You don’t need a “beautiful website.” You need a website that makes your phone ring, doesn’t embarrass you when a homeowner Googles your name, and shows your work without taking 12 seconds to load. Pretty is cheap. Credible is the whole job.
Most renovation and interior design sites fail for the same boring reasons: they hide the contact button, they bury the portfolio, they talk like a brochure, and they look fine on desktop but fall apart on a phone, where half your leads are actually coming from. Fix those basics and you’re already ahead.
Step one: decide what your website is actually supposed to do
If you’re trying to “show your brand” and “generate leads” and “rank on Google” all at once with a $400 template, you’re going to get a site that does none of it well, then you’ll blame the platform. Don’t. Pick the primary job, then design around it.
Here are the three common website “types” that don’t waste your money.
1) One-page lead site (for lean operators who just need inquiries)
This is the “stop scrolling, call me” build, tight copy, tight portfolio, tight form, done. No massive menu. No wandering.
- Best for: solo contractors, new businesses, specialty trades adding reno work, limited project photos
- Watch out for: weak SEO long-term (one page can only say so much without turning into a novel)
- Must-have: click-to-call phone number, short quote form, review snippets, service area line (Toronto/GTA/whatever you serve)
Simple sites win when they’re honest. That’s the trick.
2) Small business multi-page site (the “real company” setup)
This is the durable option: separate services, a process page, project gallery, and a contact page that doesn’t play hide-and-seek. You don’t need 25 pages. You need the right 7–10.
- Best for: established remodelers, interior designers, design-build firms, anyone running ads
- Stronger at: ranking for multiple services (kitchens, bathrooms, basements, condo renos, etc.)
- Must-have: service pages written for actual humans, not keyword soup
This is where most businesses should land. Familiar. Reliable.
3) Portfolio-first site (for designers selling taste and taste only)
If your clients buy you for your eye, your site should feel like a gallery, projects front and center, minimal clutter, plenty of breathing room. But you still need lead gen baked in, because vibes don’t pay invoices.
- Best for: interior design studios, high-end renovation brands, custom cabinetry specialists
- Big mistake: gorgeous images with zero context (no scope, no timeline, no outcome, no constraints)
Pretty pictures are nice. “What did you actually do?” is nicer.
Design your navigation like a homeowner with three tabs open
People don’t explore your site like a museum. They speed-run it while making dinner, comparing you to two competitors, and wondering if you’re legit or just good at Instagram.
Keep the menu boring. That’s a compliment.
- Home
- Services (with clear subpages: kitchens, bathrooms, condos, full-home, etc.)
- Projects (gallery + individual case studies)
- Process (how it works, what happens first, what you handle)
- About (who you are, how long you’ve been doing it, why you won’t disappear mid-job)
- Reviews (or Testimonials)
- Contact (with a form that doesn’t ask for their life story)
And yes, put the phone number in the header. Always. No drama.
If you do condo renovations, your website should scream “we understand condos”
Condo clients are a different species: tighter spaces, tighter rules, tighter timelines, and a condo board that can ruin your week for fun. Your website should address that reality, because it’s a trust shortcut.
Show you get it, permits, approvals, delivery windows, elevator bookings, noise rules, working hours, protection for common areas, the whole annoying checklist.
If you want a clean example of how a design-build firm frames condo work (services, finishes, process, and the “yes, we handle the annoying stuff” parts), look at Toronto condo renovation design-build services and how the messaging stays focused on what condo owners actually worry about.
That’s what converts. Specifics.
Your homepage layout: stop being “creative” and start being obvious
A renovation homepage isn’t a brand film. It’s a decision page. Give visitors what they need in the first 10 seconds, or they bounce and you never even knew they existed.
Here’s a homepage structure that works (because it’s not trying to reinvent the wheel):
- Hero section: one line on what you do + where you do it + one main CTA (“Get a Quote” or “Book a Consult”).
- Proof row: star rating, review count, warranty line, “licensed & insured,” association badges if you have them.
- Service blocks: clickable sections for your main services (kitchens, baths, condos, full-home).
- Featured projects: 6–9 strong images that load fast. No 40-photo dump.
- Short process: 3–5 steps. Make it feel safe and predictable.
- Testimonials: real names and neighborhoods if possible (with permission).
- Second CTA: same offer as the first, not a different random button.
You’re not building an award-winning website. You’re building a lead machine.
Portfolio strategy: galleries are fine, case studies close deals
A gallery says “we’ve done stuff.” A case study says “we can do your stuff,” even when your stuff is weird, like a 700 sq ft condo with outdated wiring and a board that hates renovations on principle.
Use both. Keep them lightweight.
What a good renovation case study includes
- The problem: what was broken, dated, cramped, ugly, or non-functional
- The constraints: condo rules, permit delays, structural limitations, timeline, budget range
- The solution: layout changes, materials, cabinetry approach, lighting plan
- The result: what changed for the homeowner (storage, flow, resale, daily life)
Keep the writing short. Let photos do the heavy lifting.
Before/after photos without tanking your site speed
Before/after sliders look cool right up until they slow your mobile site to a crawl, then you’ve basically paid for a bounce rate. Use them, but don’t get cute.
- Compress images (WebP is your friend)
- Lazy-load below-the-fold galleries
- Limit each project page to the best 12–20 photos
- Add alt text that describes the room (helps accessibility and basic SEO)
Fast beats fancy. Every time.
Conversion design: the small stuff that makes people actually contact you
You can have the prettiest site in your city and still get no leads if your calls-to-action are timid, your form feels like an interrogation, and your trust signals are buried in the footer like a shameful secret.
Do these instead.
CTAs that work for renovation businesses
- “Get a Quote” (direct, familiar)
- “Book a Consultation” (good for design-build and interior design)
- “Request Pricing” (works if you pre-qualify)
Pick one primary CTA. Stick with it.
Use a “minimum project” filter (yes, really)
If you’re tired of tire-kickers asking for a $2,000 bathroom facelift in a week, your website should protect you. Add a line like “projects start at…” or a form question like “estimated budget range.”
It’s not rude. It’s efficient.
Trust signals renovation clients care about
- Warranty: even a simple workmanship warranty line calms people down
- Insurance & licensing: say it plainly
- Permits & compliance: especially for condos and structural changes
- Reviews: Google Reviews matter more than the testimonial carousel you coded in 2016
Most homeowners are buying “not a nightmare.” Sell that.
Local SEO, without the jargon headache
SEO is just “show up when people search.” That’s it. You don’t need to become a marketer, you need a site structure that gives Google something to work with.
Start here:
- Google Business Profile: filled out, consistent, getting reviews
- Service pages: separate pages for key services (kitchen renovation, bathroom renovation, condo renovation)
- Service area mentions: Toronto + neighborhoods / GTA areas you actually serve
- Title tags: “Kitchen Renovations in Toronto | [Business Name]” (not “Home”)
- Schema: simple LocalBusiness schema helps (your web person can handle it)
If you serve condos, write condo-specific content. People search that way.
Platform choices: WordPress vs Webflow vs Squarespace (the blunt version)
Everyone asks this like there’s one correct answer. There isn’t. There’s the answer that fits your budget, your patience, and whether you enjoy fiddling with settings at 11 p.m.
WordPress
Flexible, common, and easy to find help for. Also easy to mess up with too many plugins and a “friend of a friend” doing updates.
- Pick it if: you want long-term control and lots of options
- Don’t pick it if: you hate maintenance and will ignore updates forever
Webflow
Clean builds, great design control, usually fast. Edits can feel less “obvious” for non-technical owners, depending on how it’s set up.
- Pick it if: design matters a lot and you have someone who can maintain it
- Don’t pick it if: you expect to DIY major changes weekly
Squarespace
Quick and decent-looking out of the gate. Limits show up when you want more advanced SEO structure, custom functionality, or serious portfolio organization.
- Pick it if: you need something up fast and you’re okay with “good enough”
- Don’t pick it if: you’re scaling ads/SEO and need more control
Your platform won’t save weak content. Sorry.
The hidden costs nobody mentions (until you’re already paying them)
Websites aren’t “one-and-done.” Stuff breaks, plugins update, forms get spammed, and your hosting company will absolutely upsell you when you’re busy on a jobsite.
Budget for the boring stuff:
- Domain: your website address (usually cheap)
- Hosting: where it lives (don’t go bargain-bin if you want speed)
- SSL: the security lock in the browser (should be included)
- Backups: because life happens
- Maintenance: updates, security patches, uptime monitoring
If someone offers a site for $300 and vanishes, you didn’t buy a website, you bought a future headache.
A quick “choose this, not that” cheat sheet
If you’re still stuck, use this and move on with your day.
- If you have 10+ strong projects and multiple services: build a multi-page site with service pages + case studies.
- If you’re new and need leads fast: a one-page lead site with a tight gallery and one strong CTA.
- If design is your main product: portfolio-first layout, but with aggressive contact buttons and a clear process.
- If condos are your niche: condo-specific page(s) and messaging around approvals, permits, and building rules.
Done. Pick one.
What to do next
Open your current site on your phone, pretend you’re a skeptical homeowner, and try to find three things in under 15 seconds: what you do, where you do it, and how to contact you. If any of those are fuzzy, your “design” problem is really a clarity problem.
Fix clarity first. The leads usually follow.
