How should I show past projects on my website?

Your phone is full of finished jobs. A kitchen you're proud of, a clinic fit-out handed over on time, a consulting project the client still mentions. On the website, they sit in a grid called "Our work": twelve photos, no words, no names.

That grid can't answer the question a buyer came with: have you done a job like mine, and how did it go? Here's how to pick which projects to show, what to write for each, and what to do about permission and confidential work.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and vary by country. Check with a qualified professional before acting on it.

Which projects should you show?

Show the work you want more of, not everything you've done.

Pick three to six projects for each main service, chosen because they look like the jobs you want next. A short set with clear write-ups tells a buyer more than a long gallery they have to sort through.

That's a starting point, not a research finding. A hypothetical kitchen fitter who wants more full renovations should lead with full renovations, even if most past jobs were worktop swaps. People ask for what they see, which is one way websites attract the wrong enquiries.

Within each service, aim for a spread:

• A typical job, so buyers see what normal looks like.
• A bigger one, so they see the top of your range.
• One with a hard limit, such as a tight deadline, so they see how you handle problems.

Leave out dated work, jobs you'd turn down today and anything you aren't allowed to show.

What should each project page say?

Every project gets the same four parts, in the same order.

A good project write-up covers the client's situation, what you did, what changed and the pictures that show it. Keep each part short, so a buyer can read the page in a couple of minutes.

Here's each part, using a hypothetical kitchen renovation.

Part	What to write	Hypothetical example
The situation	Who the client was and what they needed, in their words	A family of five with an old kitchen and nowhere to eat together
What you did	The work, the main decisions and anything tricky	Took out a wall, moved the sink, fitted an island with seating
What changed	The result the client would describe	Everyone eats at one table; finished in the six weeks agreed
The pictures	Before, during and after, from the same angles	The same corner before the old units came out and on handover day

Add the area, how long it took and, if you're comfortable, a rough price range, so buyers can check the job is in their league.

Write the result the way the client would say it. "The clinic opened on the planned date" is believable. "Transformed their business" isn't. In the US, the FTC's rules on endorsements say that when a featured customer's result isn't typical, the ad should make clear what people can usually expect.

Take the before photos on day one, from spots you can stand in again at the end. Our guide to choosing website images covers crops and file sizes.

How do you get the client's permission?

Ask in writing, early and specifically.

The easiest moment is the start: a line in your quote or contract saying you'd like to photograph and describe the finished work, and that the client will see it before it goes live.

Say what you'll show and what you'll leave out. Clients worry about things you might miss: a house number, a family photo on the fridge. One homeowner on a Houzz forum disliked being in a builder's portfolio because it felt "tantamount to my recommendation". If someone says no, accept it and ask whether close-up detail shots or an unnamed write-up would be fine.

Clinics need extra care. In the US, a practice covered by HIPAA (the federal health privacy law) needs a patient's written authorization before using their health information for marketing, under 45 CFR 164.508, and consent to treatment doesn't count. Other countries have their own rules, so check with your adviser first.

A request you can adapt:

Hi [name], we're really pleased with how your [project] turned out and we'd like to show it on our website: a few photos and a short description of the work. We won't include your name, address or anything that identifies you unless you say that's fine. I'll send you the page to check before it goes live, and you can ask us to take it down at any time. Would that be OK?

Listing what's in and out lets the client say yes to part of it. Keep the reply on file.

What if the work is confidential?

You can still describe the job. You just can't identify the client.

A hypothetical accountancy firm could write: "A family-owned manufacturer with 40 staff, changing accounting software mid-year. We moved twelve months of records, ran both systems side by side for a quarter and closed the year on schedule." No name, and a buyer in the same spot still recognises themselves. Check that the details together don't point to one company.

Other options:

• Use words instead of pictures. The four parts work without photos.
• Show it privately. With the client's written approval, walk a serious prospect through the real work on a call.

Blurring a logo is rarely enough. If you make up a sample project instead, label it clearly, as our guide to building trust without testimonials explains.

Where should projects sit on your website?

Put each project where someone shopping for that service will see it.

A "Projects" page works as the full collection, grouped by type of work. The bigger win is showing the two or three most relevant projects on each service page, right below the description. Someone reading about bathroom renovations shouldn't have to hunt for a bathroom.

If each service has its own page, each gets its own handful. On the homepage, one strong project with a link to the rest usually beats a slideshow. Your About page can point to two or three as well, and a client's Google review quoted on the matching project backs up the write-up.

If your best work is still sitting in your camera roll instead of on your website, we can help get it there. For a new website or a rebuild, we plan where projects sit before designing a single page, and can set it up so you add the next one yourself. On an existing custom-coded site, we'll quote once we've seen what's there; smaller jobs run as a project from $1,150 or through our monthly partnership. A Framer site is workable too, though we'd suggest moving it to custom code. Webflow and other builders mean a rebuild conversation. Start with a free intro call, no commitment needed, or reach us at hi@aruno.studio, WhatsApp or Telegram @mihaipostelnicu.

What should you ask your developer for?

If your website editor has no projects section, send whoever built the site this:

Hi, we'd like to add project write-ups to our website. Could you:

1. Create a project page with fixed sections: the situation, what we did, what changed and photos, plus optional area, timeframe and price range.
2. Let us tag each project with one or more of our services.
3. Show the tagged projects at the bottom of each service page, and group the main Projects page by service.
4. Let us add, edit and hide projects ourselves in the editor without breaking the layout.
5. Resize photos automatically so the pages stay quick on phones.

Please send a quote and timeline, and show us how to add one project before you finish.

That first project tells you whether you can really edit the site without breaking it. Point 5 matters because large photos can make pages slow on phones.

How do you keep the projects page current?

Collect the material while the job is still running.

Build it into every job:

• Take before photos on day one and save a two-line note of what the client asked for.
• Ask for permission in the quote or at the start.
• At handover, take the after photos and ask the client: what's different now?
• Write the four parts within a week, while the details are fresh.

Then show the page to someone who matches your buyer and ask: "Has this company done a job like yours? How can you tell?" If they point to a specific project, it's working. If they say the photos look nice, the words are missing.

Frequently asked questions

What if I only have one or two finished projects? Show them, written up properly. Two detailed projects tell a buyer more than ten photos with no context.

Do I need professional photos of every project? No. Clear, well-lit phone photos work for most write-ups. A photographer is worth it for the few projects you'll feature most, especially when the finish is what you sell.

Is Instagram or Houzz enough instead of a projects page? They help people find you, but you don't control how they show your work. Post there and link back to the full write-up on your site.

How long does it take to write up one project? With the photos and a note of the brief in hand, plan an afternoon at most. Allow extra days if the client wants to check it first.

The photos on your phone are already proof. Pick three jobs that look like the work you want next, write the four parts for each, and that grid starts answering the question buyers came with.