Web design lead generation: sources and rules

How can a web design business generate leads?

A web design business generates leads by attracting people who need a new site or redesign, then giving them an easy way to enquire. The two jobs are different. Attracting visitors means search listings, social adverts, referrals and contact with past clients. Converting them means portfolio pages, a redesign case study from their own sector, a website-review offer and a project enquiry form.

Whether outside help from lead generation services suits a studio depends on how much of this it wants to run itself.

An enquiry form that asks about scope, the existing platform, budget and launch plans could help a studio sort enquiries before the first call. A short, specific offer, such as a review of a current site, may draw better-matched enquiries than a general invitation to get in touch.

Other trades face similar questions about where enquiries come from: the guides to finding mortgage leads and buying air conditioning leads look at how providers source the contacts they sell.

What is lead generation in Meta ads?

The term is generally used for paid social adverts designed to prompt enquiries, such as an advert offering a website review to local trades or shops. How Meta's own advertising tools work is set by the platform and is outside this guide.

The PECR marketing provisions do not apply to online advertising, but the Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR still apply, and the cookie provisions may apply if the advertising uses cookies or similar technologies.

When direct messages on social media are used for marketing, the electronic mail marketing rules apply. A studio that follows up an advert response by direct message therefore needs to think about those rules first.

What is the biggest mistake in lead generation?

There is no single agreed answer, but some mistakes are common for a web design studio.

One is sending advert traffic to a general page with no clear next step. Another is chasing volume rather than fit, so the studio spends time on enquiries with no realistic budget or timescale. A third is slow follow-up, which may lose a prospect who has asked several studios for quotes.

Some mistakes are about the rules. A customer who has opted in to marketing still counts as receiving unsolicited marketing, because an opt-in is not the same as asking for particular information.

A pre-ticked box on an enquiry form is another. Pre-ticked opt-in boxes do not give valid consent.

A further mistake is assuming an agency takes on the risk. If a studio pays someone else to do its marketing, both are responsible for complying with PECR. ^[1]

Is lead generation illegal?

Lead generation as such is not the issue. The rules concern how people are contacted. Unsolicited marketing is not unlawful in every case, and it can be sent as long as it complies with PECR.

Consent is often needed before sending unsolicited direct marketing. Where consent is needed, it must be knowingly and freely given, clear and specific.

It must also cover both the studio and the type of communication, such as a call or an email. It must involve some form of very clear positive action, such as ticking a box, and the person must fully understand that they are giving consent.

Where a studio buys contact details, consent originally given to a third party needs checking. A studio must make checks to ensure that the consent is valid and specifically identifies it, and generic consent covering any third party is not enough.

Emailing and texting prospects, past clients and businesses

Marketing emails or texts must not be sent to individuals without specific consent, with a limited exception for a studio's own previous customers. ^[2]

The exception, often called the soft opt-in, covers an existing customer who bought, or negotiated to buy, a similar product or service from the studio, and who was given a simple way to opt out when their details were first collected and in every message sent. It does not apply to prospective customers or new contacts, such as those from bought-in lists.

Sole traders and some partnerships are treated as individuals, so they can only be emailed or texted if they have specifically consented, or if they bought a similar product from the studio and did not opt out when given that chance.

A company, Scottish partnership, limited liability partnership or government body can be emailed or texted. Where the message goes to a named person, the UK GDPR applies to that personal data, including the right to object to direct marketing. ^[3]

Marketing messages must not disguise or conceal the sender's identity, and they must give a valid contact address so people can opt out or unsubscribe.

Objections, records and choosing a provider

A studio cannot make live marketing calls to any business that has objected to this type of contact from it. Marketing based on consent must stop where that consent has been withdrawn.

A studio also cannot send marketing by electronic mail to sole traders or some types of partnerships if they have opted out. It is good practice to keep a do not email or text list of businesses that object, and to screen new marketing lists against it. ^[3]

Clear records should show what a person has consented to, and when and how consent was given.

When buying leads or hiring a provider, it helps to ask where the contact details came from and what the people agreed to. An indemnity from a contractor is not a substitute for proper checks of that contractor.

To judge providers on results, a studio could count enquiries by source over several months and note how many led to a project. That may show which channel earns its place.