August 5, 2025 • 9 mins
In this episode, you're going to learn how to start a web design side hustle!
You'll learn:
- the easiest ways to start building websites for clients today
- how to get your first clients
- how to scale your web design business
- the best list of web design resources
Here are the show notes and resources: How to Start a Web Design Side Hustle
Subscribe to the Legit Side Hustles Podcast for more weekly episodes like this one!
Thanks for listening!
You'll learn:
- the easiest ways to start building websites for clients today
- how to get your first clients
- how to scale your web design business
- the best list of web design resources
Here are the show notes and resources: How to Start a Web Design Side Hustle
Subscribe to the Legit Side Hustles Podcast for more weekly episodes like this one!
Thanks for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Legit Side Hustles podcast. I'm your host,
Miles and today I'm going to be telling you how
to start a web design side hustle. And I encourage
you to look at the show notes on legitside hustles
dot com and in the description below because I'm going
to mention a lot of valuable resources into this episode.
(00:21):
So let's dive into it. And the first thing we
need to talk about is what web design actually is.
It's a process that involves planning, creating, and maintaining website
that's pretty straightforward. As a side hustle, you'll build and
design websites for local businesses, online creators, or digital freelancers
using tools and website builders like WordPress, card Card, Webflow, Squarespace,
(00:44):
or Canva. So you have no need to code. You
just need the ability to deliver a clean website that
acts as an online home base for your client. It's
a great side hustle if you're creative, if you enjoy
helping business owners resolve website and marketing problems, if you're
good at learning how to use design tools like WordPress
(01:06):
or Webflow, and if you want a flexible side hustle,
that's perfect for solopreneurs and digital nomads. What's most important though,
is having an open mind, a bias for action, and
the willingness to keep up with the web design industry.
So let's talk about how to get started. And getting
started with web design is honestly, really fun and straightforward.
(01:29):
You'll start by picking one website platform and learning the
basics with YouTube toials. I recommend starting with Card because
it's so visually appealing and easy to learn. From there,
you can move to more complex platforms like WordPress or Webflow.
With Card, you could build up three websites for free
(01:51):
using their subdomains, so you can build your personal website,
a mock website for your portfolio, and a website for
a friend or family member. From here, you'll want to
pick a niche and find your first client. For example,
your niche could be landscapers and you might find your
first client in a Facebook group for landscaping business owners.
(02:14):
This is just to get started, and you'll learn more
about niche selection and getting more clients in just a minute.
Now let's talk about your tool stack, the tools that
you'll need. So of course you'll need a laptop or
desktop PC. Then you'll need your website builder, which is
(02:35):
generally drag and drop and no code, and this includes
every website builder we've talked about so far, like card WordPress,
with elementor or Webflow. You'll need a graphic design platform
such as Canva, and you can also build websites with Canva.
I recommend having Google's Productivity Suite or Google Workspace, and
(02:58):
this includes Google met Gmail doc sheets, and a ton
of other great tools. Name Cheap is great for domain
name purchases, and hostinger is my host of choice if
you're using WordPress. You can make a lot of money
as a web designer, especially if you tack on recurring
(03:20):
revenue services and build a powerful product ladder. Here are
three simple examples. One, you can charge five hundred to
fifteen hundred dollars for websites with one to five pages,
especially for small local businesses. Two you can charge twenty
five hundred to five thousand dollars for bigger custom websites.
(03:42):
And then three, you can skyrocket your web design revenue
by providing monthly services like website maintenance or SEO, which
generally starts at around fifty dollars but can go as
high as one thousand dollars or more. Per month per website.
Here's some tips for getting clients. So I'd say it
(04:04):
starts with putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. You
want to start with people you know like friends, family, coworkers,
or your favorite business in town with no website. Then
make a Facebook page for your web design side hustle
and share it with your Facebook friends. Then join niche
and local Facebook groups where you can offer simple starter
(04:26):
website deals. You can also offer free website audits to
get someone on the phone and build trust. Also, start
leaving website tips and giving simple web design advice to
anyone who asks for it. Providing small nuggets of free
value will turn you into an authority and build major trust.
(04:49):
Once your portfolio is ready, add it to your email
signature and your social media bios. Always update your web
design portfolio and always show off your best projects. From here,
you'll want to create foundational marketing and branding platforms such
as a Google business profile, LinkedIn page, YouTube channel, email list,
(05:15):
and a free community for your niche like a Facebook group. Lastly,
partner with other service providers, especially ones that work with
small businesses. This includes photographers, tax professionals, and social media managers.
Try to look for a partner who doesn't have a
website yet and offer them a free website in exchange
(05:35):
for their partnership. You can find partners easily with local
networking groups, your local Chamber of commerce, LinkedIn, and BNI
chapters near you. Now, let's talk about some very common
mistakes that are pretty easy to avoid. One is just
spending months learning and trying to perfect your skills rather
(05:57):
than launching and having a buyer towards action. Two is undercharging.
Remember you are worth it in the beginning. You can
charge lower rates, but if you're going to charge lower rates,
offer smaller websites for the smaller price. Three is forgetting
to do your due diligence through use of contracts and
(06:22):
upfront deposits. And four is offering too many services. I
recommend starting with one primary web design package and then
a web design maintenance plan, and lastly one other complementary
service like SEO, email marketing, or social media management. And
(06:44):
let's talk about how to scale your web design business now,
because there are so many ways to scale your websign business,
and that's one of my favorite things about this type
of side hustle. You can scale with monthly retainer packages
and make them easy to deliver by using tools, systems
and automation. Two you can sell website templates. Three you
(07:10):
can create productized services. Four you can drop service with five.
Five you can hire a white label agency, and six
you can delegate tasks to virtual assistance. Now I'm going
to tell you about six helpful web design side hustle resources.
(07:32):
Number one is the Josh Hall Web Design Podcast. Josh
Hall is a Divvy and WordPress expert, and he's also
great at scaling. He's just an exceptional host and he
has exceptional guests. I love the Josh Hall Web Design Podcast.
Two is the free web design Business course by this
(07:56):
teacher named Layton. So I have a link to that
in the show notes, and if you go to Google
and type in Layton's Free Web Design Business Course, it'll
pop up. Three is follow wp crafter for WordPress tutorials
on YouTube. Four you can follow Peyton Clark Smith for
(08:19):
tutorials about webflow, SEO and scaling a solo agency. Five
you can look at the website start sta r rt
dot co for cards, tutorials and resources. And lastly you
can check out Chris the self made web designer. I
(08:41):
could give you one hundred more resources, but these six
will be plenty to help you get started. And remember
you don't want to get overwhelmed by education. You need
to learn the bare minimum, build your first few websites,
and learn as you go along. So here are my
final thoughts. You really don't need to be a tech
wizard start a web design side hustle. You need to
(09:03):
be resourceful, business oriented, helpful and hungry to get customers
and complete your first projects. Build your web design business
as you go, and remember that Google and other Internet
resources are your best friend for learning. Lastly, remember that
business owners are busy and focused on serving their customers,
(09:27):
which means they don't want to build their website. That's
where you come in as a guide and take them
through the website design journey. Thank you so much for
listening to the Legit Side Hustles podcast and if you
like this episode, tell a friend about it. And lastly,
you have a fantastic day. Thanks again for listening.
Welcome to the Legit Side Hustles podcast. I'm your host,
Miles and today I'm going to be telling you how
to start a web design side hustle. And I encourage
you to look at the show notes on legitside hustles
dot com and in the description below because I'm going
to mention a lot of valuable resources into this episode.
(00:21):
So let's dive into it. And the first thing we
need to talk about is what web design actually is.
It's a process that involves planning, creating, and maintaining website
that's pretty straightforward. As a side hustle, you'll build and
design websites for local businesses, online creators, or digital freelancers
using tools and website builders like WordPress, card Card, Webflow, Squarespace,
(00:44):
or Canva. So you have no need to code. You
just need the ability to deliver a clean website that
acts as an online home base for your client. It's
a great side hustle if you're creative, if you enjoy
helping business owners resolve website and marketing problems, if you're
good at learning how to use design tools like WordPress
(01:06):
or Webflow, and if you want a flexible side hustle,
that's perfect for solopreneurs and digital nomads. What's most important though,
is having an open mind, a bias for action, and
the willingness to keep up with the web design industry.
So let's talk about how to get started. And getting
started with web design is honestly, really fun and straightforward.
(01:29):
You'll start by picking one website platform and learning the
basics with YouTube toials. I recommend starting with Card because
it's so visually appealing and easy to learn. From there,
you can move to more complex platforms like WordPress or Webflow.
With Card, you could build up three websites for free
(01:51):
using their subdomains, so you can build your personal website,
a mock website for your portfolio, and a website for
a friend or family member. From here, you'll want to
pick a niche and find your first client. For example,
your niche could be landscapers and you might find your
first client in a Facebook group for landscaping business owners.
(02:14):
This is just to get started, and you'll learn more
about niche selection and getting more clients in just a minute.
Now let's talk about your tool stack, the tools that
you'll need. So of course you'll need a laptop or
desktop PC. Then you'll need your website builder, which is
(02:35):
generally drag and drop and no code, and this includes
every website builder we've talked about so far, like card WordPress,
with elementor or Webflow. You'll need a graphic design platform
such as Canva, and you can also build websites with Canva.
I recommend having Google's Productivity Suite or Google Workspace, and
(02:58):
this includes Google met Gmail doc sheets, and a ton
of other great tools. Name Cheap is great for domain
name purchases, and hostinger is my host of choice if
you're using WordPress. You can make a lot of money
as a web designer, especially if you tack on recurring
(03:20):
revenue services and build a powerful product ladder. Here are
three simple examples. One, you can charge five hundred to
fifteen hundred dollars for websites with one to five pages,
especially for small local businesses. Two you can charge twenty
five hundred to five thousand dollars for bigger custom websites.
(03:42):
And then three, you can skyrocket your web design revenue
by providing monthly services like website maintenance or SEO, which
generally starts at around fifty dollars but can go as
high as one thousand dollars or more. Per month per website.
Here's some tips for getting clients. So I'd say it
(04:04):
starts with putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. You
want to start with people you know like friends, family, coworkers,
or your favorite business in town with no website. Then
make a Facebook page for your web design side hustle
and share it with your Facebook friends. Then join niche
and local Facebook groups where you can offer simple starter
(04:26):
website deals. You can also offer free website audits to
get someone on the phone and build trust. Also, start
leaving website tips and giving simple web design advice to
anyone who asks for it. Providing small nuggets of free
value will turn you into an authority and build major trust.
(04:49):
Once your portfolio is ready, add it to your email
signature and your social media bios. Always update your web
design portfolio and always show off your best projects. From here,
you'll want to create foundational marketing and branding platforms such
as a Google business profile, LinkedIn page, YouTube channel, email list,
(05:15):
and a free community for your niche like a Facebook group. Lastly,
partner with other service providers, especially ones that work with
small businesses. This includes photographers, tax professionals, and social media managers.
Try to look for a partner who doesn't have a
website yet and offer them a free website in exchange
(05:35):
for their partnership. You can find partners easily with local
networking groups, your local Chamber of commerce, LinkedIn, and BNI
chapters near you. Now, let's talk about some very common
mistakes that are pretty easy to avoid. One is just
spending months learning and trying to perfect your skills rather
(05:57):
than launching and having a buyer towards action. Two is undercharging.
Remember you are worth it in the beginning. You can
charge lower rates, but if you're going to charge lower rates,
offer smaller websites for the smaller price. Three is forgetting
to do your due diligence through use of contracts and
(06:22):
upfront deposits. And four is offering too many services. I
recommend starting with one primary web design package and then
a web design maintenance plan, and lastly one other complementary
service like SEO, email marketing, or social media management. And
(06:44):
let's talk about how to scale your web design business now,
because there are so many ways to scale your websign business,
and that's one of my favorite things about this type
of side hustle. You can scale with monthly retainer packages
and make them easy to deliver by using tools, systems
and automation. Two you can sell website templates. Three you
(07:10):
can create productized services. Four you can drop service with five.
Five you can hire a white label agency, and six
you can delegate tasks to virtual assistance. Now I'm going
to tell you about six helpful web design side hustle resources.
(07:32):
Number one is the Josh Hall Web Design Podcast. Josh
Hall is a Divvy and WordPress expert, and he's also
great at scaling. He's just an exceptional host and he
has exceptional guests. I love the Josh Hall Web Design Podcast.
Two is the free web design Business course by this
(07:56):
teacher named Layton. So I have a link to that
in the show notes, and if you go to Google
and type in Layton's Free Web Design Business Course, it'll
pop up. Three is follow wp crafter for WordPress tutorials
on YouTube. Four you can follow Peyton Clark Smith for
(08:19):
tutorials about webflow, SEO and scaling a solo agency. Five
you can look at the website start sta r rt
dot co for cards, tutorials and resources. And lastly you
can check out Chris the self made web designer. I
(08:41):
could give you one hundred more resources, but these six
will be plenty to help you get started. And remember
you don't want to get overwhelmed by education. You need
to learn the bare minimum, build your first few websites,
and learn as you go along. So here are my
final thoughts. You really don't need to be a tech
wizard start a web design side hustle. You need to
(09:03):
be resourceful, business oriented, helpful and hungry to get customers
and complete your first projects. Build your web design business
as you go, and remember that Google and other Internet
resources are your best friend for learning. Lastly, remember that
business owners are busy and focused on serving their customers,
(09:27):
which means they don't want to build their website. That's
where you come in as a guide and take them
through the website design journey. Thank you so much for
listening to the Legit Side Hustles podcast and if you
like this episode, tell a friend about it. And lastly,
you have a fantastic day. Thanks again for listening.
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