Steps To Starting A Web Design Business
Getting started with a web design business has never been easier. Also, because COVID-19 increased online retail sales, recent data shows that 2021 online sales will outnumber all 2020 sales.
Consumers are more interested in online shopping and e-commerce than ever before, which means merchants and businesses must rely on the internet more extensively to stay competitive and profitable. You may rely on growing consumer demand to get your web design business up and going.
So, how do you get started with website design?
Do you have a real interest in operating a web design business?
Is it something you’d be able to grow?
This article will go through all of the processes required to start a web design business.
We’ll go over how to start a web design business to see if it’s the ideal business model for you.
I’ll answer some of the most common questions about how to start a web design business towards the end of this article…
But most importantly, I’ll show you the exact system I used to build my own business to over $40,000 a month in mostly passive income.
Why Start A Web Design And Web Development Business?
Starting a web design business has multiple financial and lifestyle advantages. With a web design business, you may make a living doing something you enjoy, solving problems, and keep a flexible schedule.
Being a web designer or web developer now means you’ll have a better chance of establishing yourself and your brand than ever before, all thanks to new technologies and more resources.
As a result, the best time to start learning web design is NOW.
The point is that a well-designed website is a must-have for any business in 2022. This is where your new web design business comes in.
Evaluate Your Reasons For Starting A Web Design Business
If you’re here, I’m guessing you’re passionate about good web design and are looking for strategies to get into the professional web design industry. Most people don’t like websites that are poorly made.
Poor design nearly usually prevents you from doing business with a company.
Why do you want to start your own web design business? Do you want to be your own boss? Is it important to you to have flexibility in your work schedule? Would you be able to earn more money with this?
Regardless of your reasons, starting a web design business will require a lot of determination and effort. You are wrong if you believe you can achieve success without putting forth any effort.
If you’re just starting out, you might have to put in more hours for less income. Longer hours may appear to be an issue at first, but if you are passionate about what you do, it won’t matter.
7 Questions To Ask Yourself
- Would working alone make you more productive, or would you benefit from constant human interaction?
- Are you a good communicator?
- Do you cope well with uncertainty and stress?
- How driven and self-motivated are you?
- How committed are you to meeting deadlines and providing high-quality work?
- Do you believe you can make a living as a web designer without instant gratification?
- Are you sure this is something you want to pursue?
Starting a web design business, or any type of business, may be difficult, stressful, irritating, and time-consuming.
But know that with perseverance and dedication, as well as flexible time, unlimited growth, and many other freedoms, you can achieve success and financial independence as web design business owner.
What It Means To Start A Web Design Business
Now that you understand how great web design may help your business, it’s time to find out how to get started in the web design industry.
To have any hope of professional success in web design, you must have your own totally outstanding website. Potential clients can learn about your web design expertise and talent here.
Your Web Design Business Website: Keys To Success
You’ll need to add many key elements into your website to attract new clients in the highly competitive web design market. So establishing thought leadership at this time could be a wise move.
Tell Your Story.
It is critical to tell prospects an engaging story on your company’s website. It’s not only about listing your skills and what you can do, but that’s vital as well.
Tell them who you are.
Explain why you’re interested in web design. Explain how you got knowledge and experience in different areas before launching your own website design company.
Share a few details about your personal life, including your interests and hobbies. Consider yourself first and foremost as a person, then as a web designer.
People looking for a web designer for their next big project will be able to see you above the rest of the crowd if this is how you market yourself.
This technique allows you to be more relatable and gives them the idea that you are someone with whom they can readily collaborate. Target audience.
Be Accessible.
Ensure that your future and existing clients can easily contact you.
Use a CRM (customer relationship management tool) to track deal stages with prospects and who needs to be followed up.
Every visitor to your website will ask you many questions regarding their WordPress projects, as seen below:
- Are you familiar with Web Hosting, WooCommerce and ShipStation plugins?
- Do you have experience building WordPress websites for businesses with multiple revenue streams?
- Could you integrate some of their existing design into your new design?
As many of these questions as possible should be answered by your website content. But how easy is it for a client to reach you to talk about their needs?
Yes, you can get rid of the “Contact Me” page and put up a web form that most people don’t expect to get a response from.
Alternatively, you can offer your personal email address and phone number, as well as the particular hours you are available to clients and prospects.
As you begin your journey, the first thing you should do is make yourself personally accessible and available for conversations as many hours as possible during the day.
You will be able to stand out by taking this simple step.
Get Found.
It makes no difference how great your website is if potential customers can’t locate it or are unaware that it exists.
Visibility to the client is undoubtedly difficult at first. You may avoid this by selecting a simple and catchy business name and URL.
But don’t go overboard with the cutesy.
When choosing your URL, make sure it ends in .com and that it is three syllables or less.
Begin by handing out business cards to as many local businesses as possible, and advertise your business.
I understand that walking into a business location may appear intimidating, but it isn’t. Make an effort to be approachable, friendly, easygoing, and non-intrusive. Give a brief description of your business and yourself.
Make sure your URL is prominently displayed on your business card so that they can learn more about you after you go.
Because most of your competitors are scared of “cold calling” introductions, this technique will certainly drive you new business.
Once you’ve successfully followed this basic yet effective approach, you’ll find yourself needing to manage many WordPress sites.
After that, list yourself on popular freelance websites such as Upwork.com and Freelancer.com. Take the time to create your freelance profiles.
Next, apply to as many freelance WordPress site design gigs as possible. It’s critical to avoid price-bidding wars with competing web designers or freelancers. Set your rates and stick to them before you start looking for freelance work.
If you decide to undercut your rates and upset clients who have previously paid a higher rate, your work will lose value.
It’s not easy to find freelance jobs on popular freelancing sites, especially if you’re a newbie. However, it is an excellent approach to establish a portfolio and make contacts for potential direct business.
Display Your Rates.
Your rates should be visible on your business ‘s website.
What do you check for first in a company’s products or services while doing online research or shopping?
You, like most others, undoubtedly want to know how much it will cost. The same is true for your clients.
When a client is thinking about getting web design services, they want to know how much it would cost. Your rates can be decided by the number of pages or hours, an estimate of how long the project will take, depending on the type of project or design complexity.
In cases when setting blanket prices may be challenging, always give a “Custom Design” option that allows clients to contact you individually for a more specific quote.
When you speak with a possible lead, you may be able to get a new project and a new web design job.
Showcase Your Portfolio
Make sure that your website displays as much of your previous work as possible. Even if you are new to professional web design, you can use the sites you create to communicate with family members, friends, or for bartering.
If you’ve created something and believe it’s not worthy of inclusion on your business ‘s website, reassess. Potential customers may be looking for a variety of different types of websites.
Maybe the design you created for the local tire shop is exactly what someone on the other side of the country is looking for.
When creating your portfolio, you can add pro-bono work for friends, relatives, or coworkers.
Portfolios are intended to assist you in obtaining clients, whether you are looking for freelance work, clients for your agency, or employment at your chosen company. The content of a website should first represent what you hope to achieve.
Feature Glowing Reviews
Include your best customer reviews on your business website.
Customer review influences purchasing decisions. With a few negative reviews, you might easily lose a brand-new consumer.
If you don’t have client reviews, your company will appear untrustworthy.
In either of these cases, you will be unable to build your web design business efficiently.
It will be difficult to grow your business if you do not have any customer reviews.
Simply ask your current customers for feedback to help you grow your portfolio. After your service is completed, include a link on your website that links to a satisfied consumer. Ask people on your email list politely if they can review your work. I’m sure they’d be fine with you posting the review on your site.
In general, the majority of customers will take the time to leave a review for you. You have the option of displaying all reviews on your website, or only the best ones.
WordPress review plugins help to streamline the process.
If you’ve never done paid web design, think about your pro bono clients. Inform everyone you’ve worked with on their websites that you’ll be doing professional web design.
Ask for their help in writing reviews for you. You’ll be surprised at how many individuals want to be a part of your new venture.
Set Realistic Web Design Business Goals.
You might run this business part-time to boost your current income. To begin the process, try to find three clients within the next month. Any of these jobs could pay $1,000 or more depending on the level of work required.
If you want to do it full-time, start with six clients. Don’t put it off any longer; get out there and start doing it.
However, it is important not to take on too many jobs at once. It will take some practice to be able to juggle numerous tasks at once. You will continue to give each client individual attention while ensuring that all tasks are finished effectively.
What Does It Take To Start A Web Design Business?
If you want to take your startup to the next level, here are a few things you should do to get started.
- Spend the time necessary to build your brand.
- Create a website to showcase your portfolio.
- Make use of social media to establish an online presence.
- Distribute business cards to potential clients and invite them to networking events.
- Brush up on your SEO expertise to improve the rating of your website in search engines.
- Look for a mentor with business startup expertise.
- Have a lawyer and an accountant on your side to help you with your business expenses.
- Make a decision on how your website will be designed.
- Consider WordPress as your website content management system (we highly recommend it).
- Make sure you have a contract plan in place.
- Make sure you have a clear plan for how to keep your website up and running.
What Skills Will You Need To Succeed As A WordPress Web Designer?
This is clearly not a business for everyone. There are a lot of skills and abilities that are needed to be a good web designer in this very competitive field.
WordPress web design does not require learning to code from the ground up, which is great news for many of us.
However, in order have a successful web design business, you must have the following skills:
- SEO (search engine optimization) knowledge
- Visual design knowledge
- User Experience (UX)
- Understanding of tools such as Illustrator and Photoshop
- CSS and HTML knowledge
- “People skills”
WordPress web designers must keep in mind that they must create a visually appealing and functional website. It takes a good combination of skills and creative ideas to do this.
The Importance Of “People Skills” For A Web Design Business
When it comes to growing your web design business, being able to communicate to people as if they were old friends may be a great asset.
I’m an introvert. Being a “people person” isn’t my strong suit, so I can relate with those who are unable to initiate conversation with strangers.
Developing a client base for your web design business may be difficult for introverts, so push yourself a little but not too much.
It’s doable, even if it’s easier said than done. The five tips below will help you improve your “People Skills.”
- Make it a habit to talk to strangers. Say hi to everyone you meet, whether it’s a waiter, barista, or stranger in the elevator. This will help you improve future client communication.
- Attend networking events and make an effort to meet at least two people and strike up a friendly chat.
- Make contact with a friend.
- Before you meet with a client, make a list of questions you’d like to ask to understand more about them. As a result, you’d have to imagine what kind of client you’d like to deal with. It’s all about the quality over the quantity.
- Plan to recharge on specific days so you can have time to yourself at the end of the day.
Regardless of if you’re an introvert or an extrovert, the “Turning Contacts Into Contracts” Ebook will provide you with a variety of ideas on how to build a client base.
Powerful Tutorials For WordPress Web Design
There are many tutorials and courses accessible online as well as in libraries that may help anyone starting out or trying to develop their skills in WordPress site design.
iThemes currently offers over 500 hours of premium WordPress training content.
Let’s have a look at the top WordPress web design tutorials you can find to save you time researching it yourself.
HTML And CSS
WordPress designers should be well-versed in HTML and CSS to create the best designs. Here are several courses and tutorials you can look into for further knowledge on the topic.
CSS Tutorials By LinkedIn Learning
This is a great place to start if you’re interested in learning how to code. A variety of tutorials and classes are offered here. These tutorials will show you how to use HTML and CSS to create a website on WordPress, why they are important, and how to use them effectively.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can go to a more advanced tutorial and course.
CSS Tutorial By W3Schools
W3Schools covers a wide range of topics, from the basics to advanced CSS techniques. You will be able to construct successful and powerful WordPress websites once you have completed W3Schools’ courses.
SEO
You should also be able to show expertise in search engine optimization (SEO), as clients will look for it when choosing a WordPress web designer. You need to know SEO if you want your clients’ websites to rank well on Google and other search engines.
Keep in mind that the physical design of a website only accounts for half of the work necessary. If a website is to rank well on search engines such as Google, it must also be search engine friendly. If you want your site to show high in search results, you must optimize it to fit a search engine’s algorithms and rules.
Additional WordPress Web Design Courses
Other important courses you should think about before starting your business include:
- CSS Tutorial For Beginners
- WordPress courses from iThemes Training
- Become a WordPress Web Design Expert Without Any Coding
To broaden your knowledge, you might want to read “Web Designer’s Guide to WordPress: Plan, Theme, Build, Launch (Voices That Matter).”
It is a very practical guide that will teach you all you need to know about WordPress website design, from initial installation to building and implementing elaborate designs.
6 Helpful Resources For Web Designers
- Adobe Creative Cloud. The free 30-day trial is a good way to see if it’s right for you, since it’s quite costly.
- Sketch. Sketch is a great design platform that is both simple and cheap. It also provides a free 30-day trial.
- Dribbble. Dribbble allows you to discover new designs, share your own, and promote others.
- Pexels. You may download high-resolution images for free to use in your projects.
- Unsplash. Free high-resolution images can be found here.
- Pikwizard. Pikwizard has a large selection of free, beautiful pictures. This library has a lot of pictures of people, and I like how they are organized into appropriate categories.
Wrapping Up: Starting Your Web Design Business
Regardless of your new business’s long-term goals, you are the only person who can help you get started on the path to success.
It’s possible that you already have all of the necessary technical skills. However, you have no idea how to do promotion for your business. If that’s the case, this article should help you get started.
In comparison, you may already know how and what to do to get your business off the ground. The issue is that you lack web design technical knowledge. If this is the case, you should check out the courses and tutorials provided here to learn how to become an expert.
Knowing that you will be rewarded for your efforts much overcomes the difficulties you may encounter in this business. Web design is a difficult business to run, but it is financially and personally rewarding!
Enjoy the process, learn from your mistakes, and keep working hard to create your web design company!
What Is Our #1 Recommendation For Making Money In 2024?
Our review team has come across a program in the real estate industry that is next level!
Although it’s not real estate in the traditional sense, it’s all digital.
With Digital Leasing, you have the opportunity to completely walk away from your 9-5 job!
Sound too good to be true?
Of course it does!
But it isn’t…in fact, business owners wish they had this skill!
What exactly is the skill?
Well, basically you are acting as a conduit for small business to increase their bottom line.
What I mean is…
You are helping these businesses grow!
But how?
All you have to do is build and rank a website and forward certain jobs off to a business owner in town, you could even email it to them!
This works for literally any service based business… ie: tree service, plumbing, towing, etc.
How Do You Get Paid And How Much?
Simple, after you forward the jobs off to a business owner and he makes closes the deal, you simply ask to agree to a WIN-WIN arrangement.
A fair price to charge per lead, depending on the industry is 10-20%… let’s just use the tree service industry for example and go by worst case scenario.
Let’s say you build and rank the site and only 20 jobs a month come in. The average tree service job is anywhere from $500-$2000!
That means at bare minimum you have an asset worth $1000 a month!
See why they call it Digital Leasing now?
That’s a rent payment.
The great thing is how easy it is to scale. You don’t have to answer the phone…all you have to do is get the phone to ring.
Truly passive income!
The training program takes making money online to a whole other level. The owner of the program walks you through how to build and rank a site hand in hand, with the occasional voice over when he is sharing his screen.
You will learn the importance of keywords, website name, how to send call notifications via email, backlinking, etc.
Once the training program is completed you will also have access to a Facebook group where you can ask questions and be in a community with others on the same journey as you.
Digital Leasing allows you to have passive income with most of your day being spent OUT of the brick and mortar landscape.
Now, I know you probably have tons of questions…
