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Your Brand and Web Designers Responsibilities Might Not Include What You Thought
Let’s set the record straight. As a brand and web designer, my job is to make your business look incredible, feel cohesive, and function in a way that attracts and converts your ideal clients. But beyond the visual magic, there are a lot of things that fall outside of my scope.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Wait… aren’t you handling that for me?”— this post is for you. Because while I love crafting strategic, high-converting brands and websites, there are business, legal, and operational elements that are your responsibility as the business owner. Let’s break them down.
Legal, Compliance & Business Operations
1. Legal Compliance & Website Policies
Your website needs to follow laws like ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)— but I’m not a lawyer, and while I am Accessibility Certified through Wix, I can't 100% ensure your website is fully, legally compliant. These laws cover things like data privacy, accessibility, and consumer protection, and they vary depending on your location and industry. Some businesses are required to have cookie banners, opt-in disclaimers, or specific accessibility features— that’s something you need to verify with a legal professional.
Ignoring these regulations can lead to fines, lawsuits, or even getting your website taken down— so it’s important to get it right. I highly recommend consulting with a lawyer or legal professional to ensure your website meets all necessary requirements, especially regarding data collection, privacy policies, and accessibility.
✔️ What I can do: Recommend best practices, point you to legal resources, and make your site as accessibility-friendly as possible within the scope of design.
❌ What I can’t do: Draft your privacy policies, terms & conditions, or disclaimers—or guarantee that your website is 100% legally compliant.
2. Product Labeling, Disclaimers & Legal Requirements
If you sell physical products, you are responsible for making sure your labels, ingredient lists, product disclaimers, and required warnings meet industry and legal standards. This includes FDA regulations for food, beauty, and health products, safety certifications, and any other legally required content.
For example, if you sell skincare products, you can’t just slap on a label that says, “Erases wrinkles overnight!”— there are strict regulations around making medical or cosmetic claims. Similarly, food products must include ingredient lists, allergen warnings, and nutritional information according to industry standards. If your business falls under any of these categories, you need to do your due diligence to make sure you're compliant.
✔️ What I can do: Design beautiful product pages or packaging that reflects your brand.
❌ What I can’t do: Guarantee that your labels or product descriptions meet legal standards—this is something you need to verify with the appropriate legal or regulatory body.
3. Taxes, Sales Tax & Business Financials
While I can create a sleek and seamless eCommerce experience for you, I am not responsible for determining or managing your sales tax, VAT, or any tax obligations related to your business. Taxes can vary depending on where you’re located and where your customers are purchasing from, your industry requirements, and more, and it’s your responsibility to understand what applies to your business.
For example, if you’re selling digital products to customers in different states or countries, tax laws can get tricky. Some platforms allow automated tax collection, like Wix, but you still need to set it up correctly and report it to the appropriate tax authorities. If you’re not sure about what’s required, it’s best to consult an accountant or tax professional.
✔️ What I can do: Integrate tax settings into your website if your platform allows.
❌ What I can’t do: Advise you on tax rates, obligations, or financial decisions— you’ll need a tax expert for that!
4. Shipping Providers, Policies & Logistics
Deciding how you’ll handle shipping, returns, fulfillment providers, and logistics is your responsibility. You’ll need to determine the best shipping carriers, refund policies, and order fulfillment methods for your business.
For example, if you run an eCommerce store, you need to decide:
Which shipping carrier you’ll use (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc.)
What your shipping rates will be (flat rate, free shipping, weight-based, etc.)
Your refund and return policy (How long do customers have to return an item? Who pays for return shipping?)
All of these details matter, and they directly impact your customer experience. I can set up the backend of your website to reflect your shipping policies, but the actual logistics of getting products into customers’ hands? That’s up to you!
✔️ What I can do: Set up your shipping options inside your website builder (if applicable).
❌ What I can’t do: Decide your shipping rates, carriers, or handle order fulfillment.
Technical & Website Management
5. Ongoing Site Management & Edits
Once your site is launched, it’s yours! Think of it like buying a car— you own it, but you’re responsible for the gas, oil changes, and tune-ups. Any updates, changes, or troubleshooting beyond launch day are not included unless you’ve signed up for a website maintenance plan (which, by the way, is highly recommended if you want to keep your site running smoothly and stress-free).
A website is a living, breathing thing (okay, maybe not breathing— but you get the idea). Over time, updates need to happen— whether it’s changing your services or pricing, updating images, adding a new page, or troubleshooting when a plugin decides to act up for no reason (love that for us).
✔️ What I can do: Offer ongoing website support through a maintenance plan, hourly rate (for one-time small updates or fixes), or a VIP Day if you need bigger updates.
❌ What I can’t do: Continuously update your site for free after launch or magically fix things you (or someone else) broke without a support agreement in place.
6. Domain, Hosting & Website Security
Your domain and hosting are like the land and foundation of your house— I can help you build the dream home (your website), but I don’t own the land. Once your website is live, managing domain renewals, hosting plans, and security is on you (unless you have a maintenance plan).
Hosting companies sometimes have downtime, glitches, or issues with renewals— and while I can point you in the right direction, I don’t have control over their systems. If your website suddenly vanishes because your domain wasn’t renewed (it happens more than you’d think), you’ll need to work with your hosting provider to get it back up.
✔️ What I can do: Guide you through setup and recommend hosting providers that fit your needs (I typically have all my clients use Wix partly due to their enterprise-grade security). If we’re working together on a site build, I’ll walk you through the process of purchasing your domain and hosting.
❌ What I can’t do: Manage renewals, fix hosting issues, or recover lost domains— you’ll need to contact your hosting provider directly for that.
7. Fixing DIY Website Edits Gone Wrong
So, you decided to tweak a few things on your site… and now everything looks weird, buttons don’t work, or entire sections have disappeared. Been there, seen that! You're not the only one. DIY edits can sometimes go sideways, and if you’re not familiar with how your site is built, you might accidentally break something important. I try to make sure all my clients are comfortable editing and maintaining their site moving forward post-launch if they aren't interested in a maintenance plan, but still, sometimes edits can go wrong.
But that’s why having a backup plan (aka a maintenance agreement or scheduling a VIP Day occasionally) is a lifesaver. Without one, you’ll need to pay an hourly rate (with a rush fee if you want these fixes pushed further up my schedule!) or book a troubleshooting VIP Day session to get things back on track.
✔️ What I can do: Provide post-launch support if you’re on a retainer, fix issues if you have a maintenance plan or schedule a VIP Day, or occasionally help on an hourly basis if needed if you're a past client of mine.
❌ What I can’t do: Fix DIY mistakes at no charge... If you break it, you’ll need to pay for the repair (just like you would with a plumber if you accidentally busted a pipe trying to fix your sink, right, lol?!)
Marketing, SEO & Sales Performance
8. SEO Rankings & Traffic Guarantees
I follow SEO best practices to give your website the best possible shot at ranking on Google, but SEO is a long-term game, not an overnight fix. SEO is an ongoing effort, and while I can optimize your website’s structure, speed, and on-page elements, you’ll need to regularly create new content (like blog posts) and promote your site to see continuous growth in search rankings (unless you have a maintenance plan with SEO in place post-launch).
When we work together on a website project, I take care of the initial (keyword there) on-page and technical SEO to set a solid foundation for you to build on, BUT SEO isn't a "set it and forget it" deal... My initial efforts will help your website out a ton, but it will not be the thing will help you end up with hundreds or thousands of website visitors each month without an on-going website maintenance plan that includes on-going SEO work!
Another thing... If anyone promises you instant first-page rankings, that’s a major red flag. Google rankings depend on algorithm changes, competition, and consistent content updates, not just how well your website is designed. I cannot guarantee you (or anyone) that I can make sure you end up on the first page of Google, but logic does tell you though, that the longer we work together and tweak your SEO strategy over time, seeing your business on the first page of Google definitely isn't out of reach (I have several clients who rank on the first page of Google results for multiple keywords!)
✔️ What I can do: Optimize your site structure, content, and technical SEO settings to give you the best foundation for ranking, and work with you on a website maintenance plan that helps you rank better for industry-related keywords over time, with the intention of one day hopefully ranking on the first page of Google for one or ideally more, of those keywords.
❌ What I can’t do: Guarantee you’ll land on page one of Google— let alone instantly— SEO success depends on ongoing strategy and content marketing. Not from one day's worth of updates.
9. Website Copy & Content (Unless Included)
Your website needs strong, compelling copy to attract and convert visitors. But unless we've added copywriting as part of your website package, you’re responsible for providing content for your site.
Good, strategic, optimized design and copy go hand in hand, and without clear, persuasive messaging, even the most beautiful website won’t convert well. If writing isn’t your strong suit, investing in a professional copywriter is so worth it— they’ll help craft messaging that resonates with your audience and drives action. If a copywriter is out of budget for you, we can add SEO copywriting to your package for an additional investment!
✔️ What I can do: Provide copywriting as an additional service, refer you to a copywriter, or offer you proofreading and minor edits the copy you provide me with to make it as SEO and conversion-focused as we can.
❌ What I can’t do: Write your entire website’s content for free— copywriting is a separate service from design, takes a lot of intentional research and knowing your audience, and time.
10. Social Media, Ads & Marketing Strategy
Your website is a powerful marketing tool, but it’s just one piece of your overall marketing strategy. Once your site is live, you’ll need to actively drive traffic to it through ways other than just showing up in Google search results— whether through social media, ads, email marketing, or on-going SEO.
I don’t manage social media accounts or run ad campaigns under any circumstances, and I don't offer marketing strategy unless it’s specifically included in our project scope. Think of your website as the home base— it needs consistent traffic and visibility to be effective.
✔️ What I can do: Design high-converting landing pages and sales pages to support your marketing efforts, and advise you where I feel like I have some experience and expertise.
❌ What I can’t do: Run your ads, post on social media, manage your overall marketing strategy, or guarantee you and kind of ROI.
Your Business, Your Success
11. Your Business Growth & Sales Success
A strategic brand and website will set the stage for success, but you still have to put in the work— market your business, nurture leads, build relationships, network, and close sales. A website alone won’t magically bring in customers if you aren’t actively promoting your offers and driving traffic in various places and ways.
Your success depends on showing up consistently, building relationships, and making sure people actually know about your brand. Your website is a tool, not a magic wand (though that would be pretty cool).
✔️ What I can do: Give you a high-converting, professional website that makes you look like the expert you are, and give you some promotional tools like launch graphics or social media templates to help you promote and market your business on socials.
❌ What I can’t do: Run your business for you, guarantee instant success, or replace the need for ongoing marketing efforts.
Why This Matters
Setting these boundaries isn’t about me saying no— it’s about empowering you as a business owner while ensuring I stay focused on what I do best: designing an incredible brand and website that works for you.
A well-designed website is a game-changer, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. If you want your website to actually grow your business, you need to keep it updated, optimize your marketing, and stay proactive about your online presence.
If you need ongoing support— whether it’s maintenance, SEO, content creation, or strategy— I offer additional services to help you maximize your investment. Let’s make sure your website isn’t just a pretty online brochure but a lead-generating, sales-driving machine!
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