web development business plan pdf

Website Design Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their website design businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a website design business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

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What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your website design business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a website design business, or grow your existing website design business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your website design business in order to improve your chances of success. Your website design business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Website Design Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a website design business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the lender will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

Personal savings is the most common form of funding for a website design business. Venture capitalists will usually not fund a website design business. They might consider funding a website design business with a national presence, but never an individual location. This is because most venture capitalists are looking for millions of dollars in return when they make an investment, and an individual location could never achieve such results.  With that said, personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for website design businesses.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

If you want to start a website design business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below are links to each section of your website design business plan template:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of website design business you are operating and its status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a website design business that you would like to grow, or are you operating website design businesses in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the website design industry. Discuss the type of website design business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of website design business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of website design businesses:

• WordPress website design : this type of business builds websites with WordPress, due to its capabilities, plugin options, and templates.
• Custom website design: this type of business involves developing both the front end and backend of a website using coding, programming, databases, forms, etc. without a content management platform.
• Other platform website design: this type of business uses a variety of other platforms to develop specific types of site, such as e-commerce. Platforms like Shopify or Squarespace make specific site development relatively easy.

In addition to explaining the type of website design business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of websites launched, the types of sites developed, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the website design industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the website design industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your website design business plan:

• How big is the website design industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your website design business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your website design business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: large corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, government entities, and individuals.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of website design business you operate. Clearly, large corporations would respond to different marketing promotions than nonprofits, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most website design businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.  

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other website design businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes individuals who prefer to use template-based platforms to build their website on their own, or from dedicated in-house design teams.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other website design businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be website design businesses located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• Do they specialize in specific site types (i.e. content sites, e-commerce sites, etc.)?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide either a wider range or more specialized range of services?
• Will you offer features such as social media integration?
• Will you provide superior customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a website design business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of website design company that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to WordPress site development, will your website design business provide custom design options?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your website design company. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, will you operate from a physical office, or will you primarily interact with clients online and/or at their home or place of business? In this section, discuss how your location will affect demand for your services.

Promotions : The final part of your website design marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Signs and billboards
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your website design business, including marketing, providing consultations, programming, troubleshooting, keeping abreast of new technology, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to launch your 100th e-commerce site, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to open a website design business in a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your website design business’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing website design businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in programming, or successfully running small businesses.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you complete/launch one website per week, or will you have teams working on multiple projects at once? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your website design business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a website design business:

• Office build-out
• Cost of buying or leasing a company vehicle
• Cost of office supplies such as computers and software
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office lease, or an overview of the services you offer.  

Putting together a business plan for your website design business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the website design industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful website design business.  

Web Design Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my website design business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Website Design Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of website design business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a website design business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of website design businesses?

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Options and Tips for Creating a Web Design Business Plan

Don’t get too intimidated by writing a web design business plan, a lot of it just means getting down onto paper things you likely have been considering anyway. According to Entrepreneur “Writing…

Estimated Read Time:   40 minutes

Don’t get too intimidated by writing a web design business plan , a lot of it just means getting down onto paper things you likely have been considering anyway. According to Entrepreneur “Writing out your business plan forces you to review everything at once: your value proposition, marketing assumptions, operations plan, financial plan and staffing plan.”

If I can do it – and go from 1 to 10 people in three years, you can too 😉 My wife will tell you… I’m no genius.

Table of Contents

Main Points in a Web Design Business Plan Outline:

1. business concept –.

What is the web design industry like in your immediate area and region? What are the high-level possibilities for the success of your web design business? What are the prime differentiating factors and how you will set yourself apart from the competition?

2. Who is the market for your web design firm?

Who are your customers? Are you serving only mid-sized businesses? Only editorial publications? Churches? Non-profits? Teenie tiny mom and pop shops? Fortune 500 companies? What niche are you looking to serve? What is the demand like for the service? And this leads us into our next question.. What does your pricing need to look like to serve these customers? And it’s not always getting your price down into affordability; maybe you need to price higher so that your company seems more professional and that you can offer above and beyond service. “Price high and justify.”

3. Income and Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet etc.

“Start by estimating the revenues generated by an average sale. Then subtract the costs that change with each transaction, like sales commissions and costs of producing the products sold. The result is your “unit contribution.” Next, predict your monthly overhead, or expenses that don’t vary directly with sales volume, such as rent, salaries, utilities, legal fees, and accounting expenses. Finally, divide your monthly overhead by your unit contribution. That number will tell you how many transactions you’ll need per month to break-even.” From this article on Inc. of The Basics of a Business Plan by the Numbers.

Get started with this One Page Web Design Business Plan

General Principles for writing a Web Design Business Plan:

1. Keep your business plan short and simple.

Go for it right now with this One Page Web Design Business Plan .

2. Use visual charts to quickly show key numbers.

3. Do what you do best, and make it look professional.

4. Ask key questions like what will be it’s annual revenue in a year, and in 5 years.

5. What things can I delegate? Sales, Technical or others? How will you attract these people to help, and what will be your key differentiators of process and culture?

6. Is the business plan going to help you raise money? 

7. How much of an initial investment will the business need?

Tools for Creating a Business Plan:

1. LivePlan.com – Visual planning tool, helpful if you really don’t know where to start. It will give you the sections and the template is already there.

2. The Art of The Start 2.0 (Book by Guy Kawasaki) – “It’s most relevant for technology or IT companies, but he has a way of writing that’s very clear, very to the point. There’s not a lot of pedantic info that you’ll find in textbooks.”

3. Score – Business Planning Templates –  Quickly assess your marketing plan, Free business listing list for search engine optimization, Marketing must haves etc.

Thank you for reading! Share the love. 🙂

Keep the content coming, by tweeting this.

Other Links related to Web Design Plans:

• Web Design Sample Business Plan – Executive Summary
• 9 Steps to starting your freelance web design business – Business Tuts
• Plan a Web Development Business Part Two- BPlans
• How to Make a Business Plan for a Website Development Startup – Color Whistle

Getting Your First Web Design Clients

My first web design client was my future mother-in-law, a real doozie. A non-profit, I was paid $500 and an iPad. I’ve also been paid as little as – negative $ for making a website, because I was so eager for real world experience. Do you want a website? I want to give you one.. just let me pay for your hosting and I’ll make the website out of the salt from the sweat of my children.

Don’t sell yourself short. Charge a decent amount.

So the first real website I sold was a couple months later. I was just learning WordPress and I sold a site for 10 monthly payments of $250 dollars. Because it was a fairly simple marketing website and didn’t have a ton of custom features on it, this was actually a pretty solid deal for a starting out web designer.

The first half of selling yourself as a web designer is evidence. Let’s see the goods.

Make sure you have a decent portfolio out there, that you made yourself..

I don’t care if it’s on WordPress, straight HTML, or Ruby on Rails. Get that thing out in the open, give it the best you got and make sure it shows the best of your best work. Code up a non-profit’s website for free if you have to, and show as many real projects as you possibly can. I iterated on my website 3 times, with 2 live at my domain before I ever got my first real set of clients. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to exist.

Here’s my site I made in 2012 (click here to see it in the Internet Wayback Machine):

Here’s the site in 2013 (click here to see it in the Internet Wayback Machine):

Yes.. I agree my portfolio was a little weak at this point, but guess what? I was getting clients. I wasn’t by any means, raking them in, but people I knew were coming to me and asking if I could help with their website or help them make a new website. I was eager to be of service, and make enough money to stop bussing tables.

Let the world know you’re making websites now.

Change your job on Facebook to ‘Self Employed Web Designer’, change your LinkedIn –  don’t put Aspiring Web Designer in your Twitter profile, put Web Designer. You’re a big boy (or girl) now. I personally took a good hard running jump at web design, and with one client and one month covered in expenses jumped out into the market as a web designer. No more restaurant job (which for me didn’t pay THAT well anyways.) When people hear that’s what you do, and you take a friendly and helpful attitude when they reach out, or you offer your services you can quickly earn some awareness around the new service you offer.

Don’t wait until you have it perfected, just go for it.

I’m not suggesting you make the new 3M website, or try to sell yourself as a ten year veteran of website design. You can, however, say you will go above and beyond for a client as you are starting out fresh and will do everything in your power to make them an excellent website. If you’ve created a couple of examples, then that can help adjust expectations and although you may need to put ungodly amounts of time into your first couple websites you will earn your chops in the struggle. You’ll figure out how to z-index a logo over the top of overlapping nav div.

In defense of the designer-developer.

Yes, I’m suggesting you will have to write code. Can you sell a website for $2,500 dollars and give half of it away to a front-end developer when you’re starting out? Perhaps, perhaps not. I personally couldn’t, and so… I learned to code. Basics at first, how to modify WordPress themes ever so slightly with CSS. Then cutting and splicing bits of PHP, then eventually writing my own themes from scratch. This is why I suggest having a couple of websites under your belt before really having someone pay you for your web design services; you can find the rhythm that works for you. If you are an epic visual designer who can confidently charge $5,000 for your first website you could potentially find the right person to develop it for you and you can pay them adequately to make it good. It’s really to each is own, because I preach design/development, and you have an equally right  person 2 doors down who wouldn’t touch a CMS to save his life. Literally … my old neighbor above me would sell sites for 7-8k and I thought he was an internet god. He would write the HTML, CSS, and Javascript (In Dreamweaver, hello throwback,) and then outsource custom Content Management System development for 2k. I just wanted to learn how to not pay that 2k .

Other ways to promote your new web design business

• Look for ways to trade your services for advertising : I sold my services in an auction by a Minneapolis newspaper  in exchange for adspace in their lifestyle magazine VitaMN.
• Get every viable social media handle/url under the name you’re using to freelance , promote yourself vigorously on TWO of these, and understand you’re not going to do ALL of them well .
• Make a list of all the acquaintances who have small businesses, and that could use a website. Send them a quick note, and always be of the mind that you’re there to be of service – not sell.
• Go old school and create a flyer : I put boots on the ground and peddled my wares (a one page services sheet – without pricing on it) around every business that I could open the door to in my area of Uptown Minnesota. I focused on what I did that was different. Alot of times this is personal service, since you likely have less clients and more time and attention than alot of web design shops in town. – To be perfectly honest, this didn’t get me a client. Maybe what I’m really suggesting here is hustling your ass off and being as present as possible… take every opportunity to share what you do until you gain momentum.
• Put out content on a blog on your website and promote it on social media : Don’t sell dude. Don’t do it. You can still see my oldest posts on this blog that are salesy… it’s not going to kill your blog, but it’s really boring and no-one wants to read those. Just give as much value as you can, share your experiences and focus on the ONE SERVICE you are really trying to sell and things you’re learning in that discipline. Use it as an opportunity to dig deeper into your craft, and to share as you go.

Price High and Justify

After you promote the living shit out of yourself on social media, talk to your long lost friend with a supplement or house painting business, and make a few mistakes it’s time to price high and justify . You have to charge what people will pay, but as soon as you can push that number up as high as it can reasonably go. Why? If you have high prices it means you can make more excellent work! Justify the price with above and beyond service and you’ll feel great about what you do. Your work will mean more profitable businesses that benefit from the excellent websites you make. It feels good to help people feed their families by helping them get the word out about what makes their business special. And in the end, that’s what it boils down to for me.

Make Sure Your Process Differentiates You from Competitors

It’s important to recognize what your business’s competitive advantage is, and unless you want to build a business that depends upon what’s special about YOU as an individual you have to draw out and nurture the special things about your process. To focus on your own unique specialties alone builds a prison fortress around you, and if you ever want to hire or contract out parts of the business you’re stuck with a business that only works with you sweating away at the center of it; the wizard behind the curtain, slowly getting too tired to perform at the same level.

So for me the key pieces of my web design process as I am learning to define them are:

1. responsiveness to changes that clients need..

– Example: Client asks for a lighter color scheme in development, instead of fretting we work hard to satisfy the request and push back when appropriate to keep within a reasonable budget.

Key to fulfilling: Web design services should not be dirt cheap, and if they are they aren’t taking into consideration the time it takes to build something fully customized for the business’s needs. Templated solutions get generic unfulfilling results. (However, I still feel that for some customers templated solutions such as Squarespace.com and WordPress Themes from Themeforest without custom code can occasionally fulfill their needs and suggest that they try those routes if their budget doesn’t allow to really hire someone to do it right.)

2. Examining the overall market for the client and tailoring the content on the site to the scenarios that could be useful to their favorite kinds of clients.

– Example: Your site is serving people who just suffered hail damage to their home, we assess that a key to surprising and delighting these types of customers is serving up content that is about how to buff out hail damage on their car.

Key to fulfilling: It’s crucial we think about the psychology of the people coming into the site. This is the number one question we ask when making a website: “how can we serve your ideal customer with this content, this imagery, the messages we’re sharing and the story we’re telling.”

3. Building out the main service pages of the website in the hope that the content will attract new customers, making key items like ‘contact us’ and ‘buy now’ super easy to access on the main promos, sidebars, and at the end of content.

– Example: Adding bigger content pieces after key visual blocks on service pages so that the service page is indexable by Google and people who want to really dig into what you have that option. Big old juicy buttons that say “Contact us now” or “Request a quote” are super obvious and surrounded by trust factors such as positive testimonials, industry badges, a phone number, or 3 key differentiating features in bullet points.

Keys to fulfilling: It’s important not only to think about how people are going to perceive this site when they get there but how they are going to get there in the first place. By thinking about big content pieces that could provide big value for the client during the design process, the website can be built in a way that emphasizes and makes those big content pieces that are serving a real need available and to the forefront of the site with menu structure, and other pieces of navigation and structure.

4. Imagery is outside the box, and elicits a positive emotional response from key individuals your business is targeting.

– Example: A Death to Stock Photo image that feels less stock photo-esque and more candid than most stock photos.

Even better, you and your storefront, your set of tools. An ACTUAL satisfied client, smiling and holding your product or enjoying your work.

Keys to fulfilling: Often this involves imagining what a positive interaction between your business and your client will look like. Is it you sitting with them, them smiling, and a chart of upward momentum on the computer screen in front of you? Is it freshly cut grass without them lifting a finger, so they get to smile and sip fresh lemonade on their porch? This is the story we want to display. We want the imagery to feel candid, real and maybe even a bit unusual. But a visitor should be able to see it and think to themselves, I want to be there. They should be able to imagine themselves in the place of the person pictured on the site.

5. The copy is written in a way that quickly explains the core benefit/value from your product or service, invites the visitor to participate, and explains why it will be awesome for them.

– Example: A moving company could say “Your back will thank you, call us for a custom quote today.” A remodeling company could say, “You’ll feel as good as your home will look.” with a call to action button that says, “Get a quote for a fresh look.”

Keys to fulfilling: Never be generic! Shake out the cobwebs in your marketing brain right now. Seriously, every single product or service has a unique and special story behind it, and the customers you serve need to know why anyone would choose you . Why have they in the past? I speak to the business owners and people representing businesses in their marketing teams, and I ask: “Tell me the story of positive customer experience, that you’re aware of.” What does that look like. Tell that story on the site. The more you get curious about these stories and the core benefit a product or service is providing, very few things are truly boring. The more you get interested in the story of the product or service, and tell that positive experience story the more you’ll see that almost anything can be interesting.

And the moral of the story is:

As you can see, the key differentiating features of this design process is a personal connection, customizing the solution to the industry and those specific businesses prime differentiating features, and enthusiasm. That enthusiasm through every piece of the puzzle is crucial. It’s important to note at every step of the process that this is for a business composed of REAL PEOPLE, whose food and shelter depends on telling the story to the world, and REAL PEOPLE who benefit from the product or service being served. This is the real end value. So anyone I work with, or for feels that: the enthusiasm and the genuine intent to provide value. This is key to this design process. 

How to Speak About Design to Establish Trust

“I thought you might like the flourishes in the header, it has that bohemian, natural feeling you were talking about when we first met up to discuss the project.” = FIRE ME . “Thought you might like,” “Going for that feeling,” and “I was inspired to take a fun direction,” all scream of whimsical dainty little artist types who could literally die from the harsh realities of designing for real economic pressures. The real economic reality is that families food and shelter depends on the success of a business, and a key component of how a business does is how that business presents itself to the world through design.

I’m not saying you can’t feel a feeling and apply it to your work in design, but design isn’t art. It is meant to solve real world problems. So instead of focusing on your feelings while presenting to the client, focus on design principles, web design best practices, and the persona’s and scenario’s you established during your discovery phase. Focus the conversation around:

• Design Principles
• Web Design best practices
• Persona’s and scenario’s

Why do design principles even matter?

I’ve had a couple situations lately, where someone seems to be questioning why a font choice even matters. They rolled their eyes when I mentioned a study that called Baskerville the most trusted font. It got me thinking. How am I presenting this wrong? Because I know in my heart of hearts that design matters. <- FIRE ME,  but I can’t seem to always make it dead obvious to people I’m presenting work to.

I want to show them two ads side by side, one with high quality fonts that were chosen with serious intention and one with quickly chosen free fonts , and ask them which of them makes the product they represent seem more expensive, or which one makes the product seem more quality. Because good design does indeed represent products and services in a better light, and makes them seem more high quality. You know that, and I know that, but:

But how do we make the value of design dead obvious?

1. Resolve to help them find solutions to pain points. – Your website looks like shit on mobile, let’s fix that. Your logo has gradients and shadows in it to the point it’s hard to use on shirts and in other simple ways. Let’s address those and work from there how design can help solve problems you’re aware of now. Maybe it expands from there; as a designer, you’re a problem solver and the more you can identify and come up with creative and solid solutions for, the more design solutions you get to get paid for.

2. Dive into their world and become aware of what they value. – For web design you might realize the client cares more about looking cool than contact form submissions. You might realize they value their relationship with their family deeply, that a certain type of customer is their favorite . Once we realize what they care about deeply… pause pause pause …we can help them communicate those values through the design.  By diving in, visiting their shop, asking a lot of questions, and being present we can then better let them know how good design will help them do that.

3. Focus on the things they do understand like ‘Trust factors’, ‘color psychology’ and ‘telling the story.’ – ‘We have to tell the story of your business better,’ is going to resonate with some people better than my fascination with the font Baskerville. Even though I deeply care about typography, it’s just not always as accessible of a topic, or as interesting to clients. What they do understand is how adding a Better Business Bureau badge next to the contact form will help increase the likelihood of people contacting them, and how blue is associated with trust and how green get’s associated with natural, fresh, or innovative. This really depends on the particular client, as some clients can go deep without a lot of prep.

Let’s circle back for a bit and make sure you’re working with the right kind of client:

The client defines the value and the designer discovers it. Ask the client what their business or organization does and why is it important to their target audience. If they don’t give you a quick comprehensible answer they are not ready to work with a designer or an agency. If they do answer the question you should next ask them what success looks like and what their goals are. DO NOT lead them toward what you think success might be. Let them define it.

When you get their feedback, dig deeper. A good way to do this is by asking who their target audience is and what their target audience needs are. If they can’t answer this they are not ready for the value a designer or an agency will provide. The client needs to have experience communicating with their target audience in order to set proper goals. If there’s no goal, how will you know whether or not a project is successful? Here are some red flags to look out for in the beginning stages of communicating with a potential client. I asked a fellow designer, Brenna French to share some thoughts on this issue:

“You sit down at a coffee shop excited to talk to a potential client about the project and the first thing they say is, I want to build a website how much would that be? This is a red flag because this means their mindset is already focused on getting a deal and not on the value you can provide for their business or their target audience.

This goes both ways in the relationship by the way, you never want to position the project or conversation around money. If you talk about money right away this shows the client that you are money hungry or desperate for work. Remember you are a professional and you are serious about your work and the value you can provide. Positioning the conversation around value sets the tone for the whole relationship in a positive way.

Say you get past that money conversation and everything is going well so far so you start talking about the project. The client starts to explain that they are wanting a one-page website design and they also want the main colors to be blue and orange because to them those are beautiful colors, oh yeah they also want a picture of themselves in the main header. This is a red flag because they have too many ideas of what they are visually wanting the end product to look like.

As a design professional, I don’t want to execute the client’s wants in mind. I design the best possible solution for the client’s target audience so the client will reach their business goals. From my experience, a client that has a specific visual direction is difficult to work with. Position the conversation around value. By the end of the conversation, you both are excited to get started. You set clear expectations and attracted the client by positioning the conversation around value.”

– Brenna French

Ask these questions of new possible clients: Is the client sure of their target audience?

Is the client aware of their target audience’s needs?

Are they able to answer right away, what is it that you do and why is it important to your target audience?

Do they start talking about their budget right away? (If they do it might be a red flag – try to change the conversation to talk about value that you’ll provide, not an arbitrary number you come with on the fly without fully understanding the project.)

Do they give off the impression that they understand you’re the expert, that they understand that are only responsible for Content – and Business Goals?

Do they have alot of ideas already about how the website should look? – A possible red flag.

That last one is challenging, and occasionally working for small businesses it’s important to kindly educate your clients on what is your responsibility and what is yours. But needless to say, if they come out of the gate giving strong layout suggestions and explaining their specific vision for look and feel you’re being pigeon-holed into the position of technician implementing someone else’s design, not the dynamic problem-solving designer.

Ways to talk and words to use

Talk confidently and make sure to include examples of previous work where you solved a specific goal-oriented problem. Now is the time to ask what their primary objective is, and to set up a metric for the design you’re working on currently. 100 e-mail list subscriptions, 15 contact form submissions by legitimate prospects, 20 sales the first three months of launch. Make specific goals have a date attached to them. Gathering this information after the design should be part of what you’re being paid to do, and part of what you’re selling.

Do user testing on the old site when they come in, if it’s worth testing. Talk about testing critical things. Words and phrases to use: research, effective, goals, trust-worthy, tell your story, appeal to your core demographic. Always do research on their industry before getting into the site design. Their competitors, and brand positioning. By doing this you better understand what they are up against and you position yourself as the expert with a unique understanding of their dilemma. This is another reason to hold off giving a price for the work until you fully understand the problem at hand.

Share research. You don’t always have to have it on hand when you are discussing a particular issue. But you should do your due diligence, if they want a pop-up newsletter subscription box then you should be able to go find the research on which way of doing that is most effective (right away, timed, or exit intent,) or general tips on making a pop-up effective. I find it especially effective to share these bits of research right before you show the design at all. Come up with three pieces of research to support points that might be contentious or that push their comfort level on the design. Share them briefly before going over the design.

When you get into showing the design, avoid the real estate tour; ‘here’s the logo,’ ‘here’s the nav,’ etc. Go straight for the heart of why the design serves their goals. Talk about flow and conversions, and especially focus on how the design presents their story in a unique and compelling way to appeal to their core demographic. Never ask for feedback, ask if they have any questions. In this way, you can further ingrain yourself in their mind as an expert. I think of it as a bit of swagger. Humble swagger, but you have to have some swagger in this industry.

Content Strategy for Web Designers to Attract Ideal Customers

Devising a workable and effective content strategy can be difficult for any company or brand, as the needs and desires of readers, clients, and businesses always vary from individual to individual, and from day to day. With a bit of work and the following content strategy guide to get you started, you should be well on your way to developing a stellar web design content strategy ! The most important part is that you start, and these practical and actionable strategies will help you get your ass in gear.

Begin with an Introspective Evaluation

Before taking that first step down the road of content creation, the best tactic is to initially spend some time to evaluate where your company, your content, and your brand currently stand. Begin this evaluation by honestly answering a few simple questions:

How is our brand currently perceived in the marketplace?

What are good and bad aspects of the brand’s existing content?

What content-related goals would we like to achieve?

How does our brand match up to other web design competitors?

With these basic questions answered about your brand and where your company currently stands, you can move onto an overall content strategy design by answering “The Five Ws”:

Who is the audience of our content?

When should particular content be available?

Where (in which channels) should the content exist?

Why is the content relevant (or) why will the audience care?

What is the message or purpose of the content?

For example, throughout this article I’ll illustrate examples with a fictional up-and-coming web design firm called Green Lemon Design. The Green Lemon team — who are looking to establish themselves in the web design market as a talented, young, and energetic choice for lower to mid-tier web designs — might answer these questions in the following (simplified) form:

Potential clients: Users seeking low- to mid-range website design and consultation services.

Existing clients: Users who have worked with us in the past.

Most content on the website should be available 24/7, while content that is time-sensitive (such as a month-long new client special deal) can be temporary.

Onsite, Blog, Email, Twitter, Facebook

The audience should be seeking professional and affordable web design services that we can offer (for potential customers) or additional customer support and services (for existing clients).

To inform and educate our audience on the skills and capabilities of our brand, to impress with our past successes and portfolio, and to establish good rapport and relationships with both potential and existing clients.

Establishing Brand, Voice, and Tone Guidelines

With the basic questions answered that inform you of a need to change your content strategy , now is a good time to evaluate the brand, voice, and tone guidelines you’ll utilize throughout the content.

Brand guidelines can cover logo design to color pallette and everything in between. For content strategy , the best places to start are:

Fonts and typefaces : What fonts will be used throughout the content? How about sizes for various elements (paragraphs, headers, testimonials, etc)?

Colors and palettes : What colors best suit your brand or company and can be utilized throughout the content? – Example above includes a distinctive color palette that could be applied to other elements.

Images and logos : Which particular static images or logos should be prominent throughout the content? – It’s useful to repeat symbols such as the ‘greenish lemon’ throughout this piece. This may be particular to the content you put out on your site in general, or a particular blog post or content hub.

Videos and animations : As above, are there any video clips that should be frequent or readily available somewhere in the content?

Voice & Tone

Determine early in the process what kind of voice and tone you wish to attach to your content and thus associate with your brand. This can be difficult at first, particularly without much in the way of experienced writers on staff, but finding an appropriate voice can be a huge boon to your content strategy as a whole.

For example, Green Lemon Web Design may elect to take on a very informal, even humorous tone throughout their content. As a young and fresh company, they may feel most comfortable keeping their tone light-hearted and fun, to attract the business and clientele of smaller, younger companies like themselves.

Onsite Content: The Bread of Your Content Strategy Sandwich

Time to get down to the real core of your content strategy by first devising the outline of content that should exist onsite. Remember, anything  that exists on the company or brand website (with the exception of the blog) is considered onsite content and should be under your complete control.

For our fictitious Green Lemon Web Design, the outline for onsite content strategy might include the following sections:

Voice & Tone : Errors/alerts, testimonials, FAQ, portfolio should have a fun and humorous tone, while a more serious, business tone is necessary for transactional and billing-related messages.

Images : In addition to the logo and color palette established previously, we’d like some professional photography to splash through the core onsite pages (about us, contact us, etc), but with a refreshing twist: Each photo should contain a small green lemon strategically placed and tucked somewhere in the graphic, to bring a branded element into the design for brand awareness and maximum impact.

Portfolio : A list of clients we’ve assisted in the past with small testimonials from business partners from each when relevant.

About Us : Details about how Green Lemon came to be, including headshots of all employees with short, fun bios from each. Employees must provide a quote (think high school graduation yearbook quote, or ask a curious question to get your team showing their true colors.) In my experience looking at analytics for a lot of sites, people visit these pages more than you might initially think. It make sense, because we want to know about the people in your business. Tell us more, give us the inside scoop, tell your story.

Contact Us/Get a Quote : Standard form with name, email, and (optional) telephone fields for potential clients to get in touch. Should we include our company promise to establish return correspondence within 4 hours?

FAQ : Answer basic questions, primarily focused at potential customers. What is our typical turnaround time? What post-design support can we offer? Include a handful of fun and humorous questions at the end as well.

Services : Describe all services we offer, broken into categories (consultation, marketing, technology, industries, etc).

Errors & Alerts : 404 error should be squeezed green lemon with one final drop of juice falling out. Logged in clients with unread messages or invoices should see amusing flash message on each screen until dismissed. Little alerts and responses to contact form inquiries can be an opportunity to show a bit of the companies friendly, human character as well as display being adept with technology and attention to detail.

Blog Posts: That’s the Good Stuff

While strong onsite content is of course critical to the success of any strategy, very often the real meat and potatoes of your online presence is contained within the blog. The blog offers an avenue for expressing ideas and sharing content that is timely, relevant, and inspirational for the audience.

A blog is also a more appropriate channel to take risks — even slight ones — with the content your brand produces. Blog content can be anything from industry news and competitor-vs.-self comparisons to tutorials and how-to guides.

A successful blog is a channel for content that relates to the brand or company, but then extends well beyond the purview of the brand to provide relevant and interesting content for the audience to consume.

Don’t get caught in the old-school idea of a blog, where one or a handful of curators post personal stories and anecdotes. While that type of content is certainly acceptable and sometimes appropriate to a modern blog, try to expand the content well outside the bounds of that traditionally small umbrella.

For example, Green Lemon might highlight some potential blog ideas for their new web designer content strategy :

Leveraging Influencers

A post discussing highly influential creatives in the design space and how they have inspired Green Lemon and other designers. We should emphasize the great projects these creatives have worked on over the years to entice our readers by illustrating how Green Lemon understands the industry and that our team (or freelancer) strives to meet the same standards of excellence.

Discuss the importance of social media contact, even amongst these influences, by tagging them on Twitter with a link to the blog post. An ideal tactic is not to directly ask a question of the power user in question, but to ask a question of our general Twitter audience (e.g. “Designers: How has @Influencer inspired you in your own projects? #GreenLemonDreaming”).

Content Hub Posts

Posts that emphasize a highly-curated and relevant series of links and posts found elsewhere that relate to a particular topic, such as web design. Since a popular group of articles gathered in this singular “content hub”-style post will drive a lot of SEO traffic and referral linkbacks to our site, we can be confident that the effort in putting together these posts is worthwhile and will generate a great deal of buzz and traffic for Green Lemon.

Emphasizing Keywords

As a relatively new company, we cannot be afraid to try emphasizing localized keywords to drive interest and traffic to Green Lemon and bring in potential clients.

A great technique is to create a series of blog posts that highlight particular keywords and heavily focus the relevant aspects of the content on those keywords.

To drive localized traffic we can start with “Web Design in Minneapolis” and “Web Design in Minnesota,” which should feature some location-specific content mixed into the standard information. This can be as simple as pictures or mentions of local attractions in the city or state that residents of these areas who read the article will relate to.

Conversely, we’ll need more broad language and images to accompany our post about “WordPress Web Design,” which should shy away from localized content but instead contain information solely about the techniques and technologies (CMS organization, colors/typefaces, content release schedule, etc).

Inactivity is a Death Sentence

While the initial questions and answers when getting started in the content strategy process as seen above might seem at first to provide only a very rudimentary insight the steps to implement a strategy, there is one key lesson to learn when it comes to anything related to content: Don’t get bogged down by the minutiae and thus never take action .

The biggest mistake anyone can make when it comes to content strategy is to be too passive, to over-assess and over-plan to the point of inaction. Particularly in the online space — where content moves at the speed of light (both figuratively and literally) — failing to act at all on a new content strategy is far worse than taking action and modifying or adjusting the content strategy plan as you learn and grow along the way.

That’s not to say planning and strategy are not important, but in many situations for both companies and clients alike, it is far more important to just “get out there” with the content so the audience can begin to interact with the content or brand than it is to delay far too long with nothing to show for it from a public perspective.

Maintaining Your Flexibility

Content strategies come in all shapes and sizes and should not be solely thought of as a brand-wide, all-inclusive methodology for every piece of content the brand creates.

Instead, content strategies can and should be developed in a modular fashion. Similar to a well-crafted website, an interchangeable content strategy allows for flexibility throughout the process over time, as variables change and the success (or failure) of a particular strategy evolves over time.

This technique should most commonly be used to distinguish between the various channels in which your content resides. A strategy module that suits email campaigns is likely not as well suited for handling social media interactions on Twitter, just as the static onsite content used throughout the site will differ significantly from the content posted on a blog.

Embrace these differences and freely develop multiple modules of your content strategy to fit each appropriate channel. You can and should still maintain an overall parent strategy that infuses elements into every child strategy below that (fonts, colors, common logos/images, etc), but much of the content beyond that will shift as the medium changes.

The Necessity of Taking Risks

A very useful tool when first developing a content strategy is to evaluate the various levels of “risk” involved in any given style or example of content. That is, when a reader or user engages with that content, how likely are they to expect it versus how likely are they to be pleasantly surprised? Additionally as the content creator, how likely is a piece of content to feel standard and safe versus something risky that could fail or be taken poorly, but provide benefit if successful?

There are numerous risk strategies out there, but a solid standard for content strategy used by Portent, Inc. is the 70-20-10 rule .

This rule effectively states that 70% of your content should be safe and expected, 20% should be moderately risky and challenges the standard 70% of your content, and the last 10% should be very risky , such that it is entirely unexpected content or may horribly fail in some way (but will offer large benefits if successful).

For the fictitious Green Lemon Web Design, they have elected to disperse their content using the 70-20-10 rule in roughly this manner:

70%: Most onsite stuff, such as About Us, FAQ, Services, Contact Us/Get a Quote, etc.

20%: Most blog posts that relate to the industry; those that provide assistance to clients, potential customers, or casual readers.

10%: A handful of blog posts that go against the normal, such as emphasizing the great work our competitors have been doing in the past few months or a post about a seemingly unrelated topic to drive traffic and user interest (books, gaming, fishing, etc). We’d also like to add a comparison chart of services and pricing between Green Lemon and popular competitors, which may include features we are weaker at than others but may ingratiate readers to us for our honesty.

Whatever the exact risk assessment is that your own brand settles on, it is vital to not be too afraid of taking risks from time to time. Being a little out there or edgy with your content will make a lasting, memorable impression instead of the countless other examples that are boring and forgotten after a short glance.

A Handful of Content Examples

Below you’ll find a list of example content titles that a new web design firm like Green Lemon — or even you — might find useful to pursue, roughly categorized by intended audience and/or creators.

For Web Designers

Web-for-All: Accessibility for Modern Web Design

Why Improved Design Cannot Solve Content Issues

Content Optimization for Mobile Platforms

Why Email Requires a Responsive Design

And Dash of That..: How A/B Testing Dramatically Improves User Experience

A Bridge Too Far: When Additional Feature Requests Should Be Ignored

This Ain’t Your Granddad’s Pixel: How Modern Displays Are Changing Web Design

Creating Beautiful Graphics and Logos in Pure CSS

The Homepage: When Automation Must Take a Back Seat to Human Control

For Web Marketers

Identifying Your Audience and Content to Meet User Demands

Community is Everything: Why Building a Community is Critical to Content Strategy

Risk vs. Reward: Why Safe is Often the Least Safe

Cultivating Client Relationships

I Like You: Spreading Your Content via Third Party Services

Localization, Love, and Liberation: Why i18n is Critical to Content Strategy

For Clients

Miniature Adults: How Children Utilize the Web and Interact with Your Site

Stay Awhile and Listen: How to Genuinely Engage with Readers

Establishing a Content Strategy for Personal Websites

Online Trapdom: Why Free Services Rarely Are

Just You Being You: How Social Media Encourages a False Sense of Self

Look At All My Resources!

While this article should provide a great starting point to establishing your own web marketer content strategy , there are multitudes of resources online with great information to boost your knowledge and get you down the right path toward content nirvana.

Below are a handful of prime resources to chew through at your leisure, so please enjoy!

Creating a Content Compass : Explores the diverging content strategy of a particular web project across the entirety of a brand’s content universe.

The Magic Content Marketing Ratio: Email Conversion Rate

4 Keys to Capturing a New Audience for Your Content Marketing

Being Real Builds Trust : Discusses why trust with users and clients is among the most vital components of strong marketing content strategy .

Help Your Content Go Anywhere With a Mobile Content Strategy

Future-Ready Content : Developing a web design content strategy that is as future-proof as possible, not just technically but in the manner in which content is created.

Contently Comic: Sponsored Insanity : Explores the pitfalls and trouble that can come from unnecessary sponsored content.

The Most Important Audience for Your Content Marketing : Your Own Employees : How brand and businesses should ensure employees fully understand and adhere to the marketing content strategy .

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Free PDF Business Plan Templates and Samples

By Joe Weller | September 9, 2020

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We’ve gathered the most useful collection of business plan PDF templates and samples, including options for organizations of any size and type.

On this page, you’ll find free PDF templates for a simple business plan , small business plan , startup business plan , and more.

Simple Business Plan PDF Templates

These simple business plan PDF templates are ready to use and customizable to fit the needs of any organization.

Simple Business Plan Template PDF

This template contains a traditional business plan layout to help you map out each aspect, from a company overview to sales projections and a marketing strategy. This template includes a table of contents, as well as space for financing details that startups looking for funding may need to provide. 

Download Simple Business Plan Template - PDF

Lean Business Plan Template PDF

This scannable business plan template allows you to easily identify the most important elements of your plan. Use this template to outline key details pertaining to your business and industry, product or service offerings, target customer segments (and channels to reach them), and to identify sources of revenue. There is also space to include key performance metrics and a timeline of activities. 

Download Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template PDF

This template is designed to help you develop and implement a 90-day business plan by breaking it down into manageable chunks of time. Use the space provided to detail your main goals and deliverables for each timeframe, and then add the steps necessary to achieve your objectives. Assign task ownership and enter deadlines to ensure your plan stays on track every step of the way.

Download Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

PDF | Smartsheet

One-Page Business Plan PDF Templates

The following single page business plan templates are designed to help you download your key ideas on paper, and can be used to create a pitch document to gain buy-in from partners, investors, and stakeholders.

One-Page Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to summarize each aspect of your business concept in a clear and concise manner. Define the who, what, why, and how of your idea, and use the space at the bottom to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for your business. 

Download One-Page Business Plan Template

If you’re looking for a specific type of analysis, check out our collection of SWOT templates .

One-Page Lean Business Plan PDF

This one-page business plan template employs the Lean management concept, and encourages you to focus on the key assumptions of your business idea. A Lean plan is not stagnant, so update it as goals and objectives change — the visual timeline at the bottom is ideal for detailing milestones. 

Download One-Page Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to identify main goals and outline the necessary activities to achieve those goals in 30, 60, and 90-day increments. Easily customize this template to fit your needs while you track the status of each task and goal to keep your business plan on target. 

Download One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

For additional single page plans, including an example of a one-page business plan , visit " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."

Small Business Plan PDF Templates

These business plan templates are useful for small businesses that want to map out a way to meet organizational objectives, including how to structure, operate, and expand their business.

Simple Small Business Plan Template PDF

A small business can use this template to outline each critical component of a business plan. There is space to provide details about product or service offerings, target audience, customer reach strategy, competitive advantage, and more. Plus, there is space at the bottom of the document to include a SWOT analysis. Once complete, you can use the template as a basis to build out a more elaborate plan. 

Download Simple Small Business Plan Template

Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template PDF

This fill-in-the-blank template walks you through each section of a business plan. Build upon the fill-in-the-blank content provided in each section to add information about your company, business idea, market analysis, implementation plan, timeline of milestones, and much more.

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page Small Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to create a scannable business plan that highlights the most essential parts of your organization’s strategy. Provide your business overview and management team details at the top, and then outline the target market, market size, competitive offerings, key objectives and success metrics, financial plan, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Small Business - PDF

Startup Business Plan PDF Templates

Startups can use these business plan templates to check the feasibility of their idea, and articulate their vision to potential investors.

Startup Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to organize and prepare each essential component of your startup plan. Outline key details relevant to your concept and organization, including your mission and vision statement, product or services offered, pricing structure, marketing strategy, financial plan, and more.

‌Download Startup Business Plan Template

Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup

Startups can use this sample 30-60-90 day plan to establish main goals and deliverables spanning a 90-day period. Customize the sample goals, deliverables, and activities provided on this template according to the needs of your business. Then, assign task owners and set due dates to help ensure your 90-day plan stays on track.

‌Download Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup Template 

For additional resources to create your plan, visit “ Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples .”

Nonprofit Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these business plan PDF templates to outline your organization’s mission, your plan to make a positive impact in your community, and the steps you will take to achieve your nonprofit’s goals.

Nonprofit Business Plan Template PDF

Use this customizable PDF template to develop a plan that details your organization’s purpose, objectives, and strategy. This template features a table of contents, with room to include your nonprofit’s mission and vision, key team and board members, program offerings, a market and industry analysis, promotional plan, financial plan, and more. This template also contains a visual timeline to display historic and future milestones.

Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization PDF 

This one-page plan serves as a good starting point for established and startup nonprofit organizations to jot down their fundamental goals and objectives. This template contains all the essential aspects of a business plan in a concise and scannable format, including the organizational overview, purpose, promotional plan, key objectives and success metrics, fundraising goals, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template - PDF

Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these fill-in-the-blank templates as a foundation for creating a comprehensive roadmap that aligns your business strategy with your marketing, sales, and financial goals.

Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

The fill-in-the-blank template contains all the vital parts of a business plan, with sample content that you can customize to fit your needs. There is room to include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, financial statements, and more. 

Download Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Template - PDF

Lean Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

This business plan is designed with a Lean approach that encourages you to clarify and communicate your business idea in a clear and concise manner. This single page fill-in-the-blank template includes space to provide details about your management team, the problem you're solving, the solution, target customers, cost structure, and revenue streams. Use the timeline at the bottom to produce a visual illustration of key milestones. 

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

For additional resources, take a look at " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."

Sample Business Plan PDF Templates

These sample business plan PDF templates can help you to develop an organized, thorough, and professional business plan.

Business Plan Sample 

This business plan example demonstrates a plan for a fictional food truck company. The sample includes all of the elements in a traditional business plan, which makes it a useful starting point for developing a plan specific to your business needs.

Download Basic Business Plan Sample - PDF

Sample Business Plan Outline Template

Use this sample outline as a starting point for your business plan. Shorten or expand the outline depending on your organization’s needs, and use it to develop a table of contents for your finalized plan.

Download Sample Business Plan Outline Template - PDF

Sample Business Financial Plan Template

Use this sample template to develop the financial portion of your business plan. The template provides space to include a financial overview, key assumptions, financial indicators, and business ratios. Complete the break-even analysis and add your financial statements to help prove the viability of your organization’s business plan.

Download Business Financial Plan Template

PDF  | Smartsheet

For more free, downloadable templates for all aspects of your business, check out “ Free Business Templates for Organizations of All Sizes .”

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How to write a business plan for your web agency.

Starting a web agency is a great idea because it allows entrepreneurs to leverage their expertise in web development to build a successful business, while also providing clients with valuable digital solutions to their web-based needs.

Additionally, web agencies are increasingly in demand as businesses continue to migrate online.

But, first thing first, you need to write a business plan.

Creating a comprehensive business plan is essential before launching a new project, such as a web agency. It helps to identify potential risks and opportunities, enabling the project to be successful.

In short, a thorough business plan will help ensure the profitability of your web agency .

What key details need to be in the business plan for a web agency? What should be the overall layout? Which financial figures should be part of the analysis? How can I streamline the process of writing a business plan?

Stay engaged with this article as it covers all these questions and offers answers.

Additionally, it's worth noting that you have the option to avoid starting your business plan from scratch.

You can download our comprehensive business plan for a web agency and tailor it to suit your project.

How to build a business plan for a web agency

Is it necessary to create a business plan for your web agency.

Yes, you should create a business plan for your web agency to ensure success.

Establishing a strong business plan will afford you the chance to:

• learn about the web agency market
• grasp the latest industry trends
• pinpoint what makes a web agency successful
• understand the website design preferences, branding goals, and online marketing needs of clients
• find a great unique value proposition for your digital agency
• examine competitor market share
• find competitive advantages for your web agency
• find a business model that will generate positive cash flows
• implement a comprehensive and tactical action plan to achieve success
• identify and manage risks specific to a web agency, including data security, project management, and client satisfaction

Our team has created a business plan for a web agency that is designed to make it easier for you to achieve all the elements listed.

How to outline a business plan for a web agency?

A carefully crafted business plan includes all the necessary information, numbers, and financial details. It needs to be organized so that it can be easily read and understood.

When we designed our business plan for a web agency , we ensured it was properly organized.

There are 5 distinct sections (Opportunity, Project, Market Research, Strategy and Finances).

1. Market Opportunity

The section that comes first is titled "Market Opportunity."

This section presents a comprehensive report on the web agency, including key data and metrics to guide your decision-making process in the field of web design and development.

We constantly update all the data there.

2. Project Presentation

In the "Project" section, you can present your web agency, outlining the range of web design and development services you offer, your design and coding expertise, portfolio of projects, client testimonials, content management system proficiency, and the unique value proposition that delivers visually appealing and user-friendly websites tailored to client needs.

Also include a short description about yourself at the end of this section.

Explain your expertise in web design and development, your range of digital services, and how you plan to provide tailored and impactful web solutions to clients. Highlight your portfolio of successful projects, your team of skilled designers and developers, and your dedication to delivering visually appealing, user-friendly, and results-driven websites and digital experiences through your web agency.

We prepared language in our business plan. Adapt it to suit your idea precisely.

3. Market Research

After that, comes the "Market Research" section.

In this section, you will find a detailed market segmentation analysis for your web agency.

It includes a presentation of other web agencies in the industry that will be competing with you. Your agency's competitive advantages are also highlighted. A customized SWOT analysis is included.

4. Strategy

In the "Strategy" section, you'll find a comprehensive 3-year development plan, outlining all the necessary initiatives to make your web agency highly profitable.

Furthermore, this section has a marketing plan, a strategy to mitigate risks, and a filled-in Business Model Canvas.

5. Finances

In the end, the section labeled "Finances" allows you to showcase the financial details and numbers of your project.

How to write an Executive Summary for a web agency?

The Executive Summary is a brief and condensed overview of the business plan of your web agency.

Keep it short and focused, with a maximum of 2 pages. Include only the key points.

This document is meant to get the reader interested in your business plan.

In the Executive Summary of your web agency, provide responses to the following: what services does your web agency offer? who is your target market? are there other web agencies in the industry? how do you differentiate from them? what is your budget?

How to do the market analysis for a web agency?

Analyzing the market for your web agency allows you to gain insights into factors such as client needs for web design and development, competition within the digital agency industry, and emerging trends in online presence.

By conducting a thorough market study, a web agency can understand client needs, offer professional web development services, optimize pricing strategies, and execute targeted marketing campaigns, ultimately leading to a larger client base, increased project contracts, and a prominent position in the web development industry.

You'll discover the following in the "Market Research" section of our business plan for a web agency :

• interesting data points and market insights about web agencyes, including web design trends, digital marketing strategies, and website development costs
• a list of potential audiences for a web agency
• the competitor analysis
• the potential competitive advantages for a web agency

The key points of the business plan for a web agency

What's the business model of a web agency, business model of a web agency.

A web agency's model revolves around providing web design, development, and digital marketing services to clients. Revenue is generated through project contracts or retainer-based service agreements.

The business model focuses on understanding client requirements, creating user-friendly and visually appealing websites, implementing digital marketing strategies, providing ongoing website maintenance or hosting, and building long-term client relationships through exceptional service and results.

Success depends on expertise in web design and development, staying updated with industry best practices and technologies, effective marketing to target businesses or individuals, delivering projects on time and within budget, and fostering positive client referrals and testimonials.

Business model vs Business plan

Don't confuse "business plan" with "business model."

A business model describes how a company generates income and operates successfully.

In a business plan, you illustrate your business model utilizing a mechanism known as the Business Model Canvas.

Rest assured, there is a Business Model Canvas (already completed) in our business plan for a web agency .

How do you identify the market segments of a web agency?

Market segmentation for your web agency involves dividing your potential clients into different groups based on their web development needs, industry requirements, and demographics.

These categories may include factors such as website design, e-commerce development, digital marketing, or clients seeking specific web services or industry expertise (e.g., healthcare websites, e-commerce platforms, SEO optimization).

By segmenting your market, you can offer specialized web services and solutions that cater to each segment's specific requirements. For example, you might focus on website design and create visually appealing and user-friendly websites for businesses or individuals, offer e-commerce development services and build customized online stores with secure payment gateways and inventory management systems, specialize in digital marketing and provide strategies and campaigns to enhance online visibility and reach, or focus on specific web services or industry expertise such as healthcare websites, e-commerce platforms, or SEO optimization to address specific client needs.

Market segmentation allows you to effectively target your marketing efforts, communicate your expertise in specific web areas or industries, and provide reliable and innovative web solutions that meet the unique needs and preferences of each client segment.

In the business plan for a web agency , you will find a comprehensive market segmentation that helps you know and understand your customers.

How to conduct a competitor analysis for a web agency?

It's clear that you won't be the only web agency in the industry. There are other agencies offering website development and digital marketing services to clients.

Thoroughly analyzing your competitors' strengths and weaknesses is a crucial aspect of creating a successful business plan.

Explore their weaknesses (such as outdated web design practices, limited digital marketing expertise, or poor project management).

Why should you pay attention to these factors? Because these weaknesses can impact the success of web agencyes. By addressing these points, you can offer innovative web design and development solutions, provide excellent project management and communication, and deliver exceptional customer service, positioning your web agency as a go-to partner for digital transformation and online success.

It's what we call competitive advantages—focus on creating them to differentiate your business.

Here are some examples of competitive advantages for a web agency: talented and experienced web designers and developers, comprehensive range of web services, creative and visually appealing designs, efficient project management, strong client communication and collaboration, reliable technical support and maintenance.

How to draft a SWOT analysis for a web design agency?

A SWOT analysis can provide valuable insight into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with starting a web agency.

As you can guess, there is indeed a completed and editable SWOT matrix in our business plan for a web agency

The strengths for a web agency

The letter "S" denotes Strengths in SWOT, indicating the project's positive attributes.

For a web agency, strengths could include expertise in web development, creative design capabilities, strong customer service, and a wide range of services.

The weaknesses for a web agency

W stands for Weaknesses, referring to the project's areas or aspects that have room for improvement.

For a web agency: inadequate technical expertise, lack of resources, lack of marketing skills, and limited customer base.

The opportunities for a web agency

O stands for Opportunities in SWOT, representing the external factors or circumstances that can benefit the project.

In the case of a web agency, potential opportunities include creating websites, designing logos, developing mobile applications, and offering digital marketing services.

The threats for a web agency

The letter "T" in SWOT signifies Threats, representing the external risks or potential harm to the project's objectives.

How to elaborate a marketing strategy for a web design agency?

A marketing strategy plays a pivotal role in a business plan as it defines how a business will entice customers and generate sales.

A web design agency can connect with businesses in need of professional and visually appealing websites by developing an effective marketing plan that highlights the agency's portfolio, expertise in web development, and ability to create engaging online experiences.

Clients won't choose your web design agency without proper promotion; showcasing your portfolio, expertise in UX/UI, and successful website projects is crucial.

Are you implementing effective marketing strategies for your web design agency? Consider showcasing your portfolio of visually appealing websites, attending industry conferences or networking events to connect with potential clients, and utilizing digital marketing strategies to increase your online visibility.

No worries if you have no clue about marketing and communication.

How to build a 3-year financial plan for a web design agency?

A successful business plan must include detailed financial information, such as income and expense projections, cash flow statements, and a break-even analysis.

As part of your business planning process, you'll be required to predict the revenue for your web agency.

When potential investors review your business plan, they need to see revenue projections that make sense and are backed by solid assumptions to feel confident in your venture.

Our financial plan for a web agency is user-friendly, providing automated validations that allow you to rectify any assumptions swiftly. This guarantees the creation of credible projections with ease and assurance.

Without a doubt, you will be required to draft a provisional budget for your web agency. Don't forget any expense (we have listed them all in our financial plan !).

The break-even analysis is vital for your financial plan because it tells you if you whether your web agency will be profitable or not.

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How to start a successful web design business

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Starting a web design business relies heavily on the right knowledge and resources. To help you get started, we've developed this ebook. It's free to download and includes more than 100 pages packed with tips and tricks for getting your venture off the ground.

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From setting up your workspace, to drafting a business plan, to crafting your brand — it's all in there. These insights come from real-life pros who've been there and done that. It's a roadmap that guides you toward a booming web design business.

And if you want even more of a head start, sign up for The Hub by GoDaddy Pro . It's free to sign up and you'll save tons of time thanks to this platform for managing all the clients you're about to land.

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How to start a web design business

• Set up your work environment
• Build your support squad
• Decide on your products, services and pricing model
• Name your web design company
• Write your business plan
• Address legal and administrative requirements
• Create your proposals and contract templates
• Formalize project management and communication
• Create your client site launch process
• Craft your brand
• Build your online presence
• Find your web design clients in 3 ways

Related: Don’t forget to also check our comprehensive guide on web design .

1. Set up your work environment

Get ready to start your own web design business by setting up your work environment.

Create your very own workspace that enables work/life balance

Entrepreneurs know the work/life balance struggle is real .

To minimize that struggle, create a dividing line between work and the rest of your life, starting with a dedicated space that allows you to get work done, uninterrupted. Set and enforce boundaries, including rules ensuring your space is left untouched, and that you are given time to work.

• Carve out space for your at-home office — whether it’s a full room, or just a desk in the corner, and set boundaries around others using it.
• Work with other residents, such as your family or roommates, to establish guidelines around work time including working hours, and how to handle or avoid interruptions.
• Stock your office supply station so you’re never caught without printer paper, labels, folders or any other supplies you regularly depend on to get your work done.
• Identify just a few stores where you can consolidate business purchasing, and set up accounts that earn rewards or rebates.

Understand how many hours you can reasonably work, while maintaining your productivity, protecting time with friends and family, and continuing to pursue your own hobbies, sports, or other outdoor activities.

Consider how best to pace yourself, and be more productive each day.

Related: Separating personal and professional

Know your contingency plan

Power or internet service outages are a crisis for those who work at home.

Know where you can park for a few hours, with an available wireless network and table space.

• Two to three local coffee shops at varying distances, as a power failure might extend further than your neighborhood
• The closest library (confirm open days/hours)
• Coworking locations (confirm open days/hours and fees)

Invest in solid and capable hardware and software

You’re a web professional, so it’s critical to consider the right tools for creating graphics, modifying photos, and documenting your work:

• Buy the best computer you can afford. Get an external monitor, a printer and scanner.
• If you’ll be taking photos to use on client websites, consider buying a dedicated camera.
• Know how you’ll continue working in the event of a computer catastrophe , such as keeping a second computer for backup.
• Figure out which software you’ll need. If you’re not sure, many offer 30-day free trials. The first candidate on your list should be Adobe Creative Cloud .
• For subscription services, figure out what plan level you need. For example, GoDaddy Pro Sites offers bundles of specific features for managing larger groups of sites.
• Don’t forget ongoing costs for other cloud apps like accounting software, video calls, and remote computer access.

Related: 90 essential tools for WordPress designers and developers

Have a bullet-proof backup strategy

Don’t compromise on reliable security and backup strategies for your computers and office. Having these systems in place will let you sleep at night.

Select a remote file backup to OneDrive , Google Drive, Dropbox or another provider.

Determine if you will want a complete computer backup to an external server, and if so, add that to your hardware budget..

Keep simplicity and scale in mind when choosing your tech

Look for tech solutions that offer the features and capabilities you’ll need later on. Keep in mind:

Simplified workflows. Look for tools that minimize steps per task.

Product trials. Spend time working with the tech before you commit.

Scaling with success. The more successful you are, the more projects you’ll need to manage.

Transferring ownership. For example, you may cover web hosting costs or other fees on behalf of your clients. Know how you’ll transfer ownership if costs need to move to the client.

Be financially accountable

Be diligent with your business bookkeeping and client billing information right from the start.

Use an accounting/bookkeeping tool. Make sure your chosen solution easily creates professional invoices, automatically tracks expenses, and allows for recurring invoices and expenses.

You don’t just want this information to make sure you get paid. You'll also want to have that data for future projects, plus income/expense estimates and forecasting.

If this isn't your wheelhouse, don’t be afraid to get help with small business expense planning .

Even if you feel comfortable doing the work, consider investing in a few hours of consulting time with a financial expert to establish your chart of accounts and bookkeeping structure.

As for taxes? Consider a long-term relationship with a tax professional, who can handle taxes as well as answer financial system questions.

Set up a separate business credit card. Purchase what you need through your business (and save money by using pre-tax dollars), including hardware, software, internet service, cell phone, and office supplies. The points add up. Plus it can help you deal with the unexpected costs that throw a wrench into your budgeting.

Related: Best invoicing software options for small businesses

Know exactly how you’ll get paid

Nail down the details about requesting and receiving money before any billable work is done.

Define your invoicing processes and policies including invoice creation, delivery and due dates relative to invoicing dates.

Clarify how you will accept payment, including checks, credit cards, and online systems such as PayPal or Stripe.

Set expectations around deposits, penalties for late payments, and consequences when invoices go unpaid.

Know how you will pay yourself. Will you receive a set salary on a regular schedule, or asynchronous payments based on income?

Consider using a payroll service, where the small monthly cost lets someone else worry about money transfer between accounts, ever-changing tax laws, and correctly filing government forms.

Pro tip: Put processes and policies in place to make sure invoices are paid on a timely basis .

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2. Build your support squad

Now that you’ve got your initial space, processes and tools in place, it’s time to surround yourself with a community for support.

Find your peeps

Even when working alone in your own little office, be on the lookout for ways to interact and engage with others in the web and business community.

Look for local meetups or other networking groups of freelancers and web professionals, e.g. meetups for WordPress users, designers and developers .

Join online communities focused on web design and development, through Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media channels. You can even create your own Facebook business page to promote your new venture.

Actively participate in both online and in-person discussions, so that people know you’re interested in what they have to say, or in solving problems.

Join community groups such as the local Chamber of Commerce, service organizations such as Rotary, or a small business owners networking group.

Pro tip: Join online or in-person communities of your fellow neighbors, alumni or participants in your current hobbies or outside interests. People you meet in those communities may need your services, or know someone who does.

Work with a mentor

Taking the leap into a new tech-based career can be simultaneously exhilarating and intimidating, whether you’re a new college grad or making a mid-life career transition .

Mentoring works for everyone as a means to build confidence, enhance skills, and set achievable goals.

When moving from employee to freelancer, a mentor who’s already made that transition can impart wisdom only gained through experience.

Related: The importance of female mentorship in the tech industry

Assemble your all-star extended team

Build a circle of known and trusted “ power partners ” who provide complementary services that work in sync with yours. You'll all benefit without cannibalizing work or clients.

For example, you can collaborate with local partners who specialize in Information Technology (IT), search engine optimization (SEO), online advertising, social media, photography, video or any other service area that's beyond your comfort zone.

You can also assemble a go-to list of virtual partners, including hosting providers, domain registrars, stock photo libraries, or third-party software solutions to integrate into the websites that you build for your clients.

Related: Forging strategic partnerships to grow your business

Consider how and when you might outsource

As the leader of your business -- even if it's a business of one -- you need to continue to prioritize and delegate.

You’ll never be able to do everything on your own if you also want to learn, grow, and scale up your business.

Outsource tasks that don’t require your technical or creative skills — including taxes, bookkeeping, data entry, and anything else you don’t enjoy doing.

3. Decide on your products, services , and pricing model

Define your services, productize them, and set a price point for monthly recurring revenue.

Clarify your service offerings

For example, you might offer any or all of the following:

• Complete website design and development
• Site redesigns or rebuilds
• Website maintenance or management services

You might also offer complementary services, such as:

• Managed web hosting
• Content creation
• Social media management
• Online advertising
• Email marketing

Related: How to sell a content creation service to earn recurring revenue

"Productize" your services to create recurring revenue

Recurring revenue should be part of every web designer’s monthly income.

Recurring revenue succeeds when you’re providing recurring value. Turning your services into a product that works on a short-term-but-renewable basis is key.

You can earn recurring revenue by selling your services as a value product that people subscribe to.

You define exactly what you do, what the value is, and how much it costs each month.

This removes a lot of the waste from the traditional service business model, such as design revisions, project management, account management, invoicing, and chasing payments.

It’s automatic money coming in every month, without requiring you to constantly be in the mode of selling.

Related: Recurring revenue model for web designers and developers

How to set a price to be profitable

It’s preferable to charge for value instead of time, so you’ll want to figure out which pricing model (e.g., hourly or project-based billing) is best for your web design business.

Defining a per-project price avoids conversations about how every last minute is spent, and price negotiations based on specific features or items clients may feel are not important.

Keep in mind:

Review pricing models of other web designers. Your goal is to be competitive without giving away the store — but don’t scare off clients based on price. Beware of underpricing your services .

Feel free to use hourly rates to estimate the project cost, but don’t feel obligated to share that information.

Remember that you have to cover your own vacation time, sick days, benefits, retirement, taxes, and the other expenses of running a business.

Consider the fees associated with taking online payment .

Add in project costs such as plugins, software licenses, copywriting, stock images, etc.

You need to cover the cost of business development, or finding more work.

What you charge is not just about meeting your expenses: you need to make a profit as well.

Analyze the market demand and what the competition is providing at what costs. Price competitively, in a way that provides value but would also be fair to you and your goals.

Here’s the punchline: not all of the activity that goes on in your business is directly related to any specific client. However, all of the activity that goes on in your business must be built into the price that clients pay you.

If clients are not paying for all of this activity, it means you are.

4. Name your web design company

“I had to choose a business name and decided to use my initials with the two industries I felt most of my services would arise from — KR Media & Designs.” ~ Kristina Romero, web developer and business owner

Your name plays an important role in attracting customers and clients, submitting legal documents to form your business, and selecting a domain for your business website. Therefore, naming your web design company takes thoughtful consideration and planning. You can use our business name generator to get some fresh ideas.

Editor's Note: Get to know more about domain names and what they are .

Consider your long-term business goals when deciding whether to use a “business” name (Web Awesome Agency of Washington) or your personal name (John Doe Design).

Do you see yourself transitioning to an agency, or staying a freelancer and growing your personal brand? Will potential clients view you as “just a freelancer” and expect lower rates, vs. the professionalism that an agency name/structure implies?

Do you see web services as the end goal, or do you want to use them to elevate a personal brand into another field, such as public speaking , teaching or writing books?

Is this a temporary solution in order to gain experience for a full-time gig? If you enjoy working with a company but need to be on your own at the moment, using your own name continues to promote your availability as a freelancer.

Are you 100% certain about the services you will offer? If not, avoid putting specifics in your business name.

In summary, here’s when to use a business name:

• You see yourself transitioning from a single freelancer to an agency.
• You’re switching careers and need to establish a brand name different from your personal name.
• You’re forming a legal entity such as an LLC or an S-Corp (if in the U.S.) and want to protect and distance your personal identity.

And when to use your personal name:

• You’re leveraging your name for SEO.
• You see yourself as a sole freelancer and would accept a full-time position in your skillset if offered.
• You intend to  grow a personal brand to build credibility (speaking engagements, books, online courses).

Related: 10 tips for naming a business

Take action and register your domain

Once you’ve identified your perfect name, be sure to register your domain right away .

Related: How to buy a domain name

5. Write your business plan

Your business plan should:

• Define your business vision and identity.
• Set financial goals and targets.
• Include your products pricing options.
• Set long-term goals around new products/services.
• Estimate your expected expenses and income.
• Define your ideal clients.

You don’t need to start from scratch. Here are five great business plan templates .

Pro tip: Try using a one-page Lean Canvas template to create your business plan .

Treat building your business as a project

It doesn’t have to be complex, but the project needs to be managed correctly to ensure that it sets clear goals, keeps focus, and stays within budget.

This means having a basic idea of how you'll tackle project management .

Many use a diagram called a business model canvas to show how the company will create value for itself and its customers. The canvas visually lays out your business model, your key features, the size of the market, etc.

How big is your potential market? Use tools such as Google Trends and Facebook ads to evaluate market potential. If you're targeting geographic areas, check public data sources like local chambers of commerce and economic development corporations.

6. Address legal and administrative requirements

Here’s where you get your paperwork in order. Decide how you’ll structure your business, check with local governments for any licensing requirements, arrange insurance and benefits, and manage your time so you set yourself up to succeed.

Establish your business identity

Decide if you’ll operate as a sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation . Consider engaging a lawyer to help you with the necessary paperwork and/or using an online service such as LegalZoom .

Get licensed

Check your city government website to determine local requirements for business licensing, permits and fictitious name or DBA (“Doing Business As”) registration.

Acquire insurance

Liability insurance is a good idea in general, and some clients may require proof of it. In addition, determine extra insurance you might need, such as disability insurance.

Solicit several quotes to make sure you’re getting the right package for your needs.

If you have car insurance and home or renter’s insurance, get one of those quotes from your personal insurance agent.

Plan benefits

If your previous job included medical, retirement or other benefits, you’ll need a plan to get the equivalent items in place.

Can you be covered on a spouse or partner’s medical insurance? What about setting up a retirement account?

While you won’t earn paid holidays or vacation, you’ll want policies in place to set client expectations and to provide for a backup resource if necessary.

• Identify if you will acquire medical/dental benefits through another family member’s work benefit, a group affiliation (such as membership in a professional organization), or independent procurement.
• Plan retirement contributions through your business or other means.
• Determine your vacation/holiday policy.
• Know how you will communicate time off to clients.
• Formulate a contingency plan if your services will be needed during scheduled time off.

Ace the day-to-day tasks

Set and enforce boundaries, adopt time management best practices, and maximize your productivity by setting up tools and systems.

• Choose a to-do list application such as Teux Deux or Todoist .
• Set up a system to track time and tasks for each client.
• Have a process to migrate daily tracking information into an invoice or reporting format.

Identify the key tasks that would benefit from consistent execution. Set up processes, checklists and organizing strategies for:

• Designing a new site
• Pre-launch cleanup
• Post-launch testing and approval
• Any daily, weekly, or monthly tasks around tracking, reporting, or bookkeeping

Create templates for:

• “ Let’s get started ” emails that outline initial needs from clients when starting new projects
• Commonly sent emails, such as those announcing a planned vacation

Related: How to create a client management system

7. Create your proposal and contract templates

Do the pre-work to confirm client fit.

Before proposing work for a prospective client, additional pre-work can help you minimize re-work, avoid gifting clients with “free” work and steer clear of projects that are not a good fit for you.

That pre-work includes recon on your part: Is there an existing site? Where is it hosted? Is their business model ethical?

You’ll also want to ensure prospective clients have a solid grasp of key factors involved in developing a successful web design for them. This includes:

• measurable objectives
• realistic budget
• schedule expectations
• intended audiences

Start the negotiation with preliminary costing

Most projects start with speculative preliminary documentation that initiates the project costing conversation — ideally leading to a more formal contract.

Estimates provide a general idea of whether services can be delivered within budget in the client’s required timeframe — and are offered with the understanding that details could change as more is learned about requirements.

Quotes are more formal, with a fixed price constrained by a limited valid timeframe.

Bids provide documented responses to a set of well-defined specifications, often submitted in competition with other bids.

Proposals deliver a comprehensive, detailed document, and are perfect for letting you outshine the competition .

Once you’ve negotiated an agreement with your client based on one of the above methods, it’s time to seal the deal with a comprehensive contract.

Related: 14 project estimate mistakes that freelancers make and how to fix them

Create a contract that protects both you and your clients

A web design contract protects you, your time, your bottom line, and your sanity.

As with any contract, a web design contract defines the business and legal relationship between you and your client, as well as the personal relationship concerning business practices, communication and interactions.

Legally, it’s a mutually binding agreement, where each party makes commitments around deliverables and compensation for the work to create them. If either party fails to meet its commitments, the contract becomes the basis for possible legal action.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and the web development agreement that’s right for you won’t be right for others. Contracts are critical in:

• Specifying a clear scope of promised deliverables.
• Making sure you get paid.
• Describing each party’s role in the process, including actions and consequences of not fulfilling that role.
• Clarifying who owns the work after delivery.
• Explaining post-delivery activities, in terms of changes, warranties and liabilities.
• Mitigating common “what if this happens” scenarios.
• Protecting yourself in the event of exceptions.
• Creating a helpful reference document for later.
• Setting the stage for a successful relationship.

Developing your own contract from scratch can be time-consuming, and you may forget something important. Then again, paying someone else to create your custom contract can get expensive. The compromise solution starts with finding a free, customizable web design contract template.

Related: How to create a web design contract that converts new clients into long-term customers

8. Formalize project management and communication

Tracking time and communication, establishing an onboarding process and effectively managing scope changes are all part of a web designer’s job. It’s critical to have the right tools and processes to help you stay on top of everything. Here are a few proven tips:

Formalize project management

Find an online tool that makes it easy to keep track of communication. Managing projects through email is impossible once you get bigger.

There are plenty of tools

When you bring someone in, or the client brings in a new employee to handle the project, you will need a way to go through what has been done.

Establish a new client intake/onboarding process

Once you’ve found and landed those ideal clients, and have the signed contract, plan the process you’ll use, including:

• Use of an intake form or checklist
• Holding a project kick-off meeting
• Educating clients about expectations regarding both behavior and deliverables

There are many different types of clients you will likely encounter as you get your web design business off the ground — so plan to adjust your communication style to suit each type of client’s unique needs.

Track time obsessively

Track your time on everything. Time adds up, with a phone call here, and email there. Time is one of the only things you can’t get more of.

Control change requests

You will always want to keep a client happy, but if you start off making simple unplanned changes to the project you’ll be opening the door for your client to expect big free changes.

Have a way to document a change request and make sure they know that it costs something.

One of the quickest ways to lose profit in a web design project is to mismanage client expectations when it comes to scope changes.

A good way to avoid this situation is to get your client interacting with the website as quickly as possible.

Even a prototype with limited design elements gets them viewing the site as if they were an end-user, so questions will come up sooner.

This is where the concept of interactive prototypes comes into play.

There are many ways you can use WordPress to quickly build website prototypes . The idea is to keep it as plain as possible and get your client to sign off on functionality.

9. Establish a comprehensive client site launch process

When it’s go-time, your job is to make sure the website is absolutely ready to launch. First, the content and technical check, including these topics (although you’ll want to customize):

• SEO and analytics
• Connection to social media channels
• Validation of HTML and CSS
• Accessibility
• Cross-browser and device testing
• Testing of all functionality
• Testing of form submissions
• Image/JavaScript/CSS optimization
• 301 redirects
• Google verification
• CMS up-to-date
• Themes and plugins are up-to-date
• Daily and weekly backup schedules in place

Then you need to prepare your client for their website launch, including the following considerations:

• Are we satisfied that the website is going to help us achieve our SMART goals?
• Does the website clearly state what we do and who we do it for?
• Does the website contain clear calls-to-action?
• Are we ready to receive and read Google Analytics reports ?
• Do we have a content calendar in place for the next 12 months?
• Do we have the resources to promote our website through social media channels?
• Are we ready to take incoming inquiries from the website forms?
• Are we using live chat, and if so, is someone ready to monitor it?
• If running advertising campaigns, are our tracking codes in place?
• Is our email marketing service provider plugged in and ready to capture email addresses?
• Are our email marketing automation campaigns ready to fire?
• Are we trained in how to use the content management system?
• Have we subscribed to a care plan , and if not, who will support the website in the future?

Here is a fantastic resource to make sure you cross your t’s and dot your i’s before you launch a website.

Related: How to perform a website launch and handover

Solicit social proof

When it comes to attracting new clients, few things are more powerful than social proof.

Getting good testimonials is about delivering value before you ask, and then timing your request.

If you have over-delivered on value, offered a service that really solves their problem, provided exceptional customer service, and made customers feel like you’re there for them, then they’re usually happy to give you a good testimonial. Best to ask immediately after the project is done, as soon as they have begun getting value from your work.

Related: How to ask for testimonials and reviews from your clients

10. Craft your brand to tell your compelling story

Your brand starts with a logo and color scheme, but beyond that, it’s about the messaging connecting you to your target audience, and it affects buying behavior .

Let your “voice” represent your values, your strengths, your style.

Young and trendy, or mature and experienced? Serious or whimsical? Luxury service or economical alternative?

Your brand is unique, so tell a compelling story that makes clients want to hire you instead of your competitors. Identify your unique selling proposition (USP) to have ready answers to these questions:

• Why should I hire you instead of your competitor?
• What makes you a better solution?
• Why should I hire a solo freelancer instead of an agency?

Related: Create It — Building your presence, brand and product

Create marketing collateral

Start with business cards, flyers or brochures, and any giveaways that get — and keep — your name in front of potential clients.

Related: 9 things to use in a swag bag for your business

11. Build your online presence

You’re proud of your work — time to showcase it to the world by creating a website and social media presence that attract your ideal clients!

Take time to connect with your audience on social and build a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Create a website for your new business

Create the vehicle that showcases your work, shows your product/service offering, demonstrates the value you provide and covers your policies.

Nothing tells your story better than your portfolio of completed work.

If you don’t have much completed work to highlight, consider building a few volunteer sites to beef up your portfolio.

It’s OK to start small, but continue building out and improving your site in the background. As you finish with pages or sections, publish and test the site with your potential customers: feedback is key.

As a minimum, your site should include:

• Contact information
• Services provided
• Testimonials and/or success stories
• Optionally, a free download that helps you acquire contacts for your mailing list

Include details around any certifications or specialized training, and make sure readers know you are indeed trained, with experience and skills they can use. Show how you stand out from the hobbyist crowd, with a reliable background and formalized education.

Related: Check out our article on how to make a website from A to Z.

Establish social media connections

Set up social media accounts, and consider whether you want business profiles separated from your personal profiles.

Focus your efforts on the few best platforms for reaching your target audience, and work them effectively. Confirm which platforms your audience is most likely to spend time on, based on demographics such as age, gender and geographic location.

Related: How to claim social media handles

Get customers to your website

Getting potential customers to your site requires a marketing strategy.

Use tools such as Google AdWords , Facebook ads, and GoDaddy Email Marketing to raise awareness about your business and products.

Related: Lead generation for web design businesses

12. How to find web design clients in 3 ways

Focus on a niche.

You don’t want to be known as just a generic “web designer.”

In order to showcase your expertise, consider specializing, whether based on the types of clients you take, or the types of projects you do.

Specializations could focus on market space, geographic area, or a particular type of site, such as eCommerce or membership management. Communicate your niche throughout your materials.

Your sweet spot is the intersection of both your skills and your passions.

That’s where you want to spend most of your time, so if an activity is not in that sweet spot, consider delegating, automating, or deleting it from your task list.

The benefit of spending all your time doing your best work is that the work quality tends to be higher, the outcome for your clients tends to be better, and you’re happier — which is good for avoiding burnout.

Know your audience

Once you’ve identified your sweet spot, ask yourself, “Who stands to benefit the most from working with me when I’m doing my best work?”

Customer satisfaction is critical to the success of a web design business.

Even more critical is your own satisfaction. Engaging with web design clients who are the right fit for you is one way to facilitate that.

• Describe your ideal client, including attributes such as geography, cultural, entity size/type, products/services offered, or audience served.
• Know your evaluation criteria, including financial expectations, technical considerations, location, size, length of engagement, the potential for ongoing work, partnership potential, strategic positioning within your portfolio, and even personality fit.
• Have an evaluation strategy that allows you to quickly rule out mismatches, make exceptions, suggest alternatives, and if it’s not a good fit, execute a speedy-yet-graceful exit plan.

Related: What to include in a customer profile

Strategize finding clients to grow your web design business

You may ask “How do I find new clients?” as if they are hiding. In fact, clients are not hiding from us; they are waiting to be served. The trick is finding them.

Business development is an ongoing process to ensure there’s always work coming in the door. It’s not just something you do when you need new clients, but an always-there task.

Tips that can help you find clients:

• Consistently do your best work and collaborate on projects where there is a shared vision.
• Leverage your existing network: let everyone know what you’re up to, post on your personal social media profiles, ask friends and family to share and send referrals.
• Create a lead magnet , an item of value that you can offer your target audience, in exchange for their email address (e.g., a free download, checklist, or form). Building your email list results is a way to provide ongoing communication and outreach.
• Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management Tool) to keep track of who you contact, the results of that contact, and potential future follow-up opportunities.

Strategize ways to find, meet, and land those folks.

Having your talking points at the ready means you’re prepared when you meet potential clients in unlikely venues, including the gym, Starbucks, or at a concert.

• Identify how and where you’ll find and meet prospective clients.
• Carry business cards with you at all times.
• Develop an advertising strategy.
• Craft your elevator pitch .
• Have a ready response to requests for discounts, such as from nonprofit organizations or friends and family.
• Determine whether referrals deserve compensation, such as a token thank-you gift or credit toward future work.
• Brainstorm ways to promote and market your web design business .

Related: A comprehensive guide to finding your perfect clients

Are you ready to start & grow a web design business?

Considering the pros and cons to starting a web design company is the right move for you.

• There will always be demand for websites, as new businesses get started, and established organizations want to up their game.
• The work is fun and creative, and you’ll learn from working with many types of clients and businesses.
• The work can be done from anywhere, and allows you to flexibly balance family or personal needs.
• You can get started without a formal degree, and use specialty certifications and training to raise your expertise level and be better prepared.
• You can expand your business over time, by offering complimentary services as you gain expertise.

Related: The 17 types of clients that every web designer deals with

• In a rapidly evolving field, you can’t rest on your laurels. You’ll need to stay current on new trends and technologies.
• Precisely for the reasons listed above, there’s a lot of competition, as many are anxious to get into the field.
• You may be working alone at your computer for long stretches of time, so will need to change your lifestyle to increase outside interaction.

Related: 32 small business ideas for 2023, easy to start on a low budget

Don’t quit your day job yet!

No one becomes a successful web designer overnight.

Plan to spend a few years improving your technical skills, then start charging for your services and continue to develop a stable revenue stream.

Remember that you won’t just be doing production work. You’ll also be the salesperson, bookkeeper, project manager and account coordinator. GoDaddy Pro can help you manage multiple websites to boost project efficiency for clients.

These skills don’t come from online courses or from attending a fast-track coding school; they’re learned through hands-on experience over time.

How can you start gaining that experience now — even if you’re just starting your freelance web design business?

• Treat all your projects like paid projects (even if you’re doing them for free ).
• Write effective contracts .
• Track expenses.
• Create project plans.
• Gather testimonials .
• Ask for referrals.

Use what you learn from these activities as a foundation to build on as you’re starting a web design agency.

Related: 14 tips for successful web design projects

Initially, most new clients will probably come from word-of-mouth referrals. But what if you have no existing clients? Consider activities that boost your visibility while demonstrating your expertise:

• Volunteering your services to an organization
• Building sites for friends and family
• Creating side projects of your own
• Participating in both online and offline communities

Related: Finding your first client as a freelance web professional

The journey of a freelance website designer is often like a turbulent, yet exciting, roller coaster ride.

From a state of confusion to a sense of accomplishment, from exhaustion to exhilaration, with detours along the way for sanity checks, strategy resets and supporter shoutouts.

But if you do it right, all those banked turns and barrel rolls can lead to a successful career as a freelance web designer.

Even with all of this information to get you moving in the right direction for starting a web design business, you may be wondering … what’s the secret to making it happen?

Mark Twain said, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”

Take the time to absorb all that’s covered here, dig into the linked articles for more information, make your plan, choose a starting point — and then go for it!

To summarize the main steps in the process:

• If you’ve determined you’re ready to start a web design business, set up your work environment and build your support squad.
• Focus on business planning by writing your business plan, addressing legal and administrative issues, defining your brand, identifying your perfect clients and how you’ll connect with them, and clarifying your product and service offerings at a profitable price.
• Create infrastructure and processes for working with clients, including proposals, contracts, project management, communication, and launching their beautiful new website — designed by you!
• And finally, establish your online presence and let the world know you’re ready to work.

No matter what, the best thing you can do is just get started .

Editor’s note: Starting a web design business? Join GoDaddy Pro to securely manage all your client sites and GoDaddy accounts from a single dashboard. Learn more and sign up for free.

This article includes content originally published on the GoDaddy blog by the following authors: Lisa Stambaugh , Kristina Romero , Randy A. Brown , Aaron Reimann , Troy Dean and Andy McIlwain .

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*AI-assisted full website including all of the premium features like online store, appointment scheduling, and marketplace selling to name a few, requires paid subscription.

Social media marketing calendar available with GoDaddy Airo, some features will require paid subscription.

Professional Email through Microsoft Office 365 30-day free trial with an option to renew into a paid subscription beyond the promotional period.

While the LLC starter plan is free, there are likely some state and/or local filing fees associated with your filing which will be determined during the filing process.

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11 free web design & development proposal templates.

• By Sandra Boicheva
• January 26th, 2022

In order to move forward with a project, businesses submit project proposals to decision-makers or external stakeholders. This written document summarizes the key information that stakeholders should know: goals, objectives, timeframe, budget, and process details. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when writing your proposal, such as the intended audience, all the important details, and making it appealing, interesting, and persuasive. With this in mind, we structured and designed 11 free web development and web design proposal templates , in PDF, Google Docs, and Microsoft Word, all editable according to your needs.

These web development and design proposal templates will help you focus on your content instead of thinking about the layout, structure, and appeal of the proposal. In addition, all templates already have a standard pre-written text for each section that you can edit to suit your specific proposal. This text will give you a starting point and will help you focus on what to include in your proposal much quicker.

You will find sections about the project, overviews, your team, process, cost breakdown, and payment information, as well as legal pages. The templates are more detailed in terms of sections, so they could include everything you might need. However, you can remove any section that you don’t find necessary in your specific case.

1. Free Graphic Design Proposal Template

Designed according to the best practices for writing project proposals, this graphic design proposal template has a simple but effective structure with clearly defined sections. Specially made for graphic designers, it has a tastefully designed theme of gradient colors that instantly grab the attention without distracting the reader from the actual content. You have sections to present your work and experience, introduce your team, share testimonials, explain your work process, as well as project cost breakdown and payment info.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Overview, Team, Portfolio, Testimonials, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info, Terms and Agreement

File formats: PDF, Google Docs, Microsoft WORD

Size: US-Letter (8.5in x 11in)

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2. Free eCommerce Proposal Template

The template for eCommerce project proposals has a cleaner and more minimalistic design with detailed sections for a schedule of deliverables, planning, storage, development, and timetable of deliverables, as well as a comprehensive sample price quote.  The rest of the template features an About Us section and testimonials structured like web pages, and legal texts. Its professional look will give a great first impression and help you add this project to your success stories.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Overview, Schedule of Delivery, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info, Team, Testimonials, Terms and Agreement

3. Free Website Development Proposal Template

Corporate and professional, the web development template focuses on the great presentation of your skills, what you can accomplish with the project in great detail from solution and website structure to progress timetable (broken into milestones), and price quote. It also has sections for project examples where you can show off your recent work and impress your prospective clients.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Proposal, Team, Project Scope, Project Examples, Our Solution, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info, Terms and Agreement

4. Free Logo Design Proposal Template

The logo design proposal template has a creative and clean design that can persuade any client to leave their logo creation in your hands. It’s perfect for logo designers who value creativity and the unique identity that each brand deserves. It has everything prospective clients are looking for and explains the creative process, capitalizing with experience, testimonials, a detailed sample price quote, and legal texts.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Overview, Working Process, Team, Portfolio, Testimonials,  Project Breakdown, Payment Info, Terms and Agreement

5. Free Mobile App Development Proposal Template

This proposal template is specially made with mobile app developers in mind to help them introduce themselves and show off their professionalism and expertise. It flows from a quick introduction, through client testimonials, app development, professional experience, project planning and schedule, costs, and legal texts.  Everything you need to make a great first impression of professionalism.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Testimonials, Team, Portfolio, Project Overview, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info, Terms and Agreement

6. Free UX Design Proposal Template

The UX design proposal template has a short and comprehensive structure that is easier to scan and read and focuses on your specific process on how you handle UX design projects to their successful completion. It shows your experience, dedication, and planning skills in a detailed process breakdown by phases, which will inevitably impress your prospective clients and nail you the project.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Overview, Team, Portfolio, Testimonials, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info

7. Free WordPress Web Design Proposal Template

This proposal template is ideal to communicate your expertise in handling WordPress web design projects. With the visual appeal, success stories, and a summary of your work process, you have everything you need to impress your prospective clients and get a green light to turn their project into a success story. The document also features legal texts such as payment, NDA, and signatures.

Included Pages: Cover, Intro, Project Overview, Team, Portfolio, Testimonials, Working Process, Project Breakdown, Payment Info NDA and Signatures Page

8. Free Website Redesign Proposal Template

This informative website redesign proposal template is what you need to impress your clients to upgrade their website and get rid of all problematic areas that might slow down their success. It’s structured specifically for the purpose with sections that will help you explain the project goals, identified problems, your solutions, process, and workflow. It also features a section for introducing your team and a portfolio to completely sell your idea like a pro.

9. Free Web Design Proposal Template

The first version of the two web design proposal templates follows all best practices to persuade your future clients to choose to benefit from your outstanding design work and professional outlook. It puts together everything the external stakeholders are looking for with social proof, website structure, your detailed process with scheduling and breakdown, and terms.

10.  Free Freelance Graphic Design Proposal Template

If you don’t work in an agency and offer your services as a freelancer, this template is specially crafted for you to introduce yourself, your professional background and expertise, and further win your future clients with testimonials, and sample projects. The proposal features sections for your design development work process, delivery timetable, and detailed price quote.

11. Website Design Proposal Template

The second one of the web design proposal templates is for creative agencies to help you communicate to your prospective clients that your agency offers the right professionals for the job. It has a tasteful clean design and everything you need to show how you work, the project scope, your pricing, and terms.  In addition, it features the responsibilities for both parties as well as legal texts, as well as agreement terms, general terms, and change requests.

What is a project proposal?

This is the written document that outlines the key information the stakeholders in a project should know, such as budget, timeframe, milestones, objectives, goals, and a summary of project details. Its purpose is to sell your idea and present your project in an efficient manner to the external stakeholders by keeping them involved in the initiative. There is a very important distinction between project proposals and project charters.

While project proposals happen during the initiation phase and aim to convince external stakeholders why you should carry out the project, the project charter comes later during the planning phase. As such, it’s a reference document that you create after the external stakeholders approve the project proposal.

What should a project proposal include?

Depending on the goal, there are six different types of project proposals. However, they all have the following key elements in common:

• Case Proposals usually start with an overview of the project and a justification for why the project is needed. The more specific the better.
• Objectives What goals the project intends to achieve and who (and how much) will benefit from it.
• Plan An outlined plan that usually includes names and details of stakeholders, process or methodology of the project, tools, software, tasks with timelines.
• Scope How will you meet the objectives throughout the project? This element outlines the stages, what is being built and implemented.
• Risks This section of the proposal refers to the possible risks the external stakeholders should be aware of.
• Timeline and Budget The most important part of the proposal is the project schedule and the budget. This includes when the client can expect the deliverables, broken by milestones, as well as costs of implementation and cost of maintenance.

What are the advantages of using proposal templates?

The obvious answer would be that templates keep the project proposal documents organized, visually appealing, and professional. They will save you a lot of time crafting your proposals from scratch. But what else?

1. Helps plan realistically

When you hand off your project proposal, you highlight your key strengths that will win your clients over. Your proposal gives a clear sense of what you can accomplish with the project and why do you want to accomplish it. And this is where templates come in to make your proposal show off your qualities and make you look more impressive and professional.

2. Secure great projects, clients & investors

Especially when it comes to crafting unsolicited project proposals, you will need to impress your potential client to the point they will choose to work with you on the project. By using a template, you will be able to deliver a clean, well-organized document without the risk to miss any key information that shows your company’s competence. This in itself will bring confidence to your clients that you can lead the project to success and will mark the beginning of a long-term healthy relationship.

3. Makes a great first impression

Let’s refer to your project proposal as what it is: a sales tool to help you establish your credibility as a reliable service provider. An effective project proposal works to your advantage as it communicates that you are capable to carry out such a project and fulfill the expectations. By handing a well-crafted, organized, consistent project proposal, you represent your business in style and make a great first impression. Templates help you develop and efficiently maintain a consistent corporate identity.

4. Set clear expectations

One of the main purposes of a project proposal is to set clear expectations for the relationship between the service provider and the client. It’s not a final agreement, however, it does outline details such as budget, timeframe, and deliverables that will go to the contract once the project gets the green light.

Tips for creating a brilliant project proposal

Before you sit down and write the proposal, take some time meeting with stakeholders and brainstorming ideas. Each stakeholder has their specific goal in mind as well as preferences. Now let’s see some tips on what to consider before crafting your project proposal.

Tip 1: Identify the decision-makers

Just like with everything else, knowing your audience and capitalizing on that knowledge gives you a huge advantage. Before writing your proposals, think of what kind of clients you’re trying to win over and what they want to hear. It’s good to be aware of how familiar are they with the particular problem, so you could give them background information on the topic if needed. You will be able to properly convey your proposal based on this.

Tip 2: Do your research

The best way to persuade potential clients to greenlight your project is to clearly and credibly define the benefits. Is there a problem, why is it a problem, what is your solution and how does it fix the problem? Having the hard data, charts, and figures ready to justify the project will make a more convincing project proposal.

Tip 3: Proofread

On one hand, proofread for any typos, grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistakes. On the other, make sure your proposal is clear, well-structured, comprehensive, and persuasive. To be more objective, you could take a day away from the document before proofreading it, or/and show it to a trusted colleague and ask for objective feedback. Make the necessary revisions and rewrite it if you have to.

Tip 4: Consider the SMART system

When it comes to building goals and objectives, they should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.

What are the benefits of HTMLBurger’s web development and design proposal templates?

We made these free web development and design proposal templates to give you fuel to create your outstanding proposals quickly and clearly without having to worry about design and structure.

• It helps you save time and effort Designing your proposal from scratch will take a lot of time and planning, so using the templates will help you focus on the content instead.
• It’s customizable You can further customize the templates by adding your own images, graphs, charts, changing the fonts and colors within the layout in order to match your style
• It ensures consistency Consistency is a key element for making a great impression with professional design. Our free templates ensure consistent design, structure throughout the entire project proposal.
• It has a well-defined structure Each template follows a well-defined structure for the different sections and elements and follows a visual hierarchy so the documents are easy to scan, read and comprehend.

Final Words

Whether you’re a project manager in a creative agency or a freelance web designer or a web developer, you will inevitably need to craft persuasive project proposals. This doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. We prepared these 11 project web development and design proposal templates with appealing design, clear structure, and pre-written sections to help you use all that time to focus on your content.

You may also be interested in some of these related articles:

• 8 UX/UI Trends That Will Dominate The Web Design World in 2022
• 300+ Modern Free HTML Email Templates
• 11 Website Layout Ideas for Efficient Design [+ Amazing Examples]

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Sample Design Business Plan – Web Design & Graphic Design Business Plan

• 20. June 2016
• BrainHive Know-How Base @en , Business Plan Samples EN

This is an example of a completed business plan for a startup company providing web and graphic design services (screen design, online marketing, i. e. search engine optimization, social media marketing, click display marketing and web development) to companies in Germany. The company offers its services in the form of long-term maintenance contracts as well as complete service packages and campaigns, in order to enable the customers to focus on their actual core businesses. The location is the area of Giessen.

The company founder and manager has extensive knowledge experience in the field, both in practice as a web designer and internet marketer (8 years, employed/self-employed) as well as academically, being a graduate in electrical engineering and web design.

The business plan elaborates on crucial points like the concept (services incl. range of systems and programming languages, and the related operational procedures, USP, company vision), provides an overview of the market situation (competitive but with still increasing demand), as well as a risk analysis. It also gives information regarding potential business partners (an existing network of independent contractors) the marketing plan and financing.

While the expansion of the business is part of the strategy, it is expected that in the long-term the number of clients will decrease, so the focus lies on the increase of customer’s quality and loyalty (i.e. long-term and extensive customer relationships) by providing professionalism as well as high quality. It can be assumed that – given the current situation – the company will not only be well-established within short but also grow quickly.

While the facts as such might already be promising, their appropriate, convincing presentation is a crucial aspect as well. The financing of a business is an important issue, and a professional and adequate business plan will help establish the professional trust of potential investors.

Extra tip: A good way to get started quickly, efficiently and professionally is to hire business plan writers to write your business development plan. At BrainHive, we offer experienced business planning services. If you want to know how much a business plan costs , we can also help you out, being one of the most affordable and yet professional business plan consulting firms in the market. Don’t hesitate to approach us anytime if you want to learn more about us or get an individual quote for your business plan project. It is perhaps also worthwhile to note that we can also help you with your existing business plan , as well as prepare just the your business plan’s financial part . This way, you can rest assured that you will receive a custom-tailored business planning service that fits your exact need at the best price imaginable.

Sample Design Business Plan Overview

1. Executive Summary 2. Market and Competition Analysis 3. Opportunities and Threats 4. Location 5. Partner/s 6. Marketing Strategy 7. The Manager/Founder 8. Legal Form 9. Staff 10. Financial Planning

1. Sample Design Business Plan: Executive Summary

The primary business concept of the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. entails providing web and graphic design services to companies in Germany.

So far the focus of the manager’s work has been in these areas, both as a freelancer (self-employed) and on a permanent, long-term basis. Future clients will be supported in optimally structuring their digital marketing formation and choosing the right strategy. The [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will provide companies with adjustments to long-term maintenance contracts as well as complete service packages and campaigns, so that businesses can concentrate on their core operational competencies. The outsourcing of digital marketing work has become very important for companies in recent years in order to remain competitive. The manager is a graduate in electrical engineering and web design with 8 years of experience in web design / Internet marketing. He completed his studies in web design 2 years ago and has numerous references and professional certifications. A previous client and longtime employer who first hired Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder as an electrician was really satisfied with his work.

The manager will pursue further opportunities for expansion in the course of business. A particular focus in this case is the further utilization of existing knowledge in the area of screen design, online marketing (search engine optimization, social media marketing and click display marketing) and web development. Given the success to date, an existing network of independent contractors and the thought-out strategy of the manger is to assume that [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will establish itself well and grow rapidly.

1.1 Services

The marketing services [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. offers are in the areas of web design, graphic design and other services (Screen design, online marketing and web development). The manager can cover the complete range of web design services, having studied it and having access to a network of freelance experts. The manager has exceptional expertise when it comes to sites with mobile end devices, making him the right partner in even the most demanding projects. The following list includes the complete range of systems and programming languages, in which the startup can provide services:

• HTML & CSS
• PHP & MySQL
• Database design
• Content management systems (building your own CMS, thus easy to adjust and flexible)
• Online shops

The right decisions can be made at the very start of the project based on the manager’s experience in the field of online marketing and search engine optimization. The client’s aims for a modern-looking website with good functionality and a stable, lucrative Internet presence will be fulfilled to his/her complete satisfaction. The manager has also carried out numerous projects in the area of graphic design and is particularly well-versed in professional Adobe Creative Cloud programs and the Adobe Document Cloud programs. Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder obtained a number of certificates in a period of four months, which gave him further expertise apart from that attained in the course of his studies, so that he mastered the most complex applications and can pass this knowledge on to his assistants. More specifically, the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. offers graphic design services in the following areas:

• Corporate Design
• Logo Design
• Flyer and brochure design
• Poster and print advertisement design
• Product, image and advertising photography

The other services can generally be divided in three areas: screen design, online marketing und web development. Screen design is mainly about design of user interfaces for applications. Web development involves mainly programming applications (native, web and hybrid) and online marketing revolves around the following aspects:

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• SEM (search engine marketing)
• SEA (Search advertising)
• Facebook marketing / Twitter marketing
• Email Marketing / Newsletter marketing

Given this vast range of expertise, the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. can provide a very wide variety of services of very high quality and on great terms. The services can be provided as part of a maintenance contract for a fixed period of one year or as individual or package services. Currently, Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder already has a portfolio of clients from small and medium-size enterprises and associations. In the course of further expansion the product portfolio will also be extended because these clients will continue to be the startup’s most important target group.

1.2 Operational procedures The new clients acquired through various marketing activities (see marketing plan) make project requests by phone or email or conclude a maintenance contract. Clients can track the work done and the results through a seamless control system, and they also can ask for help and feedback in weekly video conferences. More complex project requirements will necessitate longer communication. Client requests are logged and freelance partners are informed what services have to be provided and for how long so that they can plan their time accordingly. The [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will have to outsource part of the services in the first few years to freelancers. Clients will be billed by adding up the working hours at the usual rates in this branch, which are in the range of XX-XX Euro.

The [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will create new synergies within its various business areas with view to benefit from further progressive marketing automation and digitization of the company, as being competitive largely depends on efficient use of marketing tools, particularly digital ones. The manager could attract a number of partners as a freelance web designer and online marketer / marketing consultant before founding his company, who would be suitable both as initial customers as well as references, making them crucial to the success of the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd.

The departments of the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. could support each other, but are interdependent only to a very slight extent. It is also assumed that demand for the different services will probably peak at different times, so there will be an even balance of the workload of the manager and the assistants and the utilization of infrastructural resources. The most important selling point is definitely going to be the highly trained and experienced industry manager with the extensive software and expert knowledge that he’s bringing to [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. His qualifications enable him to represent the company to the best possible extent. He has management experience both on site and by telephone.

1.4 Goal of the Company / Vision

The strategy of the company entails quality management without being too expensive for the main target group of clients (small and medium enterprises and local associations or establishments, public or private). This positioning can allow Design Ltd. to benefit maximally from the market environment on location and the prevailing demand and plan for rapid growth at an early stage. The company can be even more flexible by using modern technology with view to the Best Practice (communication, project management, management / accounting, etc.). Consistent analysis of business processes and the realization of cost savings at all levels will sustain satisfying conditions for clients. The strategy aims to present the company in the highly competitive online marketing field as service-oriented right from the start so as to increase its chances of being recommended by satisfied clients. The company’s professional services will ensure it is not forgotten by its clients and can serve their needs over a longer period. In X-X years the company would like to start hiring staff full-time to improve the capital planning and alleviate the workload of the manager so as to be active in other marketing areas as well. X-X full-time employees and a X-digit annual turnover with a profit in the range of XXX.XXX – XXX.XXX Euro are realistic X-year prospects.

2. Sample Design Business Plan: Market and Competition Analysis

 2.1 Market Situation: Digital Services

The market for the services to be offered by [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. is quite competitive in Germany, but despite this demand is not only high but on the rise. First, a European labor market study is used as an indicator of what trends are currently important. Then we examine the trends currently perceived by the major full-service digital agencies and established as part of a survey of the Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) e.V. (German Digital Analytics Association – GDAA ). A recent labor market analysis of the European Web Association (https://de.webmasters-europe.org) in XXXX showed that compared to last year the number of vacancies for Internet specialists has remained at approximately the same very high level as in XXXX. Demand is highest for web developers and Linux administrators (more than X,XXX job vacancies for each), followed by online marketing experts (more than X,XXX jobs) and project managers (more than X,XXX vacancies). The demand for “pure” web designers, however, is not quite as high with just under X,XXX vacancies. The analysis of specific competences showed that new web technologies and development methods are becoming integrated within the current job profiles very quickly and companies are looking for very highly skilled experts that possess the latest know-how. HTML5 has become the standard for web designers. A lot of companies expect very good CSS knowledge and experience in the design of responsive websites that range from XX-inch screens to Smartphones.

There is still very high and urgent demand for IT specialists in Germany. According to the most recent data (XXXX) there were XX,XXX open and difficult to fill vacancies for IT professionals, of which XX,XXX at medium-size IT companies. It is estimated that companies in the ICT industry have created some XX,XXX new jobs in Germany in XXXX. The demand for IT freelancers is stable at a high level and will increase even more, as the GULP Project Exchange reported. The trade magazine Computer Week reported a strong and still growing demand for freelance Internet experts. Startups and smaller companies suffer most acutely from the lack of skilled workers, as they are generally not able to pay such high salaries as large companies are and the expenses and costs for staff are always higher.

The demand for social media experts (+XX%) and online marketing experts with know-how in Search Engine Advertising (SEA) (+XX%) and web analysis (+XX%) has increased significantly in the areas of online marketing and web business. Demand for HTML5-experts in web design has skyrocketed (+XX%), while that for Adobe Flash and Actionscript experts (-XX%) has decreased. In web development demand for Java experts sustains a high level (+X%), has increased for Python experts (+XX%), but dropped for PHP (-XX%) and Ruby (-XX%). The most web developer job vacancies are for JavaScript (XXXX, followed by Java (XXXX), JavaScript library jQuery (XXXX) and the programming language PHP (XXXX).

As for Content Management Systems, there are XXX vacancies for highly skilled Typo3 experts, which is slightly less y/y (XXX, -X%). Demand for know-how of CMS-applications such as WordPress (+XX%), Drupal (+X%) and Joomla (+XXX%) has increased. It is highest for Joomla with XXX vacancies, but this is just a bit more than WordPress (XXX).

Based on this data one can claim demand for IT services is stable throughout Europe. Social media is the leading aspect in the area of web business/online marketing, as it has always been. Know-how/experience in SEO, SEM and SEA is highly demanded by online marketing managers. About XX percent of all companies in Germany employ at least one person who takes care of social media. This is up X% from XXXX.

Below is a table showing data of a survey of the XXX top digital agencies, which generated turnover of X,X bln. Euro in XXXX (just under XX.XXX staff). This data is essential for t he prospects of [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd.

First we see that competition is rising – a tendency closely followed by freelancers on online forums (ex. selbstaendig-im-netz.de):

[DIAGRAM REMOVED]

Source: “Full-Service-Internet Agencies in Germany –Turnover, Developments and Trends 2015”, GDAA

The following data reflects the general market situation. Only about a third of agencies are resistant to fluctuation and a fifth are optimistic about the prevalent trend.

Most revenues are generated in areas where Sample Design Business Plan will be especially well positioned: the technical implementation. It is therefore of considerable advantage that the founder can contribute so much experience and expert knowledge. Marketing, branding and e-commerce remain the main revenue drivers for full-service agencies, which gives the founder an edge.

How is the web design industry changing? The Internet was a haven for newcomers and self-taught mavericks until recently and many companies underestimated its power as a marketing tool. However, many local SMEs are now thinking seriously about Internet marketing and want to have a professional website and Facebook page. Companies’ marketing efforts will move increasingly to the Internet, and with them the marketing budgets. When the potential of the Internet is recognized, the demand for high-quality work will skyrocket. The price will take a back seat to quality as the most important factor for customers. When that happens, the market will consolidate. Clients will contract for web designers who have a lot of experience and can demonstrate excellent references. They may also turn to consultants who can recognize good quality and look out for suitable web designers. The Internet continues to evolve rapidly, and its complexity is constantly increasing. Web designers, especially freelancers, have a lot of projects and there are always more. The Internet pervades our everyday lives. We are online always and everywhere – in front of the TV, as we travel, on our trackers. It is getting harder and harder to adapt web pages to all browsers and to ensure that no potential customers will be driven away by display errors. Even making a website visible in Google and potentially profiting from it takes a lot of experience and knowledge. The increasingly specialized requirements make it more and more difficult to be a one-man full-service web agency. Instead, specialized web designers will come together and work as experts in various fields under one roof. These teams need to develop highly efficient procedures and ensure high levels of productivity and professionalism. Clients are trying to be visible on as many platforms as possible. They expect their Internet agency not only to create an excellent website, but also to organize (for example) a Facebook campaign and integrate it into the rest of the marketing mix. With the increasing complexity it is becoming more difficult for small companies to offer a fully comprehensive product range. This is why they will build networks and cooperate with partners. The number of new clients will decrease. Loyal clients will be key to the agencies. Since an Internet project can never be 100% complete, there will arise new possibilities by means of new technologies. That’s why it is very important for the agencies to keep their loyal clients. It won’t be necessary to “learn the ropes” at new companies. It is important to know the clients in detail and to serve and consult them optimally. The opposite isn’t true: The ever more complex, interconnected Internet marketing activities cannot be carried out by third parties – not easily at any rate. When clients contract a new agency, they’ll take hours to find their way around.

Structural change has some essential features of industrialization. With the above mentioned changes, the industry will focus more on cost minimization on one hand and profit maximization on the other. Since teamwork will dominate the future, it is important that all of today’s web designers acquire the relevant skills. There should be no limitations on the productivity achieved through specialization stemming from loss of resources during information exchange within the team. To this end, comprehensive frameworks are being developed and process optimization is being established. The Internet may be a global phenomenon, but the agencies will be working under the same roof as to facilitate communication between team members. In order for small agencies to remain competitive, they must limit their service portfolio to the core competencies and obtain other services from external companies. It is economically sound to standardize and automate as many processes as possible. This is why good programmers and ideas are needed – the more efficiently you work, the lower the prices you can afford without compromising quality. Every website and every Facebook campaign seems unique, but they are all based on reusable modules and systems that are adapted to the needs of the agencies. These systems with new, intelligent software replace people and automate some processes fully. We can conclude that the digital design industry is entering a period of consolidation, and the outcome for individual market players can be either positive or negative. It makes sense to deal with the prospects in such a way as to benefit from the changes. The data clearly show that the startup is highly competitive and entering a very demanding market environment. Recent developments have set the course, there is an economic necessity for modernization and the historical development indicates stable and strong future growth. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Limited’s market entry should be quick and successful thanks to its good references and the existing customer base.

2.2 Competition Analysis

The market for digital agencies is traditionally one of the most competitive markets in the service sector. Big and small agencies, in-house marketing departments and an infinite, often web-based number of freelancers all share the workload. There is no single big player on this market. A market share is acquired based on the number of employees, industry recognitions and key references one can provide. The unique selling points of the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. include the expertise of the founder, his existing network and acquired know-how. These are only some of the advantage this startup is bringing to the market, however. Few companies can afford to compete directly with Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan, whose impressive references and excellent technical know-how are unbeatable. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will be a very efficient player on the market due to the founder’s skills, knowledge and professionalism. The founder will run the startup in line with the prevailing trends in digital marketing, which is a very important element especially in terms of outsourcing and communication with staff and partners. The pricing strategy is quite flexible, so even extremely price-conscious clients could be accommodated.

It should be noted that the companies with the best prices are not likely to compete with the [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. directly because it is much more difficult for them to offer the practical and optimal, individualized, powerful digital marketing tools for specific target groups. Of course, the personal approach and professional communication play an important role.

The combination of professionalism and high quality gives the startup a definite edge over the competition. Vertical and potentially horizontal service coverage in the marketing segment will encourage clients to form a long-term partnership with the startup. Clients will help facilitate the market growth of [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. in all the areas it covers thanks to the excellent communication skills and impressive references of the founder. A clear and professionally designed website and the use of diverse marketing channels will prove decisive in terms of promoting [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. on the market (see also the marketing plan). Another important competition aspect involves the consistent pursuit of progress and continuous implementation of the latest technologies. The most important development in the industry in recent years was “Cloud/SaaS Services”, where companies don’t need to use their own hardware and software. Instead, they contract service providers that ensure access to all the relevant applications on the Internet. At the moment these are mainly storage systems and office applications, but soon the applications will become more complex. Cloud computing, automation and cross-channel integration still play a minor role for the target group, but they will become increasingly important as the market matures in the years to come. The [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. can keep up with these trends without any problems and even offer such services on the market after its successful establishment in the core segment. This is another reason why the startup will hold its own against the competition no matter how strong it may be and will even be able to improve its market status.

2.3 Target Group

[SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will offer services mainly to SMEs, but also maintain existing connections with associations and institutions. Its multifaceted marketing consulting services are applicable in every area, particularly house and garden, the construction industry, consumer electronics, IT, tourism, leisure and sport, textiles and clothing, food and the automobile market. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will initially cater mainly to SMEs, but in the long term efforts will be made to solicit business from larger companies and include lucrative, long-term training and maintenance contracts in the project portfolio. Fewer monthly revenue fluctuations mean better planning as regards recruitment, facilitating long-term growth.

[SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. is facing mainly operative risks. High marketing investments should lead to higher revenue. The prices must correspond to the quality of services. Long-term research on the competition was done to assess the effectiveness of marketing investments accurately. Comprehensive data on the companies managed by the founder was collected. Health and accident insurance and contractual details such as hiring freelance assistants and buying program licenses have been researched very thoroughly to ensure legal compliance and protection. We will be insured against damage to or theft of expensive laptops. Other security measures will include a powerful backup system, encryption of critical data and professional antivirus software to protect against data loss and other marketing-specific risks, especially in relation to cybercrime. Due to the complex nature of the business project, it is extremely important not to compromise on performance and to focus on quality, maintenance and reliability. This is the only way to ensure adequate pricing and the cooperation of other professional enterprises. Proper contract execution will help avoid additional costs to [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. in the long term and implement effective, predictable and transparent cost structures as a result of the focus on quality. The manager’s experience and qualifications, the solid business model and diversified revenue sources are quite likely to offset any and all issues that the complex and demanding environment may cause.

3. Sample Design Business Plan: Opportunities and Threats (SWOT-Analysis)

The following SWOT matrix gives a clear picture of all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats:

4. Sample Design Business Plan: Location

The Sample Town is in the area of Giessen, which has been home to the founder for many years. It has numerous advantages as the location of the company. The Sample Town offers [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. good opportunities to attract clients. Nestling between Marburg, Frankfurt and Bad Hersfeld, the Town is a popular and easily accessible destination that offers many opportunities for collaboration and networking. The site infrastructure is well developed and the quality of life is high, so that productive, inspired work is possible in balance with a satisfying social and family life. The well-equipped office spaces on site and in the nearby towns provide a good basis for all kinds of business activities. Fast Internet connections allow for the unrestricted establishment of Internet-based companies.

5. Sample Design Business Plan: Partner/s

[SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. can rely on Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan’s existing network of contacts, developed in the course of his work as an independent marketing consultant performing various business activities. The following list contains information about the individual companies and reference persons, who will be contacted right after the startup launch:

[TABLE REMOVED]

6. Sample Design Business Plan: Marketing Strategy

6.1 Communication Strategy

The main focus of [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd’s marketing activities will naturally be on Internet marketing, as this will promote all the company’s services most efficiently. Adwords and advertising on social networks will play a major role. The website will be created according to all the best practices and will offer a variety of instruments to generate leads such as downloads, leaflets, forms and showcases. The aim is to encourage visitors to contact the company. A carefully thought-out email marketing and direct telephone contact strategy completes the marketing mix. Ads in local magazines are one possible approach for [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. This way the company can attract local establishments and clients who don’t first look online for service providers. Giveaways and brochures will be posted and handed out at briefings with clients on location to attract new clients and generate orders, ex. some clients might mention the company in conversation with other clients. This also strengthens the company’s professional image and status.

Participation in exhibitions is also among [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd.’s communication strategies. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. could be represented at industry conferences and fairs such as INNO IT (Kiel), IT & Business (Stuttgart) or IT & BÜRO (Friedrichshafen), and many other events. There are many networking events and lecture series in the greater area of Frankfurt specifically designed for SMEs, which build an optimal enterprise exchange framework.

6.2 Pricing Strategy

[SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd’s marketing services are oriented to the upscale European market. Signing maintenance contracts with loyal clients will enable us to achieve solid predictability of revenue and at the same time ensure longer-term customer loyalty in terms of fulfilling orders as compared to our competitors. The entry-level hourly rate of about EUR XX is very competitive. Other companies charge between XX-XXX Euro, and the working speed is difficult to estimate. This is why references are so important for a smart buyer. The quality standard will facilitate [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd’s success in communication to attract serious, well-paying clients. The fact that [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd.’s efficient organization can also assist in bringing the rates down will give us an advantage over German enterprises operating on the same market segment and level in terms of concluding service contracts. The startup is aiming for the premium marketing consulting segment in the long term so as to be able to offer outsourcers an attractive margin rate.

7. Sample Design Business Plan: The Manager/Founder

Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan will be a success manager thanks to his numerous qualifications. He studied electrical engineering and started work as an electrician at an engineering consultancy called Partner Firm Design Business Plan in XXXX after spending a year in the US. He still works for Partner Firm Design Business Plan, but has shifted his focus to web design and media in the last decade. He studied web design from XXXX to XXXX and graduated with several certificates in Adobe Design programming in XXXX. He has been active as a freelance designer since XXXX.

Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan can fulfill the expectations of his employers and clients in all areas. His excellent connections and running projects with key decision-makers and his numerous certificates will contribute to easy acquisition of new clients. Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan is fluent in English and speaks a little Spanish. He is a native speaker of German. His language skills, long-year experience in team and project management and international assistants will help him be an excellent manager.

8. Sample Design Business Plan: Legal Form

The Ltd. legal form is selected based on the premise of avoiding personal liability and entering the market in a form that is reputable both in Germany and worldwide. Other advantages are that more shareholders can join a Ltd. and the costs of founding and operating an enterprise in this legal form are easy to predict. The form is also a juridical entity, meaning that contracts and accounts can be signed and opened in the name of the Ltd., which later makes it easier to sell, among other things. Some disadvantages of this legal form are the slightly higher notary fees and the costs of drafting the partnership agreement. In addition, it must be ensured that no actions are taken that could be construed as gross negligence, because in this case the managing partner may be liable with his personal assets. The accounting and expenses for tax consulting services are usually a bit higher than those for joint partnerships. In conclusion, we can say the Ltd. provides some tax benefits and can also serve one well as a tax “piggy bank” for a rainy day. You can safeguard hidden assets / reserves because profits are not distributed as they would be with other business partnerships. The corporate tax is lower than the income tax levied on joint partnerships.

9. Sample Design Business Plan: Staff

One full-time office assistant will be hired in the first three years. Big parts of projects will be outsourced to freelance designers and developers. This is an approach to ensure lower and more flexible fixed costs. X-X more full-time staff members will be hired to enhance capacity and security in a five-year term.

10. Sample Design Business Plan: Financial Planning

10.1 Clarification

Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan is planning to provide equity contribution in the amount of XX,XXX Euro as the manager and sole shareholder. Target debt financing in the amount of XXX,XXX Euro is intended to complement the contribution. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. is expected to enter the market quickly due to its contacts, agree on good payment terms with partners and maintain cash reserves. Despite the high market entry costs (marketing, investment in equipment and staff) [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Ltd. will survive and grow without additional debt financing in the first 3 years thanks to stable organization of internal processes and close cooperation with customers and partners.

10.2 Revenue Source Clarification

The revenue will be limited in the first several months following market entry, as it will take some time to equip the company and attract new clients. However, revenue will solidify and grow after the third quarter. This tendency will continue in the following months. An increase of app. XX% y/y is expected in the third year. Thereafter the revenue will increase by XX-XX% a year due to the expanding project portfolio. Growth will level off at XX-XX% in X-X years. The positive effects mentioned in the market analysis can easily result to exponential revenue growth upon acquisition of the right clients, which is why the above estimates are rather conservative. The following table shows revenue estimate per month in the first three years.

[TABLE REMOVED] Source: Financial Plan (Manager’s estimate)

Web and graphic design will generate the most revenue (see pie chart). However, long-term maintenance contracts will account for a rising percentage of the revenue.

10.3 Capital

Mr. [SAMPLE DESIGN BUSINESS PLAN] Founder Plan is planning to provide equity contribution in the amount of XX,XXX Euro as the manager and sole shareholder. Target debt financing in the amount of XXX,XXX Euro is intended to complement the contribution, thus creating the economic potential for a good and fast market launch. Go Back Up

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Website Planning Templates | Website Planning Guide

Most people assume that to build a great website, your priority should be on technical aspects or being good at the design stuff. However, we disagree.

Great websites are not built on a whim. They are planned and then built (and frequently updated).

So this guide will help you set you up for success with your new website by giving you a solid plan to start with. You can give this to an external developer/agency or use it as an internal reference if your own team is working on it. Regardless of how you execute, website planning will make everything better.

Phase 1: Pre Website Planning

Phase 2: information architecture and user flows, phase 3: design layouts and site infrastructure.

Phase 4: Promotion and Marketing

If you want a document to fill out and then present, we have downloadable Word and Google Docs files which include some great Creately templates.

Get the website planning templates here;

Download the Word Document Template

Determine Your Website Objectives

A clear business objective is the first step towards creating a successful website.

Whether it is to generate more leads or sell your product in foreign markets, once you know what you want to do with the website, everything else – from the type of information you should add on your site to its design – will be so much easier to decide.

So first of all, list down your objectives that will fit your overall marketing strategies and capabilities.

Analyze the Websites of Your Top Competitors and Market Trends

Once launched, your website won’t be the only one out there selling or promoting the type of product you’ve got.

This is why you need to see what’s already out there and compare them with what you have in mind.

• Look into the websites of your competitors and other industry websites as well. They will not only inspire you but will also give you an idea as to what you should and shouldn’t include on the website.
• Examine what trends are leading your market at the time . This will help you create a website that is both relevant and useful to your potential customers.

Use the following mind map to organize the information you collect on the websites of your top competitors and market trends.  Share it with your team and get their input as well.

Bringing all this into a single mind map gives you the chance to spot patterns and understand the space in a different sense.

Organize Information with Information Architecture

This is where you consider what the user expects to see and the content you want users to associate with each section of the website.

Information architecture helps you determine the usability of your website design – or in other words, make sense of how information on your site is displayed and accessed.

Learn how to properly create an information architecture of your website in six steps here .

Define Your Website’s Structure Using a Site Map

In layman’s terms website map is a tool for planning and designing websites. Visualizing your website using a sitemap (also known as a site architecture map) is a decisive step because it helps in creating coherent navigation paths for users to follow through the website. With this framework in place, you can think logically understand and consider how your users will navigate through the site, then tailor content to them.

Sketch your sitemap

Use a  sitemap drawing tool or plain pen and paper to sketch your  sitemap out. Using standard sheets of paper may not be enough to accommodate all your design thoughts and ideas, so you have to preferably use more paper or to keep it simple, just use a sitemap tool to get this job done. And keep the design layouts organized in folders online or on your local disk instead of wasting time looking around for papers you know you have somewhere.

Use a clean layout

What is the best layout to illustrate your website’s structure? Start by drawing a  page icon in the middle, this will represent the homepage. From there, more page icons will branch out horizontally to indicate other pages within the website. Within minutes, you will have the horizontal diagrammatic representation of the structure of your website in the top-down structure.

Color to create a visual treat

Color up the shapes on your sitemap structure to produce unmatched levels of aesthetics delivering a unique visual treat and bringing the entire sitemap to life. You can give the homepage one color and each of the subsequent sections can be shaded differently to show the hierarchy of pages.

Style all the navigation links

Each Web page in the sitemap is represented as a page icon. Navigation links (connectors) are used to connect the page icons to illustrate the relationships that exist between the pages. These connectors can be either straight, curved, or sharp-angled. See the image below to understand how each of these connector styles affects the overall look of the sitemap.

Suggest URLs for each page

The importance of a web page’s URL structure is always a debated topic. SEO experts consider placing keywords in the URLs important. Thus, suggesting URLs in the page icons will help clients understand the intended URL structure as a part of the interface.

Create links to test your framework

You are definitely happy that the framework is ready to be sent for review. But it’s always best to test the framework by linking the individual page icon to the respective wireframes of mockups to show the client a clear view of the overall web design project. This will save a lot of time and effort and also help your clients evaluate the functionality and consistency of the existing sitemap structure.

Use the following sitemap template to get started on yours.

Identify the Navigation Flow of Your Visitor

This is where you dig into the data (that you found while creating the information architecture of your site) on information-seeking behavior of your audience and try to uncover a pattern in it.

Using a flowchart , you can map and identify all the pages and touchpoints your ideal visitor would interact with when navigating through your website. User flow is how you figure out what you need to give (in the form of phrases, paragraphs or images) to your visitor to keep them from bouncing off your site.

Identify Key Colors, Elements and Styles with a Mood Board

A mood board can help you create a website look that matches your brand personality which includes your brand voice and brand style.

A usual website mood board should cover

• color palette
• photography or illustration style
• fonts/ typography
• use of space
• navigation style

If you are looking for great website design inspiration, checkout www.pages.xyz .

Arrange Page Elements with Wireframes

Wireframes help you define the hierarchy of content on your design . By referring to the information architecture you created earlier, form the layout of the website pages with the help of a wireframe .

Keep in mind how you want your site visitors to process information when doing so.

It’s also the first step in figuring out how each page on the website is linked to each other.

Tip: Start with wireframes for smaller screens and start your way up. It’s the only hassle-free way to create a responsive website design.  

Finalize the Design with UI Mockups

UI mockups allow you to identify issues with your final design before you launch the website. With it, you can flesh out your wireframe and visualize the final outcome of typography, iconography, color themes, layouts and navigation.

Phase 4: Promotion and Marketing  

Brainstorm ideas for promoting your site.

Once the site is launched, you need to attract visitors to it. This is where site promotion comes in and it involves many tasks like search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, targeted advertising etc.

Get your marketing team together and brainstorm different ways to market and promote your new website. A mind map can help you organize all your ideas and come up with a proper marketing strategy.

Website Development Flowchart

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Planning a Website

Lack of clear goals.

Define clear goals and objectives before starting to plan your website. This will help you make accurate decisions about design, content, and functionality that align with your goals.

Failing to consider user experience

A website should be designed with the user in mind. Consider how visitors will interact with the website and make it easy for them to find what they are looking for.

Ignoring Search Engine Optimization

It’s essential to optimize the content of your website for search engines in order it to be found by potential customers. Therefore make sure you use relevant keywords, include meta tags, and use proper headings.

Overcomplicating design

Simple and clean designs are often more effective than cluttered ones. Avoid adding too many unnecessary elements or features that can overwhelm users.

Not testing and updating

After launching your website, make sure to regularly test and update it. This will help you identify and fix any issues or bugs and keep your website up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies.

Ready to Plan Your Website?

We’ve covered planning a website in 8 easy steps under 4 different stages of website planning. Use our website planning template to get started right away.

Would like to add something to our website planning guide? Let us know in the comment section below.

And if you are ready for the next stage of your marketing plan, here’s a handy guide to mobile app planning .

Want to increase traffic to your website? Here are 7 easy steps to increase traffic to your website .

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs on Website Planning

Website planning is important because it sets the foundation for a successful website.

• Planning helps you define the purpose and goals of your website.
• Helps create a website that meets their needs and expectations which will lead to a better user experience.
• Website planning helps you identify the features and functionality your website needs, which makes the development process more efficient.
• A well-planned website is more likely to be consistent with your branding and messaging, which can help establish a stronger brand identity.

More Related Articles

Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

Website Design and SEO Company Business Plan

•   Website Design Business Plan Template(Microsoft Word)  –  $47.00
•   +Add Excel Worksheet (Recommended)  –  $25.00
•   +Add Funding Package Pitch Deck PowerPoint  –  $35.00

How to get funding for your website design and development business!

“Here’s the ‘Perfect Solution’ to getting your website development and SEO business funded quickly…even if you don’t have a clue on how to write a business plan and don’t have the budget to pay a professional to do it!”

If you want to get your website development business organized and funded then here’s the perfect solution:

Did you know that a well written and researched business plan is the key to getting funding for your website business?

But most entrepreneurs neglect this aspect of their startup.

That’s usually because they are not knowledgeable enough to write a business plan on their own.

Or do not have the budget to pay a professional business plan writer.

But if you’ve ever wanted to start a website development business and you need to write a business plan to get funding then our Hybrid DIY Business Plan Template is for you.

A Hybrid Business Plan Template is a high quality thoroughly researched business plan template, but also a business plan that has examples for you to insert your own market and business specifics into.

Our templates are high quality, in-depth and researched with the most up to date statistics available.

Each one takes us a minimum of 160 to 200 hours to write and has been reviewed and proofed by at least 3 professionals and a third party prior to being offered to you.

A website design and development business is a great first business for those interested in entrepreneurship.

With a startup cost more affordable than a traditional storefront as well as being able to change your location easily a website design and development business is a great flexible first venture. With more and more businesses coming online as well as many more legacy long term businesses needing an update to their current online presence there has never been a better time to start a website design and development company. The issue now is not so much educating clients on what a website is and how it can help them, now it is more on showing the clients how a website can help them grow as a business. How websites are effective mediums to get their business name and service or product out there affordably.

With a just few modifications (Like the name of your company and owners bio, market, financials and location specifics) you can customize this business plan for your exact needs.

Here’s why a free business plan template can risk your chances at funding.

Lenders and investors see thousands of business plans and they know when you’re using a template because the “Wording is just not right”

You can have the best idea for your venture and pitch it to them perfectly, however when you leave and they review your plan what will it really say about you?

And free isn’t really free if it costs you your funding.

Why leave the future of your business to chance?

Our business plan templates are written for your specific market, up to date with the most current research available, references are included as well as current financials.

Start your business off the right way with our comprehensive Hybrid business plan template.

You will receive our 45 page Hybrid fusion business plan template which contains the following sections:

• Executive summary.
• The enterprise.
• The business concept and need.
• Industry / market overview.
• Growth strategy and implementation summary
• Management plan
• Risk factor
• Financial projections
• Use of proceeds
• Investor return strategy

( Click here to view sample pages – opens in new window)

Website Development Excel template available separately.

Investor Presentation Package avaliable separately. Includes: 

• eBook: How to pitch your business idea to investors
• eBook: Elevator Pitch Template and Examples
• 12 Slide website development PowerPoint Pitch Deck

(Click here to see sample pages of what you will be receiving)

See what our customers are saying about our business plan templates..

“The plan had some great points that were very beneficial and important to my business. I hope other clients are able to see the value you are able to provide in their business plans, just like myself. I would highly recommend you to other prospective entrepreneurs. It’s been a pleasure and I look forward to execute my business plan.”

Kristina Khau

Pho Kingdom

“Black Box Business Plans has given me the tools and inspiration to pursue my business venture. Not only was the template helpful in helping me form my business idea it really explain how it would benefit my company.”

Mikio VanDrunen

Young Peoples Consulting

“Black Box has been a tremendous help to me and my business ventures. His templates were extremely helpful to me with regards to moving my business from the conceptual phase to something that could be successfully implemented.   Furthermore, his business plan example and associated materials allowed me to organize and structure my venture according to how I wanted to run and grow my business. I also found the process much easier with the materials (as opposed to doing everything on my own), since they provided a solid blueprint for my business.   I would recommend Shawn and his team to other entrepreneurs and business owners without hesitation. They have been great to work with!”

Kevin Cisney

The best part about our templates is that the TIME CONSUMING parts are DONE for YOU.

  Our Hybrid Fusion Business Plan Templates save you time as most portions are already completed for you, including the general narrative, market research, format, charts and financials are already researched and written for the website development industry.

What makes our Hybrid Fusion Business Plan Templates Different?

Here are just a few reasons why the black box business plan template is the best solution to begin planning your venture:

• Written by business professionals combined with real entrepreneurs with over 20 years of experience.
• Formatted layout for investor and lender use.
• References provided at the end of each plan.
• Most recently available market research and demographics used.
• Beautifully formatted to look professional and pleasing to the eye.
• Full narrative written from scratch for your industry.
• Industry financials at the end of each plan.
• Written in a persuasive way to show investors the true potential of your venture.
• Hybrid Fusion Cross between a business plan sample and template to make customization more realistic.

(Click here to view sample pages of this website development business plan template)

But we don’t want to sell you on easy.  .

We want to make sure you obtain a well-researched market specific business plan template you are able to build a realistic and truly investor friendly business plan upon.

Real investors and lenders see 3 to 15 business plans a day.

With the big “Corporate” business plan template companies luring you in with an “Easy” business plans those very lenders see right through them.

With our plan templates you will have something extensive, unique as well as currently researched to set you apart from the “Corporate” generic business fill-in-the-blank plan templates.

Do-it-yourself and not only save, but learn more about your business as well.

• Each complete plan takes us about 160 to 200 hours to research , write and create and is written in a way to make it easy to understand yet investor friendly. A professional business plan writer would charge a minimum of $650 to create a unique business plan of our length with the amount of research, financials, graphs and charts.
• This is the viable solution you have been looking for. A comprehensive, well written template with full narrative and financials research specifically for your industry. Our business templates are investor friendly, written by professionals and offered at a fraction of the cost of a professional business plan writer.
• We stand behind our quality. Our templates are in-depth and researched with the most up to date statistics available. If you are able to find a lower priced more researched, referenced, comprehensive, up to date website development 2017 business template we will refund your money.*
• Don’t believe the MYTH of “Fill in the blanks” business plan templates. Each venture is unique as is each market. If someone promises you a “fill-in-the-blanks” template or automated way to create your business plan then you are effectively getting a generic plan. Our hybrid business plan offered here is researched written and formatted in 2017 specifically for the website development industry.
• Before purchasing please understand the usage of this document (Yes you will have to put in some work) we are honest about what offer and provide screen shots of the documents you will be receiving so there is no misunderstanding.

A customized or turn-key document from a reputable professional business plan writer starts at $450 and an cost upward of $1,300 (A Google search will show you this.)

We are attempting to help you get started on a budget hence we are providing our extensive hybrid fusion business plan documents as a starting point for you to build your plan upon.

If you do not wish to do any work we do offer a fully customized plan starting at $850.

If interested please feel free to message us regarding these fully custom written plans.

Disclaimers

• This is a Hybrid Fusion business plan template, which is in between a business plan template and sample. This is NOT a complete Turn-key business plan. Modify and use this Hybrid Fusion business plan template as a foundation to create your own plan. See sample pages to see exactly what you will be receiving.
• We are unable to make any changes to this plan or excel sheet or pitch deck or documents for you.
• By purchasing these documents you agree not to resell, copyright or post them online.
• Digital Download for Microsoft Office XP 10.0 in Windows XP and higher versions.
• Will open in Microsoft Office for Mac however some formatting issues may be present and will need to be corrected. For this reason we unable to guarantee 100% direct compatibility with Microsoft Office for Mac.

The best time to start is now. Purchase with confidence. SSL Secured Checkout and 30 Day Money Back Guarantee if you are able to find a more comprehensive and up to date plan and funding package combination for a lower price point.*

* Click here for Money Back Guarantee terms and conditions.

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• Will open in Microsoft Office for Mac however some formatting issues may be present and will need to be corrected.
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Web Development Business Plan Sample PDF Example | Free Download Presented by BizMove

Watch This Video Before Starting Your Web Development Business Plan PDF!

Checklist for Starting a Web Development Business: Essential Ingredients for Success

If you are thinking about going into business, it is imperative that you watch this video first! it will take you by the hand and walk you through each and every phase of starting a business. It features all the essential aspects you must consider BEFORE you start a Web Development business. This will allow you to predict problems before they happen and keep you from losing your shirt on dog business ideas. Ignore it at your own peril!

For more insightful videos visit our Small Business and Management Skills YouTube Chanel .

Here’s Your Free Web Development Business Plan DOC

Free book for you: how to start a business from scratch (pdf).

Copy the following link to your browser and save the file to your PC:

https://www.bizmove.com/free-pdf-download/how-to-start-a-business.pdf

Many seniors move to a smaller home after they retire. This can be a good choice since their living expenses will be lower, there will be less upkeep in a smaller home and they can add to their retirement fund with the extra cash gained from selling their larger home.

Do not spend money on things that you do not need. Make a budget and figure out what you can remove. The more you eliminate, the less you have to save.

Try to start a savings account as young as possible to plan for retirement. Something with minimal risk and a high interest rate is best. The younger you start planning, the greater your opportunity will be to save. If you can begin to regularly contribute to savings in your 20s, you'll be well on your way to a nice nest egg.

When planning for retirement, create savings goals and stick to them. If you've already started saving, keep at it! If you haven't started, create small goals and make sure to meet them every month. Make saving a priority. Once you have met your goals, slowly increase them as you go along.

Diversify your investments over time to set up a retirement portfolio. This is a crucial technique, as it will reduce the amount of risk that you have when you are playing the market. If you are not having success, take some time off to study what you need to do to maximize your earnings.

Start saving for retirement as early as you are able. The earlier you start saving, the better. Every little bit helps. The longer you have that money in a savings account, the more it can grow. How much you have saved will make a huge difference when you actually do retire.

Are you feeling overwhelmed because you haven't started saving yet? Don't give up. It's better to start now than not at all. Examine your monthly budget and determine the maximum amount you can start to put away every month. If it's not much, don't worry. Whatever you can afford to save is helpful. The sooner you begin saving, the more time the money has to grow.

Use one a retirement calculator to figure out how much money you need when you retire. You can find easy to use calculators online. After you input all the pertinent information, you will know how much you need to save in order to keep up your current standard of living.

Consider your retirement savings through your job. It's a smart move to take advantage of 401(k) plans and anything else they can offer you for retirement purposes. Learn about what is offered, how much you have to pay into it, what fees there are and what sort of risk is involved.

Do you want to maintain the same standard of living that you have right now when you retire? If so, you are going to need around 80 percent of your pre-retirement income. Start planning now. The best way to begin is to start researching what you need to do in order to retire. Go to your local library and check out a few books.

Get your retirement portfolio rebalanced every quarter of a year. You can become emotionally vulnerable to some market swings if you do it more frequently than that. Ignoring it for longer times may result in you missing growth opportunities. Work with a professional investor to figure out the best allocations for the money.

Make sure that you stay in touch with your friends during retirement. When you were working, a majority of your socialization came from the workplace. However, after you retire, you will not have that any more. To make your days more interesting, spend more time doing things with your friends.

If the thought of retirement bores you, consider becoming a professional consultant. Use whatever you've spent a lifetime learning, and hire yourself out for a handsome hourly fee. You can make your own hours, and it will be fun teaching others about your expertize. The money you make can be saved for a rainy day or put toward immediate expenses.

If you are already planning for your retirement, you should know what your retirement needs are. Most experts estimate you will need at least 90% of your income (pre-retirement) in order to keep your standard of living once you retire. So by starting to save early, you will have more time for your money to grow.

Consider downsizing in retirement. When it's just you and your spouse, you no longer need a large home and two car payments. When you downsize, you can reduce your monthly debt which makes it easier to enjoy retirement more. Consider an apartment, town home or even a small single family home that will adequately meet your needs without breaking the bank.

Are you frustrated because the company you work for does not have a retirement plan? Take matters into your own hands. Go to your employer and ask them to get started with one. You may be surprised at how willing they are to take this step and become more attractive to potential employees.

Part of every manager's time is devoted to the Demonstration of plans or ideas. Within this guide we will delve into some detail into creating Presentation suggestions and efficient Presentation abilities. The very first step in preparing a demonstration would be to establish a purpose or an objective. What's to be accomplished by the presentation? After this was ascertained, essential steps could be taken to support it, and guidelines established to organize it. If the demonstration is logically organized by topic matter at the beginning, it'll do much to guarantee success of the presentation. Effective presentation skills is made to Give information, give Instruction, sell a strategy or idea, or accomplish a combination of those items. Through words and visual aids, a presentation performs a support to the gamer. A carefully worded demonstration can interpret facts, trends, or data into fundamental relationships which will influence actions or policy. After the aim of this demonstration has been launched, the overall Form of the demonstration must be considered. The message ought to be communicated in as few words and using as few visual aids as required to present a strategy or idea effectively. A concise, convincing presentation of 10-minutes' length may accomplish readily the desirable objective - and be economical - than one lasting an hour. In other words, the effectiveness of the demonstration depends more upon the soundness of this message than its own length, the presenter's skill in delivery, or the grade of the visual aids. But too long a demonstration, lack of ability in its delivery, and/or lousy visual assistance could spell disaster. Presentation Strategy - The First step to Effective Presentation Skills. Once The objective has been established the next step is planning the demonstration strategy. The answers to some fundamental questions will help in this process: What are you really selling? To whom are you promoting it? Against what are you currently competing?In what environment do you expect the message to be obtained? What exactly are you really selling? Why are you making the demonstration? Take another Look at the objective. Are you selling a plan of action, a demand for activity, a product, a service, or service for an idea? Pinpoint the reason behind making the presentation. Express it in as few words as possible. John Witherspoon once said:"Never grow to speak till you've got something to say, and when you have said it, cease." To whom are you selling it? If you know your audience, you have some idea Of its position on the topic. A demonstration that is highly successful before one audience can be a failure before somebody. The demonstration strategy should be attuned to the viewers. Would the people in the audience create a final choice, or must they take your recommendations into a higher authority? Prior to the presentation, know as much as you can about the people in your audience - their thought patterns, interests, ability, as well as their emotional needs. Do they prefer a certain sort of visual aid, a break through the presentation, or coffee services? Is their time restricted? Bear in mind, people in the market will have different likes and dislikes. C. W. Spalding, put it this way:"People disagree. Some thing to the fan dancer and others to the enthusiast." Against what are you competing? When you know the emotional needs of your Viewers, the message could be geared to the listener's viewpoint. The benefits to the listener could be targeted. In what environment do you expect the message to be received? There are a Number of questions that might be raised to ascertain the environment in which the demonstration will be given. At the final analysis, the plan you formulate as a presenter Ought to Be Based upon an understanding of what you are promoting, to whom you are selling it, the more obstacles you will be encountering, and the air in which the presentation will be supplied. Presentation Organization. A successful presentation contains more than Great material and the most convincing arguments. It displays good organization of subject matter. The strongest and persuasive presenter could fail to have a plan, idea, or information accepted by the viewer if the message is not organized well. The introduction and conclusion can't be ignored. At the outset, the Presentation should achieve the attention of the audience and convey to the listeners what's to be covered. In the end, the presenter should review the key points of the Presentation and pinpoint the actions to be taken, if any. The body of this demonstration, located between the debut and the Conclusion, comprises the majority of the message. It should be introduced to the listener in a meaningful shape. An outpouring of strategies, thoughts, or advice with no form or relationship won't hold the attention of any audience quite long. Organization of this presentation involves fitting the parts into a coherent Whole. The method is dependent on the subject matter to be presented and the strategy to be used. The most familiar kind of presentation is probably the time-sequenced-chronological-approach. The problem-solution pattern is a sensible option for many"in- home" presentations. Whenever there is a requirement to compare alternative solutions to a problem, the comparison- comparison approach is a fantastic choice. Within an informative demonstration, a cause-effect technique might be used. After the purpose of the demonstration is to describe or explain the meaning or nature of something, the definition procedure is appropriate. Another type commonly used entails discussing the"parts" comprising the whole, for example subdivision of a company, or subsystem for components of a missile. Connected to this technique is the presentation built around systems, also serves qualities-sub-systems of an aircraft, functions of components within a business. If the material for use does not fit into one of the commonly used organizing patterns, the presenter should establish a pattern of their very own. If a person has an outstanding point to make in a presentation, it Ought to Be Made normally at the start. This has an advantage over"building up" to the main point. If it"sells" the strategy or thought, the equilibrium of this demonstration then involves"nailing down" the plan or idea. Another reason for top off with the main purpose, or points, is the fact that important listeners may be called off prior to the presenter is finished. If they are, they will not miss the major point. After a plan or an idea has been offered by mentioning its important advantage, or Benefits the balance of the presentation should usually be treated as Reinforcement of that plan or idea. The things to be made Ought to Be presented In descending order of significance. Bear in Mind, Once the main point fails to Deliver the message, the lesser points won't get it done! Talking of ensuring the Message comes through clearly, I am reminded of the 10-year-old describing the Plot of"My Fair Lady" to her younger sister. She said,"It's About a filthy girl who receives remedial reading."

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Sample Web Design Business Plan

Web design company business plan sample.

The web design industry basically encompasses the design of websites and hosting of websites on the World Wide Web for both individuals and corporate organizations alike.

In today’s world, it is very uncommon to find companies, and individuals who seriously want to make an impact and do not have a website. With an active website, one can be able to communicate his ideas and message to an audience.

If you are keen on starting up a web design business, and have considered all of the basic things which you have to consider before starting the business, then this web design business plan sample will prove beneficial to you in writing a simple business plan for your web design business.

Here is a sample business plan for starting a web development business.

BUSINESS NAME: Incandescence Screen Printing LLC.

Executive Summary

Our Products and Services

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Business Structure

• Market Analysis

Sales and Marketing Strategy

• Financial Plan
• Sales Forecast

Five & Six Technology LLC has been duly registered to fully practice in Los Angeles, United States. The business will be very delighted to offer its many products and services to customers all over the United States.

To get started, the owners, Mr and Mrs Smith will be responsible for providing two-third of the startup capital which amounts to $300,000 while the final third will be sourced from the owners’ bank.

The sole purpose of starting up this business is to maximize profits. This, we will achieve by ensuring we do all within the laws of the United States in operating our business.

Five & Six Technology LLC is a web design company which will be operating from Los Angeles, United States. The business has been established so as to maximize profit in the industry. The following are the products and services which we will be offering to our customers not just in Los Angeles, but in the United States at large:

• Designing of websites for corporate clients as well as individual clients.
• Developing of websites and custom platform web development.
• Optimization of website’s functionality for website owners.
• Code writing services and search engine optimization.
• Word press web development.
• Corporate identification design services
• Several other web design related services.

Our vision is to build a standard and world class web design company that will be providing its services to customers not just in Los Angeles, but also in the United States. We want to be counted as part of the leading web design companies in Los Angeles, United Sates.

Our mission is to establish a web design business that will be particular about providing its professional services towards assisting individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, to be able to promote their brands and connect with more prospective customers.

We are very interested in building a web design company that will become a very competitive business in the industry. We will start it small and grow it big into the web design company we hope it to be. It is in view of this that we will not take lightly our recruitment process. We will hire only candidates that meet with our qualification criteria. Candidates that we will recruit will have to be very honest, hardworking, qualified, and most important, they must be very ready to work with us. Below are the positions which we will fill:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Human Resources and Admin Manager
• Creative Director
• Content creator
• Web designer
• Client service executive

Market Analysis Market Trend

One trend in the industry is that the target market is always growing. More persons and organizations have become more aware of the need to have an official website, and also to seek the services of a professional graphics designer in the branding of their products so as to reach more customers.

Target Market

The following are the groups which we have identified to make up our target market:

• Financial Institutions such as Banks, and Insurance Companies
• Corporate Organizations
• Real Estate Owners, developers, and contractors.
• Television stations
• Political Parties
• Religious Organizations
• Sport Organizations
• The Government
• Blue Chips Companies

We have our goal for our business set at a very great height. For us to be able to accomplish our heights, we will do well to station our business amongst the very top web design companies in the United States. The following are the ways we would promote our business to our prospective customers:

• We will make sure to introduce our web design business to various institutions and individuals, all of which make up our target market.
• We will list our web design business in local directories ads.
• We will always stay updated by attending various seminars, expos, business fairs, and the likes.
• We will make very good use of the internet and social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote our business.
• We will encourage the use of word of the mouth in promoting our business.

Financial Plan Sources of Startup Budget

Having conducted thorough study on the industry, and carried out a feasibility study on our line of business, we have been able to determine the needed startup capital to launch our business from scratch. This total startup budget amounts to $300,000. We will do well to obtain this capital from the owners and from the owners’ bank. So far, the owners have been able to raise a total of $150,000. They are expected to raise $200,000 for their part, while the remainder will be sourced as soft loan from the owners’ bank.

Sales Forecast First Fiscal Year                   $100,000 Second Fiscal Year               $150,000 Third Fiscal Year                  $200,000

Above is the sales projection for Five & Six Technology LLC for the first three years from startup. This sales projection is based on what is obtainable in the industry, and it will only function as a guide.

The above business plan sample is a web design business plan sample titled, ‘Five & Six Technology LLC’. The business which will be located in Los Angeles, United States will be focused on providing its customers in the United States with its numerous products and services. The business will be run by the Smiths.

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Category: Web Development

Date: January 24, 2024

How To Make Business Plan For Your Web Design Agency & Web Development Startup?

I have started ColorWhistle in 2014 as a web development company , so called startup web development company 🙂

Are you planning to start a web design and development company? Whether you’re starting or growing your business, you definitely need a business plan.

Only a business plan can give you answers to a wide-ranging list of questions. It sure is tedious, but it definitely pays off.

The good news is you don’t have to spend days to write a business plan. We will walk you through on how to make a business set up for your  web design agency or web development company . In case you already created one, you can use our guide as a reference to see what you missed.

Web Development Company & Web Design Business Plan

If you want to stand out and be noticed and if you want to succeed, you need to have the right business strategy. Let’s take a look.

1. Who Is Your Audience (ICP)?

Investing in an ICP is an investment in your future. It’s the foundation for growth, efficiency, and a thriving customer base. So, don’t leave your dream customers to chance. Build your ICP today and watch your business soar.

Imagine your dream customer. Someone who not only needs your web design and development services but actively seeks it out, embraces its value, and becomes a loyal advocate. That’s the essence of an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). It’s a detailed portrait of your perfect buyer, built on shared traits, motivations, and challenges.

Targeting specific customers does not mean that you’re excluding others. You are simply targeting a particular set of audience who are more likely to buy from you. Answer these below questions to figure out your target audience.

• Figure out who will seek your web design and development services based on age, location, gender, income level, education level, occupation, ethnic background and relationship status
• Which medium does your audience turn for information?
• How and when will they use your services?
• Is your target audience easily accessible?
• Will they really benefit from your services?
• Can your target audience afford your web design and development services?

2. Understand Your Competitors

Knowing your competitors and what they are offering can help your web design agency and web development company stand out. You can set pricing accordingly and better prepare for rival marketing campaigns. Try to find out answers for these questions.

• What is their market position and what are people purchasing from them
• What is their pricing structure?
• How good is their social media review?

Also, figure out their weakness and find out how it can be addressed by your services.

In today’s economy, there is really no shortage for candidates for any position. It will appear as though employers can find the best candidate for any job. However, it is not that simple. There is always a possibility of hiring the wrong person which can have a negative impact.

Impressive work qualification and work experience are certainly required but, you also have to figure out if they blend with the culture of your organization.

Some of the ways you can improve recruitment process are by looking for a career-oriented person, accessing practical experience, determining strengths needed for the position, asking the right job interview questions, checking candidate background reference, and using phone interviews to pre-screen.

4. Finding Work For Your Start-Up

The next step is finding the work and here is where it can be a challenge to get noticed. One option is to try advertising on  webmaster forums  and business forums. Here you will find people who are looking for web design and other online services and you can connect with those people.

Alternatively, you can try using sites like ‘ UpWork ‘, ‘ Toptal ‘ and ‘ People Per Hour  ‘ which are aimed at connecting online workers with the businesses who need them. You can even try going around your local area and asking businesses if they already have a website!

5. Cash Flow Management

When it comes to financial management of a company, cash is king. Whether you’re a startup or growing business,  cash flow management  is essential for business survival. Failing to manage cash flow puts your business with too much stock, long payment terms, overspending and overtrading. So be prepared, an accurate cash flow projection can give you heads up before trouble strikes.

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Seize and experience the transformative impact of Web Development Services & Solutions with ColorWhistle.

Few Takeaways

In order to compete, you are probably going to have to offer very low rates at least to start with and this is where things can get tough. But a great solution is to use a white label company like ours.

Many businesses hire ColorWhistle to provide work that they will then resell to their own customers.

As we’re based in India we can work for comparatively low rates, that means you can charge more for our work and still make a profit – and your clients don’t need to know we were involved!

You can then use our services either to outsource all your customers – making an almost entirely passive income, or you can use our services to lighten the load or to handle the bits that you don’t want to do.

Either way, you optimize your workflow meaning you can take more projects on and offer the most competitive rates around while doing what you love! Why not give us a call or send us an email to find out more?

In conclusion, running a  web design services company  is a great way to make money but you need to ensure you take time to research the market and that you do everything you can to increase your output while cutting overheads.

In quest of the Perfect Web Development Services & Solutions Buddy?

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About the Author - Sankarnarayan. R

The founder and mastermind behind ColorWhistle is Sankarnarayan, a professional with over fourteen years of experience and a passion for website design services and digital marketing services. At ColorWhistle, our team has a wide range of skills and expertise and we always put our clients’ satisfaction first. This is what sets us apart from the competition – an eye for detail and the best website development services from the start to the completion of your project.

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Website Development Project Plan: Meaning, Steps, and Execution

They say every outstanding website development process begins with a project plan, and we 100% agree. Developing a website is just like constructing a building. You must start with a solid foundation and architectural plans before people begin using it or it won’t live up to its expectations.

A lot of developers are not aware of what goes into a website development project plan. In this article, Techosquare - the leading ecommerce website development firm in India - will tell you about crucial steps to plan and deliver web development projects.

Let’s understand the meaning and importance of web development planning first!

Meaning of ‘plan’ in website development project

We bet most of you are aware of this abbreviation called PLAN. Those who aren’t, plan in a web development project basically stands for:

• Prepare: Spot your target visitors, website aspirations, and primary-secondary goals.
• Landscape: How do you want the website to perform? To be more precise, what sort of features do you want for your website?
• Aesthetics: How do you want your website to look? Select the color palette and imagery that meet your aesthetic goals.
• Navigation: Think what will make browsing quick and amazing for your visitors.

Importance of website development plan

According to a report by Cision PR Newswire, more than 60% of small and medium-sized businesses spend their money in designing and developing a website every year, yet many fail to earn profits and generate business value due to poor performance, design issues, and bad functionality. Need more facts? Here you go:

73% of mobile internet users reported that they encountered websites that were either too slow to load or were not responsive at all. 70% of business websites lack the most basic element of website design development called CTA (call to action) on their homepage.

But guess what? Issues like these can be avoided completely with proper website development planning and project management. With the help of a website development project plan, developers are able to build websites that delight visitors and deliver superb experiences.

Website development project plan: Steps involved

Now that we understand the importance of a web development plan for a business website, it’s time to learn about the steps involved in it. But first, make sure to have these three factors in place:

Project manager: Managers act as bridges between team members and make sure that project progresses at the decided pace. For a website development project, you need a person who can lead the development team. Hire a full-time project manager if your business operates on an adequate level. You can also ask someone from your existing team to lead.

Project management platform: A good project management platform will help your project manager and development team lay out a solid foundation for your website while providing tools to scope out the milestones, key deliverables, and roles before executing the website development plan. It will also keep it up to date and let you track progress every once in a while. Evaluate platform characteristics cautiously to estimate their suitability for your web development team.

Project management methodology: For those who don’t know, a project management methodology is a set of principles and practices that help organize a web development project to ensure optimal performance. Some popular project management methodologies for delivering websites are XP and PRINCE2. Train your website development team in chosen management methodology before starting work on planned projects. Explain it within your project management platform! Did you take care of the above aspects? Great! It’s time to execute your website development plan.

Website development plan: Execution

The following are the steps to carry out the process of website programming:

#1 Planning

Planning with your client will help achieve site goals, and allows for efficient use of time and development resources. Ask your client to define what customers want in the clearest terms possible. Ask questions like:

• What type of website is required?
• Who is the target audience?
• How many web pages are required?
• How often will the content be updated?
• Is CMS required (content management system)?
• Are there any references worth checking out?
• What’s the web development budget?
• Which third-party integrations are required?

Once you find answers to these questions, write them down. They will help you formulate goals for your website development project and define its scope.

The next phase involves discussing your client’s website specification with your project team. This phase is important as it will help you translate the client requirements into a fool-proof website project plan.

Address the  following questions with your crew:

• What needs to be done for the client?
• How does the project break down into tasks?
• Which team member will perform which task?
• How much of the client’s budget will the web development project require?
• Where are the dependencies in the project?

With these primary questions answered, you will be able to lay out a basic project plan, describing when and how the website development project plan will be carried out. Discuss it with your client and wait for the approval.

Once your client gives a green signal, move to the next step!

#2 Building

The building phase is the most crucial phase of any website development project. Why? Because it’s the part where you and your team will create things your client wished existed. It is the part where your client’s site will be brought to reality. From the information gathered to this point, you have to determine the layout, content, look, and functionalities of the site.

A good branding, infrastructure, and layout will not only make the website look attractive but will also help the visitors understand the core message and connect with the brand. Long story short, you will be planning and setting up the foundation of your website development project.

Some popular activities involved within this phase are: 

• Define the website name and tagline
• Conclude logo, color palette, fonts, and page layouts
• Buying a domain name or hosting service
• Build a sitemap to display web pages and their relations 

Note: Some of these are already present with client and shared with the team

Imagine going to a painting exhibition and looking at an 11 x 14 painting canvas with absolutely nothing in it. You might feel baffled and angry at the same time. Your client's reaction will be the same if a website with no content gets delivered.

Gather all the content needed for the website. You will be working on the following aspects during this phase of your web development project:

• Identify content needed for web pages, testimonials, privacy policy, terms of use, FAQs, etc.
• Arrange stock images and graphics
• Organize content in a content repository
• Proofread and finalize content

Note: Some clients share imagery and text on their own and delegate the task of arranging the same to the web design and development company.

Here comes the most important phase of your web development project. After deciding on branding, infrastructure, layout, and content for your client, start planning, designing, and developing the website pages. The following are some important activities that will happen during this phase:

• Web pages designing based on layout styles and content
• Setting up a sandbox server
• Designing page elements such as buttons, CTAs, and testimonials.
• HTML, CSS, and Javascript authentication.
• Developing functionalities like a blog, ecommerce store, or content management system.
• Organizing web pages based on the sitemap
• Reviewing design and making changes based on client’s approval.

We suggest you do regular team meetings during the build phase. This will keep your website development and management team on top of all deliberations.

Everything you need to know about PHP website development in India .

#3 Optimization

According to Alan Perlis, optimization hinders revolution. Website optimization after the designing and development process is important because it can help visitors feel more fortunate with their visits to your client’s website. In other words, people who come to your client’s site hoping to find the answer to a question will find a solution to their problem using different platforms.

From minifying scripts and CSS to improving cross-browser performance and enabling gzip compression to optimizing images, this is the phase where your website development team will plan and bring the client’s site up to the highest grade.

In case you have no idea of how you can improve the site’s performance, Techoquare suggests checking out different website speed optimization checklists on the internet. Assign optimization tasks to a relevant team member if needed.

#4 Finalization

By the heading, you might have guessed what our next step of the website development project plan is going to be about! During the finalization, crucial steps will be taken from beginning to end in order to complete the client’s web project. Relatively complex, it covers the following phases:

Initial testing is the phase where your web development team will authenticate website functionality and confirm if it matches the client’s demand. On the basis of his requirements, certain tests may be conducted. Some of the known activities performed during this phase are:

• Checking if the website matches current web standards
• Making sure if the functionality is working as expected
• Fixing issues that arise during testing
• Check if the website design is responsive and work fine on all devices
• Improving the website loading speed
• Ensuring accessibility for differently-abled people.

Done with testing and fixing website problems? Great! Now it’s time to make the client’s website and support systems operational. In simple words, it is time to GO LIVE.

Here are some activities that will be planned and performed during this phase of the website development project:

• Uploading site to the client’s hosting server
• Removing robots.txt file to allow bots to crawl webpages
• Creating and submitting an XML sitemap to search engines
• Training client team to create and update website
• Writing and passing the website’s documentation to the client.

If you read the above point carefully, we mentioned training the client team to create and update the website. Well, this point is all about that. It is obvious that website problems will occur at some point in the future. A staff training and development program will make your team more all-rounded and better skilled to address those weaknesses at every factor of their job.

Train people who are going to manage the website after its launch. This not only includes your staff but also your client and her team members.

#5 Create a project schedule

The last step of creating a website development project plan is to create a project schedule. It involves mapping the activities and phases to specific dates. Remember all the activities we talked about above? During this phase, they will become your project tasks with start and end dates.

Since project management scheduling process may feel a bit foreign to some teams, we have curated a list of steps you can take to build yours:

• Define your project goals
• Identify all stakeholders
• Determine your final deadline
• List each step or task to cover all bases
• Assign a team member responsible for each task
• Work backward to set due dates for each task
• Organize your project schedule using a specific tool and share it with your team.

There you go!

We told you about all the crucial steps of the website development project plan. Making a plan for your client’s business website is crucial as it will help you and your team make sure that the end product comes out the right way.

We hope this blog will help developers and business owners learn the critical steps involved in creating a plan for a website project. Thinking of taking your brick-and-mortar business online? Send us an email at [email protected] to start a discussion.

Check out these blog resources for more web design and development insights:

Ecommerce website development cost in 2021

Custom web development company in India

Learn how to hire offshore PHP developers in India

15+ Web Development Books for Free! [PDF]

* If you have doubts about how to download free books from InfoBooks, visit our guide to downloading books .

Nowadays it is essential to have a website , especially if we are freelancers or business owners. It has become our most basic business card. If you are interested in learning about this topic, as a beginner, we invite you to explore this super collection of web development books in PDF format.

In our selection of web development books you will find valuable information for your studies and we are sure you will find it useful for your research. The truth is that this is an essential profession in today’s world and there will never be too many who are dedicated to it.

Web development can be defined as the construction and proper maintenance of websites. The developer performs the programming of apps and web pages in order to provide an excellent user experience and meet the business needs of a company or professional. They will ensure that the software works properly and, in some cases, will also be responsible for updating the content.

Among the programming languages that a web developer must master are: JAVASCRIPT, JAVA, PHP, C++, among others. This is quite specialized knowledge, which requires in-depth studies and the mastery of specific skills. Therefore, it is advisable to learn it with an adequate academic background. A programming error can ruin an entire website.

Although some programmers learn web design and offer both services, this is not always the case and the two professions should not be confused. What should be clear is that the key to success is that both merge harmoniously.

There is no doubt that web development has changed the lives of a large part of humanity. With the launch of the Internet, it has become a really important tool for the success of the Internet marketplace.

Check out our collection of more than 15 web development books in PDF format and enjoy the knowledge that our virtual library offers you.

Here we present our complete selection of Web Development books:

Web Design Basics

Bhoj University

Website Design

University of Cape Town

Website Design and Programming

J N Ndunagu,B C Mbam,J N Ndunagu

Introduction to Development of Dynamic Web Applications

Svein Nordbotten

Building Blocks of Responsive Web Design

Allan Jerjas,Sten Andersson,Lansner Anders

25 Years of Model Driven Web Engineering What we Achieved What is Missing

Gustavo Rossi,Matias Urbieta,Damiano Distante

The Modern Web Design Process

John Moore Williams

Introduction to Web Programming (Presentation)

Multitech Business School

Create Web Pages with HTML and CSS (Presentation)

Hans Petter Halvorsen

A Proposed Methodology for Web Development (Article)

Debra Howcroft,John Carroll

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

Jason Beaird

How to Make a Simple Web Page Using HTML (Presentation)

University of Delaware

Factors to Consider When Preparing Graphics for Web (Article)

Rick Brower,Dr Jerry Waite

Web Design 101 (Presentation)

Susan Bale,Jennifer Foltz

Best Practices in Designing Websites for Dissemination of Statistics

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Usability Issues in Web Site Design (Article)

Nigel Bevan

Modern Methods of Web Applications Analysis and Design (Article)

Here ends our selection of free Web Development books in PDF format. We hope you liked it and already have your next book!

If you found this list useful, do not forget to share it on your social networks. Remember that “Sharing is Caring” .

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