Web Design Business with Josh Hall

One of our biggest Web Designer Pro member success stories, Sam Sarsten, is back on the podcast with an update on how he’s grown his agency to over 200k in 3 years, primarily through Local SEO.We’re getting into all the nitty gritty on this one:How much he chargesHow he finds clientsHow he measures and tracks resultsHow he’s scaled his teamHow he offers web design + SEOAnd more! Heads up, we had some technical issues + a guest interruption (Peaches!!) who wiggled some chords so this one is a little more edited than normal. But the gems were too good to re-record.Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/399

Ever wondered if you should trademark your business?There are a lot of reasons you may consider it:You may want to sell your business one day.You might want to make sure no one can take your brand name with no grounds for legal action on your end.You might have a productized service or product you want to sell eventually.You may just want full control over your brand as a whole.For all those reasons and more, you might be wondering if you should trademark and what the process is.To help with that, I’m excited to bring, back onto the podcast, personal legal commandant Ann Koppuzha who recently helped me get Web Designer Pro® officially trademarked!We walk through the entire process, what to do and what to expect.Again, whether or not you want to sell your business one day, there are many reason you might want to consider OWNING your brand name or a product or service that you offer.Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/398

When I began my career in web design, my initial goal was to “get a job” as a web designer for an agency or corporation…until I realized corporate life is NOT for me.But that’s me, I enjoy the world of risk and reward of freelancing and entrepreneurship, whereas the freelance lifestyle is NOT for everyone.So today I’m thrilled to share the conversation I had with Chris Webb, who’s had a long career as a web designer and developer as an agency and corporate web designer. But Chris also does freelance on the side, so he has a unique perspective on the pros and cons of freelancer vs agency vs corporate web designers.What makes this convo extra special is that Chris has been a close personal friend of mine since early high school. I looked up to him big-time when I first got started in design because he was “the cool agency designer,” and he mentored me in many ways in those early days. So to be able to have him on the show now, 16 years later, is an awesome, full-circle moment for us both 🙂Freelance web designer, agency web designer or corporate web designer – what’s right for you?Let me know after this convo!Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/397

This episode is a conversation I had with Web Designer Pro™ member Whitney Bateson recently on her podcast “The Growth Show” where she helps wellness professionals build and launch a successful online presence.While she picked my brain about current website conversion trends in 2025 mainly to help her clients, we actually talked about some significant, general trends for websites today, for all industries.She graciously let me repurpose the whole conversation for you!If you want to know what’s working TODAY for converting traffic to customers (for you and your client sites), I hope it helps 🙂Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/396

This episode is a recent coaching call I had with two members from my community Web Designer Pro™, all about going full-time with your web design business.Alexia JUST went full-time at the time of publishing this episode and Ben went full-time in Dec of 2024, so it was great hearing both of their perspectives about lessons learned going full-time with them having just done it.What’s particularly of note is the mental shift when opening up an additional 20, 30 or 40 hours a week of freedom along with the challenges that most web designers aren’t aware of after the fun and excitement of going full-time wears off.Excited to hear how this one helps, especially if you’re gearing up to go full-time with your web design biz!Join Ben, Alexia and 270+ active community members in Web Designer Pro™ today.Community members get first dibs to upgrade to the Coaching Tier to get access to these weekly coaching calls and 24/7 DM access to me for personalized, private coaching!Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/395

Great to have Chris “the self-made web designer” back on the podcast!Aside from casual catch-up and web shop talk, we get into where the web industry is today compared to when we first entered the industry years ago.Chris has a unique perspective as a freelance web designer who got most of his work through Upwork, and, with his work with ShowIt, sees a different part of the market than what I often do with WordPress.Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/394

I just launched a new DNS Course for Web Designers, specifically to help you get a 101, foundational understanding of all things domains, DNS records, email, security, performance, etc.It replaced what was formerly my cPanel course. It’s a short, snappy, “what you need to know” DNS course without getting too technical or overwhelming. In this podcast episode, I’m giving you a little teaser!Included in the episode:A few personal DNS horror stories (to illustrate how important it is to know this stuff as a web designer)The most popular lesson so far on ‘Domain Types’And I’m even including the DNS Checklist from the course FOR FREE! Think of it as your DNS SOP for you and your team.Again, be sure to download the DNS Checklist I’ve made available to you for free. It also includes a special offer if you’d like to dive into the full course!Show notes at joshhall.co/393

Repeat guest and founding member of Web Designer Pro™, Marie Brown, is back on the podcast, sharing what’s working for her with getting clients through Instagram.And she offers a much-needed reminder that, even if clients don’t mark down “found you on social media,” it doesn’t mean it’s not working.The more touch points you have and the more you stay top of mind, the more likely you’ll land more clients.Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/392

In the Summer of 2020, I made a huge decision…to sell my agency In Transit Studios and go full-time into web design online education.In this episode, I’m reflecting (5 years later) and sharing some lessons learned on the things I would do again and things I’d do differently.Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/391

If there’s one word that can sum up where the industry of web design is right now in the age of Ai, I’d say it’s “uncertainty.”But uncertainty doesn’t have to be bad. I love talking to people who are excited and optimistic about the road ahead and one of those folks is Web Designer Pro member Antwaun Williams (goes by A-T)A-T is an early adopter of all tech, and when I got a chance to sit down with him in person at our recent WDP CON 2025 event, I learned just how in-the-know he is with things like:Where Ai is today in the design industryThe different types of Ai available (agents vs chats vs ideation, etc)How to prompt any Ai tool to get the most out of itWhat Ai tools are best for certain tasksAnd what web designers can be excited about in the age of AiWe have a great, 101 style breakdown of Ai as a whole in this one and honestly, I felt much more at ease after learning more about Ai from A-T. Hope it helps you as well!Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/390