How to Start a Website Making Business Guide

in guidesbusinessdevelopment · 6 min read

Step-by-step guide for beginners, entrepreneurs, and developers on how to start a website making business. Includes planning, tech stack, portfolio,

Overview

How to Start a Website Making Business is a Practical, Actionable Process You Can Begin Today. This Guide Shows What to Plan, the Tools to Use, How to Build Example Sites, Pricing and Contracts, Marketing, and How to Onboard Clients. You Will Get Step-by-Step Checklists and Concrete Commands for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git, and Deployment.

What you’ll learn and

why it matters:

  1. How to choose a niche and define services.
  2. How to set up a lean tech stack and build demo sites.
  3. How to price, market, and onboard clients.
  4. How to test, deploy, and scale sustainably.

Prerequisites:

  • Basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript familiarity.
  • A laptop and internet connection.
  • Optional: Git and Node.js installed.

Time estimate: Plan for 2 to 6 weeks to go from planning to first paid client, with ongoing improvements. Initial technical setup and portfolio can be built in a few days.

Step 1:

Research and pick your niche

Action to take:

  1. Pick 3 target industries (for example: local restaurants, freelancers, small e-commerce, SaaS landing pages).
  2. List 5 common website needs per industry (menu, online booking, product pages, lead capture).
  3. Choose one niche to start with.

Why you’re doing it:

Specializing helps you create repeatable offerings, faster builds, and clearer marketing messages. Niches make pricing and templates predictable and increase conversions in outreach.

Checklist:

  1. Compare local competitors and prices.
  2. Identify common features and CMS preferences.
  3. Note regulatory needs (privacy, accessibility).

Expected outcome:

A one-page market brief with chosen niche, top 5 required features, and 3 competitor examples.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: Too broad a niche. Fix: Narrow by business size or feature needs.
  • Issue: Low profitability. Fix: Choose industries with recurring needs or larger budgets.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Step 2:

How to Start a Website Making Business - Define Services and Pricing

Action to take:

Define 3 service tiers (Basic, Standard, Premium) with deliverables and pricing.

  • Basic: One landing page, contact form, responsive design.
  • Standard: 3 pages, SEO basics, CMS integration.
  • Premium: E-commerce or booking, integrations, monthly maintenance.

Why you’re doing it:

Clear packages reduce sales friction and scope creep. Packages enable faster proposals and predictable work.

Checklist:

  1. Write deliverables per tier.
  2. Set fixed price and hourly rate for add-ons.
  3. Create a sample contract and payment terms.

Example pricing model:

  • Basic: $500
  • Standard: $1,500
  • Premium: $3,500+
  • Hourly: $50-100

Expected outcome:

A pricing sheet and sample proposal template you can send to prospects.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: Underselling time. Fix: Track time on first projects and adjust prices.
  • Issue: Unlimited revisions. Fix: limit revisions in contract to 2 rounds.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Step 3:

Build a starter tech stack and a demo site

Action to take:

Choose a tech stack that balances speed and flexibility.

  • Static HTML/CSS/JS or a simple generator: Eleventy, Hugo, or plain HTML.
  • Hosting: Netlify, Vercel, or shared hosting for CMS.
  • CMS options: Webflow, WordPress, or headless CMS like Contentful.

Why you’re doing it:

A reliable stack lets you deliver projects quickly and maintain them. Demo sites prove skill to clients.

Commands and example files:

  • Initialize project and Git:
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
  • Minimal index.html example:
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
 <meta charset="utf-8">
 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
 <title>Demo Business Site</title>
 <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
 <header><h1>Demo Business</h1></header>
 <main><p>Fast, affordable websites for small businesses.</p></main>
 <script src="app.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Expected outcome:

A deployable demo site with at least one responsive page and contact form or lead capture.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: Local form not submitting. Fix: use a form service (Formspree, Netlify Forms) or implement server endpoint.
  • Issue: CSS looks different across devices. Fix: test with browser developer tools and set viewport meta.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Step 4:

Set up business infrastructure

Action to take:

Register domain, set up hosting account, create email, and prepare legal basics (contract, invoice template, privacy policy).

Why you’re doing it:

Professional infrastructure builds trust with clients and simplifies operations.

Checklist:

  1. Purchase domain (Namecheap, Google Domains).
  2. Set up hosting (Netlify/Vercel for static sites, DigitalOcean/Cloudways for managed servers).
  3. Configure email (Google Workspace or SMTP relay).
  4. Prepare contract and invoice templates (use HelloSign or Docusign).

Example commands for SSH key and GitHub:

Expected outcome:

A business domain pointing to a hosting account, professional email address, and legal templates ready.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: DNS propagation delays. Fix: wait up to 48 hours and verify with dig/nslookup.
  • Issue: Email delivery to spam. Fix: add SPF/DKIM/DMARC records.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Step 5:

Create portfolio pieces and marketing site

Action to take:

Build 3 portfolio examples: 1 landing page, 1 multi-page site, and 1 e-commerce or booking demo. Publish them on your domain and add case study pages with screenshots and outcomes.

Why you’re doing it:

Portfolio sites demonstrate capability and help SEO. Case studies show value, not just visuals.

Checklist:

  1. Publish demo projects to live URLs.
  2. Add a “Work” page with metrics (load time, conversion improvements).
  3. Create a contact form with lead capture and an email automation.

Expected outcome:

A public portfolio with at least three live demos, a contact form, and tracked analytics.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: Portfolio not attracting leads. Fix: add clear calls to action and targeted content for niche.
  • Issue: Broken assets after deploy. Fix: use absolute paths or bundlers and test build process.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Step 6:

Launch sales process and client onboarding

Action to take:

Create templates for outreach emails, proposal, onboarding checklist, and scope-of-work (SOW) document. Automate scheduling with Calendly and payments with Stripe or PayPal.

Why you’re doing it:

Repeatable sales and onboarding reduce friction and speed time to billable work.

Checklist:

  1. Create outreach email script and LinkedIn template.
  2. Build proposal template with scope, timeline, and milestones.
  3. Create onboarding form to collect client content and access.

Expected outcome:

A documented sales funnel from lead to signed contract to kickoff call.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Issue: No responses to cold outreach. Fix: personalize messages, include case study relevant to recipient, and follow up.
  • Issue: Scope misunderstandings. Fix: include clear SOW and change-order process.

⏱️ ~10 minutes

Testing and Validation

How to verify it works:

  1. Checklist run-through: Is the demo live, does the contact form submit, is payment flow tested, and is analytics tracking working?
  2. Perform functional tests on desktop and mobile, check forms, and test performance with Lighthouse.
  3. Run basic SEO checks: titles, meta descriptions, robots.txt, sitemap.

Validation checklist:

  1. Live demo URL loads within 2 seconds on average.
  2. Contact form sends an email and stores leads.
  3. Deployment pipeline works (push to main triggers deploy).

Use browser dev tools and services like GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Lighthouse for measurable results. If any item fails, document the error message, reproduce steps, and fix in code or configuration.

Common Mistakes

  1. Underpriced services: Track actual hours and set minimum project prices to cover time and overhead.
  2. No contracts: Always use a signed agreement that sets scope, timeline, and payment terms.
  3. Over-customization per client: Use templates where possible to reduce build time and testing.
  4. Ignoring backups and security: Implement backups, HTTPS, and basic security headers at launch.

Avoid these by documenting processes, using templates, time-tracking, and automating backups and deployments.

FAQ

How Long Until I Get My First Client?

Answer: Expect a few weeks to a few months depending on outreach, niche demand, and portfolio strength. Active outreach and referrals shorten the timeline.

Do I Need to be an Expert in JavaScript Frameworks?

Answer: No. For many small businesses, static sites or CMS-built sites suffice. Learn frameworks as needed for higher-value projects.

How Should I Price Recurring Work?

Answer: Offer monthly maintenance packages with defined hours and updates, or charge per task with a retainer for predictable revenue.

Answer: At minimum, a contract or SOW, an invoice template, privacy policy for client sites, and terms of service if you host or manage sites.

Can I Use Website Builders Instead of Coding?

Answer: Yes. Tools like Webflow, Squarespace, and Wix speed delivery for non-complex sites and can be part of your offerings.

Next Steps

After completing this guide, build and publish your primary portfolio site and one live demo in your chosen niche. Start outreach with a targeted list of 20-50 prospects and 3 personalized messages per prospect. Track results, adjust your pricing if needed, and refine templates.

Plan to iterate on your offerings based on client feedback and performance metrics.

Further Reading

Tags: web-development website-business html css javascript startup
Ryan

About the author

Ryan — Web Development Expert

Ryan helps beginners and professionals build amazing websites through step-by-step tutorials, code examples, and best practices.

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