We&apos;re in a trust recession. Anything in real life and in person (networking events, meetups, workshops, etc) have become a web designer&apos;s edge.In this special solo episode, I share how important this is in 2026 with getting clients and building relationships that last for years, especially in the age of AI, social influencers, and scattered online overwhelm.Links mentioned:<ul><li>See the latest posts from our PRO CON 2026 this past weekend on my <a href='https://joshhall.co/instagram'>Instagram</a>, <a href='https://joshhall.co/linkedin'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://joshhall.co/facebook'>Facebook</a></li><li><a href='https://joshhall.co/newsletter'>Sign up for my free newsletter</a></li><li><a href='https://webdesignerpro.com/'>Join my community Web Designer Pro®</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;We&amp;apos;re in a trust recession. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anything in real life and in person (networking events, meetups, workshops, etc) have become a web designer&amp;apos;s edge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this special solo episode, I share how important this is in 2026 with getting clients and building relationships that last for years, especially in the age of AI, social influencers, and scattered online overwhelm.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links mentioned:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;See the latest posts from our PRO CON 2026 this past weekend on my &lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/instagram'&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/linkedin'&gt;LinkedIn&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/facebook'&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/newsletter'&gt;Sign up for my free newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://webdesignerpro.com/'&gt;Join my community Web Designer Pro®&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;</description>

We're in a trust recession.  Anything in real life and in person (networking events, meetups, workshops, etc) have become a web designer's edge. In this special solo episode, I share how important this is in 2026 with getting clients and building relationships that last for years, especially in the age of AI, social influencers, and scattered online overwhelm. Links mentioned: See the latest posts from our PRO CON 2026 this past weekend on my Instagram, LinkedIn and FacebookSign up for m...

IRL = Your 2026 Web Designer Superpower

Over the last several months, I’ve seen more and more chatter in my community Web Designer Pro about WP Umbrella – a new platform making quite the dent in the WordPress site manager space. Personally, I wondered how there was even room for a new tool for managing WordPress sites (updates, optimizations, backups, reporting, etc) when it’s already a crowded market with tools like Manage WP, Main WP, Infinite WP, and many hosts that offer automatic backups, updates, reporting, etc. But it just goes to show…when you have a new, fresh, innovative tool that’s customer-focused and is designed with best, modern UX practices, it can absolutely start to make waves in the market. That’s been the story of WP Umbrella so far and in this exclusive interview, I got to sit down with their CEO and co-founder Aurelio Volle. We covered a lot in our time together, including:<ul><li>The opportunity that he saw which led him to start a WordPress website management tool in an already competitive landscape</li><li>How they made it past the first phase of growth where most SASS companies die</li><li>Why UX design and customer focus are more important than EVER before</li><li>Auerlio’s personal philosophy for vision and goal setting</li><li>How to run a successful online business of any size in today’s market</li></ul>And a whole lot more. It’s not every day you get to sit down with the CEO of a major SASS product in the WordPress space so it was so cool to see and hear how thinks about vision, goals, customer service and product-market fit in today’s competitive web design space! P.S. Big thanks to <a href='https://wp-umbrella.com/'>WP Umbrella</a> for being a sponsor of our upcoming Web Designer PRO CON 2026 event! I took notice when members of my community started talking about the tool and their experience with the team/support behind Umbrella and I can tell you, they are the real deal! Great team and a SOLID product that I’m excited to keep a close eye on moving forward. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at <a href='http://joshhall.co/425'>joshhall.co/425</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Over the last several months, I’ve seen more and more chatter in my community Web Designer Pro about WP Umbrella – a new platform making quite the dent in the WordPress site manager space.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Personally, I wondered how there was even room for a new tool for managing WordPress sites (updates, optimizations, backups, reporting, etc) when it’s already a crowded market with tools like Manage WP, Main WP, Infinite WP, and many hosts that offer automatic backups, updates, reporting, etc.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;But it just goes to show…when you have a new, fresh, innovative tool that’s customer-focused and is designed with best, modern UX practices, it can absolutely start to make waves in the market.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;That’s been the story of WP Umbrella so far and in this exclusive interview, I got to sit down with their CEO and co-founder Aurelio Volle.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We covered a lot in our time together, including:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The opportunity that he saw which led him to start a WordPress website management tool in an already competitive landscape&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How they made it past the first phase of growth where most SASS companies die&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why UX design and customer focus are more important than EVER before&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Auerlio’s personal philosophy for vision and goal setting&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How to run a successful online business of any size in today’s market&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;And a whole lot more.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;It’s not every day you get to sit down with the CEO of a major SASS product in the WordPress space so it was so cool to see and hear how thinks about vision, goals, customer service and product-market fit in today’s competitive web design space!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;P.S&lt;/b&gt;. Big thanks to &lt;a href='https://wp-umbrella.com/'&gt;WP Umbrella&lt;/a&gt; for being a sponsor of our upcoming Web Designer PRO CON 2026 event! I took notice when members of my community started talking about the tool and their experience with the team/support behind Umbrella and I can tell you, they are the real deal! Great team and a SOLID product that I’m excited to keep a close eye on moving forward.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at &lt;a href='http://joshhall.co/425'&gt;joshhall.co/425&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Over the last several months, I’ve seen more and more chatter in my community Web Designer Pro about WP Umbrella – a new platform making quite the dent in the WordPress site manager space.  Personally, I wondered how there was even room for a new tool for managing WordPress sites (updates, optimizations, backups, reporting, etc) when it’s already a crowded market with tools like Manage WP, Main WP, Infinite WP, and many hosts that offer automatic backups, updates, reporting, etc.  But it just...

425 - What's Different about WP Umbrella (vs Manage WP, Main & Infinite WP, etc) with CEO Aurelio Volle

🔗 <a href='https://mailchi.mp/joshhall/web-design-business-course-20-is-live-14770337'>View the newsletter with all links</a>Sponsored by:<a href='https://www.siteground.com/ai-studio?afcode=762d75abd2f20636ebbf8a0a0d870e1d&amp;campaign=AI+Studio'>SiteGround&apos;s new AI Studio</a>Other links mentioned:<a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY'>Mark Syzmanski&apos;s free AI Crash Course video</a><a href='https://joshhall.co/401-ai-seo-for-web-designers-with-michelle-bourbonniere/'>AI SEO for Web Designers</a> - ep 401 with Michelle Bourbonniere

<description>&lt;p&gt;🔗 &lt;a href='https://mailchi.mp/joshhall/web-design-business-course-20-is-live-14770337'&gt;View the newsletter with all links&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Sponsored by:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.siteground.com/ai-studio?afcode=762d75abd2f20636ebbf8a0a0d870e1d&amp;amp;campaign=AI+Studio'&gt;SiteGround&amp;apos;s new AI Studio&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Other links mentioned:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY'&gt;Mark Syzmanski&amp;apos;s free AI Crash Course video&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/401-ai-seo-for-web-designers-with-michelle-bourbonniere/'&gt;AI SEO for Web Designers&lt;/a&gt; - ep 401 with Michelle Bourbonniere&lt;/p&gt;</description>

🔗 View the newsletter with all links Sponsored by: SiteGround's new AI Studio Other links mentioned: Mark Syzmanski's free AI Crash Course video AI SEO for Web Designers - ep 401 with Michelle Bourbonniere 

How Web Designer Pro members are using AI

Morning routines, air-tight calendar blocks, calls at 5pm, hustle and grind culture…all very doable. Unless you have kids.. That is, if you want to be a fully present parent &gt; a hustling entrepreneur. We’re getting into that in this conversation with my good friend Kady Sandel who’s been on the podcast before and even did a training inside my Web Designer Pro community talking about niching, pricing and agency building, but in this chat, we’re diving into what’s going on via the other side of the keyboard…the family side. With two young children of her own, and with three under 7 on my side, the way we run our businesses looks different than it did even a few years ago. Our challenge? Being fully present parents while also balancing being a driven entrepreneur. And good news, we’ve both found a sweet spot in work-life balance. We’re sharing what’s working for us and what DOESN’T work for us, which led me to the topic of this chat…who the heck do parent-entrepreneurs follow? Like, seriously? I want to know where the entrepreneur thought-leaders/influencers are who have at least three children and, in my case, ones who are specifically parents of special needs as well. If you know if any, drop them in the comment section below. Otherwise, I’ll continue turning a blind eye to hustle culture, morning routines and things that absolutely don’t work in our season of life and enjoying working 20-30hrs per week and not missing these years with young kids. Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at <a href='https://joshhall.co/424'>joshhall.co/424</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Morning routines, air-tight calendar blocks, calls at 5pm, hustle and grind culture…all very doable. Unless you have kids..&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;That is, if you want to be a fully present parent &amp;gt; a hustling entrepreneur.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We’re getting into that in this conversation with my good friend Kady Sandel who’s been on the podcast before and even did a training inside my Web Designer Pro community talking about niching, pricing and agency building, but in this chat, we’re diving into what’s going on via the other side of the keyboard…the family side.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;With two young children of her own, and with three under 7 on my side, the way we run our businesses looks different than it did even a few years ago. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Our challenge? Being fully present parents while also balancing being a driven entrepreneur. And good news, we’ve both found a sweet spot in work-life balance.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We’re sharing what’s working for us and what DOESN’T work for us, which led me to the topic of this chat…who the heck do parent-entrepreneurs follow?&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Like, seriously? &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;I want to know where the entrepreneur thought-leaders/influencers are who have at least three children and, in my case, ones who are specifically parents of special needs as well. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If you know if any, drop them in the comment section below.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Otherwise, I’ll continue turning a blind eye to hustle culture, morning routines and things that absolutely don’t work in our season of life and enjoying working 20-30hrs per week and not missing these years with young kids.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned, along with a full transcription of this episode at &lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/424'&gt;joshhall.co/424&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Morning routines, air-tight calendar blocks, calls at 5pm, hustle and grind culture…all very doable. Unless you have kids..  That is, if you want to be a fully present parent &gt; a hustling entrepreneur.  We’re getting into that in this conversation with my good friend Kady Sandel who’s been on the podcast before and even did a training inside my Web Designer Pro community talking about niching, pricing and agency building, but in this chat, we’re diving into what’s going on via the other si...

424 - Who do Parent-Entrepreneurs follow? with Kady Sandel

▶️ <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROa37k_RQA'>Watch the Manually Migrate WordPress video</a>Thanks to our sponsor WP Umbrella👉 <a href='https://wp-umbrella.com/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=joshhall'>Start your free trial</a>Use coupon code JOSHHALLWPU for one full free month!📰 <a href='https://joshhall.co/newsletter'>Sign up for my free weekly newsletter</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;▶️ &lt;a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROa37k_RQA'&gt;Watch the Manually Migrate WordPress video&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thanks to our sponsor &lt;b&gt;WP Umbrella&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;👉 &lt;a href='https://wp-umbrella.com/?utm_source=newsletter&amp;amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;amp;utm_campaign=joshhall'&gt;Start your free trial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Use coupon code &lt;b&gt;JOSHHALLWPU&lt;/b&gt; for one full free month!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;📰 &lt;a href='https://joshhall.co/newsletter'&gt;Sign up for my free weekly newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

▶️ Watch the Manually Migrate WordPress video Thanks to our sponsor WP Umbrella 👉 Start your free trial Use coupon code JOSHHALLWPU for one full free month! 📰 Sign up for my free weekly newsletter 

My most popular YouTube video might not be what you think...

The Web Design Business Podcast with host Josh Hall is here to help you build a web design business that allows you to have freedom and a lifestyle you love. As a web designer and web agency owner of over a decade, Josh knows the challenges, struggles and often painful lessons of building a web design business without any guidance, proven strategies or a mentor to help you along the way, which is why this show exists. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of coaching, mentorship and guidance to help you build your dream web design business. All while having a good time doing it. Through interviews with seasoned web design business professionals and online entrepreneurs, solo coaching episodes with Josh and even case studies with his students, you’ll learn practical tips and strategies for web business building along with real-world advice and trends that are happening right now in the wild and wonderful world of web design. Subscribe if you’re ready to start or level up your web design business and for all show notes, links, full transcriptions for each episode, head to https://joshhall.co/podcast

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