How To Make More Money Designing Websites (7 Ways)

(note: some of the links in this article are affiliate links. I may make a commission for recommending them at no cost to you).

Yes, you can make money building websites – but this article is about making MORE money!

So you’ve got a web design business and you’ve figured out how to make money building websites, maybe as a side hustle or your full-time business, but the question on your mind is how you can make MORE money designing websites. It’s an important question because by scaling you can start to outsource or hire for the things that aren’t in your sweet spot, and start really focussing on working on your business instead of in your business.

Often we default to thinking if we can bring in more clients then we’ll make more money, and while that’s often true, there may be ways to be more profitable with the clients you currently have.

Remember: Your client’s end goal isn’t building a website

Your client’s end goal is to make money online. Building a website isn’t their end goal, just a tool to get them to profitability. You’ll help them see how building a website is a path to that end goal.

You’ll increase your confidence and value in building websites when you see yourself as providing products and services that help your client make more money, not simply seeing yourself as just a web designer who is designing websites for local businesses or someone’s side hustle.

It’s worth repeating: They don’t call you because they want to create a website. Business owners call you because they want to find clients online.

This is not going to be a step-by-step how-to in building your side hustle, but more of a brainstorm of ideas that you can use to increase your bottom line and make money building websites. Not every idea will be a match for your business, but take the ideas and find the ones that will matter to your clients.

1) Understand The Benefits of Quantity vs. Quality (aka Templates vs Custom)

Let me start by saying as a generalized idea, neither is better, but it is important to understand that both are different when you’re building websites for clients. Most web designers will learn that one is better than the other for their particular goals, and understanding the differences can fast-track you to deciding which best suits your model and helps you make more money.

When I first started to make money building websites, I knew I wanted to pursue a service model so I could be building monthly recurring income, but I was building my client’s websites upfront (custom) for $0 to get them into the service model.

It would take 10-12 months into their small business service package before I was making money. Business owners loved the model, but it was because I was giving away my shirt. I still laugh when I think how inefficient it was to try and do custom work for simply a service model.

Learn from me: If you want to make money building websites, it’s best to choose one or the other.

Scaling Your Web Design Business on Quantity (Leveraging Website Templates)

Quantity is a great way to scale your business when you’ve built a highly repeatable model. If you build websites for ice cream shops, and each time you bring on a new client, you’re populating your ice cream shop template, you can look at scaling based on quantity; How quickly can we bring in more ice cream shops?

This is a popular model for selling websites as a service (instead of an upfront lump sum) because you’re simply populating your existing templates and getting the client’s website live or a monthly service fee. (This is the model of the “Build Your Agency” course if you want to learn step by step how to create this model.)

The Quantity approach helps your scale your business quickly because you’re building monthly recurring revenue, and once your hit a particular income level, you can easily outsource populating the templates because your entire system is built on a repeatable model.

It is contingent on you focussing on a specific industry and building websites for that industry – it’s the only way templates become efficient as a web designer.

It’s also a very appealing model for a small business, or business owners who are just starting out because instead of hiring someone at a graphic design hourly rate, you’ll get their website up for $0, and a reasonable monthly fee.

How to choose an industry to make money building websites through templates:

• Mostly individual owned (not franchises with a head office – perfect for a small business)
• Similar needs between different businesses (in the ice cream example, list of flavors, specials, and directions would work for most businesses)
• Simple business model (ice cream has a fairly straightforward offering. A movie production company, or app startup, or sculptor are not going to be standard from one business to another).

You’re also creating income stability because you can project your monthly income based on your current client base. If you don’t bring in any new clients next month, you’ll still have the monthly recurring revenue coming in. If a client walks away, they’re just a small piece of your monthly income.

 

Building with quantity gives stability because you don’t have a large portion of your income depending on any one client.

When Focusing On Quantity Works Best:

You have a repeatable model. You can be are cost-efficient with that model (for instance, $0 upfront and a monthly service fee for a website: perfect for a side hustle or local businesses starting out). Bring in as many clients as we can to execute that model.

Scaling Your Web Design Business On Quality (Custom Design)

Not to suggest that your quantity website templates aren’t of high quality, but in this case, we’re talking about custom design work, which understandably comes with a higher dollar value than populating a template.

With custom work, you need to charge an upfront fee to build out a custom website. That’s not to say that you can’t use a starting point like a WordPress and a theme builder like Divi, but you’re not simply copying and pasting text and pictures, you’re actually getting and creating custom content for these based on their business model, audience, needs, opt-in offers.

Custom sites may also need a specific type of functionality – a quoting program, API to a listing website, booking appointments online, etc.

While I’m a big proponent of not reinventing the wheel (there’s probably already software out there that will do these things) there is likely a cost to using those products, so you’ll want to look into those costs before providing a quote.

With custom web design projects, you’re often able to make a substantial profit from a single project to hold you over until the next project. When you figure out how to bring in new clients regularly, then custom projects can allow you to scale by building your team.

When Focusing On Custom Quality Works Best:

You serve an industry where every client has custom needs, or you simply want to serve just a few high-ticket clients.

2) Service Your Web Design Clients Monthly

Even if you decide not to sell websites as a service, and you do high-ticket custom web design work up front, your clients still have ongoing costs to service their site:

• Yearly domain registration
• Hosting
• Updates or changes to their content
• Renewing licenses on any custom WordPress plugins
• Email Addresses

Most businesses wouldn’t think twice about a $100-$200/month service fee for your agency to look after all of these details and wrap them into a single service package, and depending on a business’s needs, you could be substantially higher than this. If you’re not servicing your clients monthly, you’re handing money to someone else.

Increase your profit 30% with a service package:

You can easily increase your profit per client in the first year by 30% by offering them a monthly service package. For instance, if you’re selling a custom design at $10,000, then a $300/month service package brings an additional $3600 into your business in the first year, and the lifetime value of the client skyrockets.

Even if you’re in the $3K-$5K custom price range right now, $150/month client service package is an extra $1800 from the client in the first year.

Keys to selling a website maintenance package:

1. Include it in your initial quote. Don’t spring it on your client once their website goes live. Set the expectation from the beginning that you’ll be servicing their website each month before you start designing.
2. Position the service package fee in terms that relate to your client’s business. How many of your client’s products equate to your monthly service fee? (For the same as booking one night, we’ll service your website each month. For less than a round of 4 players, we’ll service your website each month. For less than the profit from one new client, we’ll look after your website each month).
3. Phrase your pricing. For some clients, $299/month sounds like more than $10/day. Phrase your pricing to resonate with your client’s perspective.
4. Set all of your invoices to the first of the month. You want your recurring income to all show up at the same time, not a few dollars here and there throughout the month. This makes it easiest to track if someone misses a payment, and helps with budgeting your web design business.
5. Use Recurring Invoice Software. DO NOT try to manually process your recurring invoices each month, or send out an invoice. Get a credit card on file. There are plenty of accounting software options that will do this for you like Freshbooks.

3) Increase Your Prices When Quoting New Websites For Clients

I know this sounds incredibly obvious, but the hardest amount of money to get someone to spend is $1. Once they’ve decided they’ve decided that your services are worth spending money on, then it’s just a matter of balancing the value you bring with the return they expect to see.

Increasing Website Prices Gets Easier Over Time

As your business has a stable number of clients on a monthly service plan and you’re hustling for growth rather than hustling simply to get enough to pay the bills, then it becomes easier for you to walk away from business owners when their budget doesn’t match your value.

In the meantime, start adding 10% or 15% to the last price you were about to quote, or increase your package price on your website by 30%.

Fight The Fear: Think of a 30% increase this way:

If 1/3rd of your potential clients walk away because your pricing is too high in their perception, you gross the same money with 1/3 less work.

4) Use A “Request A Quote” Page On Your Website including Budget Field

Too many designers have a “contact” form on their website that asks for name, email, phone, and message. This is a surefire way to leave money on the table since you’re going into a conversation with a potential client with no context for their business.

If you’re lucky, business owners might leave something in the message field like “I’m starting a paving business and need a website. Afternoons are the best time to call me.”

Instead, have a “request a quote form” that asks 10-12 questions (should be able to complete it in 3-4 minutes) to give you some context for the client’s business. Here’s a general guideline:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email
• Name of your business?
• Do you currently have a website? If yes, what’s the address:
• Where are you located?
• What’s the best time to call? (morning, afternoon, evening)
• How do you currently drive traffic to your website / gain new clients?
• What is your design budget? (usually a dropdown with some options/context and a price range)
• What is your budget for servicing your website each month and bringing in new traffic?

In my first year in business, too often the client would respond to a quote with something like “Wow, that’s really reasonable quote!” (aka – wow, you’re cheap). I even lost a few potential clients and they told me they went with another designer who was priced much higher because they didn’t trust that I could actually do their project for the small amount I quoted. (paraphrasing). By lacking confidence it showed through in my pricing.

I would be leaving money on the table because they had a $5K budget, and I was trying to make the sale for $2200 to pay the bills. Once I added the request a white form to my website, I now had a much better idea for the context for their project, budget, and scope and could let them know if their needs matched their budget, rather than guessing at both.

I’m not advocating topping out a client’s web design budget just for the sake of profit

If they have a simple project, quote them accordingly, and add on some bonus value.

For instance, if they have a $10K budget, but you would have quoted them $3k, then let them know their website is $3k, but with the balance of their budget, you could work with someone to create them a custom video for their site, create some social media graphics and images for them to use, build a landing page for each of the subsections of their audience, or help them create blog content for the next 12 months.

This is especially true if you’ve just quoted other potential clients a similar project for $3K. You can’t then turn around a charge another local business $10K without any justification on the difference – you’re just going to upset someone.

5) Don’t Quote Website Prices Over The Phone for Custom Work

If you have a templated quantity-style model then your prices are probably already on your website. Go ahead and send that link to the client when they ask about pricing, but for custom work (or they want your template, but have a specific customization need that’s not included in your typical package) don’t give them a quote over the phone.

Most people on the follow-up call will ask “How much is this project?” or “What is your hourly rate?”

I always have their “Request A Quote” submission in front of me when I call for a follow-up, so I can look down and see what they put in their budget field. I’ll often say “I see that the budget you had in mind was “$5K – $10K” so I’ll look into the specifics of your customization details and see what software is out there to help us get those results for you, and I’ll send you an email tomorrow with full details. I see your email address on the form is ______. Is that the best address to send your quote?”

What if you think their project is an $8K project, then after you get off the phone, you find out the software they need to do a specific integration is $2499.99? That’s going to hurt. Instead, add that as a line in your quote so they understand where the costs are coming from.

Other things to avoid on your phone call:

Don’t talk about WordPress, themes, plugins, or related software; these things don’t matter to your clients (plus, if they google WordPress they’re going to see the word “free”). What matters to them is making money, so talk with them about how you’ll get results, not the tools you’ll use to get there.

Quick Tip for Quoting Web Design Projects:

Don’t send them a quote, then wait for approval, then send a contract. Send their quote as their web design contract with a note that says, “Here’s your quote. When you’re ready to move forward, just sign and scan it back to me and we’ll get started.”

6) Execute Every Time

The best way to grow your income is to service your clients well.

Their word of mouth is the best way for new clients to arrive at your request a quote form already deciding they want to work with you.

If their friend says you’re the best, you always reply to emails the same day, and you hit your timelines, then you’re miles ahead of the competition, and worth paying a premium for.

How to get more client referrals than 90% of Web Designers: Communication.

• Hit your timelines and commitments every time.
• Have a system of steps that the client can follow along to build confidence in your process.
• Make suggestions to your clients that may increase their return (It’s been a while since we updated photos, would you send 1 or 2 new ones over? Any new menu items to add to your website? Have you considered putting a button at the top each month for your monthly special?)
• Answer emails.
• Answer your phone.
• Send out Christmas or Holiday cards.
• Email your clients just to see if they need any updates to their site.
• Let them know when you’re upgrading your services / hosting speed / etc at no cost to them.
• Like their posts on social media.

Want to be known as the expert web designer among your clients and leverage their network for referrals? Be present for them and they’ll refer you in a heartbeat.

7) Offer Additional Digital Marketing Services

What other digital marketing services can you price in a way that adds value to your clients and also has margin to be profitable for you?

Can you come up with something that you can create once and make available to multiple clients with some light customization?

Additional Digital Marketing Products and Services:

• Email Marketing: A weekly or monthly email newsletter for their client list.
• Social media content management: create and schedule their social media posts for them.
• Custom video made for their website.
• Host a live stream interview once a month with someone from their office to answer client questions.
• Create Blog content for their website.
• Opt-In content to grow their email list.
• Facebook Ads.
• Design a landing page for each of their subsections of the clients they serve.

When you’re thinking about services you could offer, make sure that you’re charging enough to make a profit per hour that you’re putting in, or about to outsource the work for less than it costs you to get paid for the job.

Bonus: Using Social Media To Bring In New Clients with a social media strategy.

While I’m a BIG proponent of leveraging the power of social media, make sure these other ideas are working for you first to maximize the profitability of your future cleints.

 

Final Thoughts On Making More Money Building Websites:

You can almost always increase your prices and make more money. It’s more often about your self-confidence than your client’s budget, but I’m hoping these tools along the way will help you gain the confidence to add that extra margin, and build a recurring income.

Whether you’re a full-time web designer, this is a side hustle, or you’re exploring new ways to make money online through additional products and services for your clients, you’ve got this.

 

Have a question or an idea I missed? Leave it below so we can all learn together!

 

 

 

Isn’t it the worst to feel you might be missing something, especially when you’re launching a client’s website and helping them represent themselves online?

• What if you missed a step in SEO and they won’t show up in search?
• What if you forget to back up their site and something goes down?
• What if you don’t put in their email address on the contact form and they miss a quote?
• What if your intern or new team member doesn’t know that you ALWAYS turn something off in development that needs to be turned back on when it goes live?

DOZENS of other things that can go wrong when you launch a new website without a checklist

My brain isn’t into remembering that many details at once. (I need a list if my wife wants more than 3 things at the grocery store)

That’s why we use a 31-Point checklist when we’re launching a client’s website – a list that we’ve used for more than 100 site launches. Up until then, our process was a bit sketchy, (including the time I tanked a website for a dairy farmer because I forgot to turn off “Discourage Search Engines From indexing” and they disappeared from Google. I was in a pile of manure.)

You’ve put so much time into design, revisions, tweaking, mobile formatting, and HTML table or two, that you don’t want to let your launch go to chance. Launch with confidence by having a checklist that works for your business.

Website Launch Checklists are essential, even if you’re an army of one

If you’re looking to scale your WordPress web design business, at some point you’ll need to grow your team. Maybe that will be an intern, an outsourced designer, an on-staff designer, an administrative assistant, a tech-support person, or a VA.

Checklists for every process in your business create a standardized way to be sure something gets done. Unless there’s malice (or you’ve hired outside of the realm of expertise) a checklist will either make sure everything gets done, OR allow someone to say “I see this on the checklist, but I’m not sure what that means. Would you clarify?”

Get Your 31-Point Launch Checklist And Save Yourself Some Headaches!

Whether you’re talking about making sure that default WordPress plugins are updated, your media library is cleaned out of unnecessary stock photos, your images have alt tags, and the old website links have been redirected to relevant pages on the new WordPress website (so visitors and search engines don’t get discouraging 404 errors), this checklist will help you launch your next site with confidence.

Never feel like you’re missing anything again!

 

PS. As a bonus, I’m also including my 10-Point Jumpstart Checklist (copy and paste) for clients who want to fast-track traffic to their new website: Just email them the checklist that includes the WHAT and WHY for each point and they’ll feel like they’re contributing to their site’s success.

AND If your agency uses Trello for Project Management, I’ve already created the full checklist as a “To-Do” template and included it in the bundle (upload the JSON file to your Trello Board)

AND, I’ve included a link to a free downloadable PSD portfolio mockup file so you can provide a mockup to your clients to use in promotion (checklist item #29), and add the same mockup to your agency’s portfolio (Checklist item #30)

Get That Checklist

…aka marketing your web design business.

Most web designers starting have no idea how to get new web design clients.

(as surprising as it sounds when you look around and see people marketing successful web design businesses.)

Launching your web design agency often goes without having to find new clients (at least for me, it did)

1. Build your first WordPress website for free for a community organization, church, school, or small business.
2. A few people see that website and ask about your design service and if you’ll build one for their small businesses. You have your first client.
3. That first person refers you to someone, or you post on your social networks that you built a website, and now you have 2 websites in your portfolio and maybe a few leads for your services.
4. The next thing you know, client 3 and client 4 are showing up, and you’re a web designer through referrals.

It was a bit of a thrill at first and a bit of a mystery at that moment. I had money coming into my business, and my skills, services, and portfolio were growing, but I started getting worried. Since I didn’t know where clients were coming from (other than hard work and great referrals) and how I would find web design clients if that stream dried up.

I didn’t know about building landing pages for specific target markets, or content marketing, or how to help people in my professional network realize that if they need a website, I was the guy to call for design services.

What happens when you have a hard time finding web design clients?

This was a challenge for me personally, and I would love to say that I’ve completely conquered the challenge of finding new clients – that I have so many clients coming in that I increase my prices exponentially and still have a lineup.

It’s not quite that way, but it’s also no longer something that scares me. I do have a bit of a unique challenge since we travel full-time. I don’t often attend networking events in the city where I started my business as I did at first. I also don’t have the opportunity to cold-call face-to-face like I did a few times when starting since we’re often in a country as a visitor where I’m not allowed to solicit work.

I’ve learned a few things along the way since starting my web design agency in 2011 and started RVing full-time in 2018 that allows me to build a consistent free-flow (or reservoir) of new clients.

 

We’ll start with some quick ways that may generate clients this month, and then we’ll talk about sustainable ways to build a system of bringing in new clients.

How to Get Web Design Clients Fast

While quick ways can work, they also come with a fair amount of uncertainty and inconsistency. You might try a few of these ways and pick up a client or two in the next few days, or you may not see anything for the whole month.

While these quick ways can work for almost any web designer, don’t settle for consistently hitting panic mode of “Where is my next web design client coming from?”

Grow as a freelance web designer towards a sustainable system that brings in new potential clients so you can focus on growing and scaling your business rather than just spending your days searching for new clients.

Here’s the TL;DR for people wired like me:

• Ask your existing clients for referrals – give them an incentive
• Aquire a competitor that’s in your industry but no longer building new sites
• Freelance web design job boards
• Post a free ad on Facebook Marketplace, Craiglist (or Kijiji in Canada) offering web design services
• Attend networking events
• Sponsor a Facebook group for a month and get on a live video call
• Post a recent portfolio item on your social networks
• Pick up the phone and cold call

Ask For Referrals From Your Existing Clients

Incentives work. Even something as simple as “one free month of website service” when a client refers someone else to you, or a “$25 Gift Card” to a favorite coffee shop goes a long way to encourage your current clients to think of someone who may be a fit for your web design services.

If you’re focused on a specific industry as a web designer, your current clients probably know others in that industry – people they’ve met at a business event or online chats or from working with common suppliers. Your current clients are always your best referral source.

Include a “Designed By” link in the footer of every website you build

On a related note, put “Design by…” with a link to your website in the footer of EVERY website you build. Don’t shy away from including it. It’s pretty standard in the industry, and if someone likes a website in their same industry, they’ll often scroll to the bottom and click the “Designed By” link. That person is still getting to you through your work, and they liked it enough to find out who designed it.

Leave that link out, and you’re missing out on that referral.

In the time I’ve been designing websites (since 2011), I’ve had 1 client ask me to remove that link. I’m happy to do that if the client requests it. Otherwise, put it in by default, and most clients won’t mind or notice.

As you grow to become the industry experts, many clients will find that little “Designed by” link to be a badge of honor, like a logo on a hat or an expensive purse, as they’re happy to let others know that they’re dealing with your expertise.

Check Out The Web Designer Competitors In Your Industry

This may seem like an odd way to find new clients. (…and in case you’re getting suspicious, I don’t mean go to their portfolio and treat that as a potential client list.)

Many web designers have run into the same challenge that you’re facing: How do I find new web design clients without begging for referrals?

While you’re finding ways to overcome that challenge, others often give up and look for other sources of income, leaving their clients with unreturned emails or simply not calling people back when a quote request comes in.

Sometimes see signs that this designer is not taking business, from a website that’s many years old to something as obvious as a banner on the home page saying, “We’re not taking new clients at this time.” This is the perfect opportunity to ask them if they’re interested in getting out of the business altogether and if there is an option to buy their client list, email list, and social media channels.

Often, this comes with an eager ‘YES!’ since someone who has taken a full-time job might be more annoyed by clients asking for updates to their site than the value of the monthly service that comes from that client. This acquisition is great for you (with instant growth in business) and great for the clients.

The previous web designer may also be willing to give up their domain if it’s ranking higher in industry searches than yours, and maybe they have a backlog of quote requests that you could follow up on.

The transition is often simple: Have the current designer send out an email to their current client list letting them know that the business has been sold, but their services will continue as usual under the new brand, then introduce yourself as their new web designer, and outline what other services you offer.

Not only is this a great opportunity to increase your monthly revenue by bringing on new clients, but it’s also an opportunity to upsell by saying, “Here’s something I offer that different from the last person, and you might benefit from these services.”

Check Job Boards or Freelance Marketplaces For Potential Clients

Not a sustainable way to build your brand, but in a pinch, you can often find hourly projects to get you by or meet your budget for the month on these sites. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these sites for a few reasons:

• No matter who you are, you’re competing with someone willing to work for less.
• You often spend a pile of time investing in pitching or bidding for projects that don’t come through.
• The biggest factor is often not experience or expertise but the quoted price.
• The Trust level is low. People often want to see many pieces of work that are perfectly in line with what they’re trying to accomplish. Since anyone can create a profile and say whatever they’d like about their skills, you have to find a way to prove yourself, which is often time-consuming.

The Benefits for Web Designers of Job Board or Freelance Marketplaces:

• If you use sites like this often, you can build up a reputation and a rating that allows you to get jobs quicker.
• If you learn the system well, you can create swipe copy (copy and paste) job proposals that speed up your time invested into the proposal.
• Job boards are open 24/7, and people worldwide are looking for help, so if web design is an evening or weekend side hustle, you can make the proposal process fit in your schedule.
• People looking for help will often make quick decisions, and you can often get paid the same day if selected.
• Work is often simple and well-defined. You’re not typically getting into a 3-month project, but more often, something that can take an afternoon or a few days.

A few that I’ve heard people finding success with sites like Upwork ( Upwork.com) or Fiverr.com – Again, not making any specific recommendation that this approach is a good idea, but these are popular sites worth exploring to get some cash in your pocket this month.

Post a “For Sale” ad on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or Kijiji

You’re probably not going to find customers who will pay a premium for your expertise, but if you’re looking to build your portfolio, or bring in a new monthly service client, then this could work.

Offer clear deliverables, timeframe, and (yes, I know…) a set cost.

Something like “Looking to add local businesses to my website portfolio this month. FREE 5 Page website: Home, Products, Services, About Us, Contact Us. $0 upfront. $XXX.XX/month for maintenance. 3-week from start to finish. Click here to order.”

Build a landing page on your website specifically for that offer, and use the link in the ad, so the person clicking can get the exact details of what you’re offering and make a decision as quickly as possible.

Find Networking Events

Often event organizers provide an opportunity for new members to introduce themselves and their businesses. Same as the “For Sale” idea above, introduce yourself and let people know you’re wanting to grow your experience and skills, so you’re offering Free 5-page websites for $0, with a monthly service fee to keep the website maintained and updated.

Listen as everyone else introduces themselves, then go to different business owners in the room that could use your services. Start a conversation with them, and be social. Learn about their business, ask them how they got started, find out who their customers are and what they like most about the projects they get to work on. Don’t try and sell; open the door to a conversation and let them take it from there.

If you’re unsure where to find upcoming events, contact your chamber of commerce, small business center, optimist club, or local churches with a business breakfast. Look for conventions, conferences, and almost any event where people gather around a common interest.

Turn your kid’s little league, soccer tournaments, and hockey games into opportunities by asking other parents what they do for work. Eventually, they’ll ask you what you do. You’re at those events anyway with your kids, so make the most of your time.

Sponsor a Facebook Group or YouTube Channel And Get On A Live Video Call

If you serve a specific audience, there’s probably a Facebook group or YouTube channel for that industry. Let the admins know that you freelance, and ask if you can sponsor a promoted post and do a live Q&A interview about websites in that industry. Either the group admin can interview you while taking live questions, or you can go live on your own with a mini-webinar followed by taking questions.

Through the webinar, offer a coupon code with a deadline for viewers to get started with you so that viewers will have some incentive to act now, and you’ll be able to track how your sponsorship investment did in returns.

Post A Recent Portfolio Item On Your Social Network

Your work is your best proof that you know what you’re doing, and a testimonial is even better. If you haven’t been consistent with creating regular content, then you probably won’t get much exposure with a single post about a recent example of your work, but with any luck, the client you did the work for will share the post with their audience and you might find someone there.

Since every client has unique needs, don’t post anything about pricing or timeline, so you’re not setting unrealistic expectations for someone who wants to take the next step and start a project with you.

When All Else Fails: Pick Up That Phone And Start Dialing

How committed are you to see your business grow? Too many people think that resorting to calling potential clients is an act of desperation. It’s not. Desperation is determined by how you act or what you say once you get the potential client on the phone.

Begging on a phone call is desperation. Making the phone call itself is not.

If you specialize in a specific niche, pick up an industry magazine and start checking out the websites of people who are spending money on magazine advertising. If you see an opportunity, then give them a call and start the conversation.

The best opportunities are when the client probably knows they need to redesign their website. It’s the perfect opportunity to call.

Telltale signs that a client probably knows they need to redesign their website:

• There’s a “Coming Soon” or “Under Construction” page when you visit their website.
• It’s not a mobile responsive design or difficult to read on your phone
• The “Last Updated” or “Copyright” date at the bottom of the home page is more than 5 years ago
• They have outdated information on their site (like discontinued products or services, show a brand that doesn’t exist any longer, or an old location)

You might think this is rare, but do some poking around, and you’ll find plenty of businesses who haven’t gotten around to updating their website.

Do a little homework first. Hop on Linkedin and see if you can figure out who in their office will likely be the person to talk with about a website redesign. Send an email ahead that lets them know you’ll be calling, and add in some personal info about who you are and your expertise with their niche.

Nobody likes a cold call from someone they don’t know trying to sell something. Still, if they know, you’re planning to call, and who you are ahead of time (maybe they even clicked the link in the email to check your portfolio), then you’re lightyears ahead of the other “We’d like to redesign your website” calls that they probably get every week.

Sustainable Ways To Build A System To Get Web Design Clients (aka Marketing)

While you may have to pay the bills this month with a quick new client find, a better strategy (and one that has allowed us to travel full-time) is to build marketing systems that will bring in new clients, so you can focus on designing and getting your new clients website live, rather than spending time finding clients AND getting their site live.

Here’s the TL;DR on building sustainable ways to get new web design clients with Marketing:

• Build your agency to serve a specific industry
• Create a free opt-in that will provide value to your clients and grow your email list
• Build a consistent social media strategy (Need ideas? Here are 1001 Social Media Post Ideas for Businesses)
• Design your business based on residual income from selling websites as a service

Build the brand of your web design agency to serve a specific industry – DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!

It’s way too tempting to keep scrolling and look for the ‘silver bullet’ that’s going to get you a new client this afternoon (trust me, that’s probably not coming), but if you want to start creating an engine of new customers so that you’re not regularly running into this problem, build a brand that allows you to serve a specific target market in a specific industry.

From here, being the “go-to” website designer for X niche, you can create blog posts, social media content, post on your channels that you’ve recently launched a website for a business in your industry, go to conferences and networking meetings for your niche, jump in the Facebook groups, LinkedIn conversations, or Twitter threads and offer free value to that audience, so they get to know who you are and what you do.

Please understand that I’m not talking about jumping in and saying, “Your website isn’t great, so start by redesigning your website. I can help with that!” That’s not going to get you clients, but rather a bad reputation of being pushy. If you wouldn’t do it at a networking event, don’t do it online.

Instead, if someone asks a question, find their answer from a source within your industry and post a link to a blog post or YouTube video, offer opinions that add to the conversation, and start to build friendships with people who own businesses that you’re trying to serve.

Now, when you have a lull in clients, reach out to some of the most common people you interact with on these social media platforms and see if you can make a connection to build them a new website.

Think “Web Design Niche Specialist” not “Cousin-In-Highschool Available Generalist.”

If you’ve built your brand around “I can help everyone, everywhere, all the time,” this downtime between clients might be a good break to reconsider that strategy.

Rebrand (or build from scratch) your web design portfolio that speaks directly to your client in your niche. Emphasize keywords and phrases that are common or specific to that industry and will speak to the business owners you’re trying to reach.

Make them think, “This web design agency understands my business, so they’ll be the best choice to design a site for us!”

Build An Opt-In That Will Provide Value To Your Clients

Since you’re rebranding to serve a specific industry, create an opt-in to provide value to the business decision-maker.

You could create Facebook or Instagram content that they can repurpose, an ebook with helpful ideas, a checklist that helps them with a specific process or put together some research, then provide and analyze the results in a PDF.

What is the value of an Email Opt-In?

An opt-In refers to clients giving you their email address in exchange for that freebie. From there, create a follow-up sequence that leads them through your blog content, ideas that you think could improve the industry, videos from YouTube, and eventually (once they know and like you) show them how working with your web design agency could benefit their business.

Sure, some people will unsubscribe, or emails will land in junk mail, but for people who track with you through the process, they’ll know who you are and what you do. When you hit a low spot in your business, you can send out an email offering a first-month-free coupon or a referral bonus if they refer friends to your business, or ask them, “How can I help you get more new business from your website?”

If that client is in the market for a new website, and you’ve shown that you’re the person to help with that, they’ll already know and like you (or they wouldn’t have stuck around).

Creating An Opt-In Is A Long-Term Play

While you may create an opt-in today, someone will download it, then contact you to start working together, it’s much more likely that you’ll build a list over a long time, and some of those regular readers will become clients, either by receiving your automated follow-up emails from opting into your ebook or by receiving your regular email newsletter after they’ve joined your list.

My audience is web designers or people who hope to start their own web design business. (hey, that’s you!) One of the opt-ins I created is 1001 Social Media Post Ideas For Businesses to help your freelance web design agency have a strategy to be consistent.. (You can opt-in here!)

Another benefit of an opt-in (like 1001 Social Media Post Ideas For Your Business) is that the automated followups run on auto-pilot, so whether someone opts in on the weekend, or in the spring, or 3 weeks from now, that system is in place to lead them towards doing business with you.

Use your opt-in to build your email newsletter where you’ll continue to provide value to people in your niche, not just a one-time “Want to buy now that I gave you something free?” follow-up email.

Build a Consistent Social Media Strategy

I’m under no illusion that the audience that I serve (in my case, web designers – hey, that’s you!) regularly visits my website to see what’s new. It just isn’t likely to happen. If you’re looking for something, then you’ll find me from the search engine magic at Google, but frankly, most of us aren’t spending our lives just Googling things to see what pops up.

Instead, we’re browsing social networks (Twitter feeds, Facebook groups, or Instagram stories) to see what pops up, so this is the place where I can actively get myself in front of people who know me and people who don’t yet.

A social media strategy is built around 2 major things: Content + Format. Understanding both is key.

I’ve dug in much deeper in this post: 5 ways to use Social Media to get more clients so I won’t rehash all of those ideas, but I will say that consistency is key; Consistency in your content, style, personality, frequency, and what you’re trying to communicate.

When people see you showing up on social media consistently, they’re more likely to get to know you and trust you when it’s time for you to help them redesign their website, and leave a link back to your site now and then, either for an opt-in landing page, a blog post or a link to your portfolio for business owners to checkout.

Get More Clients by Building a Residual Income Web Design Business

I know, this sounds like a bit of a stretch, and also, Adam is getting up on his “recurring income websites” soapbox, but stick with me for a moment.

Are you more likely to suggest a restaurant to a friend that you’ve eaten at once, or that you’ve eaten at many times and always had great service? Is your favorite movie one that you had only seen once a few years ago, or one that you can recite every line? How often do you turn up the radio when you hear your favorite song and air drum because you’ve heard it 1000 times? (just me?)

The thing about having your web development clients on a monthly service contract to keep their website updated is that you’ll have many interactions with that client over a long period of time, responding to emails, updating their website when they need a change, and answering questions like why traffic was up last month, but down this month.

Ask For Referrals From These Business Owners

Consistency in your business relationship with your web design clients over time will build trust and loyalty. This is exactly what is needed for your current clients to become your long-term advocates, and even more so as you build an industry-specific brand since people in your niche probably have peers that would be great referrals. You can always gently guide them towards word of mouth by asking for referrals.

 

Of course, the added benefit of recurring monthly income is that you won’t be so desperate when you have a month that doesn’t come with a single new client, but I suppose that’s a blog post for another time.

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you’re a designer seeing a need for websites in your local small business community, or you’re in an industry that has a need for a web designer, or you’re looking to start a new business from scratch and exploring options (from Multi-level Marketing to network Marketing, to Shopify or Etsy), keep one thing in mind:

What is Your Goal in Starting a Business (more specifically, a Web Design Business)?

I started Fresh Idea Websites in 2011 because I wanted to create recurring income, have no inventory, do no recruiting, and be location independent. Websites are the perfect business for that.

As a bonus, I figured out quickly that I could outsource the parts of tech or design that I couldn’t do or when I got overloaded now and then without too much effort.

While I started my business in 2011, it wasn’t until 2018 when we realized we wanted to travel all the time – not like vacation all the time, but buy an RV and travel full-time around the US and Canada (we’re Canadian, so we spend summers up there visiting friends and family).

We even spent a month in Mexico in January 2021 (not with the RV).

Fun Fact: I actually wrote up a business plan in 2011 to start my own takeout pasta buffet. Choose your noodles, choose your sauce, choose your toppings, then pay by weight. But, aside from the learning experience of writing my own business plan, I realized quickly that this didn’t really meet any of my business goals, so instead, I decided to launch Fresh Idea Websites.

It was easy for me to decide not to open a pasta restaurant based on my goals.

So what specifically are your business goals?

Why start a web design business (or at least consider it)? Sure, “make some money,” (and that’s a good idea) but more specifically?

Is it to take control of your schedule and work 3 hours a day? Is it to only need to work 3 days a week? Is it take a month off every year? Is it to buy yourself a new car every year? Maybe replace your current income doing something you’d prefer? Is it to work the same as you’re working now but double your income? Take every Friday off to volunteer? Maybe save up for that dream house? Maybe you want to give away $10,000 per month to charity?

Is your business goal a Lifestyle? Material? Travel? Philanthropic?

What is that goal for you – more than “schedule-freedom and money” – What is the tangible result of having freedom in your schedule and money?

Can starting a web design agency help you reach your business goal?

My gut is to tell you that it can, although I’m sure I’m biased, it’s been working for me. Websites can offer a recurring-income, no-inventory, no-recruiting, and location-independent business with a massive audience; every business needs one!

While RVing, we find people running all kinds of businesses from consulting to Etsy shops, online education, and network marketing (shout out to the essential oil industry). After seeing all of those options, if I were to start over, I’d stick with website design, but I would change a few things to scale faster and build recurring income quicker.

Things I would change if I were starting my web design business over:

Pick An Industry and Build Templates For Them

When my business coach reads this, she’s going to roll her eyes. She told me this from the start, but it took a while to get it through my head. I wanted to say “Yes” to everything that came my way, but a custom business wasn’t in line with my goals.

Scalability isn’t in custom web design work; it’s in becoming the expert in an industry. People are more likely to trust experts than jack-of-all-trades graphic designers who build websites.

Pick an industry, figure out what they need in their website, build 2 or 3 templates, and then sell as many of those as possible; Be the “website” expert in that industry.

The restauranteur or plumber, or welder in San Antonio doesn’t care if his or her website layout matches the business in Orlando or the client in Toronto. 99% of the time, that’s not their competition anyway.

Building templates will allow you to scale quickly by reproducing them over and over again – it’s the Ford model of producing cars, the Starbucks model of selling coffee with add-ons, or McDonald’s model of selling burgers and fries.

Since you’re selling customization to templates, your upfront costs are kept low so that you can keep your upfront costs to your clients low. In addition, this allows you to offer them an ongoing service package (sell the website as a service rather than a product), so you can build monthly recurring revenue rather than only making money upfront.

Monthly Recurring Model vs. Upfront Custom Work:

It’s nice to build recurring income per month, BUT I NEED MONEY NOW! That’s what a lot of my internal conversation sounded like when I started my business. As in most businesses, there is an onramp – like on a highway, the onramp takes you from zero to cruising speed, a business onramp is the amount of time to go from $0 income up to a sustainable level of income.

A model of building monthly recurring income with websites as a service is fewer peaks and valleys and more steady growth – so grow quickly.

Here’s an actual example from my early days in my web design business. I sold 2 projects in the same month:

Website 1) The client insisted on paying for the website upfront and not paying a monthly service fee (someone inside their organization was going to take care of the website themselves). Admittedly, I was new to the business world and happy to make a sale. Still, I underpriced myself (because I only factored in design time, not “client hand-holding” time, revisions and reversals (really), approval through their board), and sold them their website for $3200.

Website 2) The client loved the service-based website model and was happy not to have to pay upfront. They were willing to model their website after one of the templates I had built. They paid $0 upfront and $99/month for their website.

Website 1 – completely custom took me about 100 hours with the initial design, revisions, approval processes with their board, etc. I made about $32/hour as an hourly rate, and it was done when we launched their site.

Website 2 – since I was customizing an existing template, I could write their text, resize and format their images, and adjust the color scheme to match their logo in 10 hours. Then the first month, I made $100 (or roughly $10/hour in that first month).

I’ve never seen another dime from site 1. Then, a few years after we launched, they asked for a quote on redoing the website. Knowing what I experienced the first time, they didn’t like my second quote.

Website 2 has been paying for their $99/month service contract for 8 years now. Every few months, they email and ask for a change to the site – add a product picture, or update their winter hours. It’s been evolving and doesn’t look much like how we started, and they’re happy to treat their website as a service or a utility for their business.

At this point, website 2 has paid me $1200/year for 8 years, or $9600 in service fees for their website service, and in return, they’ve never had to pay for a rebuild, and they keep telling me that the website generates more profit than it costs.

Now here’s the painful part:

What if instead of taking on Website 1, I built 10 ‘Website 2’s that month. My time invested that month would have been about the same, but I would have made a big difference for my bottom line in the long run – I would still be seeing the profit from that month.

Which Web Design Business Model would you choose?

Website 1 where you’ll have to scramble to sell another website in a month, or you don’t make anything, or website 2: Build a template that works for a specific industry and scale quickly to make recurring income and long-term business stability?

This is why you choose an industry and sell web design templates

In the example above, the only way I can sell and produce 10 of those websites per month is if I’m not building each one custom – I have to customize templates to make that work, and clients understand that you’re not needlessly building from scratch and then passing on those costs to them.

In my online course, “Crack The Code; Build a web design business without writing a line of code,” I talk about how to help clients understand the value of selling web design from templates and overcoming the objection that a template is a starting point is “going to look just like everyone else’s website.”

Usually, I recommend 3 templates: “Good, Better, Best.” This gives the client some more choice and gives you a few pricing levels to serve different clients; then, each template gets customized with the client’s images, text, contact info, and color scheme to match their logo.

How to choose an industry or niche for your web design business

It’s not just enough to build templates, but you have to build templates that specifically serve an industry or niche. A template for a pizza restaurant won’t also work as a template for a shoe store, and a template for a summer camp, and a template for a hotel.

To truly become the expert in an industry, you have to know that industry inside and out; Often an industry that you grew up in, or you’ve worked in, or you have a specific interest in.

I would shy away from choosing an industry simply because you see a need. The people in that industry will see through opportunism if you don’t really get the industry or understand their needs.

Narrow your focus to a segment within a segment of your industry

That’s not a typo in the title. Figure out the industry you’re going to serve, then choose a segment of that industry, then chose a smaller segment within that segment, whether that starts as serving a small business, or going after one large company at a time.

Not just restaurants, or narrowed to pizza restaurants, but pizza restaurants that are not chains that sell an organic menu.

Not just the automotive industry, or narrowed to mechanics, but mechanics who work on European-made passenger cars.

Not just hotels, but hotels that are not chains, and are family-friendly and have an on-site restaurant.

Really focussing on who you want to serve will allow you to build templates that serve their specific needs and become the “go-to” person in the industry to get a website from.

Which Hats Are You Going to Wear in your web design business?

It wasn’t soon enough when I realized I couldn’t wear all 4 hats in my business. I would have grown a lot quicker earlier on if I’d made this realization. The 4 hats in a web design business:

1. Sales & Marketing
2. Design
3. Technical
4. Business Administration

My secret: Wear as few hats as you can, but max out at 2 hats. Eventually, you’ll want to grow to the point where you can oversee, explore new industry opportunities, and be in charge of the growth strategy for your business while everyone else is executing, but to start with, find a partner (or a white-label web design and tech support agency like ours) to outsource your other hats.

What do I need to start a web design business? Your Brand and Website

Now that you’ve figured out the industry you’ll serve and narrowed it down to a segment of a segment; you’ll be able to name your business in a way that resonates with your industry. There are 3 options:

1. Consider something that is a keyword or catchphrase in your industry. “Rubber Sole Websites” might a cheesy name, but it will point to your industry clearly. (and I’m sure you’ll think of something much better than I can off the top of my head)
2. Go with something obvious. One of our brands is “CoffeeShopWebsites.net” – it’s so obvious, and obviousness brings with it clarity.
3. Choose something that is your name/partnership. If you’re already well-known in your industry, and your name is fairly recognizable, then consider using your name or your partnership and add something like “Creative” or “Digital” or “Web Design” after it to indicate what this venture is about. For example, “LastNameDigital” or “LastNameWebsites” may be the best way for people to remember your brand and associate it with what you do.

Next, find a domain name and build (or outsource the building of) your website for your brand.

Make sure that your imagery points clearly to your industry, repeatedly mention that you’re offering websites as a service so potential clients understand that before they call, and give a clear way that people can request a quote from you.

The checklist for your marketing website is included free in my online course: Crack The Code; Learn to build a recurring income web design business without writing a single line of code.

A few key points for a successful web design for your marketing site:

• Be clear in many locations on your site and many different ways of reiterating that you’re offering an ongoing service, not a product that someone will purchase upfront as a lump sum.
• Use images that clearly define your target audience (if you target mechanics, use images that instantly say “mechanic”, if your target is food trucks, use images that say “Food Trucks”- I like to get free stock photos from unsplash.com as often as I can find what I’m looking for). Anything else can look generic and confusing. Don’t think that because you’re a web design business that you should use all photos of people on their laptops.
• Drive home your business name with something that matches your industry – something memorable!
• Have a “Request A Quote” form on your website where businesses can request a quote for your services.
• Highlight why YOU are an expert in the industry that you serve, the skills you have, and the value of working with you rather than other web designers.
• As soon as you have portfolio projects and personal testimonials from business owners, highlight them on the home page.

How Do Web Designers Get New Clients? Most Don’t.

This may seem odd, but often the first clients are the ones that fall into your lap easiest. In many cases, running a web design business wasn’t even in the plans when the first client says “I saw you built a personal blog, or put together a website for your family business. Can you do that for me?” Next thing you know, someone who knows a thing or two (and often doesn’t even have business cards yet) is starting a web design business, even if that small business is a side hustle.

It’s sad but true. Most web designers find a few people they could connect with to be clients- maybe a friend who owns a business, or someone they met at a networking event – and end up closing up shop in less than a year because they’ve spent their time designing for the paycheck, then once they get paid, they have to start finding new clients, which isn’t profitable until you get that next deposit. They haven’t made a regular habit of cultivating new client relationships while building out the last client’s project.

While it’s rarely my goal to go a month without bringing on additional clients, even if I take it easy for a month, our business still has a stable income because of our monthly service-based model.

In the Crack The Code Course, my model points to be industry-specific which not only helps with the design and technical side of offering templates but also allows you to clearly define your target audience and how to get in front of decision-makers in your industry so you can keep the clients coming in as you’re getting existing client websites live.

Free and Paid ways to get New Web Design Clients:

Free Options:

• Join Facebook groups for your industry to meet potential clients online
• Volunteer to be a guest on industry-related podcasts
• Write guest posts for magazines, blogs, or publications that are going to be read by your audience
• Blog on your own business’ website to show credibility and expertise
• Go to a networking event and create friendships with as many businesses as you can, even if they’re not your niche. They may know someone who is!
• Register Social Media channels for your business and 80% of the time post content that people in your industry would find helpful. The other 20%, post about customers you’re working with, a project or a job you’ve recently launched, highlight successful testimonials where you’ve added value to a business, and talk about the process of using your specific tools to help businesses meet their online goals.
• Have a business website that has foundational search engine optimization (SEO) in place.
• Offer to build a website using one of your pre-made design templates for an influential person in your industry in exchange for promotion and marketing.
• Ask friends and family if they know any businesses that would be a fit for your services and could offer a personal referral.
• Offer your first clients an incentive for successful referrals to new customers – a free month of your web design service, a gift card to a coffee shop of their choice, or some other value or tool that businesses in your niche would appreciate.

Paid Options:

• Pay for advertisement in an industry email newsletter in your niche
• Purchase a banner ad on a popular industry blog for your web design business
• Ask an industry leader if you can pay them to post about your services online through social media for other business owners to see.
• Get business cards printed and rent a booth at an industry conference or convention.
• Attend networking events for your industry
• Start your own industry “Lunch and Learn” on Zoom and invite relevant speakers to promote their practice, blog, latest book, new product, or podcast. (Be sure to promote the lunch and learn on social media, and ask your speakers to invite their business audience to join also.)
• Hire someone to use social media ads to reach decision-makers, business owners, and potential clients in your target audience.

Software Tools For Your Web Design Company

Project Management Tools

There are plenty of project management options if you want to start a business. I use trello. If you’d like to try it out for free, here’s a link: https://trello.com/adammclaughlin1/recommend (affiliate link)

You don’t have to use trello, but I would recommend using something. Some of the salespeople that we white label work for have 8-10 projects at various stages at any given time, so simply trying to keep track of all of that with your email inbox won’t work, and then involving our team could just make things more complicated if we didn’t have one centralized workspace that we could all reference.

Recurring Invoice Accounting Software

When choosing an accounting tool, be sure to select one that allows for automatic recurring invoices so you don’t have to retype every invoice on the first of every month.

There are lots of options. Iuse freshbooks.com (Affiliate link) as a personal favorite for how it integrates with an iPhone app.

If you’re a web designer, you’ll need web design software

Remember that you don’t have to be a web designer to have a company like ours ‘white-label’ your design and technical service, but if you ARE going to be DIY in your design business full time, then you’ll need to know a web design software inside and out to properly serve your clients.

There are many options like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or Joomla that can be used to create a website for your clients. If you’re really intent on being a designer, then our favorite recommendation is WordPress coupled with themes (or templates) from Elegant Themes (aff link), since you have plenty of customization, but it’s an established system, so you’re not always starting from scratch.

Unless you have a partner that is driving sales, it’s not efficient to spend time learning design skills at the same time as learning to grow your business. If you’re already running a web design business and wanting to transition to a recurring income model, or you know exactly what you’re doing with the design software of your choice, then wearing both the sales and the design hat may work for you and your customers.

Important Terms to Learn When Starting A Web Design Business:

Design and Development – are they the same or even related?

Web design is putting together the layout of a website, choosing colors, making sure the final product looks good on mobile devices, etc. Web Development is writing code that acts like software – an employee login for time tracking, a client login so they can see their project’s progress, or tools that do a customized function other than displaying text and pictures.

We’re designers, not developers, so we try to help clients find software that already does what they’re looking for rather than writing something from scratch. It’s better for the client to pay a monthly subscription to the tool they need rather than going through the process of project management and writing it themselves (or you could include a tool in your monthly services to the client so they just pay a single package to get your web design and the tool they need for the job).

Clients come up with all kinds of exciting ideas (especially small business clients who are excited about the process of getting their new web design). Instead of trying to figure out a way to be the project management and hire a web developer, stick with your templates, and have some recommendations up your sleeve (and maybe some affiliate links) to know what other tools and software are available for your niche.

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is another word for a website address. It’s where you tell people to go when you want them to visit your website. Domain names need to be renewed (it’s not a purchase, it’s closer to a lease) and the registration can be for as little as 1 year which needs to be renewed yearly, or you can register the domain for longer like 5 or 10 years.

Register your clients’ domain names for them (Google is the simplest option for this), and include the yearly renewal cost in their service package. This allows you to be sure that the client isn’t going to forget and someone else takes the domain if it’s not renewed, and you get to assure that client that there are no costs outside of their services with you.

What is website hosting?

When someone types in a website address, the text and image files that they see are sitting on a computer somewhere (called a server) and the internet database knows that if you type in a certain website address that you’ll be pointed to that server to see those files.

This process is called hosting files on a server. Every website needs to pay for hosting – there is no free lunch, but again, you can include hosting costs into your client’s services. It’s also helpful for clients to recognize that if they go with the “other guy” who simply wants to charge a lump sum upfront for the job, they still have ongoing monthly (or yearly) services to take care of with hosting.

What is White Labeling Website Design?

White-labeling is like when an author has a ghostwriter. The client has the experience of working with you and your brand, and we put your name on the final product that we create.

At Fresh Idea, we will help build your marketing website, your templates, populate your templates when you bring on new clients, look after client change requests for you, and our tech team looks after keeping WordPress up to date and functioning at peak performance at all times.

In the case of the salespeople that we white-label our web design and tech services for, we also include hosting for them so they have a single “cost” that they can decide what profit margin to add on for their clients.

Throughout the whole process, the “white label” means that nothing is branded as Fresh Idea and everything is branded as your agency web design business. Your clients don’t realize they’re working with us – they only see and hear your business name. We wear that “design” and “tech” hats for you at a set monthly cost per client so you don’t have to bring on employees, and your costs only increase when your profit increases more.

Our white-label clients outsource their design and tech services to us for set wholesale costs each month (it varies by tech support requirements, design complexity, and industry needs) then treat that as their wholesale cost. From there, they retail those same services to the clients in their industry at a profit. We look after their design and technical aspects of the business. They focus on bringing in new clients to build their monthly recurring revenue.

What is A Mobile Website vs A Responsive Website?

Clients ask all the time “Is my website good for mobile?”

Long, long ago in a galaxy far far away, I’m talking about 2014, Google announced that we hit a tipping point in web browsing experience. 2014 was the year when more websites we viewed on a mobile device than a desktop or laptop.

At that time, people needed their website to work on mobile devices, but didn’t want to rebuild an entire website when their desktop version was working properly, so WordPress, and other web software came up with “Mobile Websites.”

In its simplest form, this meant that the server would recognize if you were visiting from a phone or a laptop, and show you either a mobile site or a desktop site.

There were 2 challenges with this:

1. You had to now maintain 2 sites. Information changed on one had to be updated on the other.
2. New companies came up with new sizes of devices, from the iPad to iPad Mini to iPad Pro (and that’s only from Apple, consider the other manufacturers also!)

Now sites are built as responsive, meaning that a single site will identify the size of the browser and adjust the layout of the content to ‘respond’ to that browser’s size – no matter which device, or what resolution.

If you’re on a desktop or laptop right now, grab the lower right corner of the browser and change the size of the window – you’ll notice on this responsive site that text, titles, and images all adjust to match the new size of the window. That’s responsive.

Ready To Get Started On Building Recurring Income Through Your Own Web Design Business?

Here is your checklist to start a web design agency:

Once you register for the “Crack The Code Course: Build A Website Design Agency Without Writing A Single Line Of Code.” you’ll have all of the tools you need to get started and create a web design agency, and check everything off this checklist:

• Choosing an Industry to Target
• Build Your Brand in that Industry
• Learn to Sell Websites as a Service
• Determine Which Tasks You’ll Do and Which You’ll Outsource (which 2 of the 4 hats will you wear? Sales & Marketing, Design, Tech, and Business Admin)
• How To Efficiently Outsource Design & Tech
• Which Design Tools Do We Use To Get Started Quickly on New Projects
• Common Objections Customers May Have with Service-Based Websites (and how to answer)
• Understanding Paperwork and Software You Need to Run Your Business
• How To Market Your Website Agency
• Checklist to get your own marketing site live

Still not sure if a web design business is right for you?

Leave a comment below and let’s chat about it!