How to Start a Web Design Business

Part 1 - How to start a Web Design business - Background

As a web design business owner, your company’s primary responsibility is to ensure the client’s website is visually pleasing. Depending upon the customer’s needs, the designer will either use a site template or create the design and develop the site.

You may also be interested in additional online business ideas.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Web Design business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a web design business?

Many web design entrepreneurs choose to start out operating from a home office. Without the startup and operating costs associated with renting or purchasing office space, you’ll save a significant amount of money. With this portion of your budget freed up, you can re-invest in your business through education, web design tools, and marketing.

Below is a list of basics you’ll need to get started:

• Computer/laptop

• Monitors

• Software

• Marketing materials – website, brochures, and business cards

• Attorney and/or CPA to help ensure you have a solid business plan and that it’s carried out smoothly

• Insurance

What are the ongoing expenses for a web design business?

As a web design business owner, your overhead expenses will be fairly minimal. Below are a few items you’ll want to budget for in your monthly expenses:

• Rent/mortgage on office space

• Insurance

• Travel and fees associated with continuing education and conferences

• Software

• Computer maintenance and repair

• Marketing

• Payroll expenses – you could combat this expense by keeping your core team small and hiring independent contractors to help out with larger jobs.

Who is the target market?

You’ll most likely have numerous clients whom you never hear from again, once their website is built. While there is nothing wrong here, it does cause a bit of instability and requires constant marketing to maintain a profitable workload. Therefore, your most valuable clients will be the ones that realize the benefit of having a website that is continuously maintained and upgraded. With each customer retained, work diligently to build a strong and trusted relationship. With this foundation built, they’ll consider you an extension of their workforce, looking to you for guidance for many years to come.

How does a web design business make money?

Your web design business will generate revenue through each website designed and/or service provided. Most designers require new clients to pay a retainer, with the balance due once services are complete.

How much can you charge customers?

Your fees depend upon the specifics of the project and your client’s individual needs. Projects can range anywhere from $3,500 to over $40,000.

How much profit can a web design business make?

The average profit of a freelance web designer is almost $75,000 annually. Imagine the possibilities if you had a team of talent and were able to offer a diverse set of services.

How can you make your business more profitable?

The following are a few strategies other web design business owners have implemented to ensure a more profitable business:

• Web designers are responsible for the visual layout of a page or site, whereas web developers are more responsible for the coding and building of a site. By offering both services to potential clients, you make yourself a more desirable candidate for a project.

• In addition to web design and development, offer additional services such as: graphic design, content writing, content marketing, inbound marketing, and web hosting.

• Consider joining affiliate programs for tools you use to complete projects. This is a great way to earn extra money for referrals.

• Design ecards.

• Design and sell templates.

• Offer holiday specials such as redesign services. For example, Google changes their logo every day. You could design unique holiday logos and landing pages for existing clients. This is a great way to increase your profits and remind clients of all you have to offer.

• Host webinars and create tutorials – the number of topics to choose from is endless.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a web design business?

As a web designer, your day will be split between interacting with colleagues and clients and crafting quality sites for your customers. While the specifics of each day vary, most days you will:

• Read and answer emails

• Host meetings with prospective clients to discuss their needs

• Meet with current clients to provide updates on projects, collaborate, and get a feel for their feelings on pitched ideas

• Manage your own projects, as well as oversee your team’s projects

• Map out websites

• Source images

• Put out fires within the company (e.g. identify and fix issues when a site goes down)

As with every business, there will also be administrative duties to attend to. While your business grows, you’ll probably want to take a more active role in these tasks. However, as you start to realize success, entrusting a responsible team member with these duties can be both cost-effective and managerially responsible. With your schedule freed up, you’re allowed more time to focus on building your business.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful web design business?

While it’s possible to build a web design business without being a web designer, it would prove beneficial to have experience in the field. It’s recommended that you start out working for an organization that’s established. This will offer you key insight into the inner workings of the industry. It would also prove beneficial to join associations such as AIGA and International Web Association. Membership benefits include educational and certification opportunities, as well as networking and collaboration with some of the best in the industry.

Additionally, a successful web design business owner must be creative, hard-working, and have the ability to work swiftly, without sacrificing quality of work. You’ll need to possess great communication and listening skills, as much of your design successes will be drawn from information that is subtly expressed to you by the client. If you plan on offering a wide variety of services to your clients, you’ll want to hire an experienced and talented team, making strong prowess as a delegator paramount.

What is the growth potential for a web design business?

No matter how much business strategy evolves in the future, a well-designed website will always be critical to an organization’s success. This is great for your business, as it adds a certain level of stability that most industries never achieve. The growth and success of your company is contingent on your vision and the talent your team possesses. With the right support, the opportunity is there to build an organization that serves customers on a global scale.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a web design business?

The following are some insider tips from entrepreneurs who have found success in this ever-growing industry:

• Start out working for an agency to grow industry experience and gain an understanding of what makes clients tick and what their expectations are for various projects.

• Know the strengths and weaknesses of each member of your team and play on those strengths.

• Always remember – it’s ok to refuse work. Listen to your gut feeling when considering taking on new projects.

• Take time each day to work on projects that are personal and that you’re passionate about.

• Know your worth. Clients are always going to try to get more work for less money. Don’t settle.

• Keep in mind that you can’t, and shouldn’t, try to do everything yourself. Surround yourself with talented and hard-working individuals who you can trust with important projects.

• Maintain a healthy work-life balance. There will always be one more detail to check on or email to answer. Take care of you so that you’re always able to provide the very best service.

• Maintain bookkeeping and billing information to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

How and when to build a team

As previously mentioned, a large majority of web design company owners start out as freelancers. This affords the opportunity to enjoy lower overhead costs and establish a solid foundation for your business’ long-term success.

Hopefully, at some point the number of projects coming in will exceed what you can handle. When it’s time to build a team, it can be done in a couple of ways. First, you could bring team members on as freelancers. Since they’ll be contracted, rather than employees, you’ll eliminate the extra expenses of payroll taxes, Worker’s Comp, and benefits. Your other option is to build a team of employees. While you’ll face increased costs, the tradeoff is that you’ll have a team of loyal employees, dedicated to building a successful business. Whichever method you decide to deploy, just make sure each individual has the talent to truly make a difference for the team. A diverse team will equal greater success in the long run.

Part 2 - Is a Web Design business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Web Design business in 90 days