Start a web design business

The short answer

To start a web design business, pick one kind of client, set one offer and price, handle the basics (a business structure, a bank account, a contract, insurance), build three honest samples, and start pitching in your first week. A clear offer and steady outreach matter more at the start than a big portfolio.

Decide what you're selling

You can change all of this later, so decide quickly. Answer three questions, then write the answer on one line.

• Who is it for? Pick one trade, or a few that work the same way. Roofers and painters buy for similar reasons. A roofer and a yoga teacher don't.
• What do they get? Say it in pages and outcomes, such as five pages, a call button and a quote form, on their own web address.
• What does it cost? Pick a real number. You can work out your floor in an afternoon.

Five-page websites for HVAC companies in Ohio, live in ten days, for $1,500 plus $99 a month.

Then choose how you'll earn from it. Most small studios use one of these.

A setup fee plus a monthly plan suits most people selling to local businesses, because the client gets a site that stays looked after and you don't start from zero each month.

Set up the legal and money basics

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state, so check yours, and consider an hour with an accountant.

• Business structure. The Small Business Administration says you're automatically a sole proprietorship if you do business without registering. That's simple, but you and the business are legally the same. An LLC protects your personal assets in most instances, for a state filing fee and sometimes a yearly one.
• Tax ID. An EIN comes free from the IRS, which warns about websites that charge for one.
• Local licenses. Your city or county may require a general business license, even for work from home.
• A separate bank account. It makes taxes far easier, and it helps keep an LLC separate from you.
• Income tax. You'll owe self-employment tax of 15.3% on most of your net earnings, on top of income tax. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more, the IRS expects estimated payments through the year. Move part of every payment into savings the day it arrives, and ask an accountant how much.
• Sales tax. Some states tax web design and some don't. Washington began taxing custom website development in October 2025, for example, so check before your first invoice.
• Insurance. Professional liability insurance, also called errors and omissions, protects you if a client says your work cost them money. Get a quote before you sign your first big job.
• A contract. Use one from your first client, even a friend. Our contract checklist shows what to cover.

What it costs to start

These are rough US figures. You can start small, and spend more once clients are paying.

Skip the rest for now. You don't need a logo designer, an office or a paid course on day one.

Choose your tools

You'll be living in these every day, so check how they handle client work before you settle in.

• Can a client's site live on their own domain? It should.
• Can a client review a draft without an account? Feedback by email is slow, and it gets lost.
• Can a client edit their own site without seeing your other clients? You'll want this eventually.
• What does each extra site cost? Work out the cost at 5 sites and at 20, because that's your margin.
• Who keeps the software updated? On WordPress, that's you. On a hosted builder, it isn't.
• Can you leave? Check whether you can download or move a site if you ever switch.

AI builders have made a first draft fast, and they've changed where the time goes. You'll spend less on layout, and more on checking facts and talking to clients. Read every line of what any AI writes, because it can invent a review or a price.

Shingle is one option, and you can try the demo without an account. Its plan starts with a 7-day trial for $1, in which you can build demos, send pitch links and put a site live. After that, the plan is $49 a month, holds your first live site and comes with client access and Workflows, and each more live site is $7 a month, so 10 are $112.

Build three honest samples

You need something to show, and you need it to be true. Here are four honest ways to get there.

1. A real job at a low price. A friend's business or a local nonprofit gets a discount, and you get a real site and a review.
2. Your own site. It's the first thing a prospect checks, so make it simple and finish it in a day or two.
3. A sample labeled as a sample. A made-up "Northside Plumbing" is fine if the page says it's a sample.
4. A demo for a real business, kept private. Use these to pitch that business. Don't publish one, or show it as a client's site, until they've agreed.

Don't invent testimonials, clients or results. Beyond the embarrassment, the FTC's rule on fake reviews bans them. "New, and I'll give you my full attention" is a perfectly good line for a first client.

Get your first clients

Your first client most likely comes from someone you know, or from a business you pitched directly. Our guide to getting web design clients compares each channel, and how to sell websites to local businesses walks through the pitch.

Start with these.

1. Tell 30 people what you do, and ask who they know.
2. Find businesses with no website or a weak one in your trade and area.
3. Build each a demo, and send one short message.
4. Follow up twice, then stop.

Know the rules before you send anything. In the US, CAN-SPAM covers commercial email, including email to businesses, and texting has its own rules under the TCPA and state laws. Our cold email templates explain what that means in practice.

Get paid

• Take a deposit. Half up front is a common arrangement, and it filters out people who weren't serious.
• Get the balance before launch. It's hard to chase money for a site that's already live.
• Set up card payments for monthly plans. A payment processor or invoicing tool can charge a saved card each month, and you'll chase far fewer invoices. Budget for fees, such as Stripe's 2.9% plus 30 cents per US card payment.

You'll need a separate tool for this, since many builders, including Shingle, don't bill your clients for you.

Deliver the same way every time

A repeatable process is how a small studio stays profitable. Write yours down after the first job.

1. Gather. Facts, photos, logins and one person who can approve things.
2. Draft. Get a first version to them within days, while they're still excited.
3. Fact-check. Read every line against what they gave you, including the phone number and the hours.
4. Review. Send a link, and agree on two rounds of changes.
5. Connect. Put the site on a domain the client owns.
6. Test. Tap the call button on a real phone, send the form, and check that the email arrives.
7. Hand over. Show them where leads go, and what the monthly plan covers.
8. Follow up. Check in after 30 days, and ask who else they know.

Your first 90 days

A plan keeps you selling when it would be more comfortable to polish your site. The timing here is an example and not a promise, since it depends on your hours, your market and your offer.

We can't tell you what you'll earn. Anyone who does is guessing, or selling you something.

What goes wrong

• Polishing instead of pitching. Your logo won't win your first client. A demo in an owner's inbox might.
• Selling to everyone. A generic offer gets generic silence.
• Working free. Low price is a fair trade for a first sample. Free means nobody takes it seriously, including the client.
• No contract, no deposit. Both feel awkward once, and save you many times over.
• Spending the tax money. Set it aside on the day each payment arrives.
• Giving up at week four. Selling takes longer than building. Look at your numbers before you decide it isn't working.

Is it still worth doing with AI

Building got cheaper for you, and for everyone else. Owners can now make a passable site themselves, and some will. The owners who pay you want the job off their plate, and they want someone to call when it needs changing.

So the value has moved. It's in finding the right business, getting the facts right, winning trust and keeping the site working. Those are all things you can build a business on, and none of them comes from a course. Read more about that side in our guide to starting an AI website agency.

When to grow

Grow once you're turning work away and the delivery process is written down. Bring in a freelancer for overflow before you hire anyone. When clients need to log in under your name, look at white label options. Until then, one person with a clear offer and a steady routine is a real business.