Why Selling Websites on Subscription Backfires
TL;DR
Selling websites on subscription backfires because you do all the work upfront and end up financing the site. When results don’t show up, clients want to cancel. Three changes fixed it for us, and our clients now pay more than double what they used to.
- Sell results, not website production. Clients buy a marketing plan that includes the website, at $5,000 to $20,000 per year.
- Tell clients plan B upfront. If they’re not in the Map Pack in 90 days, I cut the price in half until they are.
- Leave room to pivot. Build like the Apple ecosystem, so clients add more instead of canceling.
- Pay a little, build a little. You never end up thousands of dollars underwater on a client.
I’m not blaming anybody for selling websites on subscription. I fell into this trap too. But the way we used to do it was a really dumb business model, because it creates so much friction and so many problems. If you’re interested in getting out of it, here’s how we did.
How the Website Subscription Model Works
We used to build websites that would cost about $5,000, then spread the payments out over two years. Clients paid $200 a month, so we made about $4,800. I put all the effort in during month one. After that, the payments basically covered $50 a month of hosting until the two years were up. And clients couldn’t cancel, because I’d put in all the work upfront.
Clients Don’t Realize You’re Financing the Website
Then a client would come to me around month six and say, “Hey, Lee, this isn’t working. We’re not getting any more calls. I know we signed up for the two-year thing, but we want to cancel.”
And I’m thinking, you can’t cancel. I put in $5,000 of work, and you’ve only paid about $1,200. I need my other $4,000. They’re thinking, we’ve already paid over $1,000 and it’s not working, so why keep paying? They don’t realize I’m financing their website. They just think they subscribed to something for $200 a month. What a disaster.
People Cancel Websites Because of Results, Not Design
What are you supposed to say? “No, you can’t cancel. Pay out your contract”? Meanwhile, they never hired me for the ads or the SEO or any of the other marketing. So of course they’re not seeing the results they expected.
Here’s the thing. People don’t cancel because of design. When was the last time someone told you their site was too ugly now and they didn’t want it anymore? It’s always:
- “We’re not ranking.”
- “We’re not getting traffic.”
- “We’re not getting calls.”
Why Web Designers Sell Websites on Subscription
I think selling websites on subscription got popular because there’s no money in selling websites anymore. Web designers used to sell websites for $5,000. Now people sell them for $500. So the thinking goes: what if we spread out the payments, $200 a month for two years? Now we’ve got great clients paying a lot of money.
But you’re financing the site. So here are the three changes that got us out of that model. Our clients still pay on monthly plans, but we’re not financing anything.
1. Sell a Results-Oriented Marketing Plan, Not a Website
Instead of selling the production of the website, I put the value on the marketing plan. Our clients pay $5,000 to $20,000 per year, spread out in monthly payments. That’s between about $500 and $1,500 per month, depending on the plan:
- An entry-level plan at $5,000 a year
- A mid-tier plan at $875 per month, or about $10,500 a year
- A $20,000 plan
The mid-tier plan is our most popular and probably our most profitable one. It’s where I want new clients to start. Compare that to the old model. We used to sell a $5,000 website paid over two years. Now our entry-level plan is $5,000 in one year, so clients are paying more than double.
The website is included in the package, but clients don’t feel like they’re buying website production. They feel like they’re buying marketing, lead generation, and help growing their business. That’s such a radical difference.
Know Your Solution Before the Sales Meeting
I started my own agency in 2002, so I’ve been running it for over 20 years. Since 2018, I’ve personally mentored hundreds of web designers across the country. Through our community, we’ve worked with thousands of local businesses and fed data back to each other on exactly what gets results.
So I go into client meetings 100% confident I can get great results, as long as the business qualifies for my solution. Our solution has four pillars:
- Google Business Profile
- The website
If a business doesn’t qualify for a Google Business Profile, like a national brand, an ecommerce store, or an online-only business, I tell them it isn’t the right fit. I don’t want to discover what you need and build a custom solution. That’s the work with such low margin that you can’t make money from it anymore.
Time and Materials Pricing Keeps Your Margin Thin
My old pricing formula for web design was time and materials plus a margin. I’d figure out how long something would take and what I needed to buy, then add a thin margin on top.
Here’s the even crazier part. If you get better and faster today, say by using AI to streamline your workflow, your margin doesn’t grow. You just lower the price, so the margin stays thin. You’re delivering better work faster than ever and making less money than ever. Stop doing that.
When you put the emphasis on marketing results instead of website production, it becomes a completely different business. Those results are more leads, more traffic, more calls, more clients, and more revenue.
2. Tell Clients Plan B Before They Hire You
In the old model, a client would come to me six months in and ask if I could do anything to help them get better results. I couldn’t. I was already $4,000 underwater, so I couldn’t throw more free work at it. Then they’d want to cancel, and I’d say they still owed me $4,000. That’s a setup for strife and bad vibes.
So now I tell people plan B upfront. Most of the time, I’m about 90% confident I can get a client into the Map Pack for their primary service category in less than 90 days. About 10% of the time, they’ll need our highest tier to get there, and I tell them that.
For example, an HVAC repair company in Orlando, Florida is in a crowded, high-competition market. The low or mid tier probably won’t be powerful enough to move the needle there. But I live in Williamsburg, Virginia. For most clients who come my way, I feel confident our mid tier can get them in the Map Pack in about 45 days.
A Map Pack Guarantee Shares the Risk
I still tell clients 90 days, and I say, “If you’re not in the Map Pack in 90 days, I’ll cut the price in half until you are.” If you’re just getting started and want to double down, you could even say you’ll work for free until they’re in the Map Pack for their primary service category. You don’t have to make that offer, but it’s a great one.
The point is that I never have to say, “There’s nothing I can do. You either cancel and cause a big legal problem, or you pay out the contract.” I don’t like irritating people, and that kind of thing creates stress and bad vibes in my business.
With a plan B upfront, clients see that we’re sharing the risk. They still have to answer the phone and do a good job. But they’re not just paying money and hoping for the best while I get paid either way. I believe in what I’m offering enough to have a backup plan, and I tell them what it is.
3. Give Yourself the Flexibility to Pivot
When you sell websites on subscription and a client asks for help six months in, you can’t pivot. You’re already too far underwater.
I like to think about this like the Apple ecosystem. I have a lot of Apple stuff: an iPhone, a MacBook, and an iPad. If I like my iPhone but want to send iMessages from my computer, I don’t refund the iPhone. I add a MacBook. Then maybe I want an Apple TV I can control with my phone. I don’t think my phone stinks. I just keep adding to my ecosystem, and every addition makes the whole experience better.
Build Your Web Design Business Like a Value Ladder
With website subscriptions, clients might like the way the site looks. But a few months later there’s no extra traffic, no extra calls, and no extra revenue, so they want to cancel. I want the opposite. I want clients happy with what they have and adding more to get even better results. It’s more like a value ladder than a subscription.
So if a business owner needs a $5,000 website but doesn’t have $5,000 to start, I don’t build the whole thing in month one while they pay a little forever. If they pay a little, I build a little. If they pay a little more, I build a little more. If they pay a lot, I build a lot. We invest at equal rates.
Grow the Website One Service at a Time
When we set up a website, we build out the major sections that overlap with the content on the client’s Google Business Profile. Maybe we target their primary service category first.
Then the client says, “We’re getting a lot more calls for our primary service, but what about our secondary service category?” I’ll suggest using some of the revenue from the primary service to build out the secondary one. They pay a little, I build a little, they get results, and they use those results to pay a little more. It builds out just like the Apple ecosystem.
Why You Should Be a Rich Web Designer
When it works that way, I’m not financing anything for anybody. We share the risk, and I’m getting monthly payments double what I used to make. You become rich, but you become rich because your client is getting great results. They’re happy, so everybody’s happy. I think you should be a rich web designer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you sell websites on a subscription?
I don’t recommend the classic version. When you build a $5,000 website in month one and collect $200 a month for two years, you’re financing the site. If the client wants to cancel at month six, you’re about $4,000 underwater. Monthly plans work better when clients pay for marketing results and you build as they pay.
Why do web design clients cancel?
Clients cancel because of results, not design. Nobody cancels because their site got ugly. They cancel because they’re not ranking, not getting traffic, or not getting calls. If your package doesn’t include the marketing that produces those results, clients won’t see the results they expected.
What should web designers offer instead of website subscriptions?
Offer a results-oriented marketing plan that includes the website. Our clients pay $5,000 to $20,000 per year in monthly payments, and our most popular plan is $875 per month. They feel like they’re buying lead generation and growth, not website production, and they pay more than double what they used to.
Should web designers offer a guarantee?
A clear plan B shows clients you’re sharing the risk. I tell clients upfront that if they’re not in the Map Pack for their primary service category in 90 days, I’ll cut the price in half until they are. Newer web designers could even offer to work for free until then.
How do you upsell web design clients?
Think of it like the Apple ecosystem. Clients who like their first results add more instead of canceling. Start with their primary service category. When the calls come in, suggest using some of that new revenue to build out pages for their secondary service category. They pay a little more, and you build a little more.
