Will AI Replace Web Designers? Not the New Breed
TL;DR
AI will replace web designers whose value is tied to building websites, the same way an in-house hire and drag-and-drop page builders replaced me twice. The new breed of web designer ties their value to their clients’ growth instead, and that supports $5,000 to $20,000 yearly packages.
- Production work gets replaced. I worked myself out of a job twice, and AI and vibe coding are doing the same thing now.
- Cheap websites become your reputation. One $500 site leads to referrals for more $500 sites.
- The math favors growth. Ten $500 sites is $5,000 once. Ten $10,000 yearly clients is $100,000 of recurring revenue.
- Ask if they’re fully booked. Most local business owners feel half booked, and doubling a $100,000 business adds another $100,000.
- Share in the success. The new breed brings leadership, not order-taking.
There’s a new breed of web designer emerging, and I’m so excited about it that I invited my two oldest kids into my agency to build their careers in this space. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. There has never been a better time to help a ton of people and make a ton of money in the process.
Our Best Clients Already Have Websites
I’ve had my own agency for over 20 years. For the last eight, I’ve also personally mentored hundreds of web designers across the country and worked with thousands of local businesses. Here’s what we’re seeing.
Over the past few years, our clients have been coming to us when they’re not looking for a website. To be clear, we target businesses that want to spend $5,000 to $20,000 per year with us, not the smaller projects. Those business owners already have websites. They aren’t shopping for one. They’re attracted to what we’re doing anyway, and I think that’s a huge shift.
So what changed? There’s an old-school way to do this that I’m not excited about. And there’s a new breed, a new way of working, that I’m excited enough about to bring my kids into my own agency.
I Worked Myself Out of a Web Development Job
When my value was tied to the production of web design, I kept running into the same wall. Either I worked my way out of a job, or technology evolved until nobody needed the job done anymore.
When I first started my agency, I was mostly a coder. I have a computer science degree, and I started out doing back-end web development. One of my clients mailed paper applications to students so they could apply to college.
I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if students could fill out their college applications online instead? They could even enter a little code that pre-filled a big chunk of the application from what we already knew about them. All they’d have to do is write their essays. So we built it.
It ran for two application cycles. By the third, they said, “Hey, Lee, this has been great. We love working with you. We just hired somebody internally to build all this for us.” An internal employee was probably cheaper, and they could scale it from there. I had worked my way out of a job.
Then Drag-and-Drop Page Builders Did It Again
So I pivoted. By then WordPress was out, and I started working with ad agencies. My job was turning Photoshop files into custom WordPress themes.
The agencies had designers who made really cool designs. I was the technical link between those Photoshop files and a custom website the client could manage on their own. That worked for a while. Then drag-and-drop themes like Divi and Beaver Builder came out, and technology evolved to the point where I’d worked my way out of a job again.
AI Will Replace Web Designers Who Sell Production
Here’s what I noticed. When my value is tied to the production of websites, one of three things eventually happens:
- I work my way out of a job.
- The client hires an internal employee to replace me.
- Technology evolves to the point where nobody needs what I was doing.
Don’t you see that happening right now with AI and vibe coding? If your value is tied to producing websites, all of that new technology is eating away at the value of what you do.
Business Owners Aren’t Vibe Coding Their Own Websites
Here’s the funny part. I go to a lot of local networking groups. I’m part of our Chamber of Commerce, and I attend three different meetup groups. I talk to a ton of local business owners.
And nobody says, “Hey, Lee, I’m going to go vibe code my own website.” None of these business owners are using AI to do anything with their websites, at least not right now. What they’re planning to do is hire somebody else to vibe code a website for them, cheap. So ask yourself: is that the kind of work you’re looking for?
The $500 Website Trap
I don’t want that kind of work, and here’s why. Plenty of the businesses at these meetups are startups or very small businesses, like junk removal. They’re never going to hire us for $5,000 to $20,000 a year to grow the business. They just want a website so they can put a link on their business card. They’ll drive all their traffic by handing out cards at networking events.
Let’s say one of those business owners asks me for a website, and I say sure, $500. Maybe it only takes me two hours, so I’m profitable. They love it and start passing out their cards. Someone asks where they got that great website, and they say, “Lee built it for me. Want an introduction?”
Now I’m in the flow of people looking for inexpensive websites. At every networking event, my name is tied to awesome, cheap $500 websites. That’s not the reputation I want.
The Math Behind Recurring Web Design Packages
I used to support my family of seven on my single income building websites. How many $500 websites would you need to do that today?
Compare that to our new model. We have three yearly packages, and most clients choose the middle one:
- $5,000 per year, which is our cheapest client
- $10,000 per year, about our average client
- $20,000 per year
Now run the numbers. Ten clients on the $10,000 package is $100,000 of recurring revenue. Twenty clients is $200,000. Ten $500 websites is $5,000, one time. Do you see the difference?
Ask Local Business Owners If They’re Fully Booked
I don’t want my value tied to the production of websites. I want it tied to the growth that comes from what I’m doing.
When everybody at a networking group associates your value with a website, they’re thinking $500 to $1,000. That’s what most people think a website costs. So shift the conversation. Ask, “How’s your business going right now? Do you feel fully booked?”
I’m not talking about opening a new location, hiring more people, or buying more trucks. I mean, if you just had better marketing and more clients came in, how many more could you take right now? Almost every business owner I talk to feels like they could at least double. They feel like they’re only half booked.
Then ask what getting fully booked would do for their revenue. The established businesses we target are probably making at least $100,000 a year. Maybe it’s half a million. If they double, that’s at least another $100,000. So what do you want to be associated with? A $500 website, or helping a business owner add more than $100,000 to their business? I want to be on the $100,000 side.
The New Breed of Web Designer Shares in Client Success
Say you decide to make the pivot into this new breed. You break away from being associated with the production of websites. You put yourself in a position to share in the responsibility for your client’s success.
I’m not saying you’re 100% responsible. The client is mostly responsible for their own success. They have to do a good job, they can’t be jerks, and they have to answer the phone when it rings. But I want to participate in that success. I want to contribute to it and take some responsibility for it.
That’s really what this is about. It’s a move into leadership. Are you just taking orders and doing what you’re told? Or are you bringing leadership? I hope you choose leadership, because so many local business owners really need your help right now. And who else is doing this for them?
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace web designers?
It will replace web designers whose value is tied to building websites. I’ve watched that happen twice: once to an in-house hire, once to drag-and-drop page builders. AI and vibe coding are the next round. Web designers who tie their value to their clients’ growth are in a much stronger spot.
How do web designers get clients who already have a website?
Stop selling the website. The clients who pay us $5,000 to $20,000 per year already have websites, so they aren’t shopping for one. Ask about their business instead. Are they fully booked? Most local business owners feel half booked, and helping them fill that gap is worth far more to them than a website.
Is it worth building $500 websites for local businesses?
Not if you want a meaningful income. Ten $500 websites is $5,000, one time. Ten clients on a $10,000 yearly package is $100,000 of recurring revenue. Cheap websites also train your local network to see you as the cheap website person, and that brings in more of the same work.
How do you price recurring web design packages?
We offer three yearly packages: $5,000, $10,000, and $20,000. Most clients choose the middle one, so our average client is about $10,000 per year. At that price, 10 clients is $100,000 in recurring revenue and 20 clients is $200,000. The price is tied to growth, not to building a website.
Is web design still a good career?
I think there’s never been a better time, which is why I invited my two oldest kids into my agency. But it depends on what you’re selling. If your value is tied to producing websites, you’ll keep getting replaced. If it’s tied to growing local businesses, a lot of business owners need your help.
