web designers freelance
How to sharpen your website, SEO and marketing so you win better clients and charge more (2025).
A step-by-step guide for freelance web designers: practical site improvements, SEO tactics that actually bring leads, productised services to scale, and repeatable marketing templates that convert.
Generate demo sites fast (Congero)
Average enquiries increase within weeks
Managed site cost for clients (all-in)
Unlimited updates — sell as a retainer
Start with a fast, repeatable site audit
Before rewriting pages or changing code, run a short audit you can use on every client. Use this 10–15 minute checklist to find quick wins that improve traffic and conversions immediately.
Quick technical checks (5 mins)
- HTTPS ✅ — Is SSL active and redirecting?
- Mobile-friendly ✅ — Use Chrome DevTools device toolbar
- Core Web Vitals ✅ — Largest Contentful Paint & CLS basics
- Robots & sitemap ✅ — robots.txt accessible & sitemap in root
- Indexing ✅ — site:domain.com results and Google Search Console
Conversion & UX checks (5–10 mins)
- Hero clarity ✅ — Can a new visitor tell what the business does in 3 seconds?
- Primary CTA ✅ — Is there a visible contact or booking CTA above the fold?
- Contact info ✅ — Phone, email, and simple contact path present
- Social proof ✅ — Reviews, recent jobs, logos or testimonials
Deliverable: 30-minute audit report
Create a one-page report with 3 quick fixes (must-do), 3 medium fixes (2–5 hours), and 2 bigger recommendations (strategy). This becomes your proposal starter and positions you as the expert.
Technical SEO checklist (actionable fixes)
Site structure & URLs
- Clean URLs: /services/plumber-not-long-query
- Folder logic: /service/
/blog/ - Breadcrumbs: Add for UX & schema benefits
Speed & Core Web Vitals
- Compress images (WebP) and serve scaled images
- Defer non-critical JS and use simple animations
- Use server caching + CDN (many clients get this included in $49/mo services)
Markup & indexability
- Add structured data (LocalBusiness/schema for local clients)
- Unique title + meta description on every page
- Fix duplicate content and canonical tags
Step-by-step for a speed boost (30–90 mins)
- Run PageSpeed Insights and identify the largest image and third-party script.
- Replace large images with WebP and scaled sizes; lazy-load below-the-fold media.
- Defer or remove non-essential third-party scripts (analytics, chat widgets) and replace with lighter alternatives.
- Enable caching headers and a CDN (configurable in most managed hosting plans).
Result: Many sites move from "slow" to "good" with these steps alone — easy value for your client and justification for charging a performance fee.
Content & copy: write to rank and convert
SEO in 2025 still rewards helpful content. But words must also sell — balance relevance and conversion in every page.
Keyword mapping (practical)
- Identify 1 primary keyword per service page (low to medium difficulty).
- Map 2–3 supporting long-tail phrases per page for FAQs and blog posts.
- Use the primary keyword in title, H1, first 120 words, and meta description naturally.
Copy that converts
- Lead with the benefit, not the feature. ("Get your drains cleared same-day" vs "We clear drains")
- Use social proof early — 3 short testimonials near the hero.
- Clear CTA: call, book, or message — make the primary CTA action specific.
Blogging strategically
Don't blog for the sake of it. Use content to attract local searchers and answer buyer questions at each stage:
- Top of funnel: "How to find a reliable web designer in [suburb]"
- Middle: "Website costs for plumbers in [city] (2025 guide)"
- Bottom: Case studies and pricing pages showing direct ROI
Tip: Repurpose long blog posts into short videos and carousel posts for LinkedIn/Instagram to increase reach.
Conversion optimisation: small changes, big wins
Call-first UX
Make it easy to call: phone number in header, click-to-call on mobile, sticky CTA or floating action button.
Fast lead capture
Short forms (name + phone + service) or simple "WhatsApp us" CTAs convert higher than long forms. Use chat sparingly — only if you can respond.
Trust signals
Add licencing, insurance badges, recent job photos, before/after galleries, and 3-star or higher reviews front-and-center.
A/B test ideas to try
- Different hero CTAs: "Book a call" vs "Get a quote" — track clicks to form start.
- Price transparency vs custom quote — test showing starting prices on service pages.
- Urgency banners (same-day availability) vs no urgency — measure form submissions.
Productise your services to scale revenue
Freelancers who package services sell more and reduce decision friction. Here are practical product ideas and price anchors.
Starter Site
Simple 3-page site, mobile-first, basic SEO. Price: $900–1,500 or $30/mo managed.
Growth Site
5–7 pages, SEO copy, portfolio, booking. Price: $1,800–3,500 or $49/mo managed with unlimited updates.
Lead Machine
Conversion-first funnel, paid ads setup, monthly reporting. Price: $4k+ + retainers or $99+/mo ongoing.
Turn products into retainers
- Offer a low-cost managed option ($30–49/mo) that includes hosting, updates, and basic SEO.
- Position unlimited small changes as the core value — clients love frictionless edits.
- Use analytics reporting to demonstrate value and upsell higher tiers after 90 days.
Note: Congero’s model (all-in $49/mo, unlimited updates, analytics) is an example of a product you can white-label or partner with to scale quickly.
Client acquisition: predictable channels that work
Local SEO for service businesses
- Offer a local SEO package: GBP setup, citations, local landing pages.
- Create 1 landing page per suburb you serve — unique copy and case examples.
- Encourage clients to request Google reviews immediately after job completion.
Referrals and partnerships
- Partner with local photographers, marketers and copywriters for mutual referrals.
- Use a simple referral fee or discounted maintenance month to incentivise partners.
- Document a short onboarding email template partners can send to warm leads.
Cold outreach
3-message LinkedIn sequence offering a free 10-minute site audit and one actionable fix.
Paid ads
Run highly localised Google Ads for "website for [trade] [city]" with landing pages built to convert.
Content & social
Case study posts, before/after reels, and short process videos show competence and build trust.
Sales template: 60-second pitch
"Hi [Name], I’m [you], a web designer who helps [trade] businesses in [area] get more calls. I can run a free 10-minute site audit and implement the top fix in under an hour so you see results fast. Interested?"
Tools, automations & templates
Must-have tools
- Speed: PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest
- SEO: Screaming Frog (crawl), RankMath/Yoast, Ahrefs or Ubersuggest
- Design: Figma for mockups, Canva for quick social assets
- Client comms: WhatsApp / email templates + proposal generator
Templates to save hours
- 30-min site audit checklist (useable in prospect calls)
- One-page proposal with 3 tiers and timeline
- Maintenance/retainer agreement and scope document
- Onboarding form: business details, branding, top pages and hero copy
Automations that scale
- Auto-send audit PDF after discovery meeting (use Zapier/Make).
- Client reminders for assets and approvals — keep projects moving.
- Recurring reporting email with highlights and calls booked — builds value for retainers.
Real examples: what to promise and deliver
Plumber — Local lead boost
- Deliverable: New local landing pages for 6 suburbs + GBP optimisation
- Price: $2,200 setup + $49/mo managed
- Result: +30% calls from organic search in 6 weeks
Hair salon — booking first
- Deliverable: Homepage focused on bookings, integrated booking widget, Instagram funnel
- Price: $1,800 setup + $30/mo maintenance
- Result: 40% uplift in online bookings within first month
These are replicable packages — create playbooks so you can deliver the same result predictably and quickly.
Pricing and proposal tactics that close
- Use price anchors: show a high "Custom Build" price, then your packaged offerings. Most clients pick the middle option.
- Sell outcomes, not hours: "Get 20% more inbound calls" beats "10 hours of dev work".
- Offer a trial or fast win: a $0–$99 speed or SEO audit that ends with 1 implemented fix — reduces risk for the client.
- Retainers are stabilisers: package unlimited small edits + hosting + SEO for predictable monthly revenue.
Proposal checklist
- Scope of work (what's included and what's not)
- Deliverables & timeline (clear milestones)
- Price & payment terms (deposit, milestones, monthly)
- Revision rounds & maintenance terms
- Cancellation & ownership (domain/content)
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to produce results from SEO work?
Should I offer monthly retainers or one-off projects?
What metrics should I report to clients monthly?
How can I deliver sites faster without lowering quality?
Is it ethical to white-label or resell managed platforms?
Ship better sites, faster — scale your freelance business
If you want to deliver professional sites quickly, offer predictable retainers, and give clients measurable results, package what you learned here into repeatable offers.
Pro tip: Offer a low-friction demo or audit (free or low-cost) — it proves value and starts the relationship.
Written for freelance web designers — actionable, repeatable steps to raise fees, reduce delivery time, and grow recurring revenue in 2025.
Congero is Australia’s AI-powered web design agency — if you want to white-label fast, mobile-first sites with hosting, domain and unlimited updates for $49/month, see a demo.
