🔑 Key #1 – Sustainable Pricing
Sustainable pricing means that you are charging enough to cover your business expenses, pay taxes, and pay yourself a full-time income. For anyone learning how to start a web design business, this is essential.
Most web designers who start a website design business don't want it to remain a side hustle forever. They want it to be their full-time gig and replace their paycheck. To do that, you have to charge enough!
One of the things I see so many web designers do is charge really low prices for websites, thinking, “I'll make it up by booking a lot of clients!”
They think, “If I want to make $10,000 a month, all I need is 5 web design clients at $2,000 each, and that's my $10,000.”
The thing is… it's really hard to not only book five clients a month but also to complete five whole websites each month. And that's if your clients actually cooperate so that you can start and finish your projects on time!
Every web designer I know has been in a situation where projects drag on because they’re waiting for clients to provide content. Without solid systems and boundaries, how are you ever going to manage multiple clients each month?
The solution? Increase your prices and decrease the number of clients you're working with.
Imagine what would be possible if you only had to book two clients a month at $5,000 each, and you had solid boundaries that allowed you to complete a $5,000 website in one month without feeling spread too thin.
Most web designers undercharge because they think people can't afford to pay more, and they fear they won’t have any clients if they raise their prices. But undercharging not only harms your business – it also impacts your clients. You can’t give your best when you’re maxed out and burnt out, and clients sense this.
🔑 Key #2 – Boundaries
The second key to a profitable web design business is boundaries. When you don’t have boundaries, you lose time and money. Your projects don’t start or end on time, and you end up doing unpaid work due to scope creep.
Boundaries are critical to success in a website design business. They separate burnt-out web designers from energetic, profitable ones.
The mistake most people make is waiting until things go wrong to set boundaries, but by then it’s too late. The project is already off-track, both you and your client are unhappy, and you may find yourself doing free work just to wrap things up.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! You run the show. You’re not a pixel-pusher; you’re a consultative partner who leads clients through the process of turning their business vision into a website.
The key to solid boundaries is leading the project from the very first interaction with the client. From how you set up consultations to how you manage the project, when you have clear boundaries in place from the start, it empowers both you and your client. A client who respects your process from the beginning will respect it throughout the project, preventing issues later on.
With clear boundaries, it’s easy to say, “I’d love to add that to the project! Here’s how much it will cost, and here’s when we can get it done according to my development schedule. Would you like to move forward?”
🔑 Key #3 – Recurring Revenue
Here's the thing: there will come a time when you are maxed-out on your pricing for 1:1 web design projects.
Don't get me wrong – you could probably charge 10 to 20 times more than what you're charging if you're pricing mindset is like our typical students BEFORE they come to work with us and we upgrade their pricing mindset and help them re-tool their packages, pricing and offers.
I know right now it might be hard to imagine yourself selling a $20,000 web design project… but it's possible!
But even then, your time is still required (unless you're running an agency and have other people doing the work, but you're still involved).
Many web designers wonder how to grow a web design business without maxing out their time. That’s where recurring revenue comes in.
There are so many ways you can offer ongoing services to your existing web design clients beyond the initial web design project that are massively valuable to them, but don't take up tons of your time.
Think ongoing SEO services, sales funnels, content updates, website maintenance, website care plans, conversion rate optimization, and just a retainer that includes ongoing support tailored to whatever they might need in their business.
And the more streamlined and systematized you can make these offers, the less time they take for you to deliver and the more money you make!
Free Web Design Business Strategy Course for Women Web Designers
We’d love to help you implement these 3 keys to making web design as a business more profitable:
- Sustainable Pricing: You don’t have to wait to increase your prices. The value of your work is not tied to how many websites you’ve built.
- Boundaries: Establish boundaries from day one and bake them into your entire process, from your website to your project management.
- Recurring Revenue: Create multiple streams of recurring income in your website designing business so you can generate more revenue from existing clients.
If any of this resonates with you, sign up for my Free Web Design Business Strategy Course for Women Web Designers!
After taking it, you'll:
- Know exactly how much you need to charge to make a full-time living with your web designing business.
- Understand how to apply the Rule of 10 to figure out the true value of a website to your clients.
- Have a fresh perspective on common pricing myths, like “I need more experience” or “my clients can't afford higher prices.”
- Be aware of the 3 most common places web design businesses break down and leak time and money (and what to do to fix them).
Sign up for our Free Web Design Business Strategy Course, and after watching, you’ll know how to set prices, understand the Rule of 10 for profitable web design pricing, and prevent the most common breakdowns in web design businesses!
