There’s never been a better time to start a web development business; web development is an exciting career path that’s in high demand (with high earning potential to match!) Starting your own web development business takes a lot of work, but it’s well worth the investment of your time, energy, and money. To help you in your new venture, here are 10 essential steps to take when creating your own web development company:
1. Assess Your Skills
The first step in starting a web development business is to take an honest assessment of your skills. Are you fully capable of completing all the work that clients will require of you? Some of the most vital web development skills you’ll need to successfully build your own business are:
- A solid understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript plus at least one or two back end languages like Python, Java, Ruby, and PHP
- The ability to track and control changes that have been made to the code
- Knowledge of user experience (UX) principles
- The capability to build a website that’s aesthetically pleasing, responsive, functional, and user-friendly
- Familiarity with a variety of tools used in web development such as libraries, frameworks, version control systems, and content management systems (CMS)
- A good grasp of quality assurance testing to detect and eliminate bugs
- Soft skills like flexibility, time management, problem-solving, and the ability to listen attentively
- An understanding of graphic design principles and the ability to create mockups
- The ability to build and manage web applications
- An understanding of accessibility and security compliance
It’s important to know what your strengths and weaknesses are or else you won’t be able to properly serve your clients. If you discover that you’re lacking a few of the skills listed above, don’t worry — that won’t prevent you from starting a web development business. To address the deficiency, you can either acquire the skills you need by taking classes or you can hire someone whose skills complement yours, filling in any gaps you may have.
2. Create a Business Plan
Once you’ve evaluated your skills and identified any gaps that need to be filled, it’s time to sit down and create a business plan. Don’t worry, making a business plan isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds; it only needs to contain the following sections:
Business Description
In this section of the business plan, you should provide a general overview of your business including the company name, type of business, location, background information, your target market, the services you plan to offer, and a mission statement.
Market Analysis
The market analysis section will require doing a bit of homework, but it’s well worth the investment of your time. In this section, you’ll provide an overview of the web development industry, the demand for Web Developers, what type of customers you’ll be targeting, an analysis of your competition, and projections for the growth of your business.
Financial Plan
Next, it’s time to crunch some numbers. You should start by figuring out how much money you’ll need to start your business and what your anticipated monthly expenses will be so you can set a budget. Once you’ve calculated your costs, you can determine how much you need to charge clients to cover these expenses and make a profit then include those fees in this portion of the business plan. The final piece of the financial section is to set short-term and long-term financial goals. Be as specific as possible when describing your financial goals; you might even consider setting KPIs (key performance indicators) to help keep yourself on track.
Marketing
The final required section of the business plan is about marketing. How do you plan to reach potential customers? Obviously, a website will be necessary but what other marketing efforts do you plan to engage in? Think about the best way to reach, engage, and retain your target clientele. A few examples of marketing activities include:
- Placing ads on social media
- Cold contacting potential clients through email, phone, or LinkedIn
- Asking former clients, family, and friends for referrals
- Adding your company to business directories
- Participating in podcasts
- Joining a networking group or two
- Speaking at conferences
- Sending out a regular newsletter
- Offering to be interviewed by a local newspaper or magazine
Consider all of your options then determine which ones you want to include in your marketing plan. Try to focus on marketing activities that you’ll do consistently over the next several years and develop a specific plan for implementation, including how many hours a week you’ll dedicate to your marketing efforts.
3. Establish a Legal Business Entity
After you’ve completed your business plan, the next step is to legally establish your business. To do this, you need to decide if you want to operate as a sole proprietorship, general partnership, LLC, or corporation. While a sole proprietorship is the easiest to set up, it doesn't provide you with any liability protection, which is why many small businesses register as an LLC. To register, all you have to do is go to the Secretary of State’s website for your particular state and provide them with basic information about your business such as your company name, address, purpose, etc. It will cost money, but the registration fees are typically no more than $200.
4. Register for Taxes
The next step in the process is to register for an EIN through the IRS. An EIN — or employer identification number — is a unique nine-digit number that the IRS can use to track a business’s tax reporting. Think of it as a social security number for a company. If you’re operating as a sole proprietorship, you can use your social security number to report business income but having an EIN makes it possible for you to keep the business’s tax information separate from your personal tax information, which will make it easier to file come tax time.
5. Open a Business Bank Account
After you have your EIN, you can go to the bank to set up an account for your business. This is another vital step that will allow you to keep your personal expenses separate from those your business incurs. Keeping your personal and business finances separate is important because it limits your liability in case your company is ever sued. As you’re setting up your business’s bank account, be sure to ask about signing up for a company credit card; this will make it easier for you to track all of your business expenses and list deductions when you file your taxes.
6. Set Up Bookkeeping System
You’ll also need to decide the best way to keep track of your business’s income and expenses. There are several routes you could take. Most small businesses that are just starting out tend to take the do-it-yourself route by using accounting software. Some of the most popular accounting programs on the market include QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Wave, Xero, and Zoho Books. If you’re not good with numbers and would prefer to let someone else take care of finances, you could hire a bookkeeper or outsource the work.
7. Develop Your Brand
The next step in creating your web development business is to define your brand. While some may argue that not all businesses need to have clear branding, doing so will make your company more memorable and separate you from your competition.
So what exactly is a brand? In essence, it’s a way for you to quickly communicate your company’s purpose and value to the target audience. This is primarily done through your logo and slogan. When choosing a logo, try to find something eye-catching that will make a lasting impression.
The colors you choose for the logo are important, too, because they can subconsciously convey meaning to your audience. For example, Subway’s yellow and green logo communicates health and optimism while the red and blue logos of banks like Capital One, Citibank, and Bank of America express power and professionalism. Think carefully about what kind of image you want to project and select your colors accordingly.
You should also be prepared to come up with a slogan for your company. This should be a statement that’s concise, meaningful, and memorable so it makes a major impact in a short amount of time. For example, if you want to project a more playful image, you could use “We make your business look good online” as your slogan. For a more professional vibe, you might try “A strategic approach to website design and development.”
8. Create Your Business Website
As a Web Developer, you already know that just about any legitimate business needs to have a website — it’s the first place potential customers go whenever they want to learn more about a company. And since you’re working in web development, it’s even more vital that you use your business website to demonstrate to potential clients what you can achieve.
When you create your business website, make sure that it’s targeted toward your chosen audience. For example, if your goal is to work with creative startups then you won’t want your website copy to be overly stuffy and professional. Make sure your content is consistent throughout the website and clearly conveys the message you’re trying to get across.
On your website, try to showcase at least four to five samples of work you’ve completed in the past so potential clients have a clear idea what to expect when they work with you. And don’t forget to include your logo and slogan; you’ll want them prominently displayed so they’re one of the first things people see when they visit your website.
9. Promote Your Business
Remember that marketing plan you created when you drew up your business plan? It’s time to retrieve it and put it to use; you’re going to start implementing the marketing initiatives you came up with. Did you decide to advertise on social media and cold contact clients? Or are you going to join a networking group and ask for referrals? Whatever marketing plans you laid out, set aside time regularly to put them into play. If you find your marketing efforts aren’t bringing in as much business as you’d hoped, reevaluate your tactics and make adjustments.
10. Expand Your Company
After you’ve built up a solid base of clients and gained experience as a business owner, you can start to expand your company. What that looks like is up to you; maybe you offer additional services, expand into a new niche, partner with other businesses, or hire some employees. Whichever path you choose, make sure that you remain well within your financial means and don’t overextend yourself. Growth that’s slow but stable is far better than growing too rapidly, bankrupting your business, and burning yourself out.
Acquire the Skills You’ll Need to Start a Web Development Business
The fastest way to acquire the skills necessary to start a web development business is to enroll in a web development bootcamp. Bootcamps are intensive programs designed to prepare students for a new career within a few months’ time. With their accelerated schedules and skill-focused curriculum, bootcamps are an excellent alternative to a traditional four-year degree. You can even find web development bootcamps available live online so you can acquire the skills you need without having to endure a long commute.
If you want to learn more about web development but aren’t quite ready to commit to a full bootcamp, then consider enrolling in one or two live online web development classes. There is a wide range of options available to help you get started on your programming education; you can take web development courses on programming languages and tools such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, React, Node.js, GitHub, VS Code, and more.