Web Design Business with Josh Hall

Building landing pages or sales pages that convert isn’t rocket science. But there is some science to it. Most of which is proven and can be learned from (and implemented) into your own sales pages very quickly. So, let’s cut right to the chase on how to create high-converting landing/sales pages with an expert who’s been around the block MANY times over. This is a chat with Alisha Conlin-Hurd who’s worked on, optimized and deployed thousands of high-converting sales pages across hundreds of different industries. She’s a wealth of knowledge on the subject but in this one, we get into the specifics you can apply to your web design services pages and lead generators including: Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/365

An unexpected topic of conversation I’ve consistently had over the last couple years when coaching members of my community Web Designer Pro privately is around managing ADHD and running a web design business. When thinking about ADHD, I’m probably not alone in immediately jumping to the visual of the wild 7 year old kid who can’t sit down in class. But since the conversation around this has become more prevalent for me both personally in my coaching DM’s and in the web design community at large via other forums or groups I check into, I wanted to dig into what this looks like practically for adults running a web design business. Since this is a sensitive topic, I wanted to chat with someone who I could level with and learn from versus being educated from an “ADHD Coach” per say. That’s why I’m dang pumped about sharing my recent convo with my old friend (literally, we were doubles tennis partners in High School) Rob Chaplin. Rob and I reconnected a couple years back when he was considering jumping into a creative field like web design. Since then, he’s been through all my courses, built up his freelance business and became a member of my community Web Designer pro. But in 2024, he let me know that he hit a wall…feeling disorganized, down, scattered and disoriented about how to move forward in business and in life. Now, many of these feelings are natural when you start a business, do something new or take on the common stresses of building something – but for Rob, it was more. After some self-research, he dipped his toe into pursuing ADHD treatment, most of which are behavioral and habitual and I have to say, I’ve seen a noticeable difference with his output and his overall energy and state. For all those reasons and more, I wanted to have an open chat about HIS experience and journey managing ADHD as a web designer and because he’s so new in the journey and he’s really passionate about sharing what’s working for him. We dig into: Again, this is purely an explorative chat for me to learn more about this world without judgement or preconceived notions. Disclaimer: Rob shares HIS journey, methods, strategies and medications that work for him but this is not medical advice or recommendation. See your doctor or consult with a professional before exploring any of the medications that are mentioned. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/364

Many web designers don’t want to scale. I get it - because I had that mindset too. I never wanted to be an agency with overhead, payroll, extra stress from managing people, etc. But the good news is, especially nowadays, you can scale a web design business your way. In a low-stress, low-pressure way that works for you no matter where your business is in revenue and profitability. Sandy Burns, a founding member of my community Web Designer Pro is a perfect example of this. She was on the podcast recently sharing her story of passing 10 years in business and how she (reluctantly) HAD to scale because she had become so overwhelmed with projects. We got to hear from her perspective what it was like to scale and how the timing couldn’t have been more crucial because shortly after she began to scale and reduce her workload, she was diagnosed with cancer and immediately began a journey of chemo and cancer treatment. That’s one angle of Sandy’s story but another one is the other side of her scaling journey. Who did she hire? What was it like for them as she began to send more work their way and when Sandy was diagnosed, what was it like taking over projects and speaking directly to her clients? Well for that, I’m excited to introduce you to Alexis. Another founding member of Pro who was on the podcast a ‘little’ while ago when we chatted about her first client experience 🙂 This is a very different podcast chat because we have both Sandy AND Alexis on and we get to dig into both sides, both perspectives of their successful scaling story. From Sandy, we get to hear the ins and outs of her transformation from proud solopreneur to finally scaling and getting to a point where she’s “never going back to being a freelancer.” And from Alexis, we get to hear how she got connected with Sandy and how, learning from a web designer who’s further along in the journey, helped her build her own business up fast while also doing design and development work, and even improving systems for Sandy. We dig into: A big thanks to BOTH Sandy and Alexis for coming on and sharing their experience from both sides. We can all learn a lot from this one. I mean honestly, how often do you get to hear an owner and a contractor’s point of view in a working relationship? Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/363 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

Let’s talk about money. How’d that make you feel? Nervous? Icky? Excited? Opportunistic? Weird? The very thought of money brings a variety of emotions depending on how you feel about it. And I firmly believe how you feel about money today all goes back to your money story – and every one of us has a money story largely based on how we were raised. When you build a web design business, you probably don’t realize that you’re subconsciously making business decisions based on your money story. And if that story isn’t pretty…well…it makes sense why it’s hard to charge your worth, raise your rates, build profit, sell with confidence, etc. So to take a deep dive into the psychology of money and to most importantly, to help you build your business with a mindset of plenty and opportunity, I’m pumped to bring on someone who’s changed their money story from scarce to plenty…Austin Church. He’s the author of the book Free Money - a Guide to Pricing Your Services so You Can Unlock a Better Lifestyle. His book was referred to me as a MUST READ from a trusted colleague and let me tell ya, after this conversation, I have to agree. Austin’s approach to changing your money mindset is a must for creative business owners. Especially if you don’t come from money. Which, let’s be honest, most of us don’t. We dig into: Highly recommend checking Austin’s book out and connecting with him below. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/362 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

No better way to kick off the year than to plan some new marketing strategies to get more leads and convert more clients, right? I honestly believe email marketing – along with some focused forms of content marketing – will be a HUGE differentiator for web designers who choose to go this route. Which is why I’m a big proponent and supporter of it. After all…as Abe Lincoln once wisely said “He who sendeth the email gets thine customer.” Now, you know I’m not going to just tell you to go “do something” without giving you a roadmap and some solid tips to help implement so, I’m thrilled to have copywriter, digital strategist and award-winning designer Michelle Martello on the podcast to share about all of that and more. Things we cover include: And a whole lot more! Michelle’s resume includes working with MTV, the National Park Service, Marie Forleo and more so she is truly an industry expert with years of experience backing her. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/361 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

Happy New Year friends! I wanted to kick off 2025 with a special episode of the podcast to share what I learned from having two down revenue years (125k down from 2022-2023) to having the best revenue year yet in 2024! This episode is broken down into 2 main parts: As I and many other entrepreneurs have learned, business is not always up and to the right. There are hard months, quarters and even years. But there are a handful of things you can do in any situation to keep things going and growing. In this one, I’m sharing: And much more. I hope what I learned through my business rebound helps you whether you’re in that season now or if you eventually hit a rough patch. In short, here’s the checklist from my business rebound: Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/360 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

Subscriber-only episode For the last episode of the year, I think it’s only fitting to look ahead and share some goal setting tips for 2025! In this episode, I’m sharing a lesson from my Web Design Business Course on my 5 step, annual goal setting framework. We’ll dive into: Again, this is just one lesson inside my signature Web Design Business Course available now (along with my entire suite of courses) inside of Web Designer Pro when you’re ready to dive in! Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/359 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

Since this is Christmas week, we’re going to take a break from talking about business and dive into a much more important subject…Christmas movies. I’ll break down my top 10, what I love about them, why some have remained in the top 10 and why some newer ones have made it and I’ll even give you a bonus which has an incredible business lesson that I’ve held strong to even today. In short, my top 10 Christmas movies are: Hit me with your favorites at joshhall.co/358 Oh and since it’s a week of gift-giving, I have a little something special for you at joshhall.co/xmas *** Limited time offer *** Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday’s ya filthy web designer. Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

Welcome to a special, limited time episode which is the replay of my recent AMA (ask me anything) on my YouTube channel! Some GREAT questions and discussion prompts came in that I wanted to make sure you as a podcast listener had a chance to catch as well. Why a limited time episode? Because there's a special Christmas gift attached...a freebie and a big discount! Here's my Christmas gift to you 🎁 Just head here to snag your freebie and/or discount: 👉 joshhall.co/xmas When you get my guide to getting clients, Santa will follow up with something special 🎅 - Josh *** Offer valid until 12/31/24 at 11:59pm EST *** Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

I’m in a bit of an SEO pickle… Since 2017 I’ve built up all my resources - including this podcast - on my personal brand site joshhhall.co but now that my main product (my web designer membership Web Designer Pro™) is on webdesignerpro.com I feel I’m entering new SEO territory. In short, what content should stay at my personal brand at joshhall.co and since all roads are leading to webdesignerpro.com now - what content should be there? Here are my SEO pain points/challenges: It’s now a little confusing sending people to joshhall.co only for them to end up at webdesignerpro.com Well as you can see, I have some challenges and questions. And I don’t like going this type of thing alone so recently, I caught up with my SEO strategist and trusted confidant Michelle Bourbonniere to help me talk this out. Michelle has been on the podcast a couple times, has done 2 training sessions inside of my community Web Designer Pro and is at the top of her game when it comes to SEO strategy so I’m thrilled and happy to share our chat as a little behind the scenes action. I hope this gives you some guidance and ideas for your SEO strategy, especially if you are balancing a personal vs business brand or have multiple businesses online. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/357 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

At some point, most web designers dream of moving from lengthy, time-intensive, custom web design projects to a more “productized” or “templatized” web design service. Something that clients can purchase, that has clear boundaries, constraints and limitations. There are a lot of ways to go about productizing your offers - and one way - is to frame it as a program or course. Especially if you’re empowering your clients with any sort of marketing or growth help. A shining example of how to do this is Web Designer Pro member Whitney Bateson who, after years of developing custom websites, refined her process into a web design + education solution for her wellness clients in her signature program “The Wellness Pro Website System” In this convo, we get into: Whether you’re interested in productizing your web design services as a course, service, product, program, etc…Whitney is a shining example of how to do it right so I really hope this convo helps you get more time and sanity back when you’re ready to productize your results! Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/356 Get my entire suite of courses in the Courses Tier = $49/mo Get courses + all community features in the Community Tier = $99/mo Get everything + direct coaching with me in the Coaching Tier = $199/mo Join today (in the tier that works for you) at: webdesignerpro.com *** upgrade & downgrade available ***

If you’re on the shallow or deep end of the “introvert spectrum” spectrum, I’m guessing the sales part of web design is your least favorite part of the job, right? For some, going to in person networking, business meetups, chamber of commerce events or even calls can be energizing but for others, it’s draining. It is, however, part of being a web biz owner if you’re the one doing the selling… There must be some strategies for making sales easier as an introvert, right? There is! And that’s why I’m pumped to have Michelle Warner on the podcast who specializes in networking and has many introvert-friendly sales techniques. That’s exactly what we cover in this convo, including: Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/355 Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

Ah…the tug and pull between wanting to avoid being a burned out agency owner but also not being a stressed out, overwhelmed freelancer… Surely there’s a happy medium between the two? Good news, there is. My whole web business education model is focused around this hybrid approach to having a business that runs like a true business/agency but having the freedom and flexibility of a freelancer. Though I never had a great name for it - someone who does is fellow web design business educator Payton Smith, who calls it “The Solo Agency.” In this convo, we’re getting into the ins and outs of his experience from being a full fledged agency owner to stripping things down to the basics and taking on a more solopreneur approach. We cover: I really appreciate Payton being totally open and transparent on this one. With not only the business side of his experience but what he’s learned on a personal level as well. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/354 Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

Copy, written by a human, with its flaws, oddities, and personally lived experience beats out corporate, stale, or AI-generated content every time. From home pages to service pages, to lead generators, blog posts, email sequences, and sales posts…the more personal and genuine you come across, the more it’ll stand out in today’s AI slop world. To help us get practical and tactical with writing personalized copy that sells more websites, I’m excited to bring on copywriter, podcaster, and speaker Emily Aborn who works with web and graphic designers to help them create, refine, and optimize conversion-based copy. We cover: Head to the show notes to get all the links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/353 Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

Josh here with big news! Web Designer Pro™ 2.0 (tiered model) is live now!! 🎉 Up to this point, Pro has been one membership tier which gave full access to all of my web design courses, the amazing community and coaching with me directly with a member cap of 250 active members. We're closing in on capacity but the exciting news is...we now have two lower tiers available! Available in Web Designer Pro™ now is: Courses tier = $49/mo Community tier = $99/mo Coaching tier = $199/mo These new tiers will make it more accessible and practical to help you dip your toe into Pro, with a plan that works for you, depending on where you are in with your web design business. In this episode, we're diving into all the details on the new tiers for Pro and what led to this big innovation. Jump into Pro now at the tier that works best for you at webdesignerpro.com Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

The Web Design Business Podcast turns 5 today!!! 🎉 What a ride it’s been so far (and I have no plans on slowing down.) For this special milestone, I polled my community Web Designer Pro™ for questions and they delivered, asking some GREAT conversation starters. So in this special, 5 year anniversary podcast episode, I’m dishing out the longest AMA session I’ve done to date at 2 hours! The questions that came in were mainly in 3 categories: So that’s what we dive into (in depth) on this one! I hope you enjoy it and that you get some great takeaways to apply to your web design business and/or online entrepreneurial endeavors. I also want to say a big THANK YOU for listening to the show on Apple, Spotify, etc or watching on YouTube. I have absolutely loved doing this show at least once a week for the last 5 years and have no plans of slowing down. Means the world to me to see the reviews coming in, to hear your wins and feedback on how the podcast has helped you in your web design business so thank YOU for keeping this thing alive. Want to say thanks or give me your feedback on this special occasion? Leave a comment on the post at joshhall.co/351 or better yet…leave it as a podcast review to help grow the show! 00:00 - Intro to 5 year podcast anniversary 03:30 - Strategy for getting guests 09:28 - Showcasing client results when building portfolio 12:24 - Walking the line being boss and spouse when working together 16:21 - Tips for asking to be on a podcast 18:27 - Guests pushing their free or paid resources 21:13 - The legacy I hope this podcast leaves 23:39 - Vision of the podcast and how it's evolved 30:35 - Episodes that led to the most personal growth 39:13 - Most rewarding part of the job 44:46 - Favorite moments from the podcast 48:55 - Podcast gear, setup, etc 50:22 - Future plans (and how the pod fits into them) 55:20 - Next hot marketing strategies ahead 1:00:26 - Cultivating an engaged community 1:05:45 - Creating and growing Web Designer Pro 1:09:01 - Marketing funnel from podcast to Pro 1:12:42 - Reflecting on the work you've done 1:13:21 - Best (and most challenging) decision in business to date 1:26:37 - Most memorable podcast episodes 1:28:53 - Biggest mistake new web designers make 1:33:47 - Current struggles and pain points 1:36:00 - What I've learned from so many different people, cultures and personalities 1:42:56 - Batting imposter syndrome (as a web business coach) 1:51:46 - What I'd do if I restarted everything today 1:53:35 - Thank YOU 1:55:42 - Web Designer Pro 2.0 teaser Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

I don’t know about you…but I didn’t officially “launch” my web design business when I got started. I just kind of fumbled through starting my freelance journey. But if I were starting today, I would put much more effort and emphasis on creating an official “business launch.” Now to the big question…how do you launch a web business successfully? i.e. Get clients fast? Well, my guest in this podcast chat, Alexia Lynn launched her web design business in June of 2024 and got 3 new clients in her first 2 weeks after her amazing launch. So I can’t think of anyone better to learn from! Alexia went ALL OUT for her launch and it’s paid off in a big way in just a few short months. And today, she’s pulling the curtain back on exactly what she did, step by step. We cover: If you enjoy hearing what worked for Alexia but would love a more step-by-step, checklist guide for your own launch plan…you’re in luck! She’s made her launch plan available FOR FREE at https://visualvibedesign.com/designer-launch-plan Big thanks to Alexia for sharing everything she’s done in the first phase of her journey. Whether you’re preparing to launch your own web biz or you’re an established web designer looking for a revenue boost, you can use these strategies as well! P.S. Alexia is a member of my community Web Designer Pro and will be doing a live training breaking this launch plan down in more detail in November 2024! Join today to catch the live training or have access to the replay. Get all links and resources mentioned along with a full transcription at: https://joshhall.co/350 The Web Design Business Podcast is available on: Apple - https://apple.co/36wnnc3 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/36ttME or wherever you get your podcasts View all Web Design Business Podcasts with show notes and full transcriptions at: https://joshhall.co/podcast Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

Let’s get real and share exactly how it is…WordPress is not the tool of choice for most web designers getting into the game today. It may be where most end up, because WordPress is the most popular, customizable, and only open-source platform online but as a starting point, it’s not where most new web designers are starting. Drag and drop platforms like Framer, SquareSpace, and ShowIt and even more robust platforms like WixStudio, WebFlow, and Duda seem to be where young whipper-snapper web designers jump to first. So it begs the question…is WordPress just for old people nowadays? To dive into this topic and to explore both the challenges and opportunities ahead for WordPress, I’m pleased to bring on a young web designer and thought leader Mark Szymanski who, despite being a young whipper snapper web designer, decided to choose WordPress over all the options above. We explore: Note: we recorded this conversation before the recent WordPress vs WPEngine drama happened so that is not discussed in this one. If you have anything to add on this topic - feel free to drop us a comment on the show notes at joshhall.co/349 The Web Design Business Podcast is available on: Apple - https://apple.co/36wnnc3 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/36ttME or wherever you get your podcasts View all Web Design Business Podcasts with show notes and full transcriptions at: https://joshhall.co/podcast Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

Clients don’t really want a pretty website…they want a 24/7 sales machine. You work hard creating beautiful designs that are built solid and have intentional messaging and copy…but how do you know all that work is paying off for your client? How do you measure results? How do you keep your clients coming back for ongoing work over and over again? Well, at the end of the day…one of the best ways is to offer some sort of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) as a service. But I’m sure you have a lot of questions on how to do this practically and how to sell it to clients so I can’t think of anyone better to dig into this topic with than Leigh Scott, a conversion rate optimization specialist. As the founder of zainatain.com, a design and conversion consulting company, this is her bread and butter. We get into the weeds on this one including: A big thanks to Leigh for opening up her playbook on this one! If you want to learn more about CRO, she’s the next industry expert who’s doing a live training in my community Web Designer Pro! If you’re catching this the week it comes out, you can join Pro and watch her presentation live, otherwise when you join, the replay with all links and resources will be available for rewatch on-demand for you. And be sure to check out the show notes for this page which has all the links and resources mentioned at joshhall.co/348 View all Web Design Business Podcasts with show notes and full transcriptions at: https://joshhall.co/podcast Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro

I recently published a newsletter sharing 5 ways I would get clients if I were starting out in web design today in 2024. It got a lot of great feedback from both early-stage web designers and established web designers looking for a revenue boost alike - so I decided to expand on these 5 strategies as a full podcast! We’ll dive into each of these strategies, how I would go about them and how I would execute on them in detail. In short: Again, even if you’re established as a freelancer or web biz owner, you can implement some of these strategies as well to get more clients. But man if I was an early-stage web designer…I would’ve loved to have this roadmap when I got started! So I hope it helps. 🙂 To get more help starting or building your business, be sure to pick up my free training here. Get all links and resources mentioned along with a full transcription at: https://joshhall.co/347 View all Web Design Business Podcasts with show notes and full transcriptions at: https://joshhall.co/podcast We just added new listening pathways on the Podcast Playlists page! 🎙️ joshhall.co/playlists New playlists added: Also added a new quick link menu to help you zip around to your ideal listening path. Join Web Designer Pro™ before we hit the 250 member cap! https://joshhall.co/pro