Nurture your website so your garden design business can flourish
Just as a garden shifts and softens with the seasons, a website does too. At different stages of business growth, it will need varying levels of care and attention.
Like a well-planned garden bed, a thoughtfully maintained website creates a lasting first impression, drawing in the right people and helping your business to bloom with quiet confidence. If your site feels a little neglected, a few small tweaks can make all the difference.
As a Squarespace website designer and marketer (with a deep love for seasonal flowers, woodland walks and watching the garden birds), I help garden designers create websites that feel as natural and welcoming as the green spaces they create for their clients. Both well-designed gardens and websites create space to connect, for imaging what’s next. They hold as much potential for transformation as they do beauty.
Here are a few ways you can nurture your website with the same care and creativity you bring to your garden designs…
1. Tend to your homepage
Your homepage is like the entrance to a garden: it sets the tone, offers a first impression and invites people to step inside.
🌿 Clarify your location
Make it easy for visitors to know where you’re based. Many clients prefer to work with local designers, so adding your location will help build trust straight away. For example: Beautiful, sensory-rich garden design in Bristol & Bath.
🌿 Include a strong, clear and unique message
Like an evergreen tree that stands strong through the year, your welcome message should be rooted in what you truly offer (see what I did there 😂). Speak to the heart of your client. Perhaps you design wildlife-friendly havens? Structured, contemporary landscapes? Dreaming pockets of colour and calm?
🌿 Invite people to take action
Encourage people to gallivant through your site to take action. Think: “Book a consultation”, “See my seasonal portfolio”, or “Let’s design your dream space”. We want to avoid brambles or blockages and instead have smooth stepping stones guiding prospective clients forward.
2. Carry out essential maintenance
Sometimes, it’s the maintenance, cleaning or tidying tasks that have the biggest impact. These are the jobs that might not seem exciting (they’re often quite boring!) but they make for a good website user experience.
👩🌾 Keep contact details clear and welcoming
Make sure your contact page and social links feel easy to find – guiding visitors to connect with you and book your services easily.
👩🌾 Test your forms
Whether it’s a contact form, newsletter signup or booking form, make sure all your forms are functioning properly. Test them periodically to ensure they’re collecting the right information and sending it to the right place.
👩🌾 Check for broken links
Like helping poorly plants in a garden, removing broken links will make your site run more smoothly. Use a third-party tool like Dead Link Checker to quickly test your site.
3. Prune and shape your portfolio
Think of your portfolio as a bouquet – not every flower needs to be included and the ones you select bring balance and interest, and express your unique style and the season you’re in.
🌸 Show the process, not just the end result
A garden’s beauty doesn’t begin and end in summer flowers. Like hydrangea heads gently fading into autumn, there’s richness in every stage. Share how your designs grow, settle and soften over time.
🌸 Be selective
Don’t overwhelm visitors with too many projects. Pick the ones that really represent your work and where you’re heading.
🌸 Show your personality
Little details, like how you got inspired by leaf-crunching walk or a client’s vision, can help people connect with your work on a personal level.
🌸 Keep it fresh
Follow up with clients a season or two after the project is finished to see how their gardens have grown. This can offer a unique update for your portfolio.
🌸 Add testimonials with heart
Client reviews help reassure potential clients that they’re making the right choice when booking your services. Think of them as a kind of modern floriography, where your clients are using their own words to describe the joy your work brings.
4. Nourish your content
A thriving garden needs attention throughout the year and the same goes for your website. Regular updates keep it engaging and relevant to your audience. Here are a few ideas to keep your content blooming year-round:
🌱 Write seasonal blog posts
Blogging is a great way to share your knowledge, expertise and help prospective clients get to know you on a personal level. You’re growing that ‘know, like and trust’ factor. You could share:
Seasonal inspiration – a post on how to prepare your garden for the upcoming season.
Share your process – write about your approach for a recent project, the inspiration behind it and how it evolved. People love learning about the journey, not just the finished product.
Gardening tips and trends – offer practical advice that shows your expertise, such as tips for planting certain flowers or maintaining specific garden features.
Behind the scenes – a glimpse into your creative process, what’s inspiring you now, or how you’re tackling a challenging design can make your blog feel more authentic and accessible.
Write as if to a favourite past client; your words will naturally feel generous, grounded and relatable. Your blog can be an ongoing conversation with your audience, offering them a reason to return and engage with your brand.
🌱 Plant the seeds of connection with email
Especially if you offer seasonal advice or ongoing services, an email list allows you to stay lightly present in your clients’ lives. You could:
Share behind-the-scenes glimpses – an in-progress planting update, or a note about what’s inspiring you now
Send seasonal tips and rituals – the rush of untold energy in early spring or the quiet pleasure of planting bulbs in the cold of winter.
Announce availability or special offers – like a gardener whispering, “Now’s the moment to sow…”
Don’t forget to repurpose your blog posts if you have a blog!
And if you’re not ready to email regularly? Start small. A free seasonal guide like “Five ways to bring quietude into your garden this summer” is a gentle way in.
Let your website support you
Just like a well-designed garden, your website should feel effortless to navigate and easy to maintain. If yours feels tangled or in need of some TLC, my Holistic Website Support Day is designed to help. Exclusively for Squarespace websites, this one-day intensive allows us to refine your portfolio, refresh your homepage and fine-tune other elements of your site to ensure it flows beautifully and truly reflects your work. Together, we’ll cultivate a website that attracts the right clients and showcases your creativity in full bloom.
Need a brand new website?
If you’re looking for a fresh start, my Aligned Website Design Service is perfect for garden designers wanting a brand-new site that truly reflects their work. Let’s create something that helps your business grow from the ground up.
Ready to nurture your website for the season ahead?
Whether you need a refresh of your current site or a brand-new build, we’ll give your website the care and attention it needs to help your business thrive for years to come. Your website should be a space where your work can truly flourish – let’s make that happen, together. Get in touch – I’m looking forward to hearing from you.