The Top 20 Tools My Web Design Business Can’t Live Without

Confession time: I’m a creepy peeker!

We were in Santa Fe in May and my husband caught me spying on our hotel neighbors. What can I say?! I LOVE when housekeeping is making up a hotel room and they leave the door open juuuuuust wide enough so you can peek in and see what’s inside.

Or, when I was living in Mexico, I learned that you never know what magic awaits behind a seemingly mundane doorway. On my daily walks, I LIVED for the moment someone would emerge from their house as I passed, giving me a brief glimpse at an indoor garden or an art studio or a hidden neighborhood Zumba class. (You can guess how I feel about people who don’t have curtains and leave their lights on at night. That’s a PEAK PEEK!)

So, in the spirit of creepy and not-so-creepy backstage peekin’ (and to celebrate my 20th episode of my weekly Facebook Live show, Awkward Marketing) I’m giving YOU a peek into the 20 tools I use to keep my web design business running smoothly and beautifully.

Click here to grab all 20 tools.

Take a look under the hood at how I run my online biz and the 5 (free) tools I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT.

Then, in honor of Episode #20, grab my TWENTY tools I can’t live without here: https://rachaelkayalbers.com/tools/

No affiliate links, just tools I love, believe in, and recommend.

Happy 20 week birthday, #AwkwardMarketing!

Posted by RKA ink on Wednesday, July 12, 2017

The Top 5 (FREE) Online Tools I Need To Run My Web Design Business

1. Zapier

Last year, I literally tried EVERY CRM TOOL ON THE MARKET in search of the perfect CRM solution for my web design business. (If you’re shaking your first at that acronym, CRM stands for client relationship management.) Andddd guess what I ended up choosing? The CRM I already had (see below) with a unique twist. Try as I might, there was simply no perfect CRM for web designers out there. So, I decided to craft my own perfect CRM, by hooking up different tools to “speak” to each other using Zapier.

Now, when I get a new web design application, Zapier automatically sends it to Capsule, where I monitor my sales pipeline AND MailChimp, where I send an auto-responder AND Proposify, where I create my proposals AND Harvest, where I track time and send invoices. Now, all my many tools are connected, making one big mega tool. Magic!!! It only took me a month of every free trial on the planet to figure out I already had what I needed all along.

2. Capsule

Capsule is the heart of my make-your-own CRM strategy. Not only do I use it to monitor my sales pipeline, as I shared above, but it’s the keeper of all my client information. Sending out a website launch gift to a client? Capsule has their address. Training my project manager on how to best serve a particular business? Capsule has our email history. Following up with a sales prospect? Capsule has a track for that.

3. Canva

Yes, even web designers use Canva! Sure, I use the Adobe Creative Cloud for all my heavy lifting, but let’s be honest…that’s too much tool for most of my web design clients, who are busy running businesses and have no desire to learn the ropes of Illustrator or Photoshop.

While their basic tool is free, I’ve become a huge fan of Canva For Work (despite my early hesitations) because it allows me to set my clients up with their logo, colors, fonts, and a few design templates all in one place. This also saves me time because I’m no longer answering endless “emergency” emails asking, “WHAT’S THE HEX CODE FOR THAT ORANGE COLOR ON MY HOMEPAGE?”

And, did you know that you can use Canva for SO MUCH MORE than just social graphics? I also love Canva for creating brochures, business cards, eBooks, PDFs. (I have a template set up for my SEO reports. Because, sometimes, InDesign is even too much tool for me!)

My secret to using Canva is similar to the advice my mom gave me when I was first learning to apply makeup: “You want your Canva graphics to look like you AREN’T using Canva.” This is why I swear by Canva For Work. While Canva has a world of fonts and colors built into their pre-made templates, I recommend setting up your fonts and colors in Canva For Work and using those, to create a consistent look and feel with the assets you create there.

4. Zoom

I spent my first 7 years in business apologizing about Skype issues. (Skype, I love you but you’re just not reliable.) Finally, I made the switch to Zoom and I haven’t looked back since! With Zoom, I can record my meetings, share my screen easily (this is where the design magic happens) and host large group webinars. And, best of all, Zoom doesn’t require me to start every call with, “Sorry for my Skype!” Zoom? Boom.

5. Appointlet

There are a gazillion schedulers out there, but my heart belongs to Appointlet. Why? Short answer: it adjusts to each user’s timezone, automatically syncs with my Google cal (the #6 tool I can’t live without), and most importantly, it automatically creates Zoom meetings for me and sends clients an invite with all the details. I CAN’T OVERSTATE how much time this Zoom feature saves me. (Oh, and I’m done having those endless back and forth conversations that start with, “What’s a good day for you?” Bonus!)


Where are the other 15 tools?!

Click here to grab my cheat sheet with our TOP 20 FAVORITE TOOLS (no affiliate links here, just tools we love and believe in) for running an online business. Did I miss any important tools? Let me know your favorites in the comments!

Rachael Kay Albers

Rachael Kay Albers is a creative director, business comedian, and brand strategist gone wild. She writes and performs about branding, pop culture, tech, and identity. When she’s not muckraking about marketing, Rachael runs RKA ink, a reinvention studio and branding agency for businesses that burn the rulebook. She's also on Instagram a lot.