What does your website say about your firm? A lot more than you might think. For advice on captivating the client from the first click, we asked pros who specialize in perfecting the digital footprints of interior designers.

Ask designers about their websites and most will groan. They have one, but the mission statement feels out of step with how the firm has grown, or the work on display is out of date. “It’s always a work in progress,” one designer told me recently, explaining that she struggles with striking a balance between articulating the value her firm brings and veering too far into abstraction. “You reread it and you’re like, ‘That’s true, but what does it really mean?’” While we were chatting, she noticed that a recently hired employee wasn’t listed on her site. “See? Never done.” 

That frustration with a firm’s perpetually unfinished website is not uncommon. “I think sometimes a designer’s business evolves faster than their site,” says Susannah Charbin, founder and creative director of The Beaux Arts, a branding and web design agency that specializes in the luxury interiors industry. “When you’re fitting all of your creativity and passion into creating things for other people, it’s hard to create the time and headspace to give that back to yourself.” That disconnect can lead to countless missed opportunities if prospective clients misunderstand who you are or what you do. “Your website is your home online,” she says. “The primary objective of a website is to attract clients, but it’s [also] about authentically conveying your brand story and effectively showing your positioning: the scale of your work, the types of projects you take on.”