads, pages writtenThirty minutes per lead project
Images and drawingsSelection, cropping, optimizationPhotography with licenses, drawing files
Design and buildTemplates, filters, inquiry form, trackingOne partner who signs off design
Staging reviewLoad times, WCAG items, redirect map and forms checkedSign-off on each page
Launch and supportGo live, post-launch checks, a month of fixesLogins for the domain and hosting

How to choose an architecture web design agency

Choose a team that asks about your clients and projects before your colors, writes the project pages, plans the image pipeline for speed, builds to an accessibility standard and puts every account in the firm’s name.

Requirements for a web designer for architects and how to verify them
What to expectHow to verify it
Understands how architecture is commissionedAsk how they would structure sectors, projects and people for your clients
Writes the project pagesAsk who writes them and how they interview project leads
Handles heavy imagery fastAsk for their image formats, sizes and Core Web Vitals targets
Respects image rightsAsk how they confirm photography licenses and credits
Builds accessiblyAsk which WCAG level the site meets and how it is tested
The firm owns the resultCheck the contract names the firm as owner of domain, hosting, files and content
Launch protects the old site’s valueAsk for the redirect map and how inquiries will be tracked
Fixed price, written scopeAsk for templates, page count, revisions and timeline in writing

Website designer for architects or a general agency?

A website designer for architects already knows that drawings, credits and sectors matter; a general agency may treat the site as a gallery. Either can work if the questions above get specific answers. Architecture website designers who cannot explain their image pipeline will ship a slow site.

Questions to ask before signing

Who writes the project pages? How will drawings appear on a phone? What happens to our old pages and links at launch? Whose name is on the domain and hosting? What load time will a project page hit on a phone, and what tool proves it?

Red flags in an architecture website proposal

Watch for proposals that give one total with no list of pages, leave all writing to the firm, show demo photography in every mockup, register the domain to the agency, skip redirects or claim the design by itself will bring commissions.

The website is one part of how a practice wins work. These pages cover the rest.

Plan your architecture firm website with us

Share your current site, the sectors you want to grow and two projects you would lead with. We will send a free proposal setting out the scope, the fixed price and the timeline.

Get a free proposal

Frequently asked questions

When a practice hires us for architects website design, what is delivered?
Positioning and a sitemap, project selection, project page writing from interviews with project leads, an image and drawing pipeline built for speed, people and practice pages, a project inquiry form, structured data, redirects, tracking, WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility and handover with every account in the firm’s name.
How is architectural web design different from other industries?
Architecture sites sell judgment as well as images. Each project needs its brief, constraints and design response, drawings next to photographs and credits for the team and photographer. Sectors, people and licenses matter because clients commissioning a building check experience and credentials before they call.
What should be on an architecture firm’s homepage?
A strong project image with its name and one line about the idea, a sentence on the kinds of projects and clients the firm works with, links to projects, practice and people, a few recent projects, and a clear way to inquire. Nothing should load before the work appears.
Which architecture website templates are worth using?
Templates on Squarespace, Webflow or a WordPress theme can work for a new or solo practice if they support full project pages with text and drawings, a project filter, readable type on phones and fast image loading. Replace all demo images and add an inquiry form before launch.
Should architects build their own website?
A sole practitioner with a few projects can launch a credible site on a builder in a few weekends. Firms with several sectors, a team and many projects usually get more from a designed build, because structure, writing and image speed take time partners rarely have.
How should drawings and plans appear on an architecture website?
As clean, high-contrast images sized for phones, opening larger on tap, with a caption explaining what each shows. Remove private details from residential plans. Line drawings can sometimes be served as SVG to stay sharp at any size.
Who owns the photographs on an architecture firm’s website?
Usually the photographer, under a license to the firm. Under US copyright law ownership starts with the author unless the work was made for hire or the rights were transferred, so the commissioning agreement sets where the firm may publish the images and how they are credited.
Can an architecture firm publish photos of its buildings taken from the street?
The building’s design copyright does not prevent photographs of a constructed building visible from a public place, under 17 U.S.C. 120. The photographer who took a particular picture still holds rights in that image, so the firm needs a license or its own photos.
Can staff without a license be shown on an architecture website?
Yes, described by their role, such as designer or project manager. States regulate who may use the title architect; New York, for example, limits it to licensed or otherwise authorized people. List license jurisdictions on each licensed person’s bio.
What image formats should an architecture website use?
AVIF or WebP with a JPEG fallback for photography, served through srcset at several widths, and SVG for clean line drawings where possible. Google supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG and AVIF in img elements, but not images set as CSS backgrounds.
Why do architecture websites load slowly, and how is it fixed?
Oversized photographs, background slideshows, autoplay video and lazy-loaded hero images are the usual causes. The fix is an image pipeline: modern formats, phone-sized versions, dimensions on every image, the first image loaded eagerly and the rest lazily, and video only on demand.
Is accessibility required on an architecture firm’s website?
The Justice Department says the ADA applies to goods and services offered on the web and treats WCAG as helpful guidance. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA, with alt text, 4.5 to 1 contrast for body text and adequate target sizes, lowers legal risk and helps every visitor.
How many projects should be on the website at launch?
Eight to fifteen lead projects with full pages, chosen to represent the work the firm wants next, plus an archive of shorter entries. Quality and relevance beat volume; thin entries dilute the strongest work and slow the visitor down.
Should an architecture website show fees or budgets?
Few firms publish fee schedules, but a page explaining how fees are set, what stages are included and the typical scale of projects the firm takes on helps clients self-select. Optional budget bands on the inquiry form serve the same purpose.
What should an architecture project inquiry form ask?
Name and email, project type, location, whether the client owns the site, and optional budget band, timing and notes. Five required fields are enough to route the inquiry to the right partner without putting clients off.
Do architects need a blog on their website?
They need writing more than a blog: project pages, sector pages and occasional essays on research, competitions or completed buildings. A stream of short news posts adds little; a few considered pieces a client can be sent add a lot.
How do we keep our search history when the website is redesigned?
Redirect every old URL to its closest new page with permanent server-side redirects, keep or improve the content and keep the redirects for at least a year, as Google’s site move guidance recommends. We map every old URL before launch.
Should architects web design run on WordPress, Webflow or Squarespace?
WordPress suits firms that want ownership and many developers to choose from; Webflow suits design-led teams that want visual control; Squarespace suits small practices that want simplicity. The platform matters less than project structure, writing and image speed.
Does website design for architects include photography?
We direct photography rather than shoot it: a shot list for new projects, selection and cropping of existing images, and checks on license terms and credit lines. Firms usually keep commissioning their own architectural photographers, and we prepare every image they deliver for the web.
Is architects website design priced per page or as a fixed scope?
As a fixed scope. A five to eight page practice site is priced from $9,500, a ten to sixteen page firm site from $18,000 and a site with a content program from $36,000. A restyle starts at $4,800 and a single landing page at $1,400. Each is priced from a written scope.
Which habits set the best architecture firm websites apart?
They open on the work, explain every project in a few honest sentences with drawings, filter projects by sector, name their people and licenses, load quickly on phones and end each page with a way to inquire. Most also keep the project list current.
We are not in New York; can Progression design our architecture website?
Yes. Progression Agency is based in New York City and designs websites for architecture practices across the United States and worldwide. Discovery, project interviews, design reviews and training all run over video calls, and photography and drawings arrive through a shared folder.

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