The Top 3 Mistakes To Avoid When Designing A New Website

Are you an interior designer? Are you in the process of re-designing your website in 2021 or having a new website built for you?

If you answered yes to, “I am an interior designer* and yes to one of the other two questions then this post on The 3 Mistakes To Avoid When Designing A New Website is for you.

But before I tell you the 3 mistakes…

I can imagine many of you are asking yourselves, “Why should I listen to you, Leslie? What qualifies you to give me this information?

So let me answer that for you.

In my work life, one of my company’s service offerings for the past 7 years has been website analysis, website project management and copywriting for interior designers. You don’t see me talk about this too often, but I’ve done a lot of it.

Here are 6 websites where I have been actively involved in one or more of these activities.

https://mjamesdesigngroup.com
https://wilsonkelseydesign.com
https://janisreedinteriors.com
https://4ptdesignbuild.com
https://janadonohoedesigns.com
https://rsidesigns.com

[ NOTE: I am no longer offering full service hands on project management or copywriting work. ]

However, I am still offering the strategic analysis work, beforehand, that will help you understand what needs to change on your website to attract your ideal clients and how to position your website for maximum revenue generation.

I am also still offering you (interior designers) insights into how to structure the organizational process that will help you get your websites done, faster. and meet your revenue objectives, faster - and I am still offering website handholding services - LOL!

What is *website handholding?” I have often found that what you need is someone to simply tell you, “Am I on the right track here?” “What might need shifting before I go further?”

So, now that you know why I might be qualified to help you, and you’ve seen some of the websites I’ve worked on, I bet some of you are still probably thinking, “ Leslie, your own website isn’t really what it should be. I am not sure I would want to work with you on mine.” And I understand that sentiment, completely.

So, why is that? Because I was so busy managing the #SLDS21 project last year, that I did not get to it, but it will be done first quarter of this year.

So, if you are thinking that to yourself, please cut me some slack, and go take a look here, on Forbes.com, to read about Seasonal Living Magazine’s Luxury Virtual Designer Showhouse [ #SLDS21] or here, on Business of Home, to read about my involvement as co-principal for the world’s first luxury virtual designer Showhouse to include augmented reality - a collaboration between 15 sponsoring brands and 11 interior designers.

Now, let’s get to the 3 mistakes you want to avoid when having someone design your website…and trust me.. if we work together… there are a lot more that I can help you avoid, too.

#1 MISTAKE TO AVOID

Not thinking through responsive design. What is responsive design?

Making sure that your website looks as good on a mobile device or an IPad or a laptop, as it does on a desktop, as you can see in the image below.

Every good website designer will think of this for you, but if you are giving them your opinions about what you want…where…and they are advising you differently, make sure to listen. This is a very important aspect of web design and it deserves a lot of strategic consideration.

As screens get smaller and smaller, think carefully about what you want people to see first, above the fold, when they hit your website on mobile.

Now, maybe you think most people are looking at your site on desktop or laptop, first..and maybe they are, but do you know for sure?

How would you know? By checking your Google Analytics to see that information. Google Analytics will tell you, at a visual glance, where your website traffic is coming from and via what type of device.

Do you have Google Analytics installed on your website? If not, do that RIGHT NOW.

How? Here —> https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-install-google-analytics-in-wordpress/

#2 MISTAKE TO AVOID

Not thinking through - beyond attracting clients - what your revenue objectives could be for your website.

What are 4 more things you can design into your website, through images. additional pages and/or copywriting, that can help you generate additional revenue, that don’t require selling physical products?

1. A blog.

A blog can be monetized through display advertising, through affiliate marketing and through accepting sponsored blog content. See this post I wrote about How To Monetize Your Blog For 24/7 Income And How To Attract The Site Traffic To Make This Business Strategy Successful*.

2. Design downloads and online courses.

See this post I wrote about How Design Downloads Are Making One Designer $25,000 A Year With No Advertising and this post I wrote about 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Designing Online Courses.

3. Ebooks.

For ideas for ebooks, see the ebook SHOP on the blog of my good friend and past client , https://carlaaston.com/shop and buy a few to support Carla and all the free information she so generously shares in my Facebook Group for interior designers, #DesignWealth.

Also see this fabulous ebook on the website of another past client, Canadian interior designer, Sheri Bruneau. Sheri is rocking her ebook sales.

[PS: If you're a full time professional interior designer and would like to join my Facebook Group, too, https://facebook.com/groups/DesignWealth, please click that FB link to send me a Request To Join. Note: you’ll need to have a website + share your email address for membership, but it’s free, other than sharing your email address with me. ]

4. Media kits to attract brand and influencer marketing collaborations.

My company can design one for you if you need help with that, but here’s 2 to give you an idea from #SLDS21 participating designers Rachel Moriarty Interiors and Arianne Bellizaire. Aren’t these wonderful?

It sure does help me know, at a glance, why I might want to work with them on my next influencer marketing initiative on behalf of a brand side client.

#3 MISTAKE TO AVOID

Your copywriting doesn’t articulate your value proposition(s) strongly enough.

What do you think the #1 thing a potential interior design client cares about when they first view your website?

Generally, it is: “How Can You [ And Can I Trust You To ] Solve My Problems?”.

For instance, let’s say you have a client out of state. Do you have a section on your site that details how you handle out of state clients? What special services you provide for them? Do you have a project manager on your team for full service clients that is dedicated to taking care of out of state clients and their needs? Is that articulated on your site?

Make sure your site’s copywriting communicates the solutions you provide to a potential client’s problems, fast and clearly. Go in depth. Help that potential client looking at your site understand that you understand their pain points and have solutions in place to solve them.

And are you wondering about the watercolor image in the photo below and who did it or where I got it? It was done via Photoshop, but you can achieve similar using the Waterlogue app.

I found this one, however, using my subscription to Adobe Stock Photo. Worth every penny.

So, there you have it. I hope this post helps you get off to a strong start in the re-design or design of your new website in 2021.

There are many other aspects to designing a website [ that I will be taking into consideration as I undergo the re-design of Savour Partnership, too, this year ] that are important to consider and if I can help you in this process, with the services I’ve already mentioned I offer, I’d love to. Please contact me at leslie@savourpartnership.com.

I am happy to recommend the website designers I’ve worked with for years, to you, as well.

Each of them are excellent at what they do, but, just as in design, their price points - and what they offer for that price point - are different [ as are their styles ] and you will get different outcomes. I have website designers I recommend -and have worked with - for both Wordpress and Squarespace websites.

Lastly, if you know of an interior designer that would be helped by reading this post, please share it with them and please consider pinning this image, so others can be helped by the information I’ve shared here.

Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read my blog.

I appreciate it - and you!

Leslie Carothers
Named One Of Home Furnishing News Magazine’s Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home

Instagram | Linked In | My Facebook Group, #DesignWealth