Part 1 - Why you should start building websites for your graphic design clients?
With the way design is heading, as a print designer you’ve probably been asked about designing websites for your clients. This can often be met with trepidation from print designers — you know about good design but getting into the realm of code, different screen sizes, domain names and IT issues is just not what you signed up for.
There are a lot of good reasons to start building websites — and you can avoid the code and techy stuff. There’s even ways to dip your toe in, so you don’t have to be an expert overnight.
Why should I start building websites for my print design clients?
Easier for your clients
Your clients trust you and the quality of your work. You know them, their brand and how they like to work. It’s normal for us to like what feels comfortable and work with people we like. By taking control of another part of your client’s design material, your client can work with a one-stop-shop.
Better for the consistency of brand
There is nothing worse than designing an amazing brand for someone, then another company ruins it on a website or other forms of marketing. Being able to control your client's brand from concept and all the way through to every form of marketing means a better result for your client and less cringe moments for you!
Extra source of revenue
Adding website design to your list of services will offer a large source of additional revenue that your clients would have been spending elsewhere, that they will now spend with you. This will increase the amount that each client spends with you, so you get more revenue from every new client you meet up with. By developing a few packages for different types and sizes of websites, you can make your pricing very clear and simple but still allow yourself to make good margins on the website design work.
Ongoing revenue
Often in print design, it can be a very “one off” revenue model where you have a lot of one off jobs and no ongoing revenue from them. With partner programmes like Rocketspark’s Partner Programme, you earn recurring revenue based on how many new clients you have using the software. At Rocketspark, we pay a percentage of every subscription back to the design partner who brought the client to Rocketspark. This is a great way to build up an ongoing revenue for you and your business, without the hassle of managing the techy stuff, hosting or recurring billing infrastructure.
Part 2 of the "How to switch from being a print only graphic designer to also selling websites?" covers some really simple and practical ways of helping graphic designers start selling websites to their clients.
