RIC Celebrates 10 Years with New Website

When RIC design build was launched in 2008, we did it with a DIY website. It wasn’t great, but it served its purpose until 2014, when we were ready for a true custom build. Local Richmond branding and design firm, Campfire & Co., created a beautiful, clean website and The Content Chop Shop helped us put together compelling and informative content for our first professional web presence. The initial idea was to use the website purely to showcase pictures of our finished work. But as all projects go, there was some tweaking along the way. After talking with Campfire & Co. about ways to reach out to clients and communicate about our projects, we decided that a blog on the new website would be the best way to do that. The Content Chop Shop came on board in 2014 to help us create and publish consistent content on our website. Four years and over 50 blog posts later, we’re still working together to create content that we use every day.

Our blogs have been used for a variety of purposes - to update our followers on ongoing projects, to educate homeowners and clients about materials we use, to highlight new tools and technology we’ve incorporated, and to spotlight our amazing team members and their skill sets. We constantly hear from people who read and enjoy our blog articles, which is an awesome outcome we didn’t expect! Because we have a very specific way that we approach projects, our blogs give us a way to share all of that information online. New and prospective clients can learn a great deal about us before even sitting down to meet just by reading through our blog posts and website content. This gives our clients a lot of confidence in our work, and builds the trust needed when renovating someone’s home.

Our first custom website was a major upgrade and  worked great for us for four years - that’s a long time in the web world. — **Our first custom website was a major upgrade and worked great for us for four years - that’s a long time in the web world.**

Another major shift in perspective has been with our imagery that we share on our Facebook page, Instagram feed and in our blogs. Originally we viewed our online content as something that should be 100% complete and polished images of our work. But we realized so much of our work is in the dirty details that happen before the professional photos are taken. It also turned out that people love to see “behind the scenes” snapshots of what goes into a design build project. Even when it’s dusty floors being sanded and refinished, ugly old bathrooms in the midst of demolition or the technical details of installing sustainable materials - these things really show our entire process and what we value in our work.

**Our blog allows us to show every step of our process to current and potential clients as well as our fans and followers.**

This year, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and give ourselves a little refresh, we brought back Campfire & Co. and The Content Chop Shop to do a full renovation of our website. It’s amazing what can change in four years on the web, and cleaner interfaces and options are now available that we didn’t have in 2014. We really love this new website and we think it communicates our design aesthetic perfectly.

**Our new 2018 website represents our design aesthetic perfectly**

Having a professional website, consistent content and a strategic social media presence has not only helped us build our brand and grow our company, but it has also helped us be fully transparent with our methods, which in turn attracts great clients and employees who want to be a part of the company.

Here’s to 10 more years!