Websites for architecture firms in French-speaking Switzerland

For Swiss architecture firms

French-speaking Switzerland is home to several hundred architecture firms, many producing remarkable work — and presenting it online through a WordPress site built in 2014.

The talent is not the problem. The tools used to present that work haven't kept up. Swiss clients — private, institutional, municipal — now reach for Google before they reach for the phone. If your site loads in eight seconds, shows twelve projects in a grid with no context, and ships an English version translated by Google, the call doesn't come.

We build sites that do the work justice. Bilingual or trilingual. Built for reading, credibility, and local search on Google.ch.

Our architecture work

Two recent references for context:

• Arch'Inov — multidisciplinary firm, full bilingual rebuild, editorial structure organised by project typology.
• Façade Atelier — editorial studio, static Markdown site, native performance, Git-based editing.

The full case study list is on the work page.

Before / after

The pattern repeats almost everywhere. Before a rebuild, a Swiss architect's site typically shows:

• a homepage with a slider of four 3D renders and a vague tagline;
• a projects page as a mosaic, no titles, no context, no text;
• a WordPress-theme typography (Roboto, Open Sans) with no connection to the firm's identity;
• an English version either missing or auto-translated and unproofed;
• a load time of six to ten seconds on mobile, unoptimised photography.

After the rebuild, the same firm has:

• a homepage that prioritises — one flagship typology, one recent project, one direct contact path;
• a project page readable like a monograph: title, brief, written description, large-format photography, plans and sections in the margin;
• a typography chosen for the firm, not pulled from a theme;
• a bilingual or trilingual site with separate per-language URLs and correct hreflang;
• a load time under two seconds on mobile, Lighthouse score above 95.

The work doesn't change. How clients perceive it does.

What a good architect website should do

Four things, in this order:

1. Establish credibility in under thirty seconds. The visitor arrives from Google or a referral. They should know immediately who they're dealing with — typologies, project scale, the firm's voice.
2. Make project pages worth reading. Not a grid. A narrative. A well-built project page holds a visitor for four to seven minutes — ten times the industry average.
3. Make first contact easy. A short form, a visible phone number, a Calendly link if you take discovery calls. No friction.
4. Show up when people search. Local SEO on Google.ch for the queries that bring clients: architect Geneva, architecture firm Lausanne, interior architect Vaud, contemporary villa architect French-speaking Switzerland.

A site that doesn't do those four things is a digital brochure, not a working tool.

Project structure + local SEO

Every project gets its own URL, its own page, its own technical sheet. This isn't an aesthetic choice — it's how indexing works. Google.ch ranks pages, not sliders.

Technical:

• Schema.org LocalBusiness + Architect markup with full address, canton, postal code, hours, spoken languages;
• each project tied to a city and a typology, individually indexable;
• per-language sitemap, submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster;
• Core Web Vitals in green on 100 % of pages;
• Google Business Profile integration synced to the site.

Editorial:

• project pages written with precise architectural vocabulary, not copy-pasted technical fact sheets;
• systematic mention of city, canton, client where the client allows it;
• coherent internal linking between typologies (housing, public facilities, heritage renovation) and regions (Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Fribourg).

The goal isn't to game Google. It's to write clearly about what's true.

Multilingual sites FR / EN / DE

French-speaking Switzerland is francophone — but the clients that matter aren't always. German-speaking developers, federal institutional clients, English-speaking expat private clients all arrive in their own language.

Our architecture supports three languages by default:

• distinct URLs per language: /fr/projets/villa-cologny, /en/projects/villa-cologny, /de/projekte/villa-cologny;
• correct hreflang between all three versions;
• dedicated sitemap per locale;
• unified editing: one project written once, translated in place, published in all three languages without duplicating structure.

German translation, if you want it, is done by a native translator with architecture background. Not Google Translate, not unproofed DeepL.

Free audit

If you run an architecture firm in French-speaking Switzerland and wonder what your current site is actually worth, we'll write you a free 6–8 page audit, no commitment.

The audit covers:

• technical performance (Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse, real-world load times);
• SEO structure (markup, indexation, internal linking, local presence);
• editorial readability (project page, hierarchy, typography);
• competitive comparison with two or three comparable firms in your region;
• prioritised recommendations, from free-to-do-this-week up to full rebuild.

No generic PDF generated by an automated tool. A hand-written audit, delivered within eight business days.

Request the free audit →