You’ve heard about WaaS by now, right?

Websites As A Service is an exciting trend that’s dominating freelancing.

If you’re looking at different ways to build or scale your web design business, you’ll want to know about this model.

I’m going to give you a quick overview, look at some pros and cons, and give you some examples to check out, so you can decide if it’s a good fit for you.

What is WaaS?

Not SaaS, but same idea.

WaaS is a subscription based pricing model where customers can sign up for web design and related services for a monthly fee instead of a once-off fee.

Note that we’re now talking about customers vs clients.

Instead of just working with a handful of clients one-on-one, this model is about packaging your services in a predictable, well-defined way that lets you ‘sell’ them to customers.

This is a different mindset than the type of traditional freelancing model you might be used to.

Broadly speaking, there are generally two kinds of WaaS packages:

💵 Smaller packages usually for website design + hosting:

$50 → $200 /mo

💰 Bigger packages which usually include other additional services like content marketing and SEO:

$1,000 /mo → $5,000 /mo

Now let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of this model.

✅ Pros

• Quicker conversion - if you’re doing it right, this model makes it much quicker and easier to convert a lead into a paying customer.

• Template-based design - it’s crucial to use a template website design rather than building custom websites, as you need to have an extremely fast turnaround (usually 1 day), to make it financially feasible.

• Amazing recurring income - get 50 to 100 customers and you’ve got a very good, predictable recurring income, avoiding the ‘feast & famine’ cycle of freelancing.

• Easier to outsource and scale your business - the nature of the model (offering package-based subscriptions) means you are productizing a standard service. This makes it much easier to outsource with the right talent, allowing you to build a business that runs (almost) without you, at a hefty profit.

❌ Cons

• Can be tricky to make it sustainable. You have to do this model right, or it can easily become unsustainable. Brett from DesignJoy grew a massive income of $1m+ /yr, but eventually burnt out. (His mistake was wanting to do everything himself instead of hiring some solid talent. He’s fixed this now👏).

• Long lead time to financial stability. Expect to have to put some time in before this pricing strategy becomes financially feasible. You need to have a longer term view and be prepared to put in the work.

• Requires some strong business skills. For example, you will need to be able to manage cashflow well and know how to be lean, especially in the beginning.

WaaS Examples

Here are some examples you can check out of businesses using the WaaS model:

DesignJoy - Unlimited Design and Web Design Subscription

DesignDash - Unlimited Web Design Subscription

RVParkWebsites - Website Subscription for RV Parks

IceCreamShopWebsites - Website Subscription for Ice Cream Shops

Webpartner - Website Subscription with over 10,000 clients. (Not all would be subscribers, but even if only 10% are on the subscription model, you’ve got amazing recurring income).

I’ve tried to get to the point here to give you a quick overview of the WaaS model and why it’s so exciting.

Check it out and give it some thought! 🤔

Ok, that’s it from me this week.

Cheers!