I've been running a one person web design shop for a while now. The thing that changed it most this year wasn't a new framework, it was handing the boring 80% of every build to a coding agent and keeping the parts that actually need a human.

Here's the exact loop I use to go from "local business with a bad site" to "live site the owner can edit", usually inside a day.

1. Finding the client

I don't cold pitch with a deck anymore. I pick a niche (plumbers, dentists, cafes in one suburb), look at their current sites on my phone, and note the obvious stuff: slow load, broken contact form, no mobile menu, hours that are out of date.

Then I get the agent to build a quick mockup of their homepage using their real copy and photos. Sending someone a link to their own site, but better, gets way more replies than "hey I do websites".

Rule I learned the hard way: never send the mockup on a URL with my agency name all over it. Use a neutral preview link and keep it to one page.

2.…