Websites Made Simple: How to have a successful website design business

If you keep finding yourself building features your clients ask for that quietly make their websites worse, this one's for you.

Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.

In this episode, I'm talking about popups — why they're usually doing the opposite of what your clients think they're doing, what to say when a client is dead set on having one, and what to do instead to keep conversions high without frustrating visitors straight off the page.

We get into:
Why popups interrupt the user experience in the worst possible way
How popup design often looks spammy and quietly damages trust
The SEO problem that popup plugins don't tell you about (hint: it's your H1)
Why exit intent popups feel like surveillance — and why that's a problem
How caching plugins can break popups entirely anyway
What slide-ins are and how to use them without being annoying
Floating buttons — how to use them properly (and what not to do on mobile)
Dedicated signup sections that convert without the disruption
How to push back when a client is dead set on having a popup

Check out my new offer: https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sparks-group-mentoring/
It's a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring their questions, roadblocks, ideas, and "is it just me?" moments.

Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk or email me at [email protected]

Skip to the good bits:
00:00 Why popups might be hurting your clients' websites
01:11 Welcome and intro
01:39 Why popups interrupt the user experience
03:26 Popups block content and the SEO problem
06:01 Exit intent, popup frequency and the surveillance feeling
08:11 Slide-ins as a smarter alternative
10:30 Floating buttons done right
12:00 Dedicated signup sections that convert without disruption
14:23 How to push back when clients ask for popups
15:28 Wrap-up and how to get in touch
Mentioned in this episode:
Join my Sparks Group Mentoring Programme

If you're not including links pages and custom 404 pages in your website builds, you're leaving money on the table — and doing your clients a disservice.
Check out my new offer: https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sparks-group-mentoring/ It's a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring their questions, roadblocks, ideas, and "is it just me?" moments.
Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.
In this episode, I'm talking about two of the most underrated pages in website design: the links page (your on-brand, SEO-friendly alternative to Linktree) and the custom 404 page.
Both are quick to build, easy to position as a value add, and a genuinely great way to stand out from designers who aren't sweating the details.
We get into:
Why Linktree and similar tools can actually hurt your reach on social media platforms
How a links page on your own website works with your SEO and drives traffic where you want it
What to put on a links page to make it genuinely useful — and how to make it your own
Why most 404 pages are a completely wasted opportunity
How to design a 404 page that gets visitors back on track (and even puts a smile on their face)
Why these pages should be built into your project cost, not offered as an upsell
The one quick check you can do on your own website right now
How showcasing these pages on your own site helps attract the right clients

If you want to impress clients, add real value to your builds, and start standing out from designers who aren't going the extra mile — this one is for you.
Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk or email me at [email protected]
Skip to the good bits:
00:00 Stop leaving these pages out of your website builds
00:30 Why Linktree and Linke hurt your social media reach
01:02 Build a links page on your own website instead
02:00 What to put on your links page
03:10 Keeping links pages simple but effective on mobile
04:30 Links pages, SEO, and sending traffic to your own site
05:00 How to charge for links pages (don't make it optional)
05:44 The problem with generic 404 pages
06:20 How to check if your 404 page is customised right now
07:20 Adding personality and fun to your 404 page
08:14 Using 404 pages to redirect and re-engage visitors
10:02 Start with your own website first
Mentioned in this episode:
Join my Sparks Group Mentoring Programme

If you're wondering why clients aren't buying from you or why the ones who do seem to undervalue your work, the answer isn't always more leads — it's the experience you're creating from the very first touchpoint.
Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.
In this episode, I'm talking about what we are really selling when we are selling websites — and it's not the number of pages or the platform. It's the experience. From the first discovery call to the handover manual, every touchpoint either builds confidence or erodes it.
We get into:
Why discovery calls convert better than email enquiries — and how to structure them
How to follow up after a call so you stop losing warm leads
What your contracts should protect you from (and why so many designers get this wrong)
How to keep clients informed and feeling involved throughout the build
When to refer out — and why knowing your boundaries makes you more professional, not less
What good aftercare looks like (hint: it's not a two-hour Zoom dump)
Why you should be checking on the results your websites produce for clients

If you want better clients, better money, and a process that makes people tell their friends about you, this one is for you.
Check out: https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sparks-group-mentoring/ It's a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring their questions, roadblocks, ideas, and "is it just me?" moments.
Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk or email me at [email protected]
Skip to the good bits:
00:00 What you're really selling (it's not a website)
01:30 Why discovery calls convert better than email
03:00 Screen sharing and building confidence on the call
03:41 Following up after the call — and why timing matters
05:00 The follow-up email template Holly uses
06:00 How many times to follow up before letting go

Check out my new offer: https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sparks-group-mentoring/ It’s a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring their questions, roadblocks, ideas, and “is it just me?” moments.
If you keep attracting bargain clients, it’s usually not because you need more leads.
It’s because your pricing model is less than optimal... mostly because your brand signals are a bit muddled, and your website is not doing enough heavy lifting before someone ever speaks to you.
Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.
In this episode, I’m talking about why charging hourly for your web design projects is holding you back — from better clients, better income, and a calmer business.
We get into:
Why hourly pricing puts you in a race to the bottom
How project pricing builds confidence on both sides
Why clients feel cheated when hourly quotes run over
How scope creep is easier to manage with project pricing
What bundled pricing looks like in practice
How to work with freelancers and white labellers without losing money
Why the clients who can't afford you aren't your people
How to quote higher and still win the work

If you want better clients, fewer arguments over invoices, and more peace of mind about your income, this one's for you.
Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk or email me at [email protected]

Skip to the good bits:
00:00 Stop charging hourly — why it hurts your income
01:09 Why everyone has an hourly rate (and why that's the problem)
02:55 What project pricing actually looks like
03:42 How project pricing helps you prioritise your work
04:34 Scope creep and why hourly makes it worse
05:48 Bundled pricing: what goes into a project quote
07:23 Working with freelancers and white labellers
09:44 If they can't afford you, they're not your people
10:31 How project pricing creates better clients
11:43 Sparks Group Mentoring and how to join
Mentioned in this episode:
Websites Made Simple Courses
Join my Sparks Group Mentoring Programme

If you’ve ever delivered a well built, SEO friendly website and then found yourself being blamed when it doesn’t rank or generate leads, this episode will feel very familiar.
Welcome to another episode of Websites Made Simple with me, Holly Christie.
Check out my new offer:
https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk/sparks-group-mentoring/
It’s a supportive group mentoring session for website designers and developers to bring real questions, tricky client situations, fuzzy boundaries, and those moments where you’re thinking, “This isn’t actually my job, is it?”
In this episode, I’m joined by SEO specialist Nikki Pilkington to talk about the difference between SEO friendly and SEO optimised, and why that distinction matters so much for web designers.
We dig into how good websites end up being labelled “not working”, how easily expectations drift, and why web designers often carry responsibility for outcomes that sit firmly outside their role.
We get into:
• What SEO friendly actually means from a web design and build perspective
• Why SEO friendly is a baseline, not a ranking strategy
• How “just add the keywords” quietly sets you up for problems later
• Where your responsibility as a designer genuinely starts and ends
• Why selling SEO as a one off is a trap, even when clients ask for it
• How blurred roles damage trust between designers, SEOs, and clients
• The conversations that protect you before a project even begins
• How to stop your work being judged on results you were never hired to deliver
If you want clearer boundaries, more confident explanations, and fewer projects where everyone looks bad six months later, this episode will help you put language around things you probably already feel.
Come and find out more at https://websitesmadesimple.co.uk
or email me at [email protected]
Skip to the good bits:
00:00 Why designers get blamed for SEO results
01:21 SEO friendly vs SEO optimised (what you are actually delivering)
02:40 How client expectations quietly drift
03:49 What is and isn’t a web designer’s job
08:10 Why SEO can never be “done”
11:00 Where projects start going wrong
15:24 The danger of saying yes to everything
17:13 What good SEO collaboration looks like
20:40 Protecting trust in your work
Mentioned in this episode:
Join my Sparks Group Mentoring Programme