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How to Start a Web Design Side Hustle

How to Start a Web Design Side Hustle

By 05/08/2025 Articles, Business, digital-marketing, side-hustle, Web Design, Web Development 0 Comments

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Today, you’re going to learn how to start a web design side hustle!

You’ll learn:

  • The easiest ways to start building websites today
  • How to get your first clients
  • How to scale your web design business
  • The best list of web design business resources

Let’s get into it!

Note: You can listen to this as Episode 33 of the Legit Side Hustles Podcast.

What Is Web Design?

Web design is a process that involves planning, creating, and maintaining a website.

As a side hustle, you build and design websites for local businesses, online creators, or digital freelancers using tools and website builders like WordPress, Carrd, Webflow, Squarespace, or Canva!

No need to code, just the ability to deliver a clean website that acts as an online home base for your client.

Who Is This Side Hustle Good For?

Web design is a great side hustle if:

  • You’re creative
  • You enjoy helping business owners resolve website and marketing problems
  • You’re good at learning how to use design tools like WordPress or Webflow
  • You want a flexible side hustle that’s perfect for solopreneurs and digital nomads

What’s most important is having an open mind, a bias for action, and the willingness to keep up with the web design industry.

How to Get Started (Step-by-Step)

Getting started with web design is super fun and straightforward.

Start by picking 1 website platform and learning the basics with YouTube tutorials. I recommend starting with Carrd, because it’s so visually appealing and easy to learn. From there, you can move to more complex platforms like WordPress or Webflow.

With Carrd, you can build up to 3 websites for free using their subdomains. 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 can find your first client in a Facebook group for landscaping business owners.

This is just to get started, and you’ll learn more about niche selection and getting more clients in just a minute.

Tools You’ll Need

There are several essential tools you’ll need as a web designer:

How Much Can You Make?

You can make quite a bit of money as a web designer, especially if you tack on recurring revenue services and build a powerful product ladder.

Here are some examples:

  • $500–$1,500 for websites with 1–5 pages, especially for small local businesses
  • $2,500–$5,000 for bigger, custom sites
  • You can skyrocket your revenue by providing monthly services like website maintenance or SEO ($50–$1000/month per site)

Tips for Getting Clients

Ah, the big question: “How do I get web design clients?”

Well, it starts with putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. Start with people you know, like friends, family, coworkers, or your favorite business in town with no website.

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 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.

Once your portfolio is ready, add it to your email signature and your social media bios. Always update your 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
  • Free community for your niche (a Facebook group is easiest)

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 for their partnership.

Find partners easily with:

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these common pitfalls:

  • Spending months learning and trying to perfect your skills, rather than launching and having a bias towards action
  • Undercharging. In the beginning you can charge lower rates, but offer smaller websites for the smaller price.
  • Forgetting to do your due diligence through use of contracts and upfront deposits
  • Offering too many services. Start with 1 primary web design package, a web design maintenance plan, and 1 other complementary service like SEO, email marketing, or social media management.

How to Scale It

There are so many ways to scale your web design business, and they’re straightforward.

Scale by:

  • Creating monthly retainer packages, and make them easy to deliver with tools, systems, and automation
  • Selling website templates
  • Creating productized services
  • Drop servicing with Fiverr
  • Hiring a white-label agency
  • Delegating tasks to virtual assistants (V.A’s)

Helpful Web Design Side Hustle resources

These resources are fantastic for anyone who wants to make money with web design:

I could give you 100 more resources, but these 6 will be plenty to help you get started.

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.

Final Thoughts

You seriously don’t need to be a tech wizard to start your web design side hustle.

You need to 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, 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.

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