Productized Webflow/Design

Basic, Pro, Enterprise Tiers That Sell Themselves

The client asked me to send over a proposal for a website redesign in October 2016.

I spent six hours writing it. Custom proposal template with their logo. Mood boards. Three different timeline options. Itemized pricing for every possible feature they might want. I sent it feeling proud of how thorough I’d been.

They ghosted me for three weeks. When they finally replied, they’d hired someone else who “just had clearer packages.”

I’d lost a $22,000 project because I made them work too hard to understand what they were buying. They didn’t want options and custom proposals. They wanted to point at a thing and say yes. I’d given them homework when they wanted a menu.

That’s when I stopped selling custom everything and started selling three specific things. Basic. Pro. Enterprise. Same structure for every client. No proposals. No negotiations. No “let me think about what you need and get back to you.”

The tiers sold themselves because clients could finally see what they were buying.

Why Custom Proposals Are Killing Your Close Rate

I believed custom proposals showed I cared. That taking the time to understand each client’s unique needs and crafting a bespoke solution proved I was thorough and professional. Every sales book I’d read said “understand their pain points” and “tailor your offering.”

So I did. For 18 months, every single inquiry got a custom proposal.

My close rate was 28%. For every ten proposals I sent, I closed fewer than three. I was spending 40 to 50 hours a month writing proposals for clients who never hired me. That’s an entire week of work generating zero revenue.

The clients who did hire me always asked the same question after seeing the proposal: “What do most people choose?” They wanted a default. A starting point. Social proof that other smart people had made a decision and it worked out.

I was forcing them to be the pioneer when they just wanted to follow a proven path.

In November 2016, I looked at all the projects I’d completed that year. There were 23 of them. I categorized them by final scope and price. Three distinct clusters emerged:

Small projects averaging $4,800. These were startups or solopreneurs who needed a solid web presence fast. Five to seven pages. Template customization. Basic integrations. Two weeks of work.

Medium projects averaging $12,500. Established small businesses who needed custom design and more complex functionality. Ten to fifteen pages. Custom Webflow builds. CMS setup. Advanced integrations. Four to six weeks of work.

Large projects averaging $31,200. Companies with real budgets who needed everything plus strategy and ongoing support. Fifteen-plus pages. Fully custom everything. Multiple integrations. Extensive CMS. Eight to twelve weeks of work.

I’d been recreating these three tiers from scratch with every proposal instead of just naming them and selling them on repeat.

December 2016 was when I built the tier system that’s still running today.

The Three-Tier Structure That Actually Works

I named them exactly what they were. Webflow Starter. Webflow Pro. Webflow Enterprise.

No clever branding. No “Silver, Gold, Platinum” nonsense that forces clients to decode what each level means. Just clear descriptors that told them immediately which tier matched their situation.

Here’s what I put on my website in January 2017, word for word:

Webflow Starter: $4,800 Your professional web presence in two weeks. Perfect for solopreneurs, coaches, and small service businesses who need to look legitimate without spending months on a website.

What’s included:

• Up to 7 pages (Home, About, Services, Work/Portfolio, Blog index, Contact, one custom page)

• Webflow template customization with your brand colors and fonts

• Mobile responsive design that actually works

• Basic CMS setup for blog posts

• Contact form integration

• Two weeks from kickoff to launch

• Two rounds of revisions

• One month of post-launch support for bugs or broken links

What’s not included:

• Custom illustrations or graphics (you provide photos/assets or we use stock)

• E-commerce functionality

• Custom animations beyond template defaults

• Multiple CMS collections

• Third-party integrations beyond contact forms

• SEO strategy or copywriting

• More than two revision rounds

Timeline: Two weeks from deposit to launch. You provide content and assets by day three or timeline extends.

Webflow Pro: $12,500 Custom Webflow site built specifically for your business. For established companies who need more than a template and want a site that actually converts visitors into customers.

What’s included:

• Up to 15 pages with custom layouts for each

• Fully custom Webflow design (no templates)

• Advanced CMS setup with multiple collections

• Mobile responsive with tablet optimization

• Custom animations and micro-interactions

• Integration with up to three third-party tools (CRM, email, scheduling, etc.)

• Blog setup with category and tag functionality

• SEO-ready structure with proper meta tags

• Four to six weeks from kickoff to launch

• Three rounds of revisions

• Two months of post-launch support

What’s not included:

• E-commerce functionality (add $4,200 for basic shop with up to 25 products)

• Copywriting (we design the site, you provide the words)

• Custom illustrations (add $1,800 for illustration package)

• Ongoing maintenance after two months (retainer available)

• Migration of content from old site (you provide organized content)

Timeline: Four to six weeks depending on content delivery. Requires kickoff call, brand assets, and all content by week one.

Webflow Enterprise: $31,200 The complete package for companies who need a high-converting website plus the strategy and support to make it work. This isn’t just a website. It’s a conversion system.

What’s included:

• Unlimited pages within scope (typically 15-25 pages)

• Fully custom design with brand strategy session

• Complex CMS architecture with multiple collections and relationships

• Advanced integrations (CRM, marketing automation, analytics, member portals, etc.)

• Custom animations and scroll-triggered interactions

• Conversion optimization strategy built into design

• A/B testing setup for key pages

• Complete SEO foundation with technical optimization

• Blog + resource center with advanced filtering

• Eight to twelve weeks from kickoff to launch

• Unlimited revisions during design phase, two revision rounds post-development

• Three months of post-launch support and optimization

• Training session for your team on managing the CMS

What’s not included:

• E-commerce (separate package starting at $8,500)

• Ongoing content creation or blog writing

• Paid advertising management

• Social media management

• Video production

Timeline: Eight to twelve weeks. Requires dedicated point person on your team and executive stakeholder availability for strategy sessions.

I put that on a simple landing page with a Calendly link at the bottom of each tier. “Ready to get started? Book a 30-minute fit call.”

No “request a quote.” No “let’s discuss your needs.” Just “here’s what you get, here’s what it costs, book a call if you want it.”

The first week, I got seven calls booked. Five of them converted. Three Starter packages, two Pro packages. $39,100 in closed deals from a single landing page.

My close rate jumped from 28% to 71% in the first month.

The Pricing Psychology That Makes Tiers Work

Most people chose Pro. That was intentional.

I priced Starter low enough to be accessible but high enough that it felt like a real investment. $4,800 is too much to impulse buy but not so much that you need three approval layers. The solopreneur or small business owner can make that decision themselves.

I priced Enterprise high enough to filter out price shoppers and signal premium quality. $31,200 is a budget line item that requires planning. Companies at that level expect to pay real money for real results. If they flinch at the price, they’re not Enterprise clients.

Pro sat in the middle at $12,500, which became the anchor. It was 2.6x the Starter price but only 40% of the Enterprise price. The value gap between Starter and Pro felt huge. The value gap between Pro and Enterprise felt reasonable but not necessary for most businesses.

Psychology says people avoid extremes and gravitate toward the middle option when presented with three choices. But that only works if the middle option is actually what most people need.

I didn’t manufacture that. The $12,500 Pro tier genuinely served 60% of the market. I just structured pricing around that reality.

The tier that sold second-most was Starter. These clients usually came through referrals or were early-stage founders who wanted to work with me but couldn’t justify Pro pricing yet. Starter gave them an entry point. About 40% of Starter clients upgraded to Pro within 18 months when their business grew.

Enterprise sold the least frequently, maybe 15% of total projects. But those projects were the most profitable on a per-hour basis and often led to ongoing retainers. The clients who chose Enterprise weren’t price-sensitive. They cared about outcomes and wanted someone who’d think strategically, not just execute.

The mistake I made initially was underpricing Starter. I launched it at $3,600 because I was worried no one would buy at $4,800. Within two months I realized I was attracting clients who wanted Pro-level work but only wanted to pay Starter prices. They’d ask for “just a few extra pages” or “one more integration” and I’d say yes because the project was already underway.

I raised Starter to $4,800 in March 2017 and the problem disappeared. The clients who balked at the increase weren’t the right fit anyway. The ones who valued the work paid it happily.

How to Handle “Can I Just Get This One Thing from the Higher Tier?”

This question comes up constantly. A Starter client wants the CMS functionality from Pro. A Pro client wants unlimited revisions from Enterprise. They want a la carte pricing inside a package structure.

For the first six months, I said yes every time. “Sure, we can add that for an extra $800.” It felt like good customer service. It destroyed the entire point of having tiers.

Every project became custom again. I was negotiating scope and price on every single deal. The tiers became suggestions instead of containers, and I was back to spending hours figuring out how to price one-off additions.

In June 2017, I created an add-on menu. Specific upgrades with fixed prices that clients could purchase alongside any tier. This kept the core packages intact while giving flexibility for the features people most commonly requested.

The add-on menu:

• E-commerce setup (up to 25 products): $4,200

• Custom illustration package (5 illustrations): $1,800

• Extra CMS collection: $600 per collection

• Additional third-party integration: $800 per integration

• Extra revision round: $1,200

• Copywriting for up to 10 pages: $3,600

• Monthly maintenance retainer: $900/month

If someone asked for something not on the add-on menu, I’d say: “That’s not something I’ve packaged as an add-on, but it’s included in [higher tier]. If you need that feature, I’d recommend moving to [higher tier] because you’ll also get [other benefits].”

This did two things. It made upselling natural instead of pushy. And it prevented me from doing custom pricing math on every request.

About 30% of clients who inquired about add-ons ended up upgrading to the next tier instead. They’d realize the price difference between their current tier plus add-ons versus just buying the higher tier was minimal, and the higher tier came with more value.

The clients who stuck with their tier and added specific upgrades were great too. The add-on revenue added an average of $2,400 per project, and because I’d already priced the add-ons, there was no negotiation.

The “What Most People Choose” Close

On sales calls, I stopped pitching. I started guiding.

After understanding their needs in the first 15 minutes, I’d say: “Based on what you’ve told me, most businesses in your situation choose [tier]. Here’s why.”

Then I’d walk them through the specific features of that tier that matched what they’d said they needed. I’d show them my website with the tier breakdown and let them read through the included/not included sections while I stayed quiet.

If they hesitated or seemed uncertain, I’d add: “About 60% of my clients choose Pro. The ones who choose Starter are usually earlier stage or have a smaller budget but still want quality. The ones who choose Enterprise typically need the advanced integrations or have a dedicated marketing team that needs training.”

Social proof without pressure. Data without manipulation. Just telling them what actually happens.

My close rate on these calls was 73%. For context, when I was sending custom proposals, my close rate was 28% and the sales cycle averaged six weeks. With tiers, the sales cycle dropped to an average of eight days from first call to signed contract.

The clients who didn’t close usually fell into two categories. They wanted something outside the scope of all three tiers (usually e-commerce-heavy sites or app development), or they weren’t ready to move forward yet and were just gathering information.

I stopped chasing the second group. If someone said “I need to think about it,” I’d reply: “Totally understand. The tier structure and pricing won’t change, so take your time. When you’re ready to move forward, just book another call through the same link.”

No follow-up sequences. No “just checking in” emails. No discounts to close them faster. If they were the right fit, they’d come back. About 20% did, usually within 30 days.

The ones who didn’t come back saved me from projects that would have been painful anyway.

The Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To

I didn’t enforce the “what’s not included” boundaries at first. A Pro client would ask if I could “just quickly” add another integration or write the copy for one page, and I’d say yes because I wanted them to be happy. This eroded my margins and set a precedent that the packages were negotiable.

It took me three months to get comfortable saying: “That’s outside the scope of Pro, but I can add it as an upgrade for $800” or “That’s included in Enterprise if you want to move to that tier.” Enforcing boundaries felt uncomfortable at first. It became easier when I realized clients respected me more for having clear limits.

I underestimated how much the tier names mattered. My first version used “Essential, Professional, Premium” and clients constantly asked what the difference was between Professional and Premium. When I switched to Starter, Pro, Enterprise in April 2017, the confusion disappeared. The names did the work of explaining who each tier was for.

I didn’t create enough visual differentiation on the landing page initially. The three tiers were just text blocks with bullet points. They looked identical, so clients had to read every detail to understand the differences. In July 2017, I redesigned the page with different colored backgrounds for each tier, larger price displays, and a comparison table that showed feature differences side-by-side. Conversions from landing page to booked call increased by 34%.

I was too rigid about timeline estimates in the first few months. I said two weeks for Starter and held myself to it even when clients were late delivering content or requested changes that pushed the timeline. I burned out trying to meet impossible deadlines that I’d created. Now the timeline language is clearer: “Two weeks from kickoff to launch, contingent on timely content delivery. Timeline extends proportionally if content is delayed.”

I didn’t build in enough buffer for revision rounds. “Two rounds of revisions” sounds clear until a client submits 47 individual changes in round one and another 32 in round two. I started defining what constitutes a revision round: “A revision round is one consolidated round of feedback across the entire site, submitted within five business days of the previous delivery.” This prevented endless back-and-forth disguised as “the same revision round.”

What This Actually Looks Like in Practice

Let me show you a real month so you can see how the tier system works when you’re running multiple projects simultaneously.

March 2018. I had seven active projects:

• Three Starter packages in various stages ($14,400 total revenue)

• Three Pro packages ($37,500 total revenue)

• One Enterprise package ($31,200)

Total committed revenue for the month: $83,100.

The Starter projects were straightforward. Week one was kickoff and content collection. Week two was design and build. Each took about 12 to 14 hours of actual work time. I batched them so I was doing similar tasks across all three projects at once. Design phase for all three in the same week. Build phase the following week. Revisions the week after that.

The Pro projects required more attention but followed the same pattern. Kickoff and strategy in week one. Design in weeks two and three. Development in weeks four and five. Revisions and launch in week six. Each took about 35 to 40 hours of work.

The Enterprise project was the most involved. I spread it across ten weeks with dedicated time blocks each week. Strategy and planning in weeks one and two. Design in weeks three through five. Development in weeks six through eight. Revisions and optimization in weeks nine and ten. Total work time was about 85 hours.

Because every project followed the tier structure, I knew exactly what I was delivering and when. No scope creep. No “just one more thing” requests that I felt obligated to fulfill. When clients asked for additions, I pointed to the add-on menu or suggested upgrading to the next tier for the next project.

The best part was cash flow predictability. I knew March revenue would be at least $83,100 because all seven projects were already under contract with deposits paid. I could plan. I could hire a contractor for overflow work. I could take a week off without panicking about pipeline.

Compare that to March 2016, when I had no idea what the month would bring until invoices went out. That March I billed $18,900 across five custom projects that took 40% more time than estimated because scope kept expanding.

The Next Steps That Actually Matter

If you’re still doing custom proposals for every project, stop. Today. Pick your last ten projects and group them by final scope and price. You’ll see patterns.

Build three tiers based on those patterns. Don’t overthink the names. Starter/Pro/Enterprise works. Basic/Advanced/Premium works. Just make it obvious who each tier serves.

Write out exactly what’s included and not included for each tier. Be specific. “Up to 7 pages” is specific. “Website design” is vague. The more specific you are, the fewer negotiations you’ll have later.

Price the middle tier at what 60% of your clients actually need and will pay. Price the bottom tier at half of that. Price the top tier at 2.5x to 3x the middle tier.

Put it on a landing page with a booking link. No “request a quote” forms. Just “Book a call to get started.”

When someone books a call, ask about their business and needs for 15 minutes, then tell them which tier most people in their situation choose and why. Walk them through the included/not included list. Answer questions. If they’re ready, send the contract that day.

Stop customizing. Stop negotiating. Stop spending hours on proposals for clients who ghost you.

The tiers will sell themselves if you let them.

I went from 28% close rate with six-week sales cycles to 73% close rate with eight-day sales cycles. From spending 40 hours a month on proposals to spending maybe six hours on sales calls that actually convert. From custom chaos to predictable structure.

The clients who need custom work will tell you immediately. “None of these tiers fit what we need.” Great. Send them to someone who does custom. The other 90% will point at a tier and say yes.

That’s what you want. Clients who point and say yes.

Build the tiers. Price them clearly. Let them sell themselves.

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