While web design projects are a great way to build your portfolio and generate income, they don’t offer the most stable revenue stream.
Demand for web design work can ebb and flow throughout the year, limiting your option pool of potential clients. And that, when coupled with competition from other freelancers and web design agencies, can mean occasional dry spells.
Fortunately, by adding value-add services to your current offerings, you can more easily differentiate yourself from your competitors, form long-term relationships with your current clients, and build a recurring revenue stream into your business.
Value-added services are any “additional” service you offer your clients that enhances the value of your primary services. This might be an extra piece of design collateral (like a logo or brand color palette) that your clients can purchase in addition to a website design project. Or it might be an additional service tacked onto the project.
Regardless, value-added services are designed to help you fill a gap for your clients that they would otherwise have to fill themselves or hire someone else to handle for them. Here are just a few examples of value-added services for web designers:
Let’s break down each one below.
Websites are designed to work well, not just look pretty. But often, web designers rely on their own creativity and current web design trends to make sure the UX is intuitive and enjoyable for users. This, while not necessarily a bad practice, can lead to hiccups in the user flow – which can halt conversions, create frustration, and cause site visitors to bounce.
Usability testing allows you to evaluate the form and function of your web design work before it goes live, by asking real users to navigate around the site and provide feedback on specific actions and tasks. As a result, including it as a value-added service in your web design process can help you set yourself apart from other web design agencies and charge higher rates for your work.
It’s important for businesses to have branded email templates to complement their website and marketing campaigns. Not only does it help customers recognize emails when they receive them, but it also breaks up the monotony of the standard black and white emails that fill promotional folders nigh unto bursting.
However, working with multiple designers can make it difficult for your clients to create email templates that match their branding, as even small stylistic differences can create an off-brand aesthetic.
Adding email template design as an optional add-on to your web design packages allows you to help your clients create their desired email campaigns easily. And it enables you to keep client contracts open a little longer as well.
Whether your clients prefer HostGator, BlueHost, GoDaddy, DreamHost, or a different provider altogether, they need to have a web hosting provider to get their site up on the internet. Unfortunately, few have the know-how to get their hosting set up, and even fewer have the time to watch YouTube tutorials and read blog posts on how to do it correctly.
Offering web hosting set up as part of your services allows you to remove a major barrier for your clients and accelerate their website launch. And, if you choose to host the websites thereafter, you can also create a recurring revenue stream for every client your agency takes on.
From bug fixes and site upgrades to new web pages, your clients will need regular support once their website goes live. But if you only offer full-scale web design services, you can miss out on opportunities to work with these clients.
Transferring your clients to site maintenance retainer contracts once they launch their website allows you to take on those smaller projects (like landing pages and design additions) as they’re needed. And if you use helpdesk ticketing software like Sitechange, you can balance these mini design projects with your standard web design work effortlessly.
This allows you to build long-lasting relationships with your favorite clients and create a steady stream of recurring revenue that you can rely on every month.
Plugging value-added services into your popular design packages and using them to expand your business model can be intimidating. However, by pinpointing services that best match the needs of your clients and finding tools to help you manage these value-add services effectively, you can successfully boost your recurring monthly revenue.