Have you ever wondered how to get web design clients when you don't have a portfolio?
One of the biggest challenges web designers have when it comes to booking high-ticket web design projects is that they think they have to have a portfolio to show potential clients before anyone will hire them.
And this stems from a belief that having a portfolio is the only way to “prove” that you know what you're doing.
That’s why I’m sharing my best advice for how to get web design clients when you don’t have a portfolio — and some mindset shifts to make in order to stop working for free or cheap to build a portfolio!
The Web Design Portfolio Myth
I see so many people get stuck spending a ton of time building websites for friends and family for free (or super cheap) to “get experience” and to “build their portfolio” instead of spending that time marketing and positioning themselves to get well-paying web design clients.
Instead of making a sustainable, full-time income from their web design business from day one, they end up working for free to create a portfolio full of websites they’re not proud of and that don't align with the kinds of clients they really want to be working with – and they’re no closer to booking a client because they haven’t done anything to market themselves!
The fact that you’re capable of building a website for someone other than yourself does nothing to tell potential clients what the experience of working with you is going to be like.
I see this all the time with people who apply for the Web Designer Academy. Their website is gorgeous, they have a portfolio of beautiful designs… but they aren’t making any money. They're undercharging. The back-end of their web design business is a hot mess. They don’t know how to book paying web design clients. They don't know how to manage projects. They can't get things done on time. They can't get their clients to cooperate… because they think they can't charge more yet until they have a “better” portfolio!
The Truth About Web Design Portfolios
A client cannot tell by looking at the websites that you've built for other clients, or that you've even built for you, whether or not you are the right person for the job. They might be able to say, “I like that aesthetic…” or “They've worked with similar businesses…” But it really does not help them determine whether or not you are going to be the person they should trust with their money or their business.
You cannot look at other web designers’ websites and assume that just because they have a portfolio that they are booking paying clients and making money, and therefore you need a portfolio in order to book clients and make money!
Building websites for free or cheap to build your portfolio is one of the most damaging things I see web designers do to their businesses. It’s a sure sign that you have a busted money mindset and belief system about your value as a web designer – and it puts you at risk of burning out before you even really get started!
So how do you get web design clients who are willing to pay you what you need to make to create a full-time income as a web designer when you don’t have a portfolio?
It’s easier than you might think!
What To Do If You Don't Have a Portfolio
#1 – Just tell people you're a web designer!
It’s the easiest way to get clients, and I know it sounds so silly and easy, but when people ask you what you do for a living and you say “I'm a web designer,” or “I build websites for” whoever you build websites for – tell them!
You have no idea how many business owners out there need someone really good to help them!
When you tell people that you're a web designer they usually say something like “You are? Please help me! My last guy ditched me.” or “I know someone that’s been looking for a web designer!” Telling people what you do instead of hoping they find you online, see your portfolio, and hire you is truly the easiest way to get web design clients.
And I know right now you’re thinking, “Yeah, but what about when those people ask me to see my portfolio?”
That brings us to #2 – focus on your process.
#2 – Take potential web design clients behind the scenes of your process.
Helping clients understand your process helps you build credibility without working for free. The fact that you actually have a process helps you build credibility with potential clients because they can see exactly what’s going to happen after they give you their money and what they’re going to get in return.
The urge to build a portfolio in the first place is to prove that you’re credible, and there are so many other ways that you can create credibility aside from a portfolio!
Inside the Web Designer Academy, we teach web designers how to create a whole end-to-end process that establishes credibility and trust from the first interaction.
We teach you how to have conversations with potential web design clients in a way that helps clients understand that you actually can build them a website that’s going to help them grow their business, and yes, you actually will follow through, and yes, you are the right person for the client, they can trust you with thousands of dollars.
Seeing a picture of a website that you built for someone three years ago only shows an example of something you designed – it doesn't show all of the other things that people need to know to make the decision to work with you at that level.
To get web design clients without a portfolio, YOU must believe that you are absolutely worthy of taking on a client without having a portfolio!
#3 – Offer paid discovery.
Paid Discovery is where you sell the strategy portion of your web design project as a standalone project.
Instead of showing clients what you've done for other people, you get to show them exactly what you'd do for them, AND get paid for it. It's a win/win.
Learn more about Paid Discovery.
Free Business Course for Women Web Designers
You do not need a portfolio of a certain number of sites to show clients in order to prove that you're legit or that you have the credibility to work with them. It's all about how you lead the client through the process of trusting you can help them end up with exactly what they need to reach their goals.
If you don’t believe that you're worthy of having higher-paying clients because you don’t have a portfolio, you gotta sign up to watch my Free Business Course for Women Web Designers!
After watching you'll:
- Know exactly how much you need to charge to make a full-time living as a web designer.
- Understand how to apply the Rule of 10 to figure out the true value of a website to your clients.
- Have an upgraded belief system around all the reasons you think you can’t charge that much, you know… things like “I need more experience… I'm self-taught… my clients can't afford to pay more…”
- Be aware of the 3 most common places web design businesses break down and leak time and money (and what to do to prevent or fix it).
It's a totally free course where we talk about all of the mindset stuff that keeps you undercharging, overdelivering, not doing outreach, not booking clients, working for free, working for way too little, and fix that…
…because you don't even know how valuable you are. You don't even know how many clients out there need you to be charging sustainably so that you can serve them at the level that they deserve to be served.
Sign up for the free course below!
What a portfolio *really* is…
I am so passionate about you understanding all of the ways that you are holding yourself back in your web design business…
…and believing that you need to have a portfolio in order to get higher-paying clients is exactly what is holding you back from getting higher-paying clients!
All a portfolio really is is social proof that other people have hired you, and there are other ways to create credibility aside from social proof!
And yes, eventually, as you start to work with your dream clients, you'll put that work on your site, the things that you really love, that you're really proud of, so that you can point your clients to that.
But you don't need that to get started.
There are so many other ways to connect with people, to let them know how you can help them, to build that relationship and build that trust other than to have a portfolio on your website.
To recap, just start telling people you're a web designer, talk about your process and how it helps make sure they get exactly what they need, and offer paid discovery. Before you know it you'll be too busy to even think about your portfolio!
