15 Website Builder Success Stories [2024]
Here are some real life success stories of starting a website builder:
1. GreenRope ($1.92M/year)
metrics for our business are our customer satisfaction and retention rates, which remain consistently high. We currently have over 1,000 customers in over 20 countries, ranging from startups to universities and municipalities. Moving forward, we plan to continue evolving and improving our platform to meet the changing needs of businesses and provide even greater value to our customers.
How much they make: $1.92M/year
Current team size: 15
GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.
2. RightMessage ($360K/year)
Shai Schechter and his co-founder, Brennan, came up with the idea for RightMessage after seeing the success of personalization techniques in their own online businesses. They realized that there was a need for a point-and-click tool that would allow marketers to easily implement personalization on their websites, and thus RightMessage was born.
How much they make: $360K/year
Current team size: 3
RightMessage, a segmentation and personalization tool, grew its SaaS business to $30k MRR in one year, with over 1,000 websites installed, by building in public, iterating based on audience needs, focusing on high-touch demos, and partnering with complementary products.
So... can you actually make money with a website builder?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Weblium ($444K/year)
David Braun, co-founder and CEO of Weblium.com, came up with the idea for the company after running Templatemonster.com and realizing the drawbacks of using various website platforms. He wanted to create a website builder that took care of all the issues "under the hood" without bothering customers. With a team of 24 people, Weblium is now creating 20-30 websites every day and growing 200% month over month, on track to reach the milestone of 100 custom websites a day.
How much they make: $444K/year
Current team size: 51
Weblium, a hybrid website builder that allows customers to switch between doing it themselves or having it done for them, has grown 200% month over month and is making 20-30 websites daily, with plans to reach 100 custom websites a day while partnering with banks and company registrars to offer website creation as part of their packages.
4. The Creative Collective ($2.4M/year)
Yvette Adams, founder of The Creative Collective, came up with the idea to start her marketing agency out of both ambition and necessity. With a diverse background in marketing and media, she saw the potential in offering a one-stop-shop for creative services on the Sunshine Coast. She began by offering her services to people she knew and quickly gained clients and referrals, positioning her agency as a pioneer in the industry.
How much they make: $2.4M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 20
The Creative Collective is a full-service marketing agency that has grown its revenue and doubled its team in the past year, with around 100 active clients and responding to an average of 160 inquiries each month.
So... can you actually make money with a website builder?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Zion Builder ($240K/year)
Stefan, the founder of Hogash and ZionBuilder, started his journey in the Joomla and WordPress template/plugins business in 2012. After partnering with various designers and launching the top-selling theme Kallyas, which generated $90,000 in sales in the first month, Stefan focused on improving the theme and expanding his team. In 2018, he decided to build his own site builder solution, Zion Builder, to meet his high standards of quality, code, ease of use, and performance. The product has received great feedback and continues to evolve with each update.
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 6
Learn how Stefan, founder of Hogash and ZionBuilder, built one of the fastest site builders for WordPress, generating sales of $90,000 in the first month, and utilized community involvement to make an even better product with an AppSumo campaign, as well as his advice for future entrepreneurs.
6. Self hosted and 100% whitelabel website builder | Pagestead ($120K/year)
How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size:
Self-hosted website builder Pagestead generates over $7,000 per month from 140+ customers.
So... can you actually make money with a website builder?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. Kairos Digital ($780K/year)
Kairos Digital, a marketing agency specializing in clear messaging for businesses, was founded by two brothers who saw a need for their services. With over $230,000 in sales in 2020 and a focus on ongoing retainer marketing work, the agency is poised for continued growth. Through their own sales funnel and digital advertising strategies, they attract and retain customers while prioritizing quality and strong ROI.
How much they make: $780K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
Current team size: 5
Two brothers started Kairos Digital, a marketing agency that focuses on clear messaging, and closed out 2020 with over $230,000 in sales, utilizing retainer marketing work as their most profitable kind of service, and utilizing WordPress, Asana, Quickbooks, and Google Ads for their operations.
8. PageGuard ($2.4K/year)
Jonathan Moore, founder of PageGuard, came up with the idea for his WordPress website maintenance business after encountering friends and colleagues who experienced website issues. Realizing that these problems could have been avoided with proper maintenance, Moore created PageGuard to offer affordable and flexible website maintenance solutions. Despite being a new business, PageGuard is already attracting customers, particularly smaller businesses, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed. Moore's long-term goal is to expand the team and create a successful maintenance machine.
How much they make: $2.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0
PageGuard is a new WordPress website maintenance business bringing in $200 a month, catering mainly for smaller business, entrepreneurs, and the self-employers, offering three levels of support at different price points.
9. HTMLG ($72K/year)
Ferenc Denes, the founder, started his business by developing websites and online tools that generate passive income. He came up with the idea for his online HTML editor when he was working at an internet marketing agency and needed a tool to convert Word documents to HTML. After realizing the potential of the tool, he launched it on a separate domain and it started ranking first on Google. He monetized the site with Google Ads and later launched a premium version with paid subscriptions. Now, he has over 40 websites and continues to build passive income sites.
How much they make: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 1
This case study is about an engineer who developed a free online HTML editor that generates a passive income of $6K per month and owns over 40 websites with a total of roughly 8-10 million monthly visitors.
10. Website Rental Coaching ($504K/year)
The daily workload at his 9-5 job at General Electric as an HR left Luke unfulfilled from his career, and while he was searching for a profitable side gig, he realized that websites are like digital properties. With a top-ranking lead generation website, he could rent it to local businesses and earn a steady monthly income. Luke quit his job at the 6-month mark and hit six figures by the one-year mark of starting this business.
How much they make: $504K/year
How much did it cost to start: $8K
Current team size: 0
Luke Van Der Veer's Website Rental Coaching business teaches people how to create passive income by renting lead generation websites to local businesses, which has helped him generate $42,000 per month as of April 2022.
11. 8Base ($4.2M/year)
How much they make: $4.2M/year
Current team size: 47
Albert Santalo founded 8base, a next-generation backend management service platform that provides web and mobile app developers an instantly available DevOps-free storage and computing infrastructure, allowing clients to create market-ready applications and raised $1 million in angel investment.
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 8,628 business ideas
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
