Portfolio · editorial architecture · enquiries

Web design for architects in Mallorca: a portfolio that explains before it impresses

A website for architects needs to show visual judgement without hiding the information that helps people choose: the kinds of commissions the practice takes on, how it makes decisions, its role in each project and how to start a useful conversation.

Editorial composition of an architecture portfolio with plans, photographs and a project profile
Portfolio → project profile → conversationNo fictional projects

Direct answer

A good website for architects is not an endless sequence of images. It is an editorial system that helps visitors find relevant projects, understand the challenge and design decision, check authorship and credits, and move towards making contact, requesting a dossier or collaborating without getting lost.

Search results for ‘websites for architects’ are dominated by guides and examples. That is why this page first answers how to structure the portfolio, then explains how I can turn those principles into a website for a practice in Mallorca.

Before choosing an aesthetic

The website has four different jobs, and the portfolio is only one

If everything is reduced to a grid of photographs, visitors may admire the practice and still not know whether it is right for their commission.

01

Provide direction

Explain project types, scale, location, stage and working methods in words that someone who is not an architect can understand.

02

Demonstrate judgement

Connect constraints, decisions and outcomes. The image attracts attention; the context reveals why the project matters.

03

Establish credentials

Make clear the practice's role, collaborators, photography, project status and which details can be published.

04

Open a route

Offer a different next step for a private client, competition team, publication, developer or potential collaborator.

Portfolio architecture

Filters help when they simplify a decision, not when they reproduce the internal archive

A practice with six selected works may not need filters. One with thirty projects may need type, status or scale. Location and year only help if visitors use them to compare.

  • Type
  • Status
  • Scale
  • Location
  • Year
  • Service

I would avoid empty categories, internal labels and combinations that return a single result. I would also provide a ‘selection’ view for anyone who does not want to explore the entire archive.

Editorial model · not a real case study

Renovation of a terraced house

A useful project profile would not invent results: it would organise verifiable information so the reader can understand the problem and the response.

Challenge

Starting conditions, constraints and the objective of the commission.

Decision

One or two design choices explained without unnecessary jargon.

Details

Status, year, location, area or programme, only when they can be published.

Authorship

The practice's role, collaborators, photography, renders and verifiable recognition.

Local tool

A portfolio planner to make decisions before creating the layout

Choose six conditions for the practice. The result suggests filters, a project profile structure, visual balance, SEO, enquiry routes and an initial deliverable. It is editorial guidance; it does not replace an inventory, interviews, permissions or a technical audit.

Runs in your browser. It does not send your answers or generate a quote.

Project depth

A project profile should explain the commission, not describe what is already visible

‘A bright, contemporary home’ could describe almost any image. It is more useful to document the existing condition, the decision the practice made and which part of the outcome can be verified.

Challenge and context

Programme, constraints, relationship with the site, previous condition or regulatory requirements, described to the extent they can be published.

Decision and solution

A spatial, material, environmental or functional strategy. Plans and diagrams should support that explanation, not decorate the page.

Details and responsibility

Status, dates, area, role, collaborators and credits. Budget, savings or performance only with a source, permission and methodology.

Photography, plans and renders

Art direction also determines how much data each visit loads

The homepage can load one priority image; the rest should adapt to the actual width, declare their dimensions and load as they approach the viewport. A full-screen photograph and a thumbnail do not need the same file.

Before compressing, decide the sequence: overview, spatial decision, detail, plan or process. This avoids publishing twenty assets with no hierarchy.

  • Formats and sizes: responsive variants, visually reviewed compression, and video only when it adds information.
  • Stability: a defined width, height or aspect ratio to prevent layout shifts during loading.
  • Accessibility: useful alt text for meaningful content; empty alt text for decoration; captions and credits where appropriate.
  • Real-world testing: project templates, filtered listings and mobile devices on limited connections, not just the homepage on fibre broadband.

Local SEO and editorial architecture

Ranking is not a matter of renaming every image ‘architect Mallorca’

The search engine needs to understand the practice, its services, locations and projects; the visitor needs to decide whether there is a fit. Both improve when information is clearly separated and linked.

A consistent local entity

The name, specialism, contact details and actual presence should be consistent across the website and Business Profile. The local SEO in Mallorca page explores that layer in more detail.

Project types with substance

Housing, renovation or interiors only deserve their own URL when there is material, a distinct need and enough explanation.

Projects people can link to

Each project profile needs a stable URL, title, H1, metadata, breadcrumbs and links to the project type, service or practice without forced repetition.

Quality that a screenshot cannot show

Credits, licences and accessibility are part of the system

Documented rights

Who authorises each photograph, plan or render, on which channels and with what attribution. A website cannot fix permission that was never requested.

Clear authorship

The practice, collaborators, photography, engineering, landscape design and project status. Recognition is only shown if it is verifiable.

Access beyond the mouse

Contrast, focus, keyboard navigation, alternative text, named controls and reduced motion without sacrificing visual direction.

Markets and audiences

Private clients, competition teams and the media need different next steps

A multilingual website must decide which services and projects are relevant to each market, maintain crawlable URLs and coordinate canonical and hreflang tags. Translating only the menu creates an incomplete experience.

Conversion also changes. A private client needs to understand the process and next step; a competition team looks for capabilities and documentation; a publication needs images, credits and details ready to cite.

Private enquiry

A short brief covering the type of commission, location, status and decision stage. No requests for plans or sensitive data in the first form.

Competitions and collaborations

A selection by experience, role and scale; access to an up-to-date dossier and a clear route to propose teaming up.

Press and publications

Summary, details, credits, contact and terms of use. Downloads only when rights and resolution have been agreed.

Web design for practices in Mallorca

From a project inventory to a website the practice can maintain

I can work on the architecture, interface direction, templates, CMS, performance and measurement. The project is defined after reviewing materials, permissions, languages and responsibilities; I do not assume the entire archive is ready to publish.

PHASE 01

Inventory

Projects, audiences, assets, rights, current website and objectives.

PHASE 02

Architecture

Selection, filters, project profiles, user journeys, taxonomies and prototype.

PHASE 03

Design and development

Components, CMS, responsive layouts, accessibility and uploading a real sample.

PHASE 04

Launch

Migration, redirects, technical SEO, measurement, training and checks.

The project may include

  • An inventory and content map.
  • Templates for listings, project profiles, practice, services and contact.
  • Useful filters, a CMS and upload guidelines.
  • Agreed technical SEO, analytics, accessibility and documentation.

Defined or quoted separately

  • Photography, video, renders, copywriting and professional translation.
  • Large-scale archive digitisation or data reconstruction.
  • Licences, permissions and legal advice.
  • Integrations or private areas not identified in the assessment.

If the scope requires custom logic, APIs or a private area, it is coordinated with the web development in Mallorcaservice. Ongoing technical support can then be arranged through website maintenance.

Frequently asked questions

Questions before creating a website for architects

What should a website for architects include?

A clearly presented selection of projects, useful filters, project profiles with context and decisions, information about the practice, services, contact details and authorship guidelines. It should also plan for image performance, accessibility, SEO, licences, credits, analytics and maintenance.

Should all the practice's projects be shown?

Not necessarily. A short, well-explained selection often provides better guidance than an indiscriminate archive. The rest can remain in a filterable archive or in specific dossiers. The decision depends on the type of client, the practice's track record and its objectives.

What filters does an architecture portfolio need?

Only those that help people compare. The most common are type, status, scale, location or year, but they should not be added if they leave categories with a single project or require visitors to understand the practice's internal taxonomy.

What information should a project profile contain?

Alongside images, it is useful to explain the commission or challenge, relevant constraints, the architectural decision, status, location at the authorised level of precision, the practice's role and credits. Area, budget or timescales are only published when they are verifiable and permission has been given.

How should photographs, plans and renders be prepared?

With sizes adapted to their container, modern formats where appropriate, declared dimensions, reviewed compression and lazy loading below the first screen. Each asset needs a purpose: images show, captions provide context, and alternative text describes what is needed to understand it.

Can a highly visual website be fast?

Yes, if art direction considers performance from the outset. Page weight depends on resolution, format, compression, number of assets, videos, fonts and scripts. The actual templates are tested on mobile; optimising an empty homepage is not enough.

How is local SEO approached for an architecture practice?

Through a consistent entity and contact details, a clear service page, well-described projects and areas of work, internal linking and a properly managed Google profile. I do not recommend creating repeated local pages without a presence, content or a distinct proposition.

Does it make sense to create pages for each project type?

Only when there is enough material and a useful intention behind them. Housing, renovation, interiors, public facilities or urban planning may deserve their own pages if they help people decide and bring together projects, process and specific answers; not if they repeat the same text with one word changed.

How should a multilingual website for architects be planned?

With crawlable URLs for each language, editorial translation, a visible language selector, canonical tags and reciprocal hreflang. Proper names, credits and technical details must remain consistent. You also need to decide which projects and services are relevant to each market.

What about rights to photographs, plans and renders?

The practice must confirm what it can publish, in which media and for how long. The website must credit photographers, collaborators and authors according to the agreements, avoid unlicensed material and retain a record of permissions. Technical design does not replace that contractual validation.

How can it attract private clients without turning the website into an aggressive sales showcase?

With discreet, clear user journeys: explain who the practice works for, how a commission starts, what information it needs and the next step. A briefing form can qualify the enquiry without requesting unnecessary data or promising an assessment before reviewing the case.

Can the same website serve clients, competitions and the media?

The foundation can be shared, but each audience needs a different next step. A private client looks for fit and process; a competition team needs capabilities and documentation; a publication wants images, credits and details ready to cite. The architecture should offer these routes without duplicating everything.

Does the website include a system for uploading projects?

It can, if that is part of the scope. First, we need to define who will publish, which fields will be mandatory, how images and credits will be handled and what permissions each user needs. An easy-to-use dashboard requires a clear editorial structure, not just installing a CMS.

How long does a website for an architecture practice take, and how much does it cost?

There is no responsible figure without knowing the number of templates, projects, languages, migration requirements, art direction, content and integrations. After reviewing the material, I can propose phases, deliverables and an itemised quote, without presenting an automatic estimate as a binding offer.

Next step

Before designing the homepage, let's review projects, rights and audiences

Share your current website, the approximate number of projects and the markets you want to reach. I will tell you what should be organised first and what scope a responsible proposal needs.