All The Products I Use To Run A Successful Web Design Business
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It takes a village to run a successful company, doesn't it? There are so many things you need! A website, an email funnel, a customer journey pipeline, a scheduler for appointments... I mean, the list goes on and on! And then once you figure out WHAT you need, then you have to figure out WHICH PLATFORM is the right one.
I've provided the entire of products I use to run a successful business so that you can skip the whole trial and error part that I already did. You're welcome 😂
And let’s be real… these subscriptions can add up fast. Which is why I always factor in the price when I’m choosing which product is the best. Many of these products either offer a free trial, a free offering, or even better - a discount!
WEB HOSTING
MY ONLY PICK:
Squarespace: It goes without saying that I use (and love) Squarespace. And there's a reason for that. Just do yourself a favor and use Squarespace. You can even purchase your domain straight from them, which makes everything easier.
Their live chat is incredibly helpful and friendly, and I usually don't have to wait very long to get connected.
TIP: Type "agent" as soon as you open the chat window to get connected to an agent quicker.
Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial - and you don't even have to give them your credit card info! Here's everything you'll need to know about your Squarespace trial (including how you can get a 6 month trial for free).
Oh, and also - you'll get 20% off your first year of hosting (and a free domain) as a perk for being my client!
DESIGN
MY TOP PICK:
Figma - Oh how I love thee... I was a die hard Photoshop guru before I stumbled across Figma. To say that Figma totally changed everything for my web design business would not be an exaggeration. These days I design all of my web design projects in Figma before I ever start building in Squarespace.
It's so.much.easier to lay everything out in Figma as I'm designing to get a feel for how it's going to look. And I love how Figma lets you export multiple images at once, which is a big time saver.
Another time saver? I had a client once who had a really silly suggestion for his site that I knew he would hate as soon as he saw it. It took me about 5 minutes to mock it up in Figma, whereas it would have taken me at least 30 minutes to do the edits on the live website. Sure enough, he didn't want to move forward with the changes. Since I did the mock up in Figma, I didn’t have to spend ANOTHER 30 minutes undoing everything on the website.
Another thing I love about Figma is that you can set your fonts and color palette for the entire site in the settings. So if you decide you want one of your colors to be blue instead of pink, you can just change it in your palette and it will update your entire layout. It's a quick way to see how an edit will look to your site.
And, last but certainly not least is the fact that it's FREE! Yes, that's right. If you have a team of people then you may want to consider a higher plan, but the free plan works just fine if you're a solopreneur. Here are the full selection of plans.
WEB DESIGN COURSES
MY TOP PICK:
Applet Studio - I cannot say enough good things about Olga with Applet Studio. I've taken all of her courses and - take my word - you will not find a course with more value packed into the price (it's under $100!). I originally took her course because the price was so affordable, but I had no idea that the value I would get back would be 10x the amount that I invested.
I had already been designing websites for 10+ years when I took her course, and I STILL learned a ton. In addition, she has LOTS of extremely helpful blog posts about design and coding. If there is any product on this blog post that you decide to incorporate into your business, let it be this one.
OTHERS:
Six Figure Design Club - Sam Crawford
Paige Brunton
SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULING
MY TOP PICK:
Tailwind - I use Tailwind to schedule allll of my blog posts on Pinterest. Pinterest likes you to post 2-3 times a day, which means... you're going to need a scheduler! They make it super easy to post, have the option to use AI to write your posts, and also have detailed analytics on how well your posts are doing.
I also love using Tailwind because they have a "forever free" plan that doesn't even require a credit card (this is the plan I use). You can view all of the pricing tiers here.
OTHERS:
Later
CRM (Customer relationship MANAGEMENT)
MY TOP PICK:
Flodesk - I've used so many CRM's that are out there. Constant Contact, Drip, Salesforce, Mailchimp, etc... Ultimately I chose to go with Flodesk for my business. Why? Because no one beats their gorgeous email templates. You just can't find anything out there even close.
And if you want people to engage with your product and your website, then they're going to need to read your emails! We all know that images keep people engaged (hello, Instagram), which is why Flodesk is a great option.
Not only that, but as far as CRM's go, they have a pretty robust back-end where you can filter and segment contacts. They also just released a new analytics panel that shows which of your subscribers are most engaged, which emails people love the most, which workflows people are subscribing to the most, and so much more.
As if that wasn't enough, I LOVE that I can easily embed their sign up forms on my website, which then kicks off an automated workflow on their end (see how to set that up here).
Use this link to save 50% off of your first year, which makes it $17.50/mo.
OTHERS:
Constant Contact
Convertkit
Drip
Monday
CUSTOMER PIPELINE
MY TOP PICK:
Honeybook - I've used Honeybook since the start of my business and have gotten other clients to switch to them too. They make it SO EASY to keep track of which clients are in which stage of the game. Wanna see all of your prospects? Done. Need to follow up on everyone you've sent a proposal to? Done. You can also customize the pipeline so that it's tailored to your business and the stages you need.
A neat feature that Honeybook has is a brochure of all of your services. It's easily customizable so you can make it look pretty and match your brand colors. They also have an inquiry form that you can embed on your website. Then when someone fills it out... BAM - they're automatically sent your brochure.
Honeybook makes it easy to send contracts, proposals, and invoices so you can get paid even faster. They have LOTS of templates for contracts and proposals - which is great if you don't want to hire an attorney to create your contract! They also have a whole calendar/scheduler integration, which will save you from having to pay for an additional scheduling platform.
Use this link to get 25% off of your first year of Honeybook, which makes it $12/mo.
OTHERS:
Dubsado
SCHEDULER
MY TOP PICK:
Calendly - Calendly is so easy to set up and start booking appointments. The calendar has a sleek layout and you can customize it to your own brand colors if you're on a paid plan. It’s also easy to embed on your website so that clients never have to leave your site to book a time slot.
You can set up text and email reminders to go out to your customers before their appointment and give them the option to reschedule on their own which saves you time. You can also create different types of calendars and choose whether they're visible or not.
Another thing I love? They regularly send out emails with product updates, which means they're constantly taking feedback from customers and improving their product. You can't go wrong with Calendly.
Their basic plan (which is always free!) is a great option, and is actually what I use. You can start a 2 week trial without a credit card and get the full use of the highest plan.
OTHERS:
Acuity
FACEBOOK ADS
MY TOP PICK:
Jessica Tutton - There is no one else you will need to learn Facebook ads from than Jessica Tutton. I've taken her Facebook Ads Bootcamp twice, and both times I learned a ton of info. She is truly an expert in how to use Facebook ads effectively so that you aren’t gambling your money away.
Be sure to check out her podcast which covers Facebook ads, launching your course, and real life case scenarios from her clients. (Plus you will love her Australian accent!)
OTHERS:
None!
WRITING COPY
MY TOP PICK:
Elizabeth McKenzie from Write or Die - Copy is so, so important when it comes to your website and emails. Seriously, you will either lose a client or gain a client from it. I love Elizabeth's writing because it just hooks you right away...you can't help but keep reading! She makes reading fun and enjoyable.
You won't regret subscribing to her newsletter. She has lots of helpful information that will totally transform the text you are writing. You can download her free Facebook Ad Guide here (and then hop over to Jessica Tutton to learn how to use Facebook ads!)
STOCK PHOTOS
MY TOP PICK:
Unsplash - Professional images are critical in order for your site to be successful. No one is going stick around if your site has images that look like they were taken with a flip phone in 1993. You need curated images that match your brand colors and have good lighting.
Unsplash is always my first stop when I’m looking for stock images. Why? Because they’re free! And they’re really good too. It’s funny though, once you start using them on a regular basis, you’ll start to notice them on other websites 😂 Which is why doing your own photo shoot is always the best. But hey, if you don’t have that (especially if you’re just starting out), then give Unsplash a try.
OTHERS:
Pexels
Moyo Studio - get your free mockups here!
Elevae - scroll to the very bottom to get 20 free images!
WHICH ONES HAVE YOU USED?
Do you have others that didn’t make the cut? If you want to know more about why I chose one platform over another, ask me.
*This post may contain affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on this site at no additional cost to you.