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Web design is a flexible and creative business path if you have web design experience, knowledge of best practices, and a talent for building strong client relationships. It’s also a great way to explore entrepreneurship, since you can take on projects as a side hustle or go full-time freelance.
This guide will help you get started with your own web design business, including choosing your niche, legal considerations, and finding clients.
What does a web design business entail?
Web design is the work of planning, designing, and arranging content on a website. Some designers code websites from scratch, while others start on a platform with a template and grid editing system, like Squarespace. Others do some combination of the two.
Think of web design as a digital puzzle: There are components that need to be included on each web page for it to function effectively and provide users with the information they need. A professional designer ensures all of those components are on a site, structured to perform, and designed to match your brand.
Web designers are experts that optimize websites for:
User experience, i.e., how a customer or user engages with the website
Aesthetic and brand considerations like font, colors, and images or videos
11 steps to start your web design business
The specifics of your web design business may influence which of these steps you need to follow, but below is a general idea of all the major things you need to consider and accomplish when starting your own web design business.
1. Choose your web design niche
Begin with a clear idea of what you’ll offer to potential clients or customers. That means answering who, what, and why:
Who is your client?
What services will you offer?
Why should someone choose you over other competitors?
For example, you may excel at designing online stores. Your ideal client will likely be ecommerce businesses or small businesses that need an online store as part of their website.
Having a well-defined niche will make it easier for you to find your clients and for your clients to find you. That said, your work may change over time. Make sure you update and clarify your niche as needed to ensure the right clients are finding you.
2. Define your business goals
Your goals are critical to the foundation of your business. Create a framework at the start for what success looks like.
Start with what kind of business you want to run. If you’re not sure about diving head first into full-time entrepreneurship, perhaps test the waters by trying freelance work. This will help with deciding which clients to take on and how many. If you freelance part-time, you may not take on massive web design projects for businesses, but rather focus on the needs of individual clients.
Coming up with a mission can also help you set clear goals. This can be a one to two line summary of who your clients are, what you do, and why.
Then, set goals for the next three, six, and 12 months that are specific and measurable, like:
How many clients do you want to have every month?
How many projects do you want to take on in the first year?
Do you want to make a certain amount of income in your first year?
Do you want to hire additional web designers? How many?
Do you want to secure additional funding? How much?
Not every web design business needs to have all of these goals, but they’re a starting point for you to understand exactly what you’re working toward.
Read our guide to setting business goals
3. Define your services
There are a lot of different tasks and roles within web design. Once you’ve answered all of the questions on who this work is for and why you’re doing it, list out the services you intend to offer. Not every web designer offers the same services, and you may choose to specialize. You could offer one or all of the below:
General website design and web development
Website copywriting
User experience (UX) design
Custom website applications
Design gráfico
Accessibility components
Video or photo design
4. Set rates for your services
An important step is defining and setting your rates for your work. Make sure you’re charging enough to cover your costs and earn a profit. Looking to peers can be a helpful starting point.
Pricing your work depends on a number of factors:
Your experience level
Project length
Deliverables, i.e., what your clients need for their website
Business costs like software fees, marketing and advertising costs, rent, insurance, taxes, and employees or vendors
You’ll also need to define how you’ll structure payments. Which you choose will depend on the services you offer and may change over time as you come to understand common client requests.
Project based fee: This is a flat-fee that’s inclusive of a defined set of services.
Packages or tiers: These are project-based fees with different services included, so clients can choose based on their budget or needs.
Hourly fee: Charge your clients by the hour for every hour spent on the project. This is more common for less intensive services or projects.
Monthly fee: This is commonly known as a retainer fee. You’ll have ongoing work and the fee will depend on the time or value attributed to that work.
Take the time to set up an invoicing and payment process ahead of time to make it easy on you and your clients when you take on projects.
5. Build your own website
Having your own website is essential, even if you’re taking on part-time web design work. It’s one of the best opportunities to showcase what you’re capable of to potential clients. A strong portfolio will help attract new business.
Make it easy to navigate and functional, with scheduling or an intake form, contact information, and list all the services you offer with examples of completed work and client testimonials, if you have them.
6. Register your business
First, you’ll need to pick a name for your business. Some entrepreneurs stick with their own name if they’re working part-time or freelance.
Pick a name that’s memorable, sets you apart from competitors, and is easy to remember. Remember that when you’re setting up your own website, you’ll also need to pick a domain name, which will more than likely match your business name.
Once you have your business name, you may need to register your business, depending on how you want to set up ownership.
There are four primary types of business ownership.
Sole proprietor: You are the owner of the business and its finances are reported on your personal tax return.
Limited liability company (LLC): Can include any number of owners, but offers legal and financial separation between personal and business assets.
Partnership: Multiple owners (typically at least two) with shares in profits and liabilities.
Corporation: A completely separate legal entity with its own taxation.
7. Consider your legal needs
Your web design business may need professional legal counsel as you’re getting started. A lawyer can help you draft standard contracts for your clients, consult on more complex contracts, or weigh in on business structure. They’ll also be able to help you navigate any compliance concerns with your clients and projects.
Note: Squarespace does not offer legal advice. Consult with a professional to understand any legal needs for your business.
8. Set up financial operations
Once you’ve established everything else, you’ll need to get down to the important financial aspects of your business.
Business bank account: Create a separate account for your business. Keeping everything separate from your personal finances is important for tax purposes but it’ll also make tracking your budget easier.
Payment: How do you want your clients to pay you? Establish clear boundaries around your expected pay schedule (e.g., net 30 business days) and the ways you can take payments.
Employees: Are you hiring employees? Even if it’s one or two additional web designers for large projects, you’ll need to consider their wages or salary, any additional benefits, or tax implications.
Business fees: This includes costs of running your business, such as software, office rent, technology, or website subscriptions.
9. Create systems to manage client work
Process is critical to the success of any business. Before taking on clients, define your processes and workflows to streamline your work.
Your workflow may consist of:
Briefing and intake about the scope of a project
Client kickoff or workback schedules
Brainstorming, research, or strategy processes
Development and first versions
Wireframing
Imaging and design development
Deadlines for feedback and approvals
Quality assurance and checking
Invoicing management
Project wrap-up
10. Divulgue a sua empresa
Many web designers get clients through word-of-mouth or client testimonials. If you’re just getting started, don’t be shy about promoting your new site to your network or offering services to people you know to secure your first projects.
If you’re looking to grow your web design business, you’ll also need to consider other channels to reach potential clients outside of your network. Those channels might be:
Mídia social
Blogs
E-mail marketing
Networking or in-person events
Read our guide to marketing your services
11. Set aside time for web design education and trends
No matter if your business is full or part-time, you’re going to need to stay on top of any new design trends, technologies, or advancements in this field. A key way to differentiate yourself among your many competitors is growing your skillset to offer other, diverse services. This can include taking classes, getting specific certifications, or ad-hoc learning from tutorials by experts.
For example, you may want to include SEO and AI search optimization (AIO) in your repertoire. Knowing how to optimize for search and AI visibility will not only help you market your business, but will also help you set your clients up for success.
Common web design business pitfalls and how to avoid them
Starting a business comes with its fair share of ups and downs. If you’re considering this path, there are a few things to avoid to make starting and running your business a little smoother.
Lack of boundaries: Project scope is designed to maintain guardrails around an ask. If your client is bumping against those boundaries with more out-of-scope requests, gently guide them back to the project’s brief and, if they have additional asks, point them to a policy that outlines additional charges.
Underselling yourself: It’s difficult to price yourself, especially if you’re new to the market. Conduct thorough research on similar businesses to get an idea of how much you should be charging.
Lack of time management: One of the benefits of establishing a clear workflow with defined processes is to manage your own time. Use your workflow and workback schedule to gauge the time each task takes. This will also help you understand how many projects you can take on at one time.