How to Start a Successful Web Design Business - Step-by-Step Guide
If you are looking to start your own web design business, it can be daunting figuring out how to go about it. From finding clients to getting your website built, there are plenty of challenges that can make starting a web design business feel impossible.
To help you overcome these challenges and see your web design business through from start to finish, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide on starting a web design business that will walk you through everything you need to know step by step.
Table of Contents
Pick Up a Web Design Niche
Finding your ideal web design clients is easier said than done, but it’s essential if you want to start and grow your business successfully. The first thing you need to do before starting a web design company is to define the type of client you want to work with.
For example, do you want to work with clients on their e-commerce store or create interactive websites for companies? After that, you’ll need to learn about branding, marketing strategies, creating content, and more.
It’s so much easier to sell yourself to potential clients and position yourself as an expert in one industry. For example, you can say:
“I build high-converting websites for construction companies and general contractors in South Florida ”
Instead of saying:
“I’m a web designer.”
Decide Who Is Your Ideal Customer
There are some aspects of your ideal client that you might not be considered when determining who your perfect customers are. Identifying these aspects can help you tailor both your message and price point so that you are appealing to clients who will want to hire you for all their web design needs.
Some questions that can help lead you towards identifying your perfect client include:
- Where do they live?
- What is their age?
- How much money do they make?
- What websites have been designed by other companies in your field that appeals to them?
- Why did they choose those particular sites over others?
Understanding Your Client’s Needs
Decide Which Web Design Services You Will Offer
There are many types of web design services you can offer, but you should start with a few core offerings that appeal to your target audience. The easiest way to do so is by using these questions as your guide:
- What are my clients looking for?
- How can I help them?
Once you have the answers you can go more in-depth and create a list of services that you will be offering to your customers.
Another tip to help you decide what services to offer is to look around at the existing web design solutions being offered to your target niche.
You will also need to choose the platform where you will be creating the websites. It could be WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, etc. You can focus on a specific type of website design: e-commerce, membership sites, etc. You can play around with multiple services until you find the winning combination.
For example, we build mobile-optimized websites on WordPress and that’s our main platform. Another service that we offer is Search Engine Optimization. Every website needs to be optimized for search engines to get quality website traffic.
Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed; there is a lot more information coming your way shortly.
Setting Up Pricing For Your Services
A professional web design business needs to have its pricing structure in place. While most of your web design clients will want to hire you on an hourly basis, some may prefer more predictable prices.
Although it can be more complicated and time-consuming, if you’re looking for stability in your business rather than projects here and there, consider formalizing pricing strategies into packages. Think about which types of clients would respond best to fixed pricing (clients who are less involved or who only need simple solutions), then build out a range of plans for them.
Packaging your services gives structure to our offerings, and it helps clients make a decision based on the value they’ll get from each package. When you offer your clients different packages, you give them OPTIONS!
Building Your Business Website
Knowing that you’re already a web designer we won’t tell you how to build your business website with WordPress. You can proceed with the next step!
Quick tips on how to make your website attract your ideal client:
1. Make sure it's free of errors
2. Make sure it's loading fast
3. Include testimonials
4. Optimize it for the search engines
5. Automate your prospecting
We use software like Calendly where clients can easily schedule a strategy call with us
Building Your Online Profile
Since you’re building your business online, it’s important to have an online presence. The first thing people will see when searching for web designers is your company website.
Now, you don’t want to just use your website as your main channel. If you want to be successful with your web design business, you need to be omnipresent. What that means is that you need to be active on multiple social media channels and local directories.
One of the best things you can do for your business is to create a Google My Business Listing. When people are searching for the services that you offer on Google, you will have more chances of getting traffic if have a GMB Listing. Here’s an example of our GMB Listing.
Don’t forget to create and be active on social media. We use LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest as our main channels where we promote our services and build an engaged audience.
Find New Web Design Clients
Now that you’ve already started your business, you’ll need clients if you want to earn income. Fortunately, there are many options for finding new web design clients, and here are some ideas.
1. Tapping into your LinkedIn network can be a great way to find new web design clients.
First, you need to figure out what kind of project you want to work on.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What kind of clients need the skills you can provide?
- What kind of clients do you enjoy working with most?
When you know the industry, search people by keywords through the sales navigator and find potential clients. Send them an invitation and start building that relationship by providing value.
We usually do a Loom Video reviewing their current website and we share tips and advice on how they can improve their website for more conversions.
Pro tip: Make your LinkedIn Profile as professional as possible.
2. Ask for referrals from friends and colleagues
3. Leverage your existing network
4. Be active on social media
5. Create valuable blog posts
6. Experiment with video
Setting up Contracts & Proposals
Contracts and proposals are essential components of your web design business. Without them, you run the risk of losing clients or not being paid for your work. A contract is an agreement between two or more parties, outlining all aspects of an arrangement, while a proposal is more like a formalized pitch that explains your vision in detail.
Our favorite tool for running our web design and online marketing business is HelloBonsai. It’s an all-in-one freelancing solution for the world’s best creative freelancers. This software offers Bulletproof contracts, e-signing, proposals & invoicing software used by many freelancers.
Tools You'll Need To Run Your Web Design Business Effectively
Before you begin your web design business, you must be well prepared. Running any type of business is tough work and comes with its own set of challenges.
Consider this roundup of excellent tools for web designers and WordPress users. The list covers things like web page builders, hosting providers, useful plugins, document handling, project management, communicating with clients, graphic design software, scheduling tools, and more.
These are the tools we use to successfully run our web design and online marketing business.
5. Ubersuggest - The best keyword research tool
9. Grammarly
Conclusion
Starting your own web design business can be an exhilarating experience. However, it is not without its risks and challenges. You are going to have some fierce competition for your potential customers’ attention. If you want your business to succeed, you will need to set yourself apart from everyone else in every way possible.
Hope you’ll learn something from this post and will implement the tactics we use to run our web design and online marketing business.
Cheers,
Sara & Ivana
