3 places, read by Kasspian on 18 August 2026. Rooms change their rules, so check before you post.
The buyer
Small business owners (trades, food, fitness, beauty, professional services) who know they need a website but haven't pulled the trigger because they don't know who to trust or what it will cost.
The places
Ordered as the read produced them, with the door on each.
Small business owners and early-stage founders actively post [Hiring] requests here for web work, and designers who post [For Hire] with images and a clear price range get real inbound leads.
What to do there
Post a [For Hire] listing with 2 to 3 portfolio screenshots, a one-line niche ('small business sites, 5-page builds'), and a starting price. One post per week allowed.
Business owners regularly post in these subs asking for web design help before they find r/forhire. Commenting on those threads with a helpful, specific reply is a direct path to a conversation.
What to do there
Search both subs for 'need a website', 'web designer', 'website help' right now. Reply to any live thread with a specific, useful comment, then offer to help in DMs.
Small business owners actively search Clutch when they are ready to hire. A free profile with even one verified review puts you in front of buyers with real intent.
What to do there
Claim a free Clutch profile this week. List your niche, add any portfolio work, and ask your first client to leave a verified review the moment the project is done.
This week
Make a list of 20 local or niche small businesses you can find online that have no website, or a visibly broken one. Pick one you genuinely like. Build a real, one-page mock-up for them in your tool of choice, unprompted. Then call or email the owner directly, lead with the mock-up, and name a price. This is the exact move that landed the first client for multiple solo web designers in the case studies below. You are not cold-pitching a vague service. You are showing them a finished thing and asking if they want it.
This is the read on a web design agency. Yours is narrower than the category. Describe your business and get the same thing for it, with the live threads to answer this week.
Receipts
Other reads