How to Write a Residential Architecture Project Page Clients and Peers Read

By Tim Miner, founder of Next Drop Design. I build websites for builders, architects, interior designers and landscape architects across the country.

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On most residential architects' websites, a project page is a title and a gallery. The photography is excellent and the page says almost nothing.

That leaves out the part clients are hiring you for. They can see the finished house. What they can't see is how you got there: what the site demanded, what the client asked for, and the decisions that shaped the result.

This article covers how to write a project page that a referred client and a referring peer will both read to the end.

Key takeaways

• Photography shows the result. The written page shows how you think, which is what a client is choosing between architects on.
• A strong project page follows six parts: the brief, the site, the constraints, the decisions, the team and the recognition.
• A few hundred words is enough. Each part can be two or three sentences.
• Crediting the builder, interior designer, landscape architect and photographer gives every partner on the page a reason to share it.

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Who reads a project page

The referred client. They were given your name by a builder, designer or past client, and they're checking whether you design their kind of house. They read the project closest to theirs.

The peer. Builders, interior designers and landscape architects look at how you present shared work before they recommend you again. An editor considering a feature reads the same page.

Both want the same thing: evidence of judgment. A gallery can't provide it. A few paragraphs can.

The six parts of a project page

1. The brief. What the client wanted, in a sentence or two. "A family home that works for six people most weekends and two the rest of the year."
2. The site. Slope, orientation, views, neighbors, setbacks, soil. Whatever made this lot different from the next one.
3. The constraints. Design review guidelines, height limits, budget, schedule, existing structures or protected vegetation.
4. The decisions. Two or three choices that answered the brief and the site. Why the living spaces turn toward the view, why the roof steps down, why the garage sits below grade. This is the part clients remember.
5. The team. The builder, interior designer, landscape architect and photographer, each named and linked.
6. The recognition. Awards and publications for this project, on this page.

Add the facts a client filters by: location or community, style, square footage range, year completed.

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What it looks like on a client site

On the Rains Design site we built, each project has its own page with imagery, details and full team credits. Whisper Rock Ranch Estate credits the builder, Sonora West Development, the landscape architect, CF Design, and the photographer, each with a link. Projects are titled by place, such as Mirabel Contemporary and Tonto Verde Contemporary, so a search on a community leads straight to the work there.

The credits run both ways. On CF Design's site, the Lost Star project credits Rains Design as architect. Each firm's site sends visitors to the other's. (Dynamic team integration)

Common mistakes

• Writing about the photos instead of the house. "Stunning views from every room" describes the image. "The plan rotates 20 degrees off the street to face the peaks" describes a decision.
• Hiding the narrative. Put it beside or between the photos, not in a tab or below forty images.
• Leaving out partners. A project page with no builder or designer named gives your referral partners nothing to share.
• Putting awards on a separate page. An award means more on the project that won it. (Social proof)

In our 2026 Benchmark of 154 luxury residential firms, 99% had invested in professional photography, but 2% were on a platform built to make that work perform. Writing is the cheapest way to close that gap.

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How we help

Project write-ups are the core of our Content Creation service for architects. We interview you or work from your notes, write the page, and credit the full team. Portfolio Content ($1,500 a month) includes project write-ups and Reels, and Studio ($2,500 on a 6-month retainer) plans and publishes everything for you. Write-ups work on your current site and are ready when a redesign comes. See Content Creation

Book a Discovery Call

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Related resources

• Website Design for Residential Architects
• Project Storytelling: what it is and how we build it
• Dynamic Team Integration: what it is and how it looks on client sites
• Social Proof: what it is and how it looks on client sites

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Frequently asked questions

How long should an architecture project description be?

A few hundred words is enough for most residential projects. Two or three sentences each on the brief, the site, the constraints and the decisions, plus the team and any recognition.

What should an architect write about a residential project?

What the client wanted, what the site demanded, the constraints you worked within, and the decisions that answered them. Then name everyone who built it with you.

Should a project page credit the builder and photographer?

Yes. It confirms the relationships a referred client was told about, and gives every partner named a reason to share the page.