Web Design Business with Josh Hall - podcast cover

Web Design Business with Josh Hall

Josh Halljoshhall.co

The Web Design Business Podcast with host Josh Hall is here to help you build a web design business that allows you to have freedom and a lifestyle you love. As a web designer and web agency owner of over a decade, Josh knows the challenges, struggles and often painful lessons of building a web design business without any guidance, proven strategies or a mentor to help you along the way, which is why this show exists. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of coaching, mentorship and guidance to help you build your dream web design business. All while having a good time doing it. Through interviews with seasoned web design business professionals and online entrepreneurs, solo coaching episodes with Josh and even case studies with his students, you’ll learn practical tips and strategies for web business building along with real-world advice and trends that are happening right now in the wild and wonderful world of web design. Subscribe if you’re ready to start or level up your web design business and for all show notes, links, full transcriptions for each episode, head to https://joshhall.co/podcast

Episodes

282 - Let's Get Nerdy : WordPress, Page Builders, CSS Class-First Design and more with Kevin Geary

Fellow web design educator Kevin Geary (creator of automatic.css and frames for WordPress) is on the show to share his perspective on where WordPress is headed, the role of page builders moving forward, CSS class first design for scalability and more. In This Episode 00:00 - The Future of WordPress 11:15 - Comparing Page Builders for Web Design 18:14 - Discussion on Web Design Approaches 29:47 - Best Practices and Future of WordPress 37:29 - WordPress Block Editor vs. Page Builders Controversy 4...

Sep 04, 20231 hr 2 min

281 - WordCamp 2023 Recap: Divi, The Future of WordPress and AI in Web Design and more

Josh recaps WordCamp US 2023 and shares takeaways from the first Web Designer Pro in person meetup, thoughts on Matt Mullenweg’s keynote talk on the future of WordPress, the latest on Ai in web design, Accessibility, what’s going on with Divi and much more! In This Episode 0 0:02 - Recapping WordCamp 2023 and Hot Topics 11:24 - Imposter Syndrome and Accessibility Evolution 18:59 - Divi's Community Presence and Future 30:55 - Direct Chat and Business Recommendations Get all links, resources ...

Aug 31, 202332 min

280 - From Scarce to Swamped - What Katie Lake did to Get More Web Design Clients Fast

Katie Lake of StudioLagoDesign.com shares exactly what she did in order to get a swarm of web design clients fast after starting 2023 with a dry pipeline of leads to being fully booked out by Summer time. In This Episode 0:02 - From Scarcity to Success 4:49 - Transitioning From Scarce to Swamped 14:23 - Marketing Strategy and Sales Power 24:01 - Business Cards 30:20 - Content Creation Strategies for Business Success 38:12 - Social Media and Confidence in Marketing 48:29 - Pricing and Packages fo...

Aug 28, 20231 hr 12 min

279 - 6 Year Anniversary of joshhall.co (an interview with Josh)

Josh reflects on 6 years of joshhall.co and answers questions fielded from colleague and web designer attorney Ann Kopphuza. In This Episode 0:02 - Building a Web Design Business Reflection 12:16 - Evolution of Josh Hall.co 17:22 - Building Online Courses 26:31 - Web Design Business Advice and Plans 40:02 - Past Experience and Future Approaches 47:18 - Web Design Subscription and Recurring Income 53:01 - Web Design and AI 58:00 - Web Design Industry Evolution and Learning 1:02:05 - Mentors and C...

Aug 21, 20231 hr 11 min

278 - Scaling Small and Handling Growing Pains with Jessica Lackey

Business consultant Jessica Lackey shares her top tips for dealing with growing pains as your business grows and lays out how you can practically scale small and one little step at a time if you want to avoid becoming a big web agency. In This Episode 0:00 - Navigating Growth Stages in Your Business 3:52 - Choosing the Path to Business Growth 17:53 - Accounting and Scaling Tips for Business 26:11 - Scale a Business Effectively 39:51 - Nature Reconnection, Scaling Back Expenses 44:44 - Strategies...

Aug 15, 20231 hr 1 min

277 - How has your year gone so far? Let's do a mid-year review

Josh shares how to turn things around if your year has been less than a 5 (out of 10) or what to do to continue to make the year amazing if you’re over a 5 (out of 10) In This Episode 01:08 - Maximize Web Design Business in 2023 04:06 - Encouragement 06:32 - Five and Under 08:17 - Switching Gears and Doubling Down 11:10 - Over Five 18:34 - The World Needs You Get all links, resources and show notes at: https://joshhall.co/277 When you join Web Designer Pro™ (on any tier) you'll get instant acces...

Aug 07, 202320 min

276 - Estimating Web Design Projects Like a Pro with Kyle Van Deusen

Founder of TheAdminBar.com (and the #1 WordPress community on Facebook) Kyle Van Deusen is finally on the show to share what works for him for pricing and estimating web design projects. In This Episode 00:00 - Pricing and Estimating Web Design Projects 05:25 - Web Design Pathways and Options 09:14 - Pricing Challenges in Web Design 13:47 - Determining Pricing Ranges and Finding Comfort 16:23 - Niche Focus and Pricing Strategies 25:39 - Pricing and Estimating Web Design Projects 35:36 - Effectiv...

Jul 31, 20231 hr 3 min

275 - How Leigh Ann Built her Web Design Business and gets High Conversion Rates on Proposals

Leigh Ann Dillon of hilltopwebsolutions.com (a student of Josh’s and member in Web Designer Pro™) shares how she built her web design business up after building websites for friends through networking, how she’s raised her rates and solidified her services over time and what she’s doing right now to get higher conversion rates on her proposals. In This Episode 00:00 - Success in Web Design Business 03:37 - Webdesigner Pro Shares Marketing Strategies 14:04 - Networking for Business Growth 18:33 -...

Jul 24, 20231 hr 2 min

274 - What's the Right Web Design Marketing Channel for you?

Josh makes web design marketing easy by sharing a simple framework on choosing a Major marketing channel, a Minor marketing channel and one or two Elective marketing channels that work for you, your personality and your business. In This Episode 0:02 - Choosing the Best Web Design Marketing 2:44 - What is Marketing 5:12 - Framework 8:55 - Have a Minor Channel 13:18 - Marketing Strategies Discussion 15:22 - Recap 19:15 - Upcoming Topics on the Podcast Get all links, resources and show notes at: h...

Jul 20, 202321 min

273 - Target Marketing 101 - How to Reach the Right Web Design Clients for You with Kirby Hasseman

Kirby Hassemen of hassemanmarketing.com shares his proven TARGET framework for reaching, attracting and landing the best fit clients for your web design business. In This Episode 0:00 - Treating Social Media Like Real Life 4:15 - Knowing Your Target Market's Importance 14:25 - Identifying Metrics for Ideal Customer Avatar 18:04 - Maximizing Marketing Strategies 27:55 - Building Reach and Providing Value 39:15 - Effective Sales Strategies and Ethical Selling 42:41 - Building Client Relations...

Jul 17, 20231 hr 8 min

272 - Local SEO Strategies that are Working Right Now with Sara Dunn

Sara Dunn of SaraDoesSEO.com shares her proven and top strategies (that are working today) for getting better rankings for both local SEO and general search results. In This Episode 0:00 - Deep Dive Into Local SEO 4:01 - Wedding Industry SEO and Web Design 10:06 - SEO and Web Design for Conversion 16:53 - Basics and Social Media Platforms 28:57 - Local Strategies and Client Expectations 38:54 - Optimizing AI-written Content 45:57 - AI as Tool in SEO 1:00:16 - Controlling Reputation Management 1:...

Jul 10, 20231 hr 8 min

271 - How to Filter Out Bad Fit Leads for Web Designers

Josh shares his proven framework for funneling web design leads and filtering out “bad fit” client leads. In This Episode 0:02 - Filtering and Funneling Web Design Leads 3:18 - Lead Categories 4:42 - Questionable Lead Strategy 8:51 - Qualified Lead Proposal 10:26 - Differentiating Between 10:47 - Package Pricing 13:03 - Investment Mindset 17:25 - Quick Recap Get all links, resources and show notes at: https://joshhall.co/271 When you join Web Designer Pro™ (on any tier) you'll get instant access...

Jul 06, 202320 min

270 - Getting at Least 16 Web Design Leads Per Month with Eric Dingler

CEO of In Transit Studios, Eric Dingler, is back on the podcast, this time sharing what’s worked for him in getting more web design leads…at least 16 leads per month to be exact. And how he’s converted at least 4 per month. In This Episode 0:00 - Strategies for Generating Web Design Leads 6:47 - Measuring and Nurturing Sales Leads 15:10 - Retention for Studios 29:17 - Networking Importance 38:22 - Customer Activity and Strategies 46:15 - Digital Nomads and Business Growth 54:40 - Results in Sale...

Jul 03, 20231 hr 24 min

269 - Digital Business Strategy Q&A 2 of 2 (Online Marketing Tips & Resources)

In part 2 of a Q&A with Josh about digital marketing and strategy, Josh answers general online marketing questions, shares tips, insights and resources on selling and launching courses, building memberships and online community and marketing with a podcast. In This Episode 0:02 - Digital Strategy and Marketing Tips 6:47 - Social Media and Email Strategy 11:31 - Future of Digital Courses 17:08 - Web Design Business Models and Courses 25:11 - Building and Selling Courses and Memberships 29:52 ...

Jun 29, 202346 min

268 - Digital Business Strategy Q&A 1 of 2 (Courses, Memberships and Podcasting)

Josh answers questions about digital marketing strategies and best practices for creating courses, launching a podcast and building an online membership. In This Episode 0:02 – Digital Strategy Q&A for Webpreneurs 11:41 – Podcasting 23:29 – Creating and Growing a Course 26:46 – Launching Online Courses 30:00 – Membership Success 36:48 – Community Scaling Resources 49:47 – Building a Community 53:40 – Digital Business Strategy Tips and Resources Get all links, resources and show notes at: htt...

Jun 26, 202356 min

267 - Mastering the Art of Detaching Emotionally from Client Feedback & Results with Erica Nash

Course curriculum designer and client success coordinator of The Web Designer Academy Erica Nash shares her tips and proven strategies for not taking client results (both good and bad) personally. In This Episode 00:00 - Detaching Emotionally From Client Feedback 07:26 - Diversifying Results 22:58 - Measuring and Sharing Business Results 37:19 - Web Design Pricing 43:50 - Managing Client Opinion 48:05 - Navigating Feedback in Business 54:47 - Refunds in Course Creation 1:05:40 - Celebrating Stud...

Jun 19, 20231 hr 12 min

266 - Building and Scaling a Web Design Business in Today's Landscape with John Saunders

Agency owner and web design business educator John Saunders shares his insight on building and scaling a 7-figure web and design studio and how you can do it effectively in today’s landscape. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:45 - Greeting to John 05:54 - Time to pivot 08:37 - Niche clarity 11:23 - Partnerships 14:30 - WebFlow hosting 16:38 - Benefit to being small 21:51 - “Where” doesn’t matter 24:24 - Building a network 25:53 - Using socials 28:07 - Scaling & living by SOP’s 36:04 - ...

Jun 12, 20231 hr 9 min

265 - AI in Web Design...Friend or Foe? with Stephanie Hudson

Stephanie Hudson of FocusWP.co and Bertha.ai shares her insight on how AI is impacting web design right now and whether or not it’s a friend to web designers or a foe that’ll take us all over terminator style one website at a time. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:48 - Greeting to Steph 04:53 - Will ai replace builders 10:11 - Learn from the past 17:12 - ai coaching 19:07 - Creating in ai 29:38 - Machine ethics 33:11 - ai concerns 35:02 - Tools for ai 45:36 - Ways to try it out 53:03 - A ...

Jun 05, 20231 hr 12 min

264 - The Current State and Future of WordPress with Adam Preiser

Adam Prieser of one of the largest WordPress tutorial brands online (WPCrafter.com) shares his insight and perspective on where WordPress is in the website market and where it’s heading; the good and the bad. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:17 - Greeting to Adam 08:40 - Where is WP going 14:01 - How to choose tools 17:56 - Financial situations 21:53 - WP post 2020 26:31 - Open source projects 32:51 - Who calls the WP shots 37:01 - Current products 40:31 - What you don’t know 43:42 - Hard...

May 29, 20231 hr 29 min

263 - Handling Rejection & Negative Feedback in Business with Alexis Teichmiller

Partnerships Manager at Circle.so, life coach and entrepreneur Alexis Teichmiller shares her tips and strategies for learning how to overcome rejection, negative reviews, feedback and managing emotional boundaries in business. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:40 - Greeting to Alexis 08:40 - Urgent matrix 10:13 - Boundaries 12:19 - Emotional attachment 15:45 - Rejection reflection 19:21 - Feedback tool 24:53 - Different comfort levels 29:36 - Shifting your mindset 34:23 - Better inner narr...

May 22, 20231 hr 7 min

262 - From Likes to Clients: How to Turn Social Media Engagement into Sales with James Barnard

Logo Designer and Content Creator James Barnard shares how he grew his social media audience to hundreds of thousands of followers and how he uses his social channels to land logo design clients. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:45 - Greeting to James 06:34 - Social media success 10:19 - Toying w/price points 12:51 - Why freelance worked 17:24 - Starting with logos 20:11 - Leads from social media 24:16 - Pricing on site 29:53 - Video evolution 34:03 - How you appear to clients 37:30 - Add...

May 15, 20231 hr 6 min

261 - How to Gather Website Content Like a Pro (10 tips)

Josh shares his top 10 proven strategies for collecting content for web design projects. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:35 - Big three E’s Education 03:59 - 1) Where and when 08:37 - 2) Tools for images & media 09:45 - 3) How to send Expectations 10:56 - 4) Client ownership 12:20 - 5) Repercussion 14:41 - 6) Deadline Empowerment 16:55 - 7) Organize a project 18:41 - 8) Phase the project 19:33 - 9) Use a tool 24:34 - 10) BONUS TIP 26:37 - Recap Get all links, resources and show notes...

May 11, 202331 min

260 - Navigating Tough Times in Business with Shannon Mattern

Shannon Mattern of The Web Designer Academy shares her insight on how to navigate tough times in business, both when new web design projects are sparse and when things get tough on other sides of the business, sharing openly about a huge challenge she’s currently facing with her payment processing platform. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:07 - Greeting to Shannon 05:15 - Challenges of business 09:09 - Navigate the failures 11:00 - Skills and strategy 15:31 - Seasons of muscle building 19...

May 08, 20231 hr 11 min

259 - How to Sell Website Services (Without Being Salesy) with Hans Skillrud

Hans Skillrud of Termageddon shares his insights and what he’s learned on how to sell without being “salesy” In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:34 - Greeting to Hans 04:48 - First selling experience 10:11 - Tighten up the sell 12:57 - Education through Groupon 17:52 - Be transparent 28:07 - Keeping a balance 33:32 - Use client verbiage 36:52 - Niching 42:35 - Match the energy 51:25 - Personality perspective 56:40 - How to say no 1:07:40 - Working together Get all links, resources and show n...

May 01, 20231 hr 22 min

258 - How to Choose the Best Website Builder for YOU

Josh shares 3 keys for helping you choose the right website builder for your web design business. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 02:00 - The builder Do you like the tool itself (even if you are a beginner)? Do you enjoy being in it, find it user friendly, like the UX, have fun and see yourself growing with it over the years. Does it suit your need for empowering clients (ie client access, etc) 06:27 - The community Does it have a supportive community? Is the community behind it large enoug...

Apr 27, 202323 min

257 - Offering Email Marketing as a Web Design Service with April Ray

Web Design Professional April Ray shares how she offers and sells email marketing to her web design clients and what’s involved with her plans, how she manages them and more! In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:44 - Greeting to April 06:25 - Have three offers 14:02 - Email practicality 18:35 - Social media posting 23:21 - Different strategies 26:46 - Setting expectations 29:22 - When to sell email 40:55 - Pricing email 49:33 - Email & SEO 53:04 - Scaling with superpowers 1:00:40 - How to...

Apr 24, 20231 hr 8 min

256 - Multilingual Website Best Practices with Dean Jones of WPML.org

Dean Jones of WPML.org, one of the leading multilingual plugins for WordPress, shares best practices for translation services on websites from optimizing personally, using AI and multilingual tools. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:32 - Greeting to Dean 05:29 - Partners more than ads 09:00 - Sites that need translation 13:52 - Localization 18:09 - Cultural nuances 21:04 - Research 24:54 - AI & WPML plug-in 29:16 - Why not Google 36:25 - How many languages 43:02 - Human translator 47:1...

Apr 17, 202359 min

255 - From Agency Owner to Full Time Course Creator (My Story Part 2)

Josh shares the second phase of his journey exploring how he went from agency owner to full time course creator. In This Episode 03:42 - Fall 2019 started the podcast (formerly Josh Hall Web Design Show) 05:23 - Spring 2020 completed suite of web design courses 07:55 - Summer 2020 sold In Transit Studios to Eric (view josh.intransit studios.com) for my freelancer example site 15:15 - Fall 2020 launched my web design community (formerly Web Design Club) 17:22 - Winter 2021 launched the student ce...

Apr 14, 202340 min

254 - The Legal Side Web Design (Contracts, Copyrights, Tax Setup and more) with Ann Koppuzha

Lawyer/web designer Ann Koppuzha of powerhouse-legal.com shares her insight on the legal side of web design including what web designers need to know and have in place with contracts, copyrights, tax setups and more. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:52 - Greeting to Ann 05:09 - Being a unicorn 07:32 - Starting out 12:39 - Good rule to remember 15:41 - Contracts 23:51 - Two sections 29:50 - Business entities 34:58 - S.Corp or LLC 40:48 - Start-up expenses 42:13 - Established business 47:00...

Apr 10, 20231 hr 17 min

253 - Networking Made Easy (Even for Introverts) with Chris Borja

Networking coach, personal friend of Josh and author of the new book “Networking Essentials for Success” Chris Borja shares his proven framework for making networking easy, fun and doable for even the world’s most introverted introvert. In This Episode 00:00 - Introduction 03:04 - Greeting to Chris 06:28 - Current landscape 10:53 - Networking tip 15:32 - Helping others 18:10 - Personal development 21:12 - Dominate a “major” 23:47 - Cringeworthy moment 30:26 - Step 1 Clarity 33:15 - Step 2 Mindse...

Apr 03, 20231 hr 3 min