How to start a web design business with no experience: pick one platform and learn it properly, build three sites for real businesses at a low or zero fee in exchange for permission to show them, put those three on a portfolio site that names a niche, price the first paid projects at a fixed fee, and get the next clients from the first three. That is the whole path, and it takes three to six months of evenings rather than a degree. I started with no design qualification and a laptop; so did most of the designers whose sites rank for this question. The steps below are specific about what to learn, what to build, what to charge and what to skip, because the reason most people never get past “thinking about it” is not the lack of experience, it is trying to learn everything before selling anything.
How to start a web design business with no experience, in six steps
| Step | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pick one platform | Squarespace, Showit or WordPress; learn it until you can build a five-page site without a tutorial (Squarespace’s own free tutorials cover the first month) | 4 to 6 weeks |
| 2. Learn the basics that platforms do not teach | Layout, typography, contrast, mobile, page structure, SEO fields | Alongside step 1 |
| 3. Build three real sites | For a friend’s business, a local charity, a small shop; free or cheap, in exchange for a testimonial and the right to show the work | 6 to 8 weeks |
| 4. Build your own site | Five pages, a niche in the headline, the three projects as case studies | 1 week |
| 5. Price and sell | Fixed-fee packages; first paid clients from the three you built for and their contacts | Ongoing |
| 6. Systemise | Questionnaire, contract, onboarding, launch checklist | After the first three paid projects |
Step 1: pick one platform and stay on it
Paige Brunton’s advice to learn one platform, not several, is the right first rule: each has enough depth to take months, and clients hire a specialist. Which one:
| Platform | Suits | Learning curve | Client type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Service businesses, most small companies | Lowest; a month of evenings | The widest market for a new designer |
| Showit | Photographers, creatives, personal brands | Low to medium; design freedom, blog on WordPress | A specific, well-paying niche |
| WordPress | Anything, including shops and complex sites | Highest; hosting, plugins, maintenance | Bigger projects, later |
Squarespace or Showit first; WordPress once the first ten projects are done and a client needs it. How to become a Showit designer is the Showit version of this whole post.
Step 2: learn the parts no platform teaches
- Page structure: what pages a business needs and what goes on each; how to organise website pages is the exercise.
- Typography and colour: two fonts, a five-colour palette, consistent buttons; web design colour theory covers enough.
- Mobile first: check every page on a phone before calling it done.
- The SEO fields: titles, descriptions, alt text, headings, Search Console. Clients expect it; on-page SEO tips is the checklist.
- Copy basics: headline that says what the business does, one button per page. Most clients cannot write; the designer who can lightly edit copy wins.
- Images: sizes and compression, because slow sites are the most common defect in beginner work.
Step 3: build three real sites before charging full price
Not mockups, not template redesigns for imaginary companies: three live sites for real businesses with real content. Ask a friend with a business, a local sports club, a market stall, a therapist starting out. Charge nothing or a token fee, and agree in writing that you can show the site, use their testimonial, and put a small credit in the footer. Treat each one as a full project: questionnaire, timeline, launch checklist, handover. Three finished sites with named clients are worth more than any course certificate, and the freelance portfolio tips show how to present them.
Step 4: your own site, with a niche
Five pages: home, services, work, about, contact. The headline names the niche: “Squarespace websites for therapists”, “Showit sites for photographers”, “Websites for trades businesses in [region]”. A niche does two things: it makes the three case studies look like expertise rather than luck, and it gives you searches you can rank for, which is how the SEO for designers post explains web designers get found. Change the niche later if it is wrong; do not start without one.
Step 5: pricing when you have no track record
| Stage | Price for a five-page Squarespace site | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio builds (first three) | $0 to $300 | In exchange for testimonial, credit and permission |
| First paid projects | $600 to $1,200 | Fixed fee; scope written down; two revision rounds |
| After ten projects | $1,500 to $3,000 | Add copy help, SEO setup, a launch checklist |
| Established | $3,000+ | Custom design, strategy, larger sites |
Fixed fees, never hourly; clients buy a site, not your time, and hourly pricing punishes you for getting faster. What a website should cost shows what clients expect at each level. Get a deposit before starting and the balance before handing over logins.
Step 6: the systems that make it a business
- A questionnaire that collects goals, pages, examples and content before design starts.
- A contract with scope, timeline, revision rounds, payment terms and ownership.
- An onboarding sequence, so clients know what to send and when; the client onboarding process is the template.
- A launch checklist so nothing is forgotten on the day.
- A handover video recorded once per project, so clients stop emailing you how to change a photo.
What to skip
- A degree or a long course. Platforms have free tutorials; the three real sites teach more than any classroom.
- Learning to code first. Useful later for CSS tweaks; not needed to start.
- Freelance marketplaces as the only channel. They can bring early projects and a track record; treat them as one channel, and price properly there too.
- A perfect brand for yourself. A logo and two fonts, done in a day.
- Saying yes to every project. A shop with 400 products or a membership site in month two will sink you; refer it out.
The designers who make it treat the first six months as an apprenticeship they run for themselves: one platform, three real sites, one niche, fixed fees. The ones who stall are still choosing a platform. Everything after that is the same work I do now, only with more projects behind it; the questions clients ask before hiring are worth reading from the other side, because they are what your first three clients will want answered.
Frequently asked questions
Pick one platform (Squarespace or Showit first), learn it until you can build a five-page site unaided, build three real sites for real businesses free or cheap in exchange for testimonials and permission to show them, launch your own niche site with those as case studies, then sell fixed-fee packages starting from the clients you already helped.
No. Clients hire on portfolio and results. Platform tutorials, a few design fundamentals and three finished real sites are the qualification.
Squarespace for the widest market and the gentlest learning curve, or Showit if you want the photographer and creative niche. WordPress later, once a client needs it.
Free or a token fee for the first three portfolio sites, $600 to $1,200 fixed fee for the first paid five-page sites, rising to $1,500 to $3,000 after ten projects. Always fixed fee with a deposit, never hourly.
Three to six months of part-time work: a month or two learning the platform, two months building three real sites, a week on your own site, then selling.
Build the portfolio by offering three sites to businesses you know at little or no cost, then ask each for a testimonial and a referral. Those three clients and their contacts are usually the first paid projects.
