Reading time: 12 minutes
Published: April 11 2025
Kinga Edwards
How to Design Client Websites That Get Referrals
Make your work the reason your next client calls you.
It’s a good day. You’ve launched a new website, your client’s thrilled, and you’ve ticked all the boxes: it’s responsive, clean, functional, and even includes that one extra feature they asked for last minute. You ship it, log off, and maybe post a quick screenshot to your portfolio.
But two weeks go by, and nothing. No new leads, no referrals. Just silence.
Here’s the kicker: a successful project isn’t just one that pleases your current client. A truly successful project is one that quietly pitches you to their network—without you lifting a finger. That’s the kind of work that turns a one-time build into a pipeline.
And if you're not getting that kind of organic buzz, it's not about working harder. It’s about designing smarter.
The difference between "nice" and "referable"
Let’s be real—most designers can build a nice website these days. Between Figma templates and no-code tools, “visually pleasing” has become the bare minimum. What makes your work worth recommending is something else entirely.
A referable website solves a real problem. It makes people’s lives easier—whether they’re the client or the people using it. It's designed to spark conversations, convert visitors, and leave an impression. Even something as simple as a thoughtful eCommerce color palette can influence user trust and brand recall. And most importantly, it leaves your client thinking, “Wow, this actually made a difference.”
Referrals don’t come from beauty alone. They come from impact —and from creating equity in technology careers by delivering digital experiences that empower all users, not just the ones you see.
Step into the client’s shoes—and their customer’s
The first mistake most designers make? They design for the client’s taste, not their customer's experience. A referable website starts with the end-user.
Think about it: no one tells their friend, “Hey, check out this site—it uses the font I like.” They share it because it works. It’s fast. It’s intuitive. It helped them find what they needed in three clicks instead of twelve.
So when you're in the planning phase, shift the conversation. Ask your client about their audience. What questions do visitors usually have? What frustrates them? Where do they drop off? Get obsessed with flow, clarity, and friction reduction. Because when their customers are happy, your client becomes your fan—and fans share.
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Focus on outcomes, not just output
A lot of freelancers and agencies stop at launch. They hand off the site and move on. But the ones who get referrals follow through. They care about what happens next.
That means you’re not just asking, “Does it look good?” You’re asking, “How’s the siteperforming?” You’re measuring contact form submissions, product views, newsletter signups—whatever matters to the business.
When a site you designed increases sales, reduces support tickets, or grows a mailing list, that’s what your client brags about to their peers. That’s the story they tell. So make sure you’re asking for feedback a few weeks post-launch. Not in a pushy way—just a quick check-in: “Any noticeable changes since the site went live?” That keeps you top of mind, and it reminds them that what you built wasn’t just a pretty thing—it worked.
Build something worth showing off
People love showing off clever things. A smooth product tour, a playful animation, a homepage that feels different in just the right way. Not gimmicky. Just... memorable.
You don’t need to reinvent UX. You just need to design one or two moments that make someone pause and think, “That’s cool.”
Sometimes it’s a custom illustration that moves as you scroll. Sometimes it’s copy that actually makes you smile. Sometimes it’s a contact form that’s so seamless it feels like magic.
These are the bits that get shared in Slack threads. The parts clients send to their business friends with a simple: “Check this out.”
If your site feels like a clone of every other startup homepage from 2020, no one’s sharing it. But if you add a bit of charm? People talk. This is where UI UX consulting services can make a significant difference, helping you create those memorable moments that resonate with users.
Don’t make referrals a chore
Even the happiest clients won’t refer you if it’s awkward or complicated. They’re busy. They might love your work—but they’re not going to draft an intro email for you from scratch.
So make it easy. Offer them a simple sentence they can forward. Something like: “Hey, just looping you in—[Your Name] built our site, and we loved working with them.”
Even better? Give them a one-pager that outlines what you do, how your process works, and who you’re best suited for. No hard pitch. Just a little leave-behind that helps them help you.
Want to automate the referral process? Tools like ReferralCandy make it easy to track and reward referrals—so your happiest clients can spread the word without lifting more than a finger.
Some designers go further and offer referral incentives. That works, but only if the experience is already great. Incentives don’t replace wow-worthy work—they amplify it.
Make it easy to maintain (and hard to break)
A site that looks beautiful on day one but breaks six months later? That’s not a referral engine—it’s a regret. So even if you’re handing off the site, make sure it’s built in a way the client can actually manage.
That could mean using a CMS they’re familiar with. Or creating a short video tutorial that walks them through how to update content. Or documenting the key components they’ll need down the line.
Empowered clients are more likely to share. Frustrated ones aren’t.
Turn every successful project into a story
If the site you built got results, turn it into a case study. Not a dry “before and after”—but a short, tight narrative:
Here’s what wasn’t working. Here’s what we changed. Here’s what happened next.
One of our clients runs a peer-to-peer marketplace, and they saw a 40% increase in signups after we streamlined their onboarding flow.
Write it from the angle of the client’s success, not your heroism. When they look good, they’ll want to share the story—and every share becomes a breadcrumb that leads back to you.
And don’t just bury it on your portfolio page. Post it on LinkedIn. Mention it in emails. Use it as proof in new proposals. The more places your work shows up, the more people it reaches—and the more likely someone will say, “I’ve been meaning to get my site redone… do you have availability?”
Final thoughts: your next client is watching
Every site you build is a quiet ambassador for your work. It’s out there, 24/7, being visited by potential clients, investors, users, and yes—friends-of-clients who are looking for someone just like you.
So build with that in mind.
Design for usability. Bake in delight. Keep it strategic. Follow up with curiosity. And leave behind something your client is proud to put their name on.
Do that consistently, and the referrals won’t feel like a nice bonus.
They’ll feel inevitable.
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