How to Set Boundaries in Your Website Design Business
Setting boundaries with your website design clients (and with yourself!) is one of the hardest things about running a service-based business.
Most of us decide to go self employed and start our businesses because we want more control over our schedule, what kinds of clients we work with, and more freedom in our day-to-day lives.
We start out with these ideals but quickly find ourselves taking on too much work, working all hours round the clock (including evenings & weekends), and saying yes to projects and client requests that we probably should have said no to.
Whether it’s because you’re a self-professed people pleaser (like me!), you’re worrying about losing out on work, or you’ve just found yourself running on a hamster wheel with everything without realising, I’m sharing some tips to regain your freedom and sanity in this post.
Table of Contents
Why is setting boundaries in your business so important?
Protect your mental health
When our work starts encroaching on our time and other things that are important to us, it can cause a lot more issues than just resentment. Setting clearer boundaries can also help you to avoid burnout, which is a huge issue for business owners who find themselves stressed and overwhelmed (and NOT a nice place to be in!).
Put freedom first (ie. the whole reason why you started!)
In a report from Squarespace in 2024, they found that 39% of website designers said the main reason for working for themselves is to set their own schedule, 31% said ‘being my own boss’, 23% said ‘deciding which clients to work with’, and 22% said ‘achieving a better work/life balance’.
Being self employed isn’t easy, so the reward should be having more freedom and control over our schedule/projects, right? But this is only possible when we have proper boundaries in place.
Gain more respect from clients & people around you
People treat you how you train them to treat you. No one else is going to set & uphold your boundaries for you, and if you constantly reply to emails at the weekend, guess what - your clients are probably going to keep sending you emails at the weekend!
Setting boundaries also makes the experience better for your clients as well, because (if you’ve communicated them well), they know exactly where they stand and what to expect.
Further reading: 12 Actionable Self-care Tips for Business Owners
1. Consider where is your current lack of (or struggle to maintain) boundaries is coming from
There are lots of reasons why you meant be struggling to set or maintain boundaries with your clients. Maybe you’ve never considered this as a necessity, or maybe you fit into one of these camps:
If you’re scared of losing work / clients and that they’ll choose someone else…
… this could be because you’re struggling with scarcity mindset (believing there’s not enough work around for everyone to get a piece of the pie), and confidence in your own work.If you’re worried your clients will argue, push back, or be annoyed with your boundaries…
… this is common if you hate conflict (like me!) and you want everyone to like you, and can lead to you being walked over by your clients to appease them. When you have confidence in your work and you’ve clearly laid out expectations beforehand, this is less of a risk.If you think this is just ‘what you have to do’ when you’re starting out in your business…
… this could be a ‘hustle culture’ belief you’ve picked up; but what if it were possible to grow your website design business successfully AND do it in a way that prioritises your freedom and what’s important to you?
Remember that setting boundaries isn’t just to benefit you - it benefits your clients as well. It means you’re able to be more present & focused for your projects, you’re more timely in completing tasks, and alllll the knock-on effects of you being happy and healthy!
Once I started getting clearer on my own boundaries (especially around communication and timelines) with clients, I have only ever had positive feedback about this.
I frequently get clients saying to me ‘I really love how clear you are about expectations’ or ‘I wish I was as strong on my boundaries as you are, it’s inspired me’! And this isn’t to brag - it’s to show you that people are not going to get angry with you. It can actually be a positive thing for them!
2. Get clear on your priorities & what’s important to you (in business & life!)
Everyone’s boundaries might look a little different, because we have different priorities, ideals, and circumstances in our life and business. So have a think through the following questions to discover your own:
What’s your 5 year vision for your business?
What does your ideal working week & day look like?
Why is freedom a priority for you? What do you want to do with your time?
What are you sacrificing when you don’t stick to your boundaries?
Getting yearly, quarterly & monthly action plans and creating a system for actually getting these plans done is what I show you inside The Organised Designer’s Hub course!
3. Write out your boundaries (+ the ‘why’ and the ‘how’)
When you think about what you’ve written from the prompts above, what boundaries might you need to implement in your business in order prioritise these?
The most important thing when listing out your boundaries is to always bring it back to ‘WHY’ it’s important to you, as this will make it more likely that you’re motivated to uphold it. Plus, of course, we want to note down ‘HOW’ we plan to implement this boundary. Below are some examples…
eg.
The Boundary:
I won’t answer unscheduled client phone calls.
Why is this important?:
Because it distracts me from deep work which slows my process down/wastes time.
How will I uphold this?:
Don’t answer the call immediately. Listen to the voicemail at your next break or time that is convenient for you, and/or write an email to the client asking if they’d like to schedule a call with you at your next available time. Communicate the correct contact process within client onboarding.
eg.
The Boundary:
I won’t check my emails after 3pm.
Why is this important?:
I can’t action anything after 3pm because I’m prioritising time with my family, so checking the emails after this time will just cause stress in my head while I think about it. Being present with my family is more important.
How will I uphold this?:
I will check my emails only twice a day (morning first thing, and after lunch). Anything I receive after this time can wait until the next day. I will delete the email app off my phone so I am not tempted to check after 3pm.
4. Examples of boundaries to set with your website design clients
Choosing ‘Right Fit’ Projects
Perhaps there are certain types or projects or certain work you don’t want to do (this can be for many reasons!), so you want to make sure you’re attracting the ‘right fit’ projects, and politely saying ‘no’ to ones that are the wrong fit.
(We go through scripts and tips for saying ‘no’ inside my course - The Organised Business Blueprint!)
Lead time (when you can get started)
I’ve had it a few times where I’d get an enquiry, get on a call with a potential client and have a great conversation, only for me to say my next available start date (typically at least 8 weeks ahead) at the end of the call and them be disappointed because they thought I’d be ready immediately.
Yes, EVEN when I wrote this directly above my contact form!
Nowadays, I communicate this in my emails before someone books a call too.
Office hours (what days / times you want to work)
This goes back to figuring out what your ideal day/week looks like. Perhaps you want to finish at 3pm every day, or maybe you want to take Fridays off. In which case, you want to make sure you’re planning your projects & communicating timelines to take this into consideration.
Communication (Availability days / times + methods)
Decide what days & times you want to be available for client calls or to check your emails and stick to this! Also, be clear on your communication channels - maybe you prefer Zoom calls to email back & forths. Or maybe you want to communicate through a Project management system (like Trello for example) instead!
(I show you how to set up your client portal for communication like this inside The Organised Business Blueprint course).
Payment terms (Deposits + payment schedules)
To protect your schedule, I’d always recommend you take a deposit when booking projects in, but get clear on the amount and payment schedule for when you’d want to be paid the rest of the fee too.
Cancellations + rescheduling
What are your boundaries around clients wanting to cancel or reschedule projects? Will you charge a fee, and within what timeframe?
Project Timelines (When you need things by + Estimated time)
It’s SO important to clearly communicate when you need your client ‘homework’ and materials by, and to remind them when you can so that you can stick to schedule. Likewise, let your clients know estimated timescales too so that they know what to expect.
Project Scope (What deliverables are + are not included)
This is more of setting an expectation than a boundary, as of course you’ll be agreeing this with your client beforehand. It’s important to be as clear as possible so that there are no question marks over what is or isn’t included (as otherwise you could find yourself running over time, or doing more work than you bargained for!).
Revisions (how many + how to communicate them)
How many rounds of edits do you want to allow within your project scope and price? This is really important, but website designers also often forget to share HOW their clients should communicate these edits with them. Eg. over a call, via email, in a document, or on a CRM/Project management system?
Additional Requests (How to manage these)
How much capacity will you have for ‘scope creep’ and extra requests? You may want to manage expectations around this before the project gets started.
5. Communicate these expectations with clients
There’s no point having all of these boundaries & expectations if we’re not clearly communicating these with our clients. If they’re not communicated properly this can lead to frustration on both sides. We want this to be a positive thing for BOTH parties!
So where can you be sure to let your clients know your expectations:
On your website
Including your ‘lead time’ on your website is incredibly important and something I see a lot of website designers miss out. Give a rough idea of WHEN you can get started on a project, because no one likes the awkwardness of realising you’re not available when they expect you to be during a call, or after you’ve already started talking!In your ‘onboarding’ information
Clarify your lead time, communication expectations, deposit terms and expected timelines up front during your communication (emails & calls) and in your proposals & info packs.Inside your contract
Here’s where you can get more detailed, specifically around payment and rescheduling/cancellation terms, project scope and revisions.In your 'Welcome’ pack/information
Just to reiterate, I would include timeline expectations (especially when you need materials from the client by!) and communication boundaries again once the client has booked with you too.
We design a smooth & streamlined client onboarding process inside The Organised Designer’s Hub, to help you elevate your clients’ experience and uphold your boundaries.
Can business boundaries become unhealthy / unhelpful?
As I say, I have only ever had positive feedback around me setting clear expectations and boundaries with clients (and even had some of them ask me to teach them how to do this themselves!), but is there ever a time where they become unhealthy or unhelpful for our client relationships?
The key is in the delivery. We don’t want to be walked over (this happens all too often!), so we need to be firm, but we can also be kind and communicate things in a way that feels friendly & personal too.
When phrasing your expectations (other than in your contracts, which sometimes need specific legal language!), try to keep things light-hearted and not overly formal, as this can sound strict, bossy or scary. Add some personality into your documents and reminders so that they don’t feel like this, or too robotic.
And if someone does voice a frustration over one of your boundaries?
Take this as feedback over your process. Consider whether this client is the ‘right fit’ (or maybe your qualifying process didn’t quite work?), and whether you were clear enough in communication the expectation up front (is their frustration coming from being surprised/confused/blind-sided?). Use this to improve your process for next time!
elevate your client processes & ORGANISE YOUR TASKS FOR MORE FOCUS
Inside The Organised Designer’s Hub course
✔ Get all your business information organised into a hub for quick & easy access
✔️ Set and smash annual & quarterly business goals with the 2024 planner
✔ Discover my ULTIMATE task management system that has made me the most effective I’ve ever been in my life
✔ Streamline and automate your client process, from enquiry to the project experience
✔️ Learn my SECRET WEAPON for keeping myself inspired & motivated!
^ Get all of this and more set up within just 2 hours of joining the course…
