Website Analysis of 4542 Swiss Architecture Firms

Architects design spaces. They have a trained eye for aesthetics, proportions, and details. But what about their own websites? We analyzed 4,543 Swiss architecture firms. The result: Form over function.

The Numbers at a Glance

24% of architecture firms have no website. Of the 4,543 companies analyzed, 3,440 have their own web presence.

This is the best result of all industries analyzed so far. Better than fiduciary firms (41% without a website) and significantly better than marketing agencies (53%). Architects know: A portfolio needs a stage.

The Websites That Exist

Of the 3,440 websites, we successfully analyzed 3,304. The average score is 77.2 out of 100 points. Solid, but with room for improvement.

Score Distribution Overview

94% of architect websites score at least 60 points. Not a single one falls into the critical range. The industry invests in its web presence.

The Paradox: Beautiful but Not Always Compliant

Architect websites often look impressive. Large images, clean design, lots of white space. But: Aesthetics come at the expense of the basics.

Imprint Missing for Two-Thirds

Only 32.6% have a complete imprint and privacy policy. This is the worst result of all industries analyzed so far. Worse than marketing agencies (49.8%) and fiduciary firms (51.6%).

This is not just a legal risk. It's also a trust issue. Anyone commissioning a building wants to know who they're dealing with.

Heading Structure Is Ignored

Only 44.9% have a correct H1-H6 structure. Many architect websites rely on visual hierarchy instead of semantic hierarchy. It looks good, but search engines don't understand the page.

Meta Tags Missing for Half

Only 48.4% have SEO-optimized titles and descriptions. Someone searching for "architect Zurich" may not find many of these firms.

Where the Industry Scores Well

Architect websites have clear strengths:

Swiss presence:

91.2% use a .ch domain
61.1% host in Switzerland
Swiss Compliance score of 81.5 points

Technical fundamentals:

93.0% meet Core Web Vitals
90.6% have a valid SSL certificate
86.1% have acceptable load times

Accessibility better than others:

64.3% meet color contrast requirements. Better than marketing (40.9%) and fiduciary (44.6%).
84.4% achieve a good accessibility score

Performance: Surprisingly Good

At 71.1 points, performance is in good shape. Surprising, since architect websites are often image-heavy.

86.1% have acceptable load times
63.3% load JavaScript efficiently
99.9% optimize their images correctly

According to a Google study, bounce rates increase by 123% when load time grows from one to ten seconds. Most architect websites are well positioned here.

What the Best Do Right

The top performers with scores above 95 points show: You can have both. Beautiful design and technical cleanliness.

Structure despite aesthetics: Correct heading hierarchy, even when the design is minimalist.

Completeness: Imprint, privacy policy, contact details. All present.

SEO fundamentals: Meta tags maintained, XML sitemap present, robots.txt correct.

Image optimization: Large portfolio images, but properly compressed.

Key Findings

24% have no website. The best result of all industries analyzed. Architects need a portfolio.
Imprint missing for two-thirds. The worst result of all industries. An avoidable legal risk.
SEO is neglected. Heading structure and meta tags are often missing. The websites look good but aren't found.
Performance is surprisingly good. Despite many images, pages load quickly.
Color contrast is better than others. Architects have an eye for readability.

What Can Architecture Firms Do?

Quick wins for immediate improvement:

Add imprint and privacy policy
Fix heading structure (H1 for main title, H2 for sections)
Write meta titles and descriptions for all pages
Create XML sitemap and submit to Google

Long-term measures:

Develop SEO strategy
Regularly publish new projects with structured text
Maintain alt texts for portfolio images

Conclusion

With an average score of 77.2 points, Swiss architecture firms perform solidly. The websites often look impressive. No surprise for a visually oriented industry.

The problem: Form over function. Imprint missing for two-thirds. Headings ignored. Meta tags neglected. The websites are beautiful but not easily found and not compliant.

The top performers show it can be different. Aesthetics and structure are not mutually exclusive. A good building has both: a beautiful facade and a solid foundation. The same applies to websites.

How Good Is Your Website Really?

Does your architecture website meet all requirements? Start a free analysis with webscore.ch.