Use a free draft as a conversation starter
Should I make a free website mockup for a potential client?
A small free preliminary draft can earn a meeting, as long as it is scoped, quick and clearly a starting point rather than finished work.
What you will be able to do
Decide when a free preliminary draft is worth making, scope it so it takes minutes, not days, and frame it so the owner sees a starting point for a conversation, not finished work they now own.
Before you start
- A fast way to build: a starter template you own, a design tool or an AI coding assistant.
Why this matters
Owners struggle to picture a website from a description. "A cleaner homepage with online booking" means nothing until they see their own logo, their own photo and a big Book a cleaning button on a phone screen. A draft turns a pitch into something they can react to. In the agency's sequence (reach out, get a reply, make a free draft, show it live on a video call, close), the draft is the bridge between "maybe" and a real conversation.
The danger is giving away the project before anyone agreed to anything. A free draft is a sales tool: small, quick and clearly labeled as preliminary. Build a complete site for free and you have done the work and lost your leverage.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Only make a draft after a real signal of interest
Wait for a reply that asks a question, says "sure, show me" or agrees to a call. Your time is the cost, so spend it on warm leads.
Qualify before you build
Check two things in a short reply: do they decide about the website, and would they consider a change in the next few months? "Happy to. Quick check so I aim it right: are you the one who decides on the website, and is this something you would look at this year?"
Set a strict time box
A draft should take about 30 minutes, an hour at the very most. Set a timer. When it rings, stop.
Scope it to one screen and one problem
From a starter you already have, build the homepage, or the one page your email was about, on mobile and desktop. Use their real name, logo, colors and a few photos from their site, or from their map listing and social page if they have no site. Solve the main problem you found: a visible Book button, insurance info up front, a tap to call number. Leave other pages as placeholders.
Use placeholders honestly
Testimonials, prices, staff names and hours you did not verify must be clearly placeholder text, such as "Review from a real patient goes here." Never publish invented reviews, even in a draft.
Host it privately
Use a private preview link or keep it local and share your screen. Never a public URL search engines can index, and never a domain that looks like theirs. Add a small "Preliminary draft for discussion" label at the top.
Present it, do not email it
Keep the draft for the video meeting so you can explain your choices and watch their reaction. If they insist on seeing it first, send one or two screenshots with "This is a rough first pass. It makes more sense with a two minute walkthrough."
Write down what is not included
List what a real project adds: the other pages, real copy, working forms, SEO setup, hosting, testing, training. This list goes into your proposal and stops the owner thinking the draft is the whole job.
Example
Say Dr. Patel at Hillside Family Dental, a fictional Austin clinic, replied: "Interesting. What would you change?"
Your reply:
Hi Dr. Patel,
Thanks for getting back to me. I can put together a rough first pass of the
homepage and booking flow so you can see it on a phone.
Quick check so I aim it right: are you the one who makes decisions about the
website, and is a change something you would consider this year?
If so, I will have it ready by Thursday and walk you through it on a short
video call. It takes about 15 minutes.
Jordan
Your scope note, written before you start:
Draft for Hillside Family Dental
Time box: 30 minutes
Includes: Homepage, mobile and desktop
Big "Book a cleaning" button above the fold
Insurance logos and "We accept" line near the top
Tap to call number in the header
Their logo, colors, two photos from their current site
Placeholder: Reviews section labeled "Real patient reviews go here"
Not done: Other pages, working forms, real copy, SEO, hosting
Shared as: Private preview, shown live on the call
Label: "Preliminary draft for discussion"
Bad version: building a full five page site with working booking, emailing the link with "Here is your new site, let me know what you think," and hearing nothing back. They now have a free design to hand to a cheaper builder.
Common mistakes
- Building for people who never replied. Drafts for cold leads burn hours with no signal.
- No time limit. A draft that takes three days is a free project.
- Calling it the finished site. Call it a preliminary draft, every time.
- Emailing the draft instead of presenting it. Alone, they judge it on the wrong things, like a placeholder photo.
Try it yourself
Pick one warm or practice prospect. Write the qualifying reply, then a scope note with a time box, what is included, placeholders, what is not done and how you will share it. Build the draft inside the time box and add the "Preliminary draft for discussion" label.
Time: about 45 minutes, including the scope note. The draft itself should take about 30 minutes, an hour at the very most.
Deliverable: the scope note and a private preview of a single page draft.
Resources
- Website specification brief to list what a real project includes
- Book the video meeting the next step after the draft
- Run the sales meeting how to walk through the draft live
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress through the course.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.