Jay Clouse is best known for two things:

1. Being the founder of Creator Science, and being one of the most prominent thought-leaders in the content creator space
2. Being the first 4x guest on the Web Design Business Podcast

Jay and I connected early in his journey into the world of courses, coaching, podcasting, memberships and content creation and over the last 5 years, I’ve seen him excel in all areas.

So much so, that I’m a paying member of his community “The Lab” where I keep tabs on all things socials, content creation, podcasting, memberships and more.

But a big shift happened for Jay last year when he and his wife had their first little cuddly Clouse. So for this chat, we focus on that – specifically what he’s learned in growing and maintaining his business with harsher time and bandwidth constraints as a new parent.

Enjoy! And if you’re this season as well, just know, the sleep deprivation DOES get better 🙂

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/408

There are a lot of ongoing changes happening with SEO and how user behavior is changing with AI. It’s hard enough to keep up with as a web designer…I can’t imagine as a client!

But someone who’s doing a great job keeping their SEO clients in-the-know and updated every step of the way is Lindsay Halsey, co-founder of SEO agency webshine.com

She shares how they’re implementing AI SEO, how it’s changing their current offers, pricing and what they’re not changing.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/407

I’m sharing the replay of my recent Live Q&A session where we dug into all things client retention, communication, and keeping your web design business running smoothly… even when outages hit or the unexpected happens.

You’ll hear me break down some of the same strategies I taught at the recent Circle Summit — including how to set boundaries, create repeatable touchpoints, and turn one-time clients into long-term fans.

And since we’re heading into Black Friday, I also walk through this year’s Web Designer Pro® deals, including some really solid bonuses to help you level up going into 2025.

We cover:

• personal welcome videos that set the tone
• launch packs that turn go-live into referrals
• 30-day post-launch buffers to reduce scope creep
• monthly reports to stay top-of-mind
• A/B/C client segmentation for holiday outreach
• the “website is never finished” mindset
• SOS plans for Squarespace and Webflow clients
• calm scripts for handling outages + tough conversations
• shifting from designer → strategist
• what’s new with Divi 5
• security basics and support plans
• Black Friday offers worth sharing

👉 2025 Black Friday Deal – 25% OFF Annual Plans on Pro!

Courses Tier:
Usually $499/yr → now $374/yr

Personalized website strategy audit (10–15 min Loom video)

https://member.webdesignerpro.com/checkout/course-access?coupon_code=BF2025

Community Tier:
Usually $999/yr → now $749/yr

Website strategy audit plus a 30-min 1:1 with me

https://member.webdesignerpro.com/checkout/community-access?coupon_code=BF2025

Offer good through Cyber Monday, Dec 1 at 11:59pm ET
Valid for Courses + Community tiers
Audits + 1:1s delivered December–January

Watch the replay here on YouTube!

What better time to learn about the latest (and time-tested) trends for website conversion than heading into Black Friday, Holiday’s and New Year – and that’s what we’re getting into with Greg Merrilees, who literally wrote the book on website conversion with Next Level Website Design.

We’re getting into all the nerdy, nitty-gritty and specific conversion tips and tricks on this one.

Remember, everything you learn here and apply to your site works on client sites making you more and more valuable as a conversion-focused web designer!

Charge accordingly 🙂

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/405

Happy 5th Birthday Web Designer Pro® 🥳

What started on November 4th, 2020, as a small coaching community for 30+ of my top course students has become a leader in the web design business-coaching space and one of Circle's most highly engaged communities.

It's a testament to the AMAZING members who show up every week to help, support, and encourage each other, as web designers at all stages, to grow their web businesses together.

It's an honor to lead this thing, and I can safely say – 5 years in and we're just getting going!🎉

This special edition podcast episode is the replay from our recent live Q&A with Coaching Tier members of Pro, celebrating the milestone. Many of whom are original founding members who’ve been in since day one!

Questions range from community building, if I miss designing websites for clients, podcasting, offers/pricing, how to do YouTube to get clients and much more.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/wdp5

Design and building websites…that’s the fun part.

Managing the project, collecting content, onboarding, handling revisions and feedback…typically, not so much.

Which is why, if you can automate as much of the repeatable tasks and make a system and process for the “unfun” parts of a web design project, it’ll make your life much easier and more profitable.

That’s what we’re diving into this one with automation and systems specialist (and fellow 17hats user) Kristen Lettini.

We get into:

• What automations you’re missing (and why to add them NOW)
• The GOLD of auto-reminders
• Using a CRM like 17hats to automate as much as possible
• My “before and after” automation moment
• Why improving systems is THE KEY to sustainability

Being an entrepreneur is challenging. Being a parent-entrepreneur is even more challenging. Being a special needs parent entrepreneur…it’s tough to put into words. But one thing’s for sure, the freedom of schedule and flexible availability, to be able to care for a special needs kiddo as a web designer is UNMATCHED and well worth all the challenges.

We’re diving into all of that and more in this special group chat that I had with Marc Hyde, Lisa Dorian and Ed Gomes. All members of Web Designer Pro who have something in common, being a web designer and entrepreneur with one or more special needs children we care for.

We get into:

• Future planning for special care after retirement
• How goals and vision changes after having a child with special needs
• How to structure your schedule and calls around a complex schedule
• How we stay balanced during hard times (emergencies, surgeries, etc)
• The invaluable need for a supportive community of others who are in similar situations

And don’t worry, you don’t need to have a special needs kiddo to get a lot out of this convo because everything we talk about is applicable to you as an entrepreneur parent.

Today we have a guest host for the podcast, my persona SEO Guru and Copy Strategist Michelle Bourbonniere who’s sharing what you need to know about the latest with AI SEO.

Specifically, five things that are changing, and five things that are staying in regard to “on and off-site SEO.”

Do you find that you no longer fit in with many of your friends when you become an entrepreneur?

If so, you’re not alone.

In this episode, I’m sharing my take on this common “friendshift” for web design entrepreneurs and it’s based off a recent newsletter from Web Designer Pro member Alexia (of visualvibedesign.com) who shared a very open and honest take on this topic.

So in this solo episode, it’s narrative as I’ll read you Alexia’s newsletter and follow up with my take as well on things like:

• Why old friendships shift when priorities change
• Belonging in the awkward middle between old circles and new peers
• The value of small, curated communities over giant groups
• Practical steps to find “web besties” and collaborators
• Identity growth, ROI on social time, and protecting focus

And more.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/400

One of our biggest Web Designer Pro member success stories, Sam Sarsten, is back on the podcast with an update on how he’s grown his agency to over 200k in 3 years, primarily through Local SEO.

We’re getting into all the nitty gritty on this one:

• How much he charges
• How he finds clients
• How he measures and tracks results
• How he’s scaled his team
• How he offers web design + SEO

And more!

Heads up, we had some technical issues + a guest interruption (Peaches!!) who wiggled some chords so this one is a little more edited than normal. But the gems were too good to re-record.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/399

Ever wondered if you should trademark your business?

There are a lot of reasons you may consider it:

• You may want to sell your business one day.
• You might want to make sure no one can take your brand name with no grounds for legal action on your end.
• You might have a productized service or product you want to sell eventually.
• You may just want full control over your brand as a whole.

For all those reasons and more, you might be wondering if you should trademark and what the process is.

To help with that, I’m excited to bring, back onto the podcast, personal legal commandant Ann Koppuzha who recently helped me get Web Designer Pro® officially trademarked!

We walk through the entire process, what to do and what to expect.

Again, whether or not you want to sell your business one day, there are many reason you might want to consider OWNING your brand name or a product or service that you offer.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/398