Web Design Pricing Guide: Packages, Revenue, and Profit Strategies

Web Design Pricing Guide

Okay, let’s get straight to it. If you’re asking, “How much should I charge for web design?” my answer is…  

It depends.

I know, I know. But here’s the thing: there’s no magic number, no standard “market rate” that’s set in stone. It’s really all about YOU. How you want to live your life, what kind of clients you want to attract, and how you position yourself in the market.

Here’s the kicker: there’s also no rule that says you have to have the same web design pricing for every client. You get to decide! Different clients, different projects, different rates—it’s all up to you.

Mind-blowing, right?

But I get it—without any pricing “rules,” it’s easy to fall into the trap of undercharging.

That’s why before you figure out what to charge for your web design packages, you need to know one thing: your Minimum Baseline Revenue. It’s the bare minimum you need to bring in every month to keep your business—and life—running smoothly.

Calculating Your Minimum Baseline Revenue

Let’s break it down. Your Minimum Baseline Revenue isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream number (we’ll get to that later). It’s the foundational number that keeps you out of burnout mode and helps you cover your basics. Here’s what it includes:

• Your personal take-home pay. This isn’t your “dream” salary. This is the minimum you need to live your life and cover your personal expenses (rent, groceries, bills, all that adulting stuff).
• Your business expenses. Yep, you’ve got to cover the cost of running your business too—think web hosting, tools, bookkeeping, training, mentorship (which is a must, btw).
• Taxes. Sorry, friend, but we’re not skipping this one. Plan to set aside about 25% for Uncle Sam (but chat with a tax pro to be sure).

Now, let’s do a quick example:

Let’s say you need $4,000 a month for your personal expenses, $1,000 for business costs, and another $1,000 for taxes. That means your Minimum Baseline Revenue is $6,000/month.

Now that you know your baseline, we can reverse-engineer how many projects you need to book, and at what price, to hit that number without overloading your schedule.

More Clients ≠ More Money

Now, before you start thinking, “I just need more clients!” — let me stop you right there.

More clients isn’t always the answer. In fact, more clients often just means more hours spent working, more stress, and eventually, burnout. What you really need is to raise your prices.

Your goal isn’t to take on more work—it’s to work with fewer clients at a higher price point, so you can hit your Minimum Baseline Revenue without running yourself into the ground.

The Problem: Undercharging and Overdelivering

Let’s get real. So many web designers struggle because they’re undercharging and overdelivering.

Ever found yourself halfway through a project thinking, “I really should have charged more for this…”? Or maybe you’ve thought, “I can’t charge more for that extra request—they’re already paying me so much!”

Here’s the deal: the issue isn’t that your clients won’t pay more—it’s that you don’t think your work is worth more.

Feeling like a fraud, or believing you don't know enough or you could make a huge mistake can keep you from charging what a project’s really worth.

If you feel like you haven’t worked with many paying clients or don’t have a huge portfolio to prove to clients (and yourself) that you “know what you’re doing,” you’ll keep your prices low to protect yourself and avoid disappointing your clients.

And that’s where things start to spiral into undercharging, overdelivering, and eventually—burnout.

I want you to know that you’re not alone in this. A lot of designers (especially women) undercharge for a ton of reasons.

Maybe it’s because you’re comparing yourself to others, thinking, “I can’t charge that much until I learn XYZ skill…” Or maybe you’re worried about what your clients can afford.

Listen, it’s not your job to manage your clients’ finances. They’re adults. Let them decide if they can afford you.

The bottom line is this: undercharging isn’t a math problem—it’s a mindset problem. And when you shift your mindset, everything changes.

Undercharging

I talk a lot about undercharging, but if there’s no set web design pricing, how do you really know if you’re undercharging?

Honestly, the real test is how you feel.

If you’re feeling resentful, like you’ve poured way too much time into a project, like you want to finish it as fast as possible and want the client to just go away… you’re undercharging.

Here are some other signs you might be undercharging:

• When you look at your minimum baseline revenue vs. what you’re charging now, you realize you’d need a LOT of clients to bridge the gap.
• You think a project’s gonna be easy, but when you get into it you realize it’s gonna be way more involved than you originally thought… but you tell yourself you should have known better, it’s your fault, so you just do it without charging more for the added complexity.
• You don’t charge for additional requests or those little “extras” that keep popping up because they’re “just” simple changes or additions.
• The project is dragging because of client delays, you’re constantly waiting on the client and not getting paid for all that extra time.

Sound familiar? If so, it’s time to reevaluate.

WHY DO WEB DESIGNERS UNDERCHARGE?

There are tons of reasons why web designers undercharge, and I experienced most of them myself when I was just starting out as a freelance web designer!

So let’s dive into the main culprits.

1. Copying What Everyone Else Is Charging. This one’s huge. It’s so easy to look at what other designers are charging and think, “Well, they’re so talented, I can’t charge that much yet,” or, “That must be the going rate, so I’ll charge something similar.”
2. Worrying About What Clients Can Afford. This one's tricky because it comes from a place of wanting to help. You might find yourself thinking, “I don’t want to rip them off,” or “What if they can’t afford me?”
3. You hate having money conversations. No one loves awkward money conversations, but if you dread them so much that you set “safe” prices just to avoid conflict or rejection, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
4. You just need the money. I get it—sometimes you just need cash in the door. And when you’re feeling that financial pressure, it’s easy to drop your web design prices just to get a quick “yes.”
5. You run your business from an Expense Mindset. If you’re constantly worried about running out of money, it’s easy to think that your clients are, too.
6. You undervalue your skills. Especially if you use drag-and-drop platforms like WordPress page builders or SquareSpace, you might feel like web design is “easy” for you, and therefore, not worth a higher price tag.
7. Imposter Syndrome. Feeling like a fraud, or believing you don't know enough or you could make a huge mistake can keep you from charging what a project’s really worth.
8. Fear of Responsibility. Charging more can sometimes come with the fear that higher prices mean higher expectations, unlimited access to you, being on call for your clients 24/7.

Overdelivering

There's another profit-zapping habit that goes hand-in-hand with undercharging: overdelivering.

We think we’re providing great service by giving more than what’s asked for, or by not charging for all the extra requests.

We think things like, “That’ll only take 5 minutes, I’ll just take care of it really quick.”

But when our definition of “great service” is saying yes to all the little things without sending an invoice, “great service” leads to overwhelm, burnout, resentment, and a web design business that’s impossible to grow.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OVERDELIVER?

Overdelivering is when you provide more than what was agreed upon or expected – at your own expense.

The “at your own expense” part is the key here.

Overdelivering might seem like a great way to impress clients, but overdelivering often leads to:

• Working far more than you’re being paid for.
• Web design revenue decreases because you’re working for free or paying subcontractors and not passing additional charges on to the client.
• Confusing or overwhelming your client with too many options.
• Creating unnecessary complexity in a project.
• Building resentment because you’re doing more than agreed.
• The inability to grow your business because you have no time or money to invest back into it.

For example, maybe you sold a 5-page website, and the client agreed to provide the branding and copy – but you end up re-designing the logo, re-writing the copy, adding 2 more pages the client forgot about and building a registration funnel for that event they agreed to in the middle of the project… all for the same price. This is classic overdelivering.

WHY DO WEB DESIGNERS OVERDELIVER?

There are several reasons web designers fall into the trap of overdelivering:

1. Employee Mindset. Web designers often feel like they have to do everything to keep their clients happy, just like an employee trying to please a boss.
2. People Pleasing: Saying “yes” to every client request can feel easier than setting boundaries. You avoid difficult conversations by just doing the extra work – all for the sake of making the client happy, but at your own expense.
3. Justifying Your Price. If you’ve finally raised your prices, it’s common to feel like you have to overdeliver to justify your new rates.
4. Fear of Losing Future Clients. Many web designers overdeliver because they’re afraid of getting a bad review or losing future referrals.
5. Letting the Client Run the Show. Instead of leading the project and guiding your client, you let the client take the lead and direct you.
6. Excitement About Possibilities. You get excited about all the ways you can help your client and want to solve every problem they have—even if they don’t need those solutions right now.
7. Perfectionism. You have high standards, and will give the client way more than they asked or paid for, or spend way more time on something than necessary.

HOW DOES OVERDELIVERING BACKFIRE?

While overdelivering might look like simply providing “great service,” it often backfires in several ways:

1. Resentment. When you set a precedent of doing more for less, clients will feel free to keep asking for more and you can quickly become resentful.
2. Burnout. Overdelivering leads to burnout. You know you’re burnt out when you dread your work, feel overwhelmed, and never have enough time.
3. Missed Opportunities. Time spent doing extra, unpaid work for clients is time you could have spent on marketing, networking, or improving your business.
4. Overwhelmed Clients. When you overdeliver, you can overwhelm your clients with too many options or unnecessary features.

The Connection Between Money Mindset and Financial Freedom

Your beliefs about money shape how you price your web design services, use your time and set and hold boundaries with clients.

Your beliefs about money influence how free or trapped you feel, how stressed or fulfilled you feel, how secure or precarious you feel, how patient or hustl-y you feel.

And your feelings drive your actions, and your actions create your results.

So while money isn’t everything… how you think about money in your business and your life has a huge influence on your actions and ultimately your results.

It literally pays to examine your beliefs about money and intentionally develop a money mindset that will help you create a profitable, sustainable web design business.

If you believe:

• Money is finite
• Money can run out
• Having money means someone else doesn’t have it
• When a client gives money to you in exchange for a website, you have more money and they have less money…

…you’ll set low rates, overdeliver, and struggle to meet your financial goals.

If, on the other hand, you believe:

• There’s always more money on the way
• Money multiplies
• Having money doesn’t mean there’s less for everyone else
• When a client gives you money in exchange for a website, they’ll be able to make money as a result

…you’ll charge web design prices that allow you to meet your own personal and business needs and goals so that you can ultimately deliver at a high level for your clients.

Expense Mindset vs. Investment Mindset

EXPENSE MINDSET

Web designers operating their business from an Expense Mindset view their services as a cost to the client.

This leads to guilt about charging more, fearing that clients can't afford high prices.

As a result, they set lower rates, overdeliver to “justify” their prices, and ultimately limit their income.

Signs of an Expense Mindset include:

• Fear of raising prices.
• Guilt when discussing money with clients.
• Worrying about being “too expensive” or “affordable”.

INVESTMENT MINDSET

Web designers operating their business from an Investment Mindset view what they create for their clients as revenue-generating assets, and see what’s possible for their clients in the future when working together.

They’re not trying to save their clients’ money, they’re trying to help them make more money.

Signs of an Investment Mindset include:

• Pricing based on long-term value, not time.
• Pricing that allows you to not overwork so that you have the capacity to serve your clients at a high level.
• Viewing your work as a tool that helps clients grow their businesses.
• Comfort with money conversations, knowing that charging for your time, experience, and expertise does not harm your clients.

When you adopt an Investment Mindset, everything about your web design business changes:

1. Increased Revenue. You confidently charge higher rates because you know the value you provide, leading to greater web design revenue. You become a trusted advisor rather than an order-taker, leading to better results for your clients (and more referrals).
2. More freedom and fulfillment. When you stop overdelivering to justify your rates, you free up more time and energy for yourself, your family, and your passions. You stop dreading opening up your inbox and start enjoying your work again. How Lauren Broke Free
3. Less stress, overwhelm, and burnout. When you’re not always worried about money (your own or your clients’), you’re able to set clear expectations with your clients, take more risks, and be patient for the return, and you’re less likely to quit just before the payoff.
4. You attract investment-minded clients. When you stop speaking to expense-minded clients and start speaking to investment-minded clients in your marketing, messaging, and sales conversations, you’ll naturally resonate with and attract more investment-minded clients.

How to Develop an Investment Mindset

Transforming your money mindset from an Expense Mindset to an Investment Mindset is the key to stopping undercharging and overdelivering.

Here’s how you can start the shift from an expense to an Investment Mindset:

IDENTIFY YOUR PRICING PARADIGM

How you think about money in your personal life and business influences how you think your clients think about money.

A paradigm is a set of thoughts and beliefs built in your mind over time through how you grew up, how you were raised, how your family thinks about money, and how the cultural groups you identify with think about money.

Becoming aware of your money beliefs and how they create wanted or unwanted results in your business is the first step in shifting from an Expense Mindset to an Investment Mindset.

We put together a Pricing Paradigm Quiz to help you identify your own personal pricing paradigm, and the pricing paradigm you project onto your clients.

Take our Pricing Paradigm Quiz here and discover your pricing paradigm

SELL YOURSELF ON THE VALUE OF WORKING WITH YOU

Has anyone ever told you to “Charge what you’re worth?”

Well, it’s time to forget that advice, forever.

Your client isn’t investing in YOU, or even your knowledge or skills. They are investing in a revenue-generating asset for their business that you create for them.

The next step in developing an Investment Mindset is selling yourself not on your value, but on the long-term value to your client of the strategies, solutions, and tools you create for them.

Think about it: if your client was able to create 10 times more money than they paid you over the lifetime of the website, would you still feel like you were taking money from your client?

If your client was able to work less and spend more time with family as a result of the time the website you built for them saved them, would you still feel like they paid you too much?

When you stop thinking you’re selling websites, and realize that you’re actually selling more time, money, capacity, and confidence, you stop feeling like you have to have more experience or it has to take you a long time or be hard or complex for you to charge more.

When you believe in the value of your work at a core level, everything changes. You won’t hesitate to confidently state your price, offer your services, or explain the results you deliver.

It’s not about charging what you’re worth (you’re invaluable), it’s about charging what IT’S worth.

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO MAKE MONEY

Maybe this sounds obvious, but you are allowed to make as much money as you want to make as a web designer.

You’re allowed to set prices that help you create a profitable, sustainable web design business.

You’d never tell one of your clients or colleagues that they can’t charge “that much” or that they shouldn’t make “that much” money… so why do you have different rules for yourself?

When you accept money from a client to build a website for them, it’s a win-win situation where both of you benefit.

You create a tool for your client that helps them create more time, money, capacity, success, confidence, and fulfillment, and you get paid to do something you love and generate web design profits for your business.

If you wouldn’t tell someone else they shouldn’t be charging “that much”, stop telling yourself that!

WHAT YOU'RE REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR AS A WEB DESIGNER

Your job as a web designer is to listen to your client, understand their needs and goals, and then create a website that meets their needs and empowers them to reach their goals.

Your clients don’t know what they don’t know, so it’s also your responsibility to set expectations and educate them on what’s NOT your responsibility.

For example, maybe you build SEO-friendly websites, but you don’t offer ongoing SEO services.

It’s your job to explain the difference between SEO-friendly and ongoing SEO strategy to your client and let them know what you’re responsible for and what they’re responsible for.

For a breakdown on the difference between SEO-friendly and ongoing SEO strategy, check out my podcast interview with SEO expert Mariah Liszewski.

If you want to create recurring revenue by adding SEO strategy to your suite of services, check out my podcast interview with Lindsay Halsey of Pathfinder SEO.

Unless you’ve been hired to also do their marketing, sales, product development, and customer service, your clients are responsible for marketing their business, having an offer or product that people want to buy, delivering on their promises, and taking good care of their customers (and you are responsible for making sure they understand this).

Establishing responsibility is so critical to the success of a project that we give our Web Designer Academy students step-by-step processes and scripts to ask clients the right questions at the right times in the sales process to establish responsibility.

Getting clear on what’s your responsibility and what’s your clients’ responsibility will help you to stop undercharging because you’re worried clients won’t get results.

How to Stop Undercharging and Overdelivering

Undercharging comes from undervaluing your skills and projecting your money beliefs onto your clients, while overdelivering comes from wanting safety, security, and acceptance…

But both lead to burnout, resentment, and less profitable projects.

By selling yourself on the value of what you do, setting clear boundaries, and focusing on delivering results instead of extras, you can create web design revenue that builds a more profitable and sustainable web design business—without sacrificing client satisfaction.

Once you’re sold on the value of what you do, you’re aware of your personal pricing paradigm and have learned to stop projecting it onto your clients, you’ve given yourself permission to make money, and you know what outcomes you’re responsible for—you’re ready to stop undercharging and overdelivering.

Here’s how:

Stop Making Your Price About You

Your pricing isn’t about you or “your worth” (you are priceless); it’s about what your clients are able to create in their businesses and lives as a result of using the website you build for them. Your client isn’t buying you, or even a website—they are buying the outcomes the website will create for them.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Designers

Just because another designer charges less doesn't mean that's the “going rate” for web design pricing and that’s what you have to charge too! Set your prices based on your personal lifestyle and financial goals, not what others are doing.

Learn to Have Money Conversations

Practice sales conversations ahead of time. Practice saying your new prices. Notice how you feel and what you think when you talk about pricing… and that is where your real work is.

We give our Web Designer Academy students step-by-step scripts and strategies to practice and coach them through any mindtrash that comes up so they can have confident money conversations.

Stay Out of Your Client's Wallet

Don’t make assumptions about what your clients can or can’t afford.

They are adults who can make their own money decisions. It’s your job to set prices that are profitable and sustainable for you and give them all the information they need to make their own decisions—not to worry about their financial situation.

Know Your Numbers

Understand your project timelines, personal and business expenses, and how much you need to earn to meet your goals. Decide how much you really want and need to make, how much time you really have, and set prices that are profitable and sustainable for you.

Know Their Numbers

Understand how your clients make money, how much they charge, the lifetime value of a customer to their business, their current number of website visitors, the current conversion rate of website visitors to customers, the average amount of time from visitor to customer—and what would need to change to help them reach their goals.

Our Paid Discovery Mastery™ course shows you how to do a deep dive into your clients’ business and goals so that you can make value-based offers to your clients.

Make Offers with an Investment Mindset

Recognize that the website you’re building isn’t just another expense for your client—it’s an investment that can help them grow their business and increase revenue. When you think and talk about it as an investment, your clients will start to see it that way too.

Work on Your Imposter Syndrome

It’s okay to feel uncertain at times, but your clients aren’t paying you to already know everything, they’re paying you to find solutions and solve problems as they come up. Remember, no one already knows everything—it’s okay to get paid to do research and find solutions.

Step Into Your Role as a Leader

Start thinking of yourself as a trusted advisor instead of a pixel pusher.

It’s your job to guide clients and advise them on the best decisions for their business, not just do whatever they ask without question.

They hired you to design and build their website, not to be their virtual assistant. You don’t have to say yes to every little thing they ask you to do, and you’re allowed to set boundaries.

Focus on Impactful Deliverables

Get clear on the key deliverables that will have the most impact on your client’s business. Prioritize these first, and leave the “fun extras” for later if necessary. Your goal is to solve the client’s most pressing problems first.

Recognize Your Urge to Overdeliver

Pay attention to when you feel the urge to say “yes” to something outside the scope. Ask yourself what you’re thinking that makes you want to overdeliver. Are you trying to avoid conflict? Are you justifying your web design price? Identify those thoughts and work through them.

Stop Trying to Control What Others Think

You can’t control how clients feel about you. Instead of acting from a place of wanting people to like you, focus on operating with integrity, aligned with your values. Clients will respect you more when you confidently set boundaries (and if they don’t, it’s okay to let them go and find clients who will).

Delight Your Clients Without Overdelivering

Delighting your clients isn’t about giving them more than they asked for; it’s about setting them up for future success.

Clients will be thrilled when:

• You guide them through the process, taking the cognitive load off of them, and helping them make decisions that will benefit their business in the long run.
• You provide clear communication and set deadlines and expectations, so they can prioritize tasks on their side and always know what’s coming next.
• You keep them on task so that you can finish the project on time and within scope, allowing them to start using the tools you’ve created to meet their goals sooner, instead of allowing the project to drag on for months.

The key to delighting your clients is delivering exactly what you promised and helping them achieve the results they hired you for—no extra bells and whistles required.

Ask Yourself the Magic Question

When you have the urge to lower your price or set low prices in the first place because you are worried your clients can’t afford it, ask yourself the following question:

“Would I take out my wallet, get out my own money, and pay the difference on behalf of this client?”

Because that’s basically what you’re doing when you keep your prices low so that clients can “afford” you.

If the answer is no, you wouldn’t pay the difference between what you really want to charge and what their budget is… then you get to practice holding the line on your web design pricing, selling yourself on the value, and patiently and persistently pursuing hybrid and investment-minded clients who make decisions on value vs. price.

Stop Waiting to Raise Your Prices

If you’ve ever thought, “I'm going to wait until I’ve worked with more clients, my process is perfect, and I’ve got all the experience I need before I raise my prices,” it’s time to rethink that belief!

Waiting for some mythical “perfect moment” to raise your prices is not only holding you back, it’s also causing you to leave so much web design revenue on the table.

I’m so passionate about this because I see it over and over again—web designers undercharge in the beginning, thinking they’ll raise their prices later when they’re more confident or have more projects in their portfolio.

You don’t need more experience or a flawless process to raise your prices for web design.

Remember, the value of a website isn’t about you—it’s about the results it creates for your client.

The problem comes when you price based on your confidence level, not the impact the website will have on your client’s business.

The sooner you stop tying your price to how “ready” you feel, and start charging based on the value you deliver, the sooner you’ll build a sustainable web design business.

You deserve to get paid well for your work even while you’re building out your processes.

Selling Your Ideas Instead of Selling Your Time

One of the biggest mindset shifts you need to make as a freelance web designer is understanding that you’re not selling your time—you’re selling your ideas, expertise, and the long-term value you create for your clients.

This shift is crucial if you want to raise your web design prices and avoid the burnout that comes from being stuck in the hourly-rate (or even the day-rate) trap.

Let’s be real: If you keep charging by the hour (or by the day without tying the price to the outcome vs. your time), you’ll always feel like you have to work more to make more… and you’ll always run out of time.

And worse, you’re undervaluing the real magic you bring to the table: your expertise, strategy, and ability to solve problems that make a real difference for your clients.

When you sell your ideas, you’re no longer just building a website—you’re providing a valuable solution that helps your clients reach their goals, whether that’s growing their business, generating more leads, or creating a brand that attracts their ideal customers.

The outcome is where the value lies, not the number of hours you spend pushing pixels or tweaking designs.

Your client doesn’t care how easy or hard it is for you to build their website. What they care about is the end result—the website that’s going to bring them more customers, elevate their brand, and increase their revenue. That’s the value they’re willing to pay for.

And when you start thinking this way, you realize that the amount you charge should reflect the impact your work has on your client’s business, not the number of hours it took you to complete the project.

This shift in thinking allows you to move away from hourly rates and into value-based web design pricing, where your price is tied to the results you’re helping your client achieve, not how long it takes you to achieve them.

Once you untie your price from your time, you can create web design packages and project rates that reflect the real value of what you’re offering.

And the best part?

You get to streamline your processes, work more efficiently, and still deliver a premium service, all without being stuck in that hustle mode where more clients equals more work.

When you stop selling your time and start selling your ideas and solutions, you gain more freedom, set better boundaries, and create a web design business that’s not only profitable but sustainable.

Why You Don’t Have to Be a Web Developer to Charge Premium Prices

One of the biggest myths in the web design industry is that you need to be a web developer, custom-coding everything from scratch to charge premium prices…

…and that it’s cheating to use Squarespace, Showit, Wix, Shopify, or WordPress Page Builders.

This belief holds so many talented web designers back, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

I discuss this in-depth in Episode 6 of the Profitable Web Designer Podcast with Emma Kate of the Designer Boss Podcast.

Many web designers think they need to master coding languages like HTML, CSS, or PHP before they can justify raising their prices.

But in reality, most clients don't care how the website is built—they care about the results it delivers for their business.

The value you provide isn't in the lines of code; it's in how your designs solve problems, generate leads, and elevate your clients' brands.

These days, you can create professional, high-performing websites without writing a single line of code that clients can easily manage and update themselves.

And guess what? That’s usually what most clients want—a functional website they can control without needing to hire a developer every time they want to make a small change.

Page Builders Aren't “Cheating” – They're an Asset

Using page builders isn’t cutting corners or cheating—it’s smart business.

Page builders allow you to streamline your design process, deliver high-quality work faster, and give your clients a better experience.

The key to charging premium prices no matter what platform you use is shifting your mindset from pricing based on how long it takes you to create a website to pricing based on the value you’re delivering.

If you’re using a page builder to create a website faster, that’s not something to feel guilty about—that’s a win for both you and your client! The faster you can get their website live, the sooner they can start seeing results, which makes your service even more valuable.

Your expertise as a designer is in understanding your client’s needs, translating their vision into a functional website, and delivering something that helps them reach their goals. You’re not just a “pixel pusher” or “drag-and-drop designer”—you’re a problem solver and a strategist, and those are skills that are worth charging premium prices for.

You're Empowering Your Clients (And Yourself)

When you build websites using tools that empower your clients to manage their own websites, you’re adding long-term value to their business.

As Emma Kate shared on the Profitable Web Designer Podcast, the ease and flexibility of WordPress page builders like Elementor or Divi allow her to confidently charge more because they provide a better end product for her clients. Her clients can update their sites without needing her for every little change—and that’s worth a lot to businesses that want to stay agile.

So, the next time you doubt whether you can charge premium web design prices without being a full-stack developer, remember this:

You’re not selling code, you’re selling outcomes.

You’re giving your clients the freedom to make updates on their own if they want to, which means they can stay nimble and responsive to the fast pace of online business…

…and if they don’t want to make their own changes, well, it’ll take less time for YOU too, which is a win/win.

Should You Put Your Pricing on Your Website?

One of the most common questions I get from web designers is, “Should I put my pricing on my website?”

The answer isn’t black and white, and it largely depends on where your mindset is when it comes to money, your value, and pricing.

So let’s dive into the common reasons people choose to either display or hide their pricing and explore the thought process behind each choice.

Why Some Web Designers Don't Put Pricing on Their Website

Many web designers avoid putting their prices on their websites because they fear it will scare potential clients away. Here are some common reasons designers might withhold their pricing:

1. Fear of Being Too ExpensiveThey don’t want potential clients to see the price and think, “That’s too much,” and move on without even reaching out. This often comes from a belief that people can’t afford your prices—a belief that, frankly, can sabotage your entire sales process.
2. Uncertainty in PricingSome designers don’t feel confident in their pricing structure. They might think, “It depends on the project, so I can’t give a fixed price,” and this uncertainty stops them from displaying their rates.

Why Some Designers Do Put Pricing on Their Website

On the flip side, some designers prefer to list their prices online to be transparent or weed out clients they feel can’t afford them. Here are the common reasons why:

1. Weeding Out Non-Qualified LeadsThey only want to talk to people who already know the price and are okay with it, thinking this will save them from wasting time on consultations with people who can’t afford their services.
2. Avoiding NegotiationSome designers are uncomfortable with negotiations or being told they’re too expensive, so they list their pricing upfront to avoid these conversations altogether.
3. Price TransparencyThey believe that putting pricing on their website will build trust and transparency with potential clients, setting clear expectations from the start.
4. Avoiding Money ConversationsFor many, putting the price upfront is a way of avoiding uncomfortable money conversations. They think, “I’ll just put the price out there so I don’t have to deal with awkward back-and-forths on calls.”

The Real Reason Behind the Debate: Your Mindset

Whether or not you should list your pricing depends less on the strategy itself and more on your mindset about your value and pricing.

In many cases, designers who avoid listing their pricing or who focus on weeding out clients do so because they believe they are too expensive.

If you believe you’re too expensive, it will impact every part of your business—from how you market your services to how you run your client projects.

When I started my web design business, I put my prices on my website because it felt safer.

I didn’t want to have money conversations with people, and I feared someone would say, “Who do you think you are to charge that much?”

In reality, those fears were about me and my mindset, not about my clients.

Once I realized that the way I talked about my services affected what clients were willing to pay and whether they focused on the value and the long-term outcomes of what I deliver or the immediate price tag, I stopped focusing on justifying my prices and building web design packages based on what I thought people could afford and began focusing on the value I was providing. That’s when everything changed.

What We Teach at the Web Designer Academy

Inside the Web Designer Academy, we teach our students how to pre-frame the value of working with them at every step of the customer journey, and how to make empowering offers that focus on long-term value vs. price.

We teach them how to package, price, position, and sell premium web design projects while staying out of their clients’ wallets.

We teach a process that starts with a Paid Discovery session, followed by strategic recommendations and an offer to implement those recommendations using our Irresistible Package Matrix™ Strategy.

We recommend that our students list the price of their Paid Discovery package on their website, and we empower them to decline projects that aren’t a good fit, which helps them develop their confidence in holding boundaries in all other areas of their web design business.

If they have a signature web design package and they are solid on their deliverables and pricing, we show them how to properly lay out their sales page and display their prices to pre-frame the value of working with them.

So, Should You List Your Prices?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

The key is to ask yourself:

• Am I making this decision because I feel powerful and confident about the value I’m delivering?
• Or am I making it to protect myself from uncomfortable conversations?

Your decision should always come from a place of believing in your value, and when you do, pricing becomes less about the number and more about the outcome and transformation you’re providing to your clients.

Irresistible Package Matrix™

If you’re tired of attracting web design clients who underpay, overwork you, and don’t value the expertise you bring to the table, it’s time to rethink how you structure and present your web design services.

One of the most game-changing strategies we teach inside the Web Designer Academy is the Irresistible Package Matrix™ – a framework that allows you to offer web design packages that not only serve your clients but also protect your time, energy, and profit margins.

So, what exactly is the Irresistible Package Matrix™?

The Irresistible Package Matrix™ is a powerful way of presenting your offers that helps you meet the needs of investment-minded, hybrid, and expense-minded clients—all while making sure that you’re not undercharging and overdelivering.

It’s not just about listing out services and deliverables; it’s about creating tiers of value that allow clients to see what they’re getting, and equally, what they’re not getting at each level.

Unlike the typical “bronze, silver, gold” package approach that most web designers use where all you're really changing is the number of pages or deliverables—our web design packages framework layers in different levels of service, customization, boundaries, and pricing paradigms.

We teach our Irresistible Package Matrix™ strategy in detail in the Web Designer Academy, but in a nutshell, it includes 3 options for working together: one for investment-minded clients, one for hybrid-minded clients, and one for expense-minded clients that empowers the client to choose whether they prefer to spend their time, money, or a blend of both.

When you give clients choices, you stay out of their wallets and you automatically set boundaries because what options they don’t choose are just as important as what they do choose.

This allows clients to make an empowered choice based on their own needs, business model, and budget from a set of options that work for your financial goals and time constraints.

The truth is, your price isn’t what sells your services. It’s how you communicate the impact you’re going to make in your clients’ business. When you clearly frame your web design packages around the outcomes your clients care about, the decision becomes less about “How much does this cost?” and more about “What will this do for me?”

Here’s what to consider when putting together your packages:

Messaging

How you talk about your web design packages is everything. It’s not just about listing what’s included—it’s about showing who the package is for and why it’s the perfect solution for them.

Make it crystal clear how your services solve their specific challenges and get them closer to their goals. Whether they’re in an expense, hybrid, or investment mindset, your messaging should highlight the results they’re going to get, not just the deliverables.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Forget focusing on how many pages they’re getting or how long it’ll take to build the site. Clients want to know what’s in it for them. Will the website help them increase sales? Boost their credibility? Free up their time?

Paint a clear picture of how their investment in your services will bring long-term benefits to their business.

When clients see the potential ROI, they’re not as fixated on the price—they’re focused on the results.

Level of Service

Not all clients need or want the same level of service, and that’s where the Irresistible Package Matrix™ comes in.

You can offer different tiers based on the level of interaction, support, and collaboration you provide. Maybe your top-tier package includes personalized strategy sessions and ongoing support, while a lower-tier package is more hands-off. Just make sure you’re charging accordingly—high-touch service deserves a high-end price.

Level of Customization

Customization doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch, but it does mean offering tailored solutions. The more customized the package, the more time and resources it’ll take—so price it accordingly. For clients who need something more straightforward, a lower-priced package might use templates or pre-designed elements. Either way, your clients should feel like they’re getting the value they need, no matter what level of customization they choose.

Boundaries

Setting clear boundaries is critical for a sustainable business. You need to be upfront about what’s included and what’s not—how many revisions, what the timeline looks like, and the scope of the project. This helps you prevent scope creep and burnout, while ensuring that your projects stay profitable without feeling like you have to say “yes” to everything.

Pricing

Here’s the thing—your web design prices should reflect the value you provide, not just the time you spend on a project. It’s not about how long it takes you or how skilled you are (though we both know you’re a rockstar). It’s about the transformation your client will see in their business. When you structure your packages to emphasize the long-term value, clients stop focusing on the price and start focusing on the results they’ll get.

Making Decisions From Value vs. Cost

The way you present and communicate your packages is what helps clients make decisions based on value, not cost. It’s exactly what we teach inside the Web Designer Academy—how to package, price, and communicate your services in a way that attracts clients who see the long-term value in what you offer, so you can stop undercharging and overdelivering, and start running a profitable business that supports your life.

The beauty of the Irresistible Package Matrix™ is that it gives you the confidence to test premium prices while staying out of your clients' wallets.

The Irresistible Package Matrix™ might be just the strategy you need for creating high-value offers that attract high-quality clients.

Why Profitability and Sustainability Go Hand In Hand

When it comes to running a successful web design business, profitability and sustainability are two sides of the same coin.

Without profitability, sustainability falls apart—and without sustainability, profitability is a short-term game that leads straight to burnout.

Let’s break down why they’re so intertwined:

Profitability Fuels Your Web Design Business Long-Term

Profitability isn’t just about covering your expenses and taxes and paying yourself a decent amount.

True web design profitability allows you to invest back into your business to create more time and money—whether it’s hiring help, upgrading tools, investing in professional development, or just being able to stop working so much!

When you’re consistently profitable, you have the resources to keep your web design business moving forward without sacrificing your well-being.

Sustainability Protects Your Profitability

You might be profitable in the short term by taking on lots of clients, undercharging, and over-delivering, but that’s a recipe for burnout.

And once burnout hits, you either stop enjoying your work, or worse—you can’t maintain the same level of output. You end up compromising on quality, deadlines slip, and clients become unhappy, which directly impacts your ability to stay profitable.

Sustainability means setting boundaries, pricing appropriately, and managing your workload so that you can deliver high-quality work consistently without sacrificing your personal well-being.

Sustainable Web Design Businesses Bring Premium Clients

Premium clients are drawn to businesses that have solid boundaries and clear processes—they don’t want to work with someone who’s stressed out, overworked, and unable to provide the attention their project deserves.

When you structure your web design business to be both profitable and sustainable, you’re able to show up fully for your clients, delivering an experience that reflects your premium price point.

This attracts even more high-quality, investment-minded clients, creating a cycle of sustainable growth.

The Freedom to Say ‘No’ Creates Profitability

When your business is sustainable, you don’t feel pressured to take on every project that comes your way just to keep the lights on. You have the freedom to say ‘no’ to clients who aren’t a fit, to projects that don’t excite you, or to work that undercuts your value. This selective approach creates space for more web design profit opportunities—because when you’re not desperate to fill your calendar, you can charge what your services are truly worth and work only with clients who are willing to pay for the value you provide.

Profitability Without Sustainability Leads to Burnout

There’s a misconception that working harder and longer hours equals more money, but that’s just not true. Profitability built on overworking is not sustainable. Eventually, you’ll hit a wall where you simply can’t work more hours, and the stress of always being “on” will catch up with you. That’s why it’s critical to build a business model where both your web design revenue and workload are manageable and aligned with your personal goals.

At the end of the day, profitability and sustainability go hand in hand because they create a business that’s designed to thrive long-term—a business that not only brings in revenue but also gives you the freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment you started it for in the first place.

The Goal: Flexibility, Freedom & Financial Independence

As web designers, we’re always learning—there will always be new skills, trends, and best practices to keep up with.

But here’s the real game-changer: creating freedom, flexibility, and financial independence doesn’t come from mastering every design trend. It comes from mastering the business side of things—how to run a profitable and sustainable web design business.

So many talented designers struggle to get that freedom they crave, not because they aren’t skilled enough, but because they’re not sure how much they really need to make, how to price and package their services, or how to position, market, and sell what they offer. And they’re not stepping into that leadership role with their clients.

When you know your numbers, set prices that are both profitable and sustainable, shift your money mindset, and lead your clients with confidence—treating them like adults who can make their own decisions—everything changes. You can make money doing what you love without feeling overworked and underpaid.

At the Web Designer Academy, we’re here to help you with every step of that journey—from transforming how you think about pricing to teaching you how to confidently market and sell high-value web design projects. If you’re ready to stop trying to figure it out alone and start building the business (and life) you really want, we’d love to work with you. Apply today!