The Ultimate Guide To Starting An Interior Design Blog

How to Start an Interior Design Blog?

According to Statista, there are more than 4.66 billion active internet users. Of these, there are 4.32 billion mobile internet users and 4.2% are active social media users. This is an indication of the kind of engagement you can achieve on the internet for your interior design business. 

What is the greatest source of information in the modern age? It’s the internet! So, having an online presence is inevitable for any professional interior designer. That is why if you are wondering how to start an interior design blog, the idea is a sensible one.

Read also – How To Create A Succesful Interior Design Website?

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Blogging can help you connect with different audiences from across the world and increase your knowledge too. It also can help you showcase project experience, client testimonials, designs ideas, and more. In other words, your blog can double up as your portfolio and attract new clients. 

Here, we will discuss why you need blogging as an interior designer and how to design your own interior design blog. We’ll throw in some of the top interior design blogs for reference too.

As an interior designer, you are a creative professional who designs amazing spaces and adds fervor to houses or offices. Sharing this knowledge with other designers, peers, and experts in the community can help improve your skills by learning many new aspects of interior design.

Some of the key benefits of blogging for interior designers are: 

• Connecting with new designers and getting feedback on designs
• Getting feedback on your designs from peers 
• Engaging with your audience and clients directly through your blog
• Sharing your designs with your readers and followers 
• Using your blog as a side hustle

Before starting your interior design blog, you need to answer a few questions:

• What topics will your blog cover?
• Who are your target readers?
• Which platform will be the most suitable for your blog?

If you are a beginner, taking inspiration from your peers and industry leaders do not hurt. So, here are some of the best interior design blog communities to get you started.

Read also – 8 Best Interior Design Communities

Best Interior Design Blog Communities:

1. Foyr: If you are a beginner looking to improve your knowledge through blogging, Foyr is one of the best blogging communities out there. From design ideas to starting an interior design career and more, you will find several blogs to improve your knowledge.

2. Decorilla Interior Design: This is one of the finest blogs on home decoration. From seasonal decoration ideas to the latest trends in home decor, you will get several key resources to learn from.

3. Cococozy: An interior designer, Coco from the famous Cococrazy blog, began her career as a blogger in 2008. Following the success of her blog, she also started a textile collection of beautiful pillows, curtains, drapes, bags, and other items.

4. Studio McGee: One of the most popular duos in the interior design industry, Syd & Shea McGee have created an empire out of their studio. Their blog, however, is one of the best in the industry to learn modern design statements and home decor that is unique in every way.

5. Hunted Interior: Possibly one of the most popular sources of DIY project inspirations, the blog from Kristen Jackson began in 2011. The goal of the blog was to inspire readers to hunt for style inspiration, especially her affordable design ideas are quite popular.

Now that you have your inspiration, it’s time to discuss the step-by-step process of how to start an interior design blog.

If you are looking to start your blog, there are several aspects that need consideration. From hosting services to finding a domain, from SEO to social media sharing, there are a ton of things to think about before starting a blog.

Starting your blog and being unique in a world with a large number of super-successful blogs can be difficult. However, the answer lies in the problem itself. You need to stand out! To do this, you need to have a unique blog that provides your readers with knowledge and inspiration that has not been shared elsewhere. 

There are several niches that you can explore for your blog. 

• Minimalism
• Nordic design
• DIY projects
• Remodeling kitchens
• Theme-based restaurant designs
• E-design

Follow your passion while choosing your niche. Your blog will be a reflection of your interior design expertise, interest, and practical experience. Choosing such a niche will not only help you explore your passion further but also improve your skills and allow you to connect with your peers whose feedback may shape your career.

Once you have the niche ready, the next big step is to name it.

Read also – 17 Best Interior Design Magazines and Blogs You Must Read

Naming your blog after your name is great for personal branding. However, there are also other types of blog names you can use to create an impact on your audience. For example, you can choose a niche and name your blog based on its niche. 

Try to answer these questions before you decide on a name for your blog.

• What is your blog niche?
• Who is your target audience?
• Which writing style will you follow, casual or professional?

Answering these questions will help you come closer to the perfect name for your blog. Feel free to use a casual name for your blog, if your audience is not strictly professional. You can also do some research on your competitors and come up with a blog name accordingly.

Another way to find a name for your interior design blog is to use a title generator tool. Here are some of the top tools that you can use. 

• Wordoid
• Nameboy
• Namify
• Panabee
• NameStation

Now that you have everything ready for your blog, it’s time to find a domain and hosting service provider.

Read also – How To Name Your Interior Design Business?

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Setting up your website can look intimidating but with the right knowledge, it is not that hard. The first thing that you will need for your blog is a domain name. You need to register and buy a domain name for your blog. Your domain name is what your audience will type in the browser to visit your website or search your blog on the internet. 

Buying a domain name can cost you anything between $9 and $14.99 per year, depending on the domain registrar or extension. However, there are several hosting service providers that offer domain names as a bundle package along with hosting. 

Now that your domain name is out of the way, let us look at a few other technical steps before your blog is up and running. If words like SSL, storage, bandwidth, email accounts, scare you, don’t stress out. 

Fortunately, many hosting service providers offer features and benefits that cover everything that you need to start a blog. So, let’s explore some of the best options for hosting.

Read also – 10 Interior Design Career Paths To Become An Interior Designer

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Hostinger

Hostinger is an excellent option when it comes to hosting services. With its cPanel native management panel and support for WordPress sites, Hostinger is an attractive option. In addition to hosting, Hostinger also provides an email account and an SSL certificate, along with WordPress acceleration with all its packages. 

Here are the packages from Hostinger:

• Single shared hosting: $1.99 per month/$23.88 per year
• Premium shared hosting: $3.49 per month/$41.88 per year
• Business shared hosting: $4.99 per month/$59.88 per year

Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the biggest hosting service providers in the market with additional features like Google Ads and a free custom domain. It has an easy-to-use interface with native panel management which comes with $150 Google Ads credits. 

Here are the packages from Bluehost:

• Basic shared hosting: $2.75 per month/$82.5 per year
• Plus shared hosting: $5.45 per month/$65.4 per year
• Choice plus shared hosting: $5.45 per month/$65.4 per year 
• Pro shared hosting: $13.95 per month/$167.4 per year 

HostGator

HostGator offers unlimited bandwidth and storage as a part of their packages. It is one of the most popular web hosting service providers powering over 10 million websites. 

Here are the packages from Hostgator:

• Hatching plan: $2.64 per month/$31.68 per year
• Baby plan: $3.78 per month/$45.6 per year
• Business plan: $5.68 per month/$68.6 per year

Read also – How To Start An Interior Design Business?

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced blogger, choosing a content management system (CMS) is never easy as there are several great options in the market. Remember that one of the most important criteria you need to look for is flexibility. 

As your interior design blog gets popular, you may want to make changes to it and add new features. This is why flexibility matters the most. Here are some of the best CMS options you can consider for your interior design blog.

• Web.com 
• Wix
• HubSpot CMS
• Gator
• WordPress
• Blogger
• Tumblr
• Medium
• Squarespace
• Weebly

Read also – 15 Best Free Interior Design Software and Tools

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Another essential part of choosing a CMS is to check the type of themes, templates, and plugins it offers. For example, if you choose WordPress, you will get several free templates and WordPress themes for your interior design blog. WordPress also provides several free and paid plugins to enhance the functionality of a blog. 

The type of theme and plugins you need for your blog will depend on the core idea and audience of your interior design blog. While themes add a visual structure to your blog, plugins will allow your users to have a more interactive experience.

Read also – 10 Essential Tools for Interior Designers

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Before you stick to a theme or template for your interior design blog, here are some key elements of blog design that you need to consider. 

• Images: High-quality images help in reader engagement and improve the visual aspect of the blog.

• Page categories: Choosing a template that can showcase different categories makes navigation smoother for the audience.

• Social sharing buttons: Providing your users with a chance to share your work with their friends and family through the social sharing button can increase reach.

• Headers and footers: Endpoints on the blog where users can interact with your personal brand.

Read also – Top 18 Interior Design Website Mistakes To Avoid

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The secret to a good blog structure is to keep it simple. Complicating the menu and populating several unused categories does not make sense. So, rather than going for a menu with several categories, stick to the ones that are in sync with the theme of your interior design blog. This will also allow you to focus on core topics and not distract your audience.

Read also – How To Become An Interior Designer?

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Blog content is the most important part of your entire project. Remember content is king and it is your content that will drive your blog’s traffic. This is why it is vital to have high-quality writing on your blog. 

As an interior designer, aim to create content that includes tips and tricks related to home decor, kitchen remodeling, decoring small spaces and even redesigning your own home. 

Do not forget to add images of your work to your posts. This will lend authenticity to whatever knowledge you are trying to share through your content.

Read also – 14 Best Content Marketing Ideas for Interior Designers

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While content is at the heart of your blog’s popularity and success, search engine optimization(SEO) ensures that your efforts are in the right direction. For example, a key SEO best practice is to have a higher page loading speed for your blog. 

This not only ensures a good user experience but also improves the chances of ranking higher in the search engine rankings. SEO helps your blog stay ahead in the search engine result pages (SERP). Here are some tips to get your SEO game on. 

• Use target keywords related to your interior design blog theme
• Use proper meta tags and an optimized meta description
• Optimize your blog URL to be SEO-friendly
• Use proper headings and subheading tags
• Create a proper link structure across different posts on the blog

Read also – 10 Best SEO Tips for Interior Designers

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Another key aspect of SEO is to have a sound social presence. Improving visibility across channels is important not just to engage with readers but also to establish your interior design brand. 

It is vital to have a highly active and engaging social media profile. If you have a hard time managing your social media posts, schedule them by using an automated online tool so your social media is integrated with your blog.

Image Credit: socialmediabutterflyblog.com

Now that you have everything ready and set up for your blog, it is necessary to differentiate your content into specific pages. You definitely need three distinct pages. 

About Us: This page is to introduce you to your audience 

Contact Us: This is so all your potential clients and readers can reach you easily for any queries or business inquiries.

Privacy Policy: This page helps in establishing the privacy terms of your blog.

Read also – How To Create A Successful Interior Design Portfolio?

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Promoting your blog is important as it allows your readers to know of your presence and how you are contributing to the interior design community. There are several ways to promote your blog like

• Sharing the blog on social media
• Adding a comment section to allow users to engage
• Promoting the blog on other blogging platforms through promotional gigs
• Allowing other writers and interior designers to use your content as a resource.

Read also – 12 Best Digital Marketing Ideas for Interior Designers

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Another way to promote your blog is to syndicate the content on other blogging platforms or blogs. You can backlink the content to your personal blog where it was originally published. This is a great way to increase traffic to your interior design blog.

Read also – 23 Best Ways To Market Yourself As An Interior Designer

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Allowing other interior designers and peers to contribute to your blog can mean more traffic. These contributors not only bring their loyal audience to your personal blog but also higher expertise that can help you learn more about interior designing.

Read also – Influencer Marketing for Interior Designers

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Referrals are an important source of traffic for your interior design blog. You can ask your loyal audience to refer your blog to their friends. Consider providing some motivation through a reward system. For example, you can plan a giveaway of certain items to top referring readers of your decor blog. 

This brings us to an essential question: ‘How to monetize your interior design blog?’

Read also – Guide To Building A Strong Interior Design Brand

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There are several ways to monetize your interior design blog. From advertising, affiliate marketing, and selling products on the blog, you can monetize it through proper planning. Let’s understand some of these options.

• Advertising is a great option to monetize your blog but you need to take care that these ads are relevant to the theme of your blog.

• Affiliate marketing allows you to earn commissions each time a reader buys from the link embedded in your content.

• Email list allows you to directly inform your loyal readers of any new content or affiliate links on your blog.

• Interior design services can be promoted through the blog and attract new customers to indirectly monetize it.  

While all of these may seem intimidating at first, worry not! You just need the right guidance to create a unique blog and monetize it. This is where a community can help through peers and experts that share knowledge to guide your way to success. 

Foyr is one such online interior design community where you can not only learn the trades of the interior design industry but also enhance your design style through inspiration from peers. In the Foyr Community, you can search for other talented people to add to your amazing team, and look for opportunities to further your career or work in the community. 

All you need is a profile set up in the community and you are ready to begin leveraging the perks of being a member! For example, you can create mini-websites using the portfolio feature, follow other designers, ask queries, and share interior design ideas. Sign up for Fory Neo and Try a 14-day free trial!

What should my interior design blog post?

You can post about many different topics on your interior design blog. It could be anything from home decor to remodeling the kitchen, living room, or bedroom. Choosing the topic for your first blog post may not be easy, so choose to write on a subject in which you have passion or interest.

How do home decor bloggers make money?

Home decor bloggers make money in many ways such as by directly selling products on their blog, affiliate marketing, advertising, and more. The level of revenue always depends on the popularity of the blog and the skills of the blogger.

How do you introduce yourself as an interior designer?

A blog is a perfect way to introduce yourself as an interior designer. Remember to write about your work experience. Adding information about your interior design projects on the blogs will lend authenticity to your blog.

Can interior designers get rich?

Yes! Interior designers can make a lot of money and become rich. There are several avenues of monetary returns like advertising, project designing, affiliate marketing, and more. For any interior designer, the sky’s the limit.