AMA: How to Start a Web Design Business and Sell Websites

[Stevenshade]

Hey @Fox, just wanted to let you know I've just joined Fox Web Academy today and have applied for the facebook group. From there I'll formally introduce myself and my goals, I am very eager to meet everyone and get started. Thank you for the work you do here on this forum and on the course.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[GoldRider]

Hi Fox, How does one handle the UI/UX part as a beginner? Should we use templates or copy another website with the same product theme. What details do we ask the client regarding setting up the UI/UX ? What info or content we ask from the client, which we have to display on the website. Like contact, location, Web copy, list of services and packages they provide.

Also who is responsible for web copy , the client or the designer and how do we talk with the client about this.

I feel like coding the website is the most easy part and the UI UX and designing a website which brings in more sales instead of just showcasing the product, is the more important part.

I've seen people design a beautiful website within weeks of learning and it's like they get it. They get the UX part . How do they do it. Do they already know UX , or are they natural at it.

 

[Fox]

Hey @Fox, just wanted to let you know I've just joined Fox Web Academy today and have applied for the facebook group. From there I'll formally introduce myself and my goals, I am very eager to meet everyone and get started. Thank you for the work you do here on this forum and on the course.

Welcome, hope it goes great for you and if you ever want to leave any feedback here for others - please do!

 

[Fox]

Hi Fox, How does one handle the UI/UX part as a beginner? Should we use templates or copy another website with the same product theme. What details do we ask the client regarding setting up the UI/UX ? What info or content we ask from the client, which we have to display on the website. Like contact, location, Web copy, list of services and packages they provide.

Also who is responsible for web copy , the client or the designer and how do we talk with the client about this.

I feel like coding the website is the most easy part and the UI UX and designing a website which brings in more sales instead of just showcasing the product, is the more important part.

I've seen people design a beautiful website within weeks of learning and it's like they get it. They get the UX part . How do they do it. Do they already know UX , or are they natural at it.

Most businesses just want a website that looks like a website - unless you are working with a small specific group of businesses not many people will be requesting or focusing on unique design.

Your typical business just wants the website to look normal and work well.

So for design it is best to work off what is already well suited - themes, templates, and website builder tools. These can also produce the foundations of a very good design (super quickly) and then all you have to do is add in your copy, images, and systems/plan.

As for writing the content is is usually best to take control over that but to also have the owner(s) involved so its on point. There was different ways to do it but the best is you ask them questions, get a bunch of raw info, produce the copy from that, and then they can make changes if needed.

As for sales I just see that as selling - I guess you could call it UX but I am much more focused on teaching you the overall ideas of how to get results. Once it clicks you can use whatever way you want to build websites that are valuable.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[neel85]

Hey folks,

It is probably the last year I will advertise the Fox Legends Program on the forums, and I wanted to do one last high-value thread before then.

For this thread, feel free to ask any questions you have about starting, growing, or running a profitable web design business.

It can be anything you want around sales, marketing, design, clients etc.

I will do my best to answer, and hopefully, it will help you out.

—

As for the Legends program, let me leave some quick links here…

The original thread is here with dozens of student reviews and a full rundown on the program.
MARKETPLACE - Start Your 6-Figure Online Web Design Business Today...

We ask for all students to leave an open Trustpilot review if possible. Many of these students are people from the Fastlane forums. You can find 80+ detailed such reviews here: Fox Web School is rated "Excellent" with 4.9 / 5 on Trustpilot

View attachment 44655

***
Also, I recently did up a 40-minute long training video on how to sell profitable web design.

It is the first time I have ever done a full free training video like this, and I did my best to make it very valuable.

It should help you see the big picture strategy/mindset of how to make this work and how to get started.

View attachment 44656

You can find the full video here:
https://go.foxwebschool.com/how-to-sell-websites

***

Plus, I have a free book you can also download (with a free workbook) here:
https://go.foxwebschool.com/free-guide-and-workbook

View attachment 44657

If you want the Audible version of that book, it is here:
Amazon.com: $1,000,000 Web Designer Guide: A Practical Guide for Wealth and Freedom as an Online Freelancer (Audible Audio Edition): Rob Anthony O'Rourke, Gary Furlong, Fox Web School: Books

***

To go ahead and sign up, the deal is very straightforward.

The program used to be $2,000 upfront.
But to help others out as much as possible, we dropped it to just a $95 / month subscription access.

This way, anyone can join right now and start getting help right away.
You get full access to everything from day one (including all the content, live calls, expert guest calls, templates, bonus courses etc.).

Once you start getting traction, you can also upgrade to lifetime access if you wish - a few people asked for this option, and it is a nice way to lock in everything at one price. I will send you an email once you join on exactly how that works.

So basically:
- it is just $95 a month to join right now
- there are no ongoing contracts
- and you can upgrade to lifetime access any time you wish
- or keep paying monthly for as long as you want

For everything that is in the program, it's an insanely good deal.

To join, just click here: https://go.foxwebschool.com/join-the-legends

—

That is it for the intro.

To get this thread going, just start posting up whatever questions you have below, and I will jump in and reply.

Thanks.

Hi @Fox , have a few questions
1. Is the access to the whole content given from day 1
2. How much capital does one need to actually start this business
3.how practical is it to expect sales in the first month itself
4. How long is the content related to sales and business apart from the coding
5. How long is the total content
6. Could you provide the detailed curriculum of the course

 

[Anon101637]

Most businesses just want a website that looks like a website - unless you are working with a small specific group of businesses not many people will be requesting or focusing on unique design.

Hi ! I want to join your course in a couple of days the money will come in my paypal and I'm going to join and I'm ready to take action !!

 

[Fox]

Hi @Fox , have a few questions
1. Is the access to the whole content given from day 1
2. How much capital does one need to actually start this business
3.how practical is it to expect sales in the first month itself
4. How long is the content related to sales and business apart from the coding
5. How long is the total content
6. Could you provide the detailed curriculum of the course

Hey @neel85

1) Ya full access from day one, I don't do any drip-feed BS

2) Apart from a laptop not much. Your first project will only take a few dollars to build and 99% of the time the client is going to cover al those costs (even with a free project). So you are pretty much profitable once you get going.

3) It's possible. It really depends on the person so I can't guarantee this but lots of students have done this. I would say that to be selling at $1-3k within 3 months is very possible if you follow the program and are consistent.

4) What I teach is mainly sales, business, and strategy.
I don't teach coding at all (you can learn for free in 100s of places online)

5) Its a lot but you don't need to watch it all as you start (and probably shouldn't).
The core content is probably around 15 hours and then there is around a 100 hours of bonus content, courses, and live calls.

6) Since it is a lot I can't map it out so well. It's best to just join and start going through it.
Plus the sections build on each other so its going to click a lot more as you are actually using it.

Hope that helps.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Hi ! I want to join your course in a couple of days the money will come in my paypal and I'm going to join and I'm ready to take action !!

Great - can't wait to help you out.

 

[Fox]

Cool recent post from the group...


---

This is for just 5 pages of work also...

 

[Keelham]

Ended up joining earlier as got my first website project and altho its free I can't wait to get started thanks @Fox

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Ended up joining earlier as got my first website project and altho its free I can't wait to get started thanks @Fox

Nice! Welcome. What is your first project on?

And if anyone ever wants to leave any feedback or "initial joining thought" on this thread - please do.

 

[Keelham]

Nice! Welcome. What is your first project on?

And if anyone ever wants to leave any feedback or "initial joining thought" on this thread - please do.

My first project is for an electrician i am speaking to him on the weekend to get the entire picture.The client approached me the other day because of the ADVICE taken from @Andy Black theads. "tell everyone what you do bring it up in conversation." etc. (Some really great stuff there)

So even though i don't atcually have a business in Web Design or Marketing Agency OR EXPERIENCE. I am on the path to learn this and like people say learn from mistakes. But you can't make them with out taking ACTION.

Your Youtube channel & book (read the day it came great read #GoRicky) gave me the knowledge i needed to show how i can provide his company value through web design. I am on the phone with him this weekend to go through everything find out what his difficulties are what there doing now whats limiting them from making this decision etc.(really great stuff)

So I was gunna join in September but since this happened ACTION needed to happen.

I joined the Fox Legends Program.

For people intrested and hesitant of taking the plunge.
This is for you. On first glance i was little overwhelmed for many reasons. Here's a few,
- I never spent money on a program or education.
- I was worried been someone who spent most of my young education ill in hospital due to my CF not been able to learn basicly giving me a belief of I can't learn i am stupid etc( i thought I got over this but the second i purchased it the program it climbed back in to my mind for a few seconds. No longer the case)
So far i have seen in this program a clear path to what I need to do to accomplish my entrupunre goals. Not just my current web design goals and, the skills and mindset beliefs that are essential to getting there. I already i feel that I have found my next step this is how I skill up to create value, As a entruprenure.

Thanks for creating this i can wait to put your program in to ACTION.

 

[eliquid]

Going to sign up, but not to learn web design.

Hoping to gleam some insights in other areas in a round-a-bout way.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Going to sign up, but not to learn web design.

Hoping to gleam some insights in other areas in a round-a-bout way.

Great to have you join @eliquid - hope you enjoy it!

 

[Fox]

My first project is for an electrician i am speaking to him on the weekend to get the entire picture.The client approached me the other day because of the ADVICE taken from @Andy Black theads. "tell everyone what you do bring it up in conversation." etc. (Some really great stuff there)

So even though i don't atcually have a business in Web Design or Marketing Agency OR EXPERIENCE. I am on the path to learn this and like people say learn from mistakes. But you can't make them with out taking ACTION.

Your Youtube channel & book (read the day it came great read #GoRicky) gave me the knowledge i needed to show how i can provide his company value through web design. I am on the phone with him this weekend to go through everything find out what his difficulties are what there doing now whats limiting them from making this decision etc.(really great stuff)

So I was gunna join in September but since this happened ACTION needed to happen.

I joined the Fox Legends Program.

For people intrested and hesitant of taking the plunge.
This is for you. On first glance i was little overwhelmed for many reasons. Here's a few,
- I never spent money on a program or education.
- I was worried been someone who spent most of my young education ill in hospital due to my CF not been able to learn basicly giving me a belief of I can't learn i am stupid etc( i thought I got over this but the second i purchased it the program it climbed back in to my mind for a few seconds. No longer the case)
So far i have seen in this program a clear path to what I need to do to accomplish my entrupunre goals. Not just my current web design goals and, the skills and mindset beliefs that are essential to getting there. I already i feel that I have found my next step this is how I skill up to create value, As a entruprenure.

Thanks for creating this i can wait to put your program in to ACTION.

It is really cool to see this feedback, thanks for writing this up @Keelham!

Can't wait to see how things go for you.

 

[Fox]

A was a little light on replies and updates here the last week and a bit - I was getting married!

But I am back in the grove now, so I will be posting upcoming speakers and other news next week.

Thanks, everyone - let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Keelham]

A was a little light on replies and updates here the last week and a bit - I was getting married!

But I am back in the grove now, so I will be posting upcoming speakers and other news next week.

Thanks, everyone - let me know if you have any more questions.

CONGRATULATIONS MAN ! that's great news.!

And will be shooting you questions here on in the fox legends FB group no doubt soon cheers

 

[RaphCrist]

Hey folks,

It is probably the last year I will advertise the Fox Legends Program on the forums, and I wanted to do one last high-value thread before then.

For this thread, feel free to ask any questions you have about starting, growing, or running a profitable web design business.

It can be anything you want around sales, marketing, design, clients etc.

I will do my best to answer, and hopefully, it will help you out.

—

As for the Legends program, let me leave some quick links here…

The original thread is here with dozens of student reviews and a full rundown on the program.
MARKETPLACE - Start Your 6-Figure Online Web Design Business Today...

We ask for all students to leave an open Trustpilot review if possible. Many of these students are people from the Fastlane forums. You can find 80+ detailed such reviews here: Fox Web School is rated "Excellent" with 4.9 / 5 on Trustpilot

View attachment 44655

***
Also, I recently did up a 40-minute long training video on how to sell profitable web design.

It is the first time I have ever done a full free training video like this, and I did my best to make it very valuable.

It should help you see the big picture strategy/mindset of how to make this work and how to get started.

View attachment 44656

You can find the full video here:
https://go.foxwebschool.com/how-to-sell-websites

***

Plus, I have a free book you can also download (with a free workbook) here:
https://go.foxwebschool.com/free-guide-and-workbook

View attachment 44657

If you want the Audible version of that book, it is here:
Amazon.com: $1,000,000 Web Designer Guide: A Practical Guide for Wealth and Freedom as an Online Freelancer (Audible Audio Edition): Rob Anthony O'Rourke, Gary Furlong, Fox Web School: Books

***

To go ahead and sign up, the deal is very straightforward.

The program used to be $2,000 upfront.
But to help others out as much as possible, we dropped it to just a $95 / month subscription access.

This way, anyone can join right now and start getting help right away.
You get full access to everything from day one (including all the content, live calls, expert guest calls, templates, bonus courses etc.).

Once you start getting traction, you can also upgrade to lifetime access if you wish - a few people asked for this option, and it is a nice way to lock in everything at one price. I will send you an email once you join on exactly how that works.

So basically:
- it is just $95 a month to join right now
- there are no ongoing contracts
- and you can upgrade to lifetime access any time you wish
- or keep paying monthly for as long as you want

For everything that is in the program, it's an insanely good deal.

To join, just click here: https://go.foxwebschool.com/join-the-legends

—

That is it for the intro.

To get this thread going, just start posting up whatever questions you have below, and I will jump in and reply.

Thanks.

Hello Rob and thank you for your post !

I am quite new in the forum community but i have been following you since a while and i am interested in your program. I just have a few concerns that maybe you can help me with :

1. I am based in Europe ( Belgium) and it seems like most of your students are from the US; do you think it will be an issue in terms of market and language ( we use mostly French but also English for business). My goal is to start in Belgium and once i get enough customers , planning to move abroad with my client portfolio.

2. i do not have any knowledge in Coding or design

3. Little bit of a silly question but i am using an old MacBook from 2015 will it be an issue in terms of software and uploads ?

I would be happy to get in touch with some of your successful students that are not based in America , even better if they cater to French customers !

Appreciate your help Rob

 

[BRIANDAVE]

Hi @Fox
Does the client aquisition strategy apply for those in 3rd world countries?

I'm asking cause making cold calls in my country hasn't worked for me so far due to rates and stuff like that

Also will it be possible to apply the strategy to websites hosted on shopify?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Implacabilis]

Hi Fox. I am a Web Designer (Figma > Webflow) and only 1.5yrs in. I read through your course and I was intrigued as to what you had to offer. One thing that did stand out, and actually put me off joining the course was your comments on Designers putting too much emphasis on the design side and that clients did not need nor want this. I know of many highly skilled designers that have developed their skills so much that they wouldn't touch a project for under $10k. To me, design combined with functionality is the winning combination 'every' time! To engage with your audience the moment they land on your page, and keep it there until they are ready to commit.

I'll give you an example. I am attempting to gain work in the Architectural Industry. Finding a unique and aesthetically engaging design is at the forefront of their business needs, among many others of course. So to say that designers put too much emphasis on the design side, to me, doesn't make sense. Surely you learn both. One without the other does not work. A designer with a high level of skill would need to work far less in pushing hard sales. The work would sell itself. A book called Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestly may interest many people. It advocates that making yourself so desirable through the service you offer puts you in a position to be oversubscribed, i.e more customers than design space available. There are a million poor-average designers out there looking to do work for businesses, without offering 'real' value. Whilst I agree to be the best designer out there counts for nothing should you not be able to make yourself omnipresent, I think a very strong emphasis should be on enhancing one's skills until you rise above the swarms of so-called average designers out there.

All of the above said, I have made the mistake of focusing entirely on the design side, which is also a huge mistake. But I am very intrigued to find out what your course would have to offer other than teaching people how to make hard sales? Most designers on the Webflow forum would not agree with this avenue to obtain work. It is a very difficult industry to crack and hyper-competitive due to the lower entry of reaching a decent level through amazing design platforms out there. I'd be interested to know your own personal design journey and what tools you work with.

 

[Fox]

Hello Rob and thank you for your post !

I am quite new in the forum community but i have been following you since a while and i am interested in your program. I just have a few concerns that maybe you can help me with :

1. I am based in Europe ( Belgium) and it seems like most of your students are from the US; do you think it will be an issue in terms of market and language ( we use mostly French but also English for business). My goal is to start in Belgium and once i get enough customers , planning to move abroad with my client portfolio.

2. i do not have any knowledge in Coding or design

3. Little bit of a silly question but i am using an old MacBook from 2015 will it be an issue in terms of software and uploads ?

I would be happy to get in touch with some of your successful students that are not based in America , even better if they cater to French customers !

Appreciate your help Rob

1) About 1/3 of the students are from the US/Canada, 1/3 from Europe, and then the rest are from all over.
Here is the student map for Europe...



So, we are well experienced with helping people like you out, and we can show you how to work up to international clients. As Belgium will have plenty of well-paying local clients too - so both can work.

2) That is totally fine. We have a lot of people with no coding who join. It will take a few weeks, but we can show you how to get going. Also, we show you how to get results as you are learning to make websites - not after. Which saves you a few months right away.

3) ha old Mac books are great - up until this year, I was still using my one from before I even started web design. A handy add-on is a monitor - which usually costs like $100 to $200 and makes coding a lot easier.

But hardware-wise, you don't need much computing power to build websites - it's possible on any modern computer or laptop.

I hope that helps, you seem like a great fit, and I am sure we can help you to get going fast.

 

[Fox]

Hi @Fox
Does the client aquisition strategy apply for those in 3rd world countries?

I'm asking cause making cold calls in my country hasn't worked for me so far due to rates and stuff like that

Also will it be possible to apply the strategy to websites hosted on shopify?

We are having great success recently as people from new regions have been signing up (with this deal).



There are of course some challenges you will have to work on, but I am confident we can help you increase your prices.
(And move towards working with international clients too).

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

Hi Fox. I am a Web Designer (Figma > Webflow) and only 1.5yrs in. I read through your course and I was intrigued as to what you had to offer. One thing that did stand out, and actually put me off joining the course was your comments on Designers putting too much emphasis on the design side and that clients did not need nor want this. I know of many highly skilled designers that have developed their skills so much that they wouldn't touch a project for under $10k. To me, design combined with functionality is the winning combination 'every' time! To engage with your audience the moment they land on your page, and keep it there until they are ready to commit.

I'll give you an example. I am attempting to gain work in the Architectural Industry. Finding a unique and aesthetically engaging design is at the forefront of their business needs, among many others of course. So to say that designers put too much emphasis on the design side, to me, doesn't make sense. Surely you learn both. One without the other does not work. A designer with a high level of skill would need to work far less in pushing hard sales. The work would sell itself. A book called Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestly may interest many people. It advocates that making yourself so desirable through the service you offer puts you in a position to be oversubscribed, i.e more customers than design space available. There are a million poor-average designers out there looking to do work for businesses, without offering 'real' value. Whilst I agree to be the best designer out there counts for nothing should you not be able to make yourself omnipresent, I think a very strong emphasis should be on enhancing one's skills until you rise above the swarms of so-called average designers out there.

All of the above said, I have made the mistake of focusing entirely on the design side, which is also a huge mistake. But I am very intrigued to find out what your course would have to offer other than teaching people how to make hard sales? Most designers on the Webflow forum would not agree with this avenue to obtain work. It is a very difficult industry to crack and hyper-competitive due to the lower entry of reaching a decent level through amazing design platforms out there. I'd be interested to know your own personal design journey and what tools you work with.

Ya, good points.

I come at web design with a business mindset first - so that means knowing how to sell and close deals is number one.

But for certain niches (architecture is a good example), the design will be a part of what makes the best solution. That being said, though, why they need design is still all about sales - knowing what they want and how to help them get it.

So, in short, I think the approach we focus on is balanced on what matters most. But if someone gets really good at design on top of that (if they wish), or they are already good at design - then it only gives them more options.

I would say give us a go and I will do my best to show you first month how we can help.

 

[Fox]

A couple of cool mindset-style progress posts from this month...







Also, what we cover helps with a lot more than just web design too...



Thanks to everyone who signed up this month too - hope you are loving things so far!

To join, just click here: Fox Web School

($95 a month, quit anytime, full access to all content and the full community right away)

 

[RaphCrist]

Thank you for your quick Reply Rob !

One more question , i am currently in Asia but maybe will be back in Belgium in the near future.

Do you think it is an issue to follow your classes in Asia because of the time difference ?

Also Asian market is not the best as most businesses will not pay high ticket for web design but maybe i can contact the business within Belgium while i am here ? or maybe its easier to be in the actual country where your target market is ?

Appreciate your help

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[perchboy]

im thinking of joining in a few weeks when i finish learning html and css. will it still be monthly subscription by then or are you going to change it back to the one time purchase?

 

[BRIANDAVE]

im thinking of joining in a few weeks when i finish learning html and css. will it still be monthly subscription by then or are you going to change it back to the one time purchase?

Yeah. I'd love to know too @Fox How longis the subscription model lasting?

 

[Fox]

Thank you for your quick Reply Rob !

One more question , i am currently in Asia but maybe will be back in Belgium in the near future.

Do you think it is an issue to follow your classes in Asia because of the time difference ?

Also Asian market is not the best as most businesses will not pay high ticket for web design but maybe i can contact the business within Belgium while i am here ? or maybe its easier to be in the actual country where your target market is ?

Appreciate your help

Hey @RaphCrist - I was moving house the last two days, so apologies for the delayed response.

We have a lot of Asian-based students - currently, our student map for there looks like this...



So it should not be an issue, we can show you how to get started from there.

Plus, with the Belgium connection, that is great too - that would be a great location also to target.

I think go for it and let's see how we can help you out.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

im thinking of joining in a few weeks when i finish learning html and css. will it still be monthly subscription by then or are you going to change it back to the one time purchase?

Yeah. I'd love to know too @Fox How longis the subscription model lasting?

Hey guys, will try to stick with the monthly subscription for a while longer and then see our plan for 2023.

So, if you sign up this month or next month you should be all good, thanks.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Fox]

A recent cool comment in one of the group threads...



Also, this post isn't just for the program, so if anyone has any general web design questions, please post them up!