The New Breed of Web Designer (And Why They’re Winning)

Business shift: from “website production” to “client growth leadership”

Lee Blue argues that web designers/agencies win when they stop tying their value to building websites and instead tie value to the growth outcomes websites enable.

He also points to a growing flow of prospects: clients contact the agency even if they already have websites—because their real need is growth, not “a new site.”

Targeting + pricing strategy (who you serve)

• Target segment: businesses spending $5,000–$20,000 per year with the agency.
• Not targeting: smaller buyers who want low-cost sites.

Package examples mentioned:

• $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 per year
• “Most people get the middle one” (implied $10,000/year)

Core problem with the old model (automation + commoditization)

Lee’s thesis: if your income depends on producing websites, you become vulnerable to replacement by:

• Hiring internal staff
  • Example: a college-application online project was eventually built internally, ending his engagement.
• Theme builders / platforms
  • Example: moving from custom coding to WordPress themes, then to drag-and-drop theme ecosystems like Divi and Beaver Builder.
• AI / “vibe coding”
  • Example trend: AI could continue reducing demand for production work.

Why “cheap website” positioning is a trap (unit economics)

He describes a common networking outcome: if you’re known for building $500–$1,000 websites, you attract a market that only wants “link-on-a-card” style sites.

Example math and implications:

• His “new model” baseline: clients are at least $5,000/year recurring.
• At $500 per site, he contrasts the volume needed to replace meaningful income versus selling recurring $10,000/year packages.

Recurring revenue example:

• 10 clients × $10,000/year = $100,000 recurring revenue
• 20 clients × $10,000/year = $200,000 recurring revenue
• vs. 10 $500 sites = $5,000 one-time

Conclusion: don’t let your brand/value be associated with low-cost, one-off website production.

The “pivot” framework: reposition offerings around growth

Actionable positioning concept:

• Instead of asking/being known for: “What website do you want?”
• Ask: “How is your business doing—are you fully booked?”

Then tie the conversation to capacity and revenue impact:

• If a business can “double clients” without major operational expansion, your work becomes measurable in added revenue, not “time spent building pages.”

Concrete discussion tactic (networking questions)

He suggests a simple way to shift the conversation during networking:

• Ask three questions that help prospects realize you’re focused on growth, not “website building.”
• The excerpt notes that viewers are directed to another linked resource for the exact three questions (not included here).

Playbook summary (implied steps)

• Define your ICP around annual spend ($5k–$20k/year).
• Reframe value from “delivering a website” to “contributing to client success and growth.”
• Use a discovery conversation (e.g., fully booked vs capacity to grow) rather than “what design do you want?”
• Avoid commoditized branding (e.g., “$500 websites”), since it attracts low-LTV, low-recurring-value buyers.
• Adopt a leadership stance: share accountability for client outcomes (within reason), not just take orders to build deliverables.

Metrics / KPIs explicitly referenced

• Pricing / revenue targets (benchmarks for viability):
  • $5,000–$20,000/year target spend
  • Package examples: $5k, $10k, $20k per year
• Growth/capacity heuristic:
  • Prospects often feel they can “at least double” current client volume
  • Example revenue impact logic:
    • If they’re making $100k/year, doubling implies + $100k
• Unit economics example:
  • 10 clients at $10k/year = $100k recurring revenue
  • 20 clients at $10k/year = $200k recurring revenue
  • vs. 10 one-time $500 sites = $5k one-time

Example cases (what happened when he stayed production-focused)

• College application online project (early agency work)
  • The client later hired an internal employee to build the platform, replacing his agency.
• Transition to WordPress theme production
  • He served as a technical bridge between designers’ Photoshop files and custom WordPress themes.
  • Later, theme ecosystems reduced differentiation, and he again faced the risk of “working himself out of a job.”

Presenter / source

Lee Blue