What To Include In Web Design Packages (that actually sell)
Do you ever feel like you’re not sure what features and services to offer people?
Our web design packages are basic, but they sell great, help a lot of people, and generate a ton of recurring revenue.
It’s getting increasingly difficult to stand out in the web design space, and our natural response is to add more features, more complexity, and more “magic” to our packages. But here’s what we’ve discovered: the best way to sink your web design business is actually to over-engineer your offer.
The Skill Paradox Every Web Designer Faces
Something interesting happens when we get good at web design. We develop skills that feel effortless to us, but they’re incredibly valuable to our clients. This creates what I call the “skill paradox.”
When we complete a project that feels easy because we’re actually good at it, our clients are thinking, “Wow, this is awesome. I can’t believe you’re doing this for me.” Meanwhile, we’re thinking, “Well, that was easy.”
This disconnect makes us feel like we need to add more complexity to justify higher prices. Ironically, that actually breaks everything. The fact that something is easy for us now is precisely why it’s valuable to someone else.
How Complex Packages Kill Your Client Pipeline
Let’s talk about what happens when we create these giant stacks of features. We might include AI chatbots, missed call text back systems, automated appointment scheduling, and a dozen other bells and whistles. These features might genuinely be helpful, but they create a major problem.
When local service business owners ask about pricing and discover our complex package costs $20,000/year, they’re immediately priced out. Even if they recognize the value, they simply can’t afford that first step into working with us.
This is where our three-step value ladder approach has been working incredibly well for us. That first step needs to be accessible, and that means keeping it basic.
What Goes Into Our Basic Web Design Package
Our entry-level package focuses on the fundamentals that actually move the needle for local businesses. Here’s what we typically include:
We create a simple website that’s up to 5 pages. The number of pages isn’t what determines our pricing. Instead, we focus on the type of business and how many pages we need to effectively communicate what they do.
Sometimes we just build a one-page website to start with. We’re creating something that looks more like a landing page style homepage that mirrors information from the client’s Google Business Profile like:
- Business Name
- Location and service areas
- Primary business category
- Hours of operation
- Phone number
- etc.
The goal is to provide two identical sets of data about the business. One on their Google Business Profile and the other on their website. This way, both people and Google have a way to verify the information is correct. This boosts trust and confidence that the information is accurate. More trust means more visibility in local search results.
The Email List Component That Changes Everything
One of the most valuable things we add is an email opt-in form. This might seem basic to us, but most local business owners have absolutely no email list whatsoever.
Here’s a real example that illustrates this perfectly. We recently hired a local soft washing company (that’s like pressure washing but with soap instead of just water pressure). This guy runs a full-time business with a professional truck wrap, professional equipment, and years of experience.
He cleaned our gutters last year and then soft washed our house this year. But here’s the thing – he had no way to stay in touch with me as a previous customer. No email list, no follow-up system, nothing.
He could have emailed me a month ago asking if I needed my gutters cleaned again. I would have said yes immediately. He could have mentioned that he also does soft washing. I would have said yes to that, too.
Instead, we only hired him again because we happened to see one of his yard signs while walking our dogs past a neighbor’s house. Without that coincidence, he would have missed out on the work entirely.
When a local business builds an email list they can boost the business by at least 20%. In other words, at least 1 out of 5 of the customers you worked with last year would love to work with you again this year. All you have to do is ask.
Simple Content Strategy for Local Businesses
We also help them establish a basic content rhythm. For their Google Business Profile, we drop a weekly post like a Q&A, business updates, and before and after pictures of their work. For someone like our soft washing example, these photos would be incredibly compelling social proof.
We take that same content and share it on Facebook. We’re not using Facebook to build a massive audience. That would be too expensive and time-consuming for most local service businesses. Instead, we’re using it for what we call “conversational traffic.”
When someone posts in a local Facebook group asking for recommendations, and someone tags our client’s business, we want that Facebook page to look active and professional. We don’t want it to look like a ghost town with no posts since 2023.
What We Don’t Include in Basic Packages
Our entry-level package intentionally excludes the more advanced features. We don’t include missed call text back systems, AI chatbots, or automated appointment scheduling. We don’t even run paid ads – that’s reserved for our mid-tier package.
We want people to be able to say yes to working with us. We want them to understand exactly what they’re getting and feel confident they can afford it.
The Black Box Effect of Simple Packages
Even with just these basic components, we’re 100% confident our clients will generate significantly more revenue than what they’re paying us. They’ll get new leads and new clients simply from having these fundamentals in place - especially since most local businesses are not doing any marketing.
This creates what we call the “black box effect.” Our clients don’t need to understand exactly how everything works inside the box. They just know that when they put $1 in, they get $3 out.
Once they see these results with a smaller investment, they become much more comfortable investing in our mid-tier and high-end packages. They might start with $500 and see $1,500 in return, then move to $5,000 and see $15,000 in return.
Growing Clients Through Your Value Ladder
This approach lets us grow our clients over time. We can save all our “stack of magic” features for the mid-tier and high-end packages. But we need that accessible first step to get people started.
Here’s what we wish we could have told ourselves earlier: launch the basics first, even if you don’t have the mid-tier and high-end options ready yet. Let real-world feedback guide the development of your future offerings.
Using Client Feedback to Develop Advanced Features
When we launch with basics, our clients will tell us what they need next. They might say, “I’m getting all these calls, but I’m under people’s houses working on HVAC systems and can’t answer the phone.” That’s when we know missed call text back would be valuable.
This approach lets real-world feedback dictate how our packages grow, rather than trying to build everything before we launch anything.
The Real Challenge: Connecting With Business Owners
Building the package isn’t the hard part. The hardest part by far is figuring out how to find local business owners who need your help.
Traditional approaches like offering free SEO audits or website reviews just don’t work anymore. People have heard these pitches too many times and they’ve become immune to them.
Starting With Basics Wins Every Time
Bottom line: you don’t need to have everything figured out before you can start helping people and generating revenue.
Our basic packages sell well, help a lot of people, and create a foundation for long-term - recurring revenue - client relationships.
The key is to resist the urge to over-engineer your offers. Simple, clear, and accessible beats complex and expensive - especially when working with local service businesses.
We’ve seen this approach work consistently across hundreds of web design projects.
Basic packages get clients started, prove your value, and create the foundation for growing into more comprehensive partnerships.
The next step is connecting with local business owners who need these services. Once you master that connection process, your simple packages become the foundation for your web design business. This is what enables you to actually help people rather than just impressing them with features they can’t afford.