You might be an experienced web designer, already working as a freelancer, and plotting your first creative business. Or maybe you’ve just started out this path, and you’re already thinking about jumping to the next job.

Either way, by now, you’ve probably figured out how competitive and overpopulated the Web Design Business has become. And while you don’t necessarily have to focus on one niche in particular, in order to be successful in the long run, this might prove a lot more beneficial than the alternative. And we’ll try our best to show you why!

You may or may not be lucky in landing a top-notch first job, or a really cool gig. And we’re not only referring to the type of business here. Several other factors come into play. It doesn’t all come down to either working for a B-grade shoe store or the best business out there. However, in an oversaturated market, almost everybody is willing to try just about anything. So instead of jumping from one web design business to another, concentrate your efforts and talent in one particular niche.

Take, for example, online casinos – it sounds cheeky, and it might be a bit cheesy, but it’s actually an excellent option! Not many people can put together unique and attractive casino front-end designs. How many of us know how to draw from scratch a seemingly simple video slot interface like the one of Book of Ra? Sure, you could learn these things without too much hassle, but without any actual experience in this type of business, it’s not an easy task. But let’s take things slower and break down this entire concept, bit by bit!

What Does Niching Down Mean?

Much like in the case of our earlier example, the term “niche” refers to a specialized market. This means working exclusively in a specific field or industry, like fashion, videography, healthcare, law, financial services, and, why not, online gambling. So basically, when you choose to niche down as a web designer, you’re doing nothing more than picking one type of business and start creating websites only in that particular field.

Now, it’s only natural for you to ask yourself why you would want to do that. After all, you’re eliminating a lot of design business opportunities to focus your efforts in a single department. It’s like turning a lot of potential customers down so that you can dedicate all your time to one person. But let’s go back for a brief moment to our small gaming suggestion. Do you think a major international online casino that wants to grow business is more likely to hire and pay top bucks? Somebody who has spent a lot of time in this industry, gathering pretty much all the essential know-how, and who’s fully prepared to dive right in? Or somebody who hasn’t even played pokies once in his life?

Advantages of Choosing a Niche

The answer to that last question can be seen from a distance, and it is also the main principle and benefit of niching down. If you specialize in a particular niche, you get a lot more chances to end up being a recognized expert in that precise design business area. Is the best part about being the only designer in your city code area to know how to handle an online casino? You need to charge a lot more for your services, of course!

But there are several other noticeable benefits of going for this type of web design business plan!

Remember how we said you’d be turning down customers? There’s also a plus side to this, as you will no longer need to spend a lot of time looking for them. If you end up specializing in one area of expertise, most clients in need of your particular set of business web design skills will come to you directly.

And once you have become an expert at what you do, you will not only earn a lot of extra credibility, but will also have all the necessary background on how to start a business of your own. But let’s focus on the most important ones.

Increasing Your Perceived Expertise

The world that we live in is filled with countless examples of how this works. Almost any type of business nowadays functions on this principle: if you are specialized in something, you can demand a premium pay package in your field.

This is also the reason why people often choose to pay considerably more money on an accredited, well-regarded brand, than on a startup or a less-known one. It’s the reason why “seasoned” cab drivers will tell you the best route, instead of the other way around.

As long as you have chosen a specific business web design niche and persevered in it, you have the advantage of experience, and this will lift up your perceived expertise seriously. Customers will be a lot more inclined to seek your services when you back up your offer with a lot of experience in the field. All that time spent in one niche will denote credibility, showing your clients that you know exactly what you’re up against and that you’re the best possible person that can help them grow business-wise.

Increasing Your Brand Messaging

Aside from the background and portfolio, one of the most important aspects when starting a web design business is how you communicate with any potential client. This is called brand messaging, and a lot of expertise in one particular field can really help you land a big project or a great collaboration. Unlike generalists, an expert in one single type of business has a lot more credibility when offering his services in that niche. Thus, your brand messaging should be specific and direct, underlining the actual particularities of your web design business. What would you rather go for, a general advertising (the ability to design all sorts of websites), or a targeted ad that refers strictly to specific business web design needs?

It all makes sense if you come to think about it and try to put yourself in potential customer’s shoes. Since we’ve shed some light on the numerous benefits of niching down, it’s time to address the big elephant in the room: the countless possibilities and how to get started.

Choosing the Best Business Niche

When choosing a niche for a web design business, many people tend to overlook their personality traits and preferences in favor of those industries known to pay the most. Especially if you’re more inclined towards creative business, you should try your best not to fall down this easy trap!

So, the first thing you need to do is to take a good look at yourself and your work so far and try to figure out where you would feel more comfortable, and where you would be more likely to thrive. Whether it’s sports-related or the fast-food industry, whether it’s photography or fashion, you should follow your own personal skills and interests, instead of looking at the best business models out there. It has to be something that you really enjoy in your life, and that usually puts a smile on your face just by thinking about it.

Of course, this would be the ideal way of starting a web design business, and it’s not to say that you couldn’t find new niches that you would have never thought compatible with you, and enjoy them just as much. The bottom line is that as long as you’re getting a good vibe from it, and every morning you grow business ideas, then you’ve most likely found the right niche for you. And if there’s nothing at all that springs your mind, there’s always the online gambling industry! All jokes aside, it’s usually crazy business like this, or extreme sports, to give you another example, that are also the funniest and the most engaging areas to work in. Trust us, we’re telling it from experience!

And if, after all this, you still have a hard time choosing, then there are always helpful online courses to draw inspiration and learn new things from. There are several dedicated platforms and honest blog posts out there that can surely help you figure out the most suitable niche and the best type of business for your web design business plan.

Conclusion

And that’s pretty much a wrap on the most important benefits of niching down. If all of this hasn’t convinced you to at least give it some consideration, we don’t know what will. When you analyze the current state of the web design business market and draw a line, choosing one specific part to gain recognition presents a lot more advantages and leaves room for greater opportunity than simply being a generalist. This is not to say that the latter is not a good type of business in itself. Of course, it can be, but in our particular case, “power in numbers” won’t work in your favor.

So, try to imagine yourself one day in the long-distance future, discovering that the essential things in life are the freedom to do what you want and to follow your own passions, your health, your family, and most of all, time. As you prepare for the upcoming year, try to reflect on all these things with a bit more maturity, and let us know what your ideal web design business plan would look like! Will you be opting for generality, or will you strive to become the best at your own thing? Either way, we hope you will have a great time, some eye-catching results, and really cool feedback to share!