One Client Site helped pay for my WA membership for years - You can do this too!

How Building Small Business Websites Can Help Pay for Your Wealthy Affiliate Membership

I've been asked about my previous blog post on building client sites to help pay for your WA membership. Here's some additional inforamtion.

A Good Decision for Me

A few years ago, I found myself in the same position many new Wealthy Affiliate members face today.

I had joined Wealthy Affiliate and loved what I was learning, but I still needed a practical way to pay for my membership.

Instead of waiting months for affiliate commissions to arrive, I decided to use one of the resources I already had available through my WA membership: website hosting.

That simple decision led to a client relationship that lasted more than a decade.

This week, I'm sending my final invoice to that client, and it reminded me that building websites for small businesses can be an excellent way to generate income while you grow your affiliate marketing business.

If you've ever considered offering website services locally, here's a realistic look at how to get started.

Why Small Businesses Need Help

Many small business owners know they need a website. The problem is they don't have the time, interest, or technical knowledge to build one themselves. Local businesses often need:

• Basic information websites
• Contact forms
• Service/Product pages
• FAQ's
• Maps and directions
• Blog capability
• Website updates and maintenance

If you are not certain what you can reasonably offer, then be glad that WordPress has a huge number of great plugins to expand your capabilites (photo galleries, contact forms, even storefronts and more)/ For many owners, paying someone to handle these tasks is well worth the investment.

Skills You'll Need

You don't need to be a professional web developer. However, you should be comfortable with:

WordPress

You should know how to:

• Install WordPress
• Configure themes
• Create pages and menus
• Add plugins
• Perform updates
• Troubleshoot basic problems

Be sure to do your WA training to completion and then don't stop learning. That are tons of additional training offered by talented members. (remember to "follow" the top 100 ranked members with WA to get notified of new posts and training).

Website Design Basics

You should understand:

• Clean layouts
• Readable fonts
• Mobile responsiveness
• Navigation structure
• Image optimization

One thing cool about using one of your "extra" hosting spaces available with your WA membership is that WA has very good hosting capability. And excellent support and great tools as well as thousands of helpful and talented members that can give you great advice and share their own expeiences. Here's a great read: https://www.wealthyaffiliate.com/websites

Communication Skills

This is often more important than technical ability.

You'll need to:

• Listen carefully
• Explain things simply
• Set realistic expectations
• Respond professionally
• Stay organized, keep good records of your conversations, and agreements and offers.

My own "rule" is to offer a liitle more than what I include in the quote. Sure it takes more time, but providing a few extras without the charge is great for client loyalty and good will.

Basic Maintenance

Clients expect someone to:

• Update WordPress
• Update plugins
• Make minor content changes (define those in your agreement)
• Monitor website health
• Keep backups available

A Simple Website Package

When starting out, keep your offer simple.

Starter Website Package

Includes:

• Home Page
• About Page
• Services Page
• FAQ Page
• Contact Page (include directions if needed)
• Basic SEO setup (include keywords in each page/post). Offerring to set up a Google Analytic page is a nice extra you can charge for. NOTE: The essential components of basic SEO for websites include keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, content creation, and building quality backlinks. These elements work together to improve a site's visibility and ranking in search engine results.
• Mobile-friendly design (I suggest 2 design options to choose from). You can use siterubix sites to create basic mockups.
• Contact form (I throw those and Privacy Pages in free)
• Google Maps integration

Extras that can be charged for:

Client Testimony page

Extra Pages for each service or product type offered

Photo Galleries/Completed project pages

Suggested Pricing

New builders:

• $500–$800 setup fee for a specific number of typical pages (Home/About/Service-Product/FAQ/Contact)

Experienced builders:

• $1,000–$2,500+ setup fee

Monthly maintenance:

• $50–$150 per month

Many clients prefer a monthly maintenance plan because they don't want to deal with updates or technical issues.

Sample Proposal

When speaking with a business owner, I recommend keeping things simple.

You might say:

"Your business needs a professional website that helps customers learn about your services and contact you easily. I can build a mobile-friendly website with up to five pages, contact forms, photo galleries, and basic search engine optimization. I'll also handle updates and maintenance so you can focus on running your business."

Keep the conversation focused on solving their problem rather than discussing technical details.

Finding Your First Client

Many people immediately think about advertising online.

I actually recommend starting closer to home.

Local Businesses

Look for businesses that:

• Have outdated websites
• Have no website at all
• Have poor mobile experiences
• Use old contact information

Local Networking

Consider:

• Chamber of Commerce events
• Small business meetups
• Local Facebook groups
• Community events
• Business expos

Friends and Family Referrals

Often your first client comes from someone you already know.

Let people know you're offering website services.

Create a Simple Portfolio

Build:

• Your own website
• One or two sample websites (use WA's siterubix if necessary or create a sample site for a friend).
• Before-and-after examples

Business owners want to see examples of your work.

How to Promote Your Services

Facebook

• Join local community groups and business groups.
• Focus on helping rather than selling.
• Build relationships first.

Business Cards

Simple business cards still work. (You can get cool business cards by creating a nice design with WA's own Design Tool or a ChatGPT account). You can order cards from Shutterfly, Vistaprint and more.

Leave them with:

• Local shops
• Coffee houses
• Networking contacts

Google Business Profile

Create a business profile for your website services.

This helps local businesses find you.

Referrals

The best marketing often comes from satisfied customers. One happy client can lead to several referrals.

Important Lessons I Learned

Most website problems come from poor communication rather than technical issues. A few lessons from working with a long-term client:

• Always use written agreements.
• Clearly define what is included. (limited number of words/images per page, charge extra more additional).
• Clearly define what is not included. (if you don't feel comfortable with storefront/ecommerice/or private spaces - tell them that).
• Charge for additional work outside the original scope.
• Keep backups of everything.
• Communicate regularly.
• Don't promise what you can't deliver. Set time/delivery deadlines and make sure you add times for final acceptance and final invoicing to be paid). Offer maintenance agreements and domain renewals.
• Be sure and contain what your agreement is if the client wants to move to another hosting and web desing company on how you will assist in that move.

Final Thoughts

Building websites for local businesses won't replace a full-time income overnight. However, it can provide an excellent source of side income while you're building your affiliate marketing business. One client helped pay for my Wealthy Affiliate membership for many years. That experience taught me that sometimes the fastest way to earn online isn't waiting for traffic or commissions. Sometimes it's simply using the skills you're already learning to help someone solve a problem.

And who knows?

Your first website client may become a customer who stays with you for the next decade. By the way my long time client answered my email with my "last" invoice attached thanking me for working with him and he just might have more than one year left in business before retirement. Cool huh?

-Shirley