If you're a web designer in Nigeria — whether in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, or any other city — finding clients is often the hardest part of the job.
You know how to build websites. But how do you consistently find businesses that need one?
This guide shows you exactly how, using a method that works right now in 2025.
The Opportunity in Nigeria
Nigeria has over 40 million small businesses. The vast majority — especially restaurants, salons, clinics, schools, and local shops — have no website at all.
These are your clients.
They exist in every city. They're already spending money on their business. They just haven't been approached with a compelling pitch.
The problem is finding them efficiently. Manual Google Maps searching takes hours and yields inconsistent results.
Step 1: Search by Business Type and City
The fastest way to find prospects in Nigeria is to search by industry and location. Start with high-value industries where business owners are likely to have money to spend:
- Restaurants and eateries — growing fast in Lagos and Abuja
- Private schools and tutors — high demand in Port Harcourt and Enugu
- Clinics and pharmacies — underserved by web presence across the country
- Hotels and guesthouses — critical need for online visibility
- Law firms — professional services that depend on reputation
With Runvax, you search any of these categories in any Nigerian city and get a list of local businesses — with a flag showing which ones have no website.
Step 2: Identify the No-Website Businesses
A business with no website is your warmest lead. They are:
- Already running a business (proof of intent)
- Missing out on online customers daily (pain point you can solve)
- Likely cheaper to pitch than a business already paying for digital services
When you search Lagos for "restaurants," Runvax flags each result: website present or no website detected. Focus your outreach on the no-website results first — your conversion rate will be 3–5x higher than cold-calling random businesses.
Step 3: Send a Cold Email That Gets Replies
Most web designers send generic emails. This is why they get ignored.
The emails that work are short, specific, and reference the business by name. Here's a template:
Subject: Quick question about [Business Name]'s online presence
Hi [Owner Name],
I was looking up [Business Name] in [City] and noticed you don't have a website yet.
I build professional websites for businesses like yours — typically live within 7 days, starting at ₦80,000.
Would you like to see a free mockup of what [Business Name]'s site could look like?
[Your Name]
Runvax generates a version of this email automatically for every business in your results — personalised with the business name, location, and category.
Step 4: Follow Up on WhatsApp
In Nigeria, WhatsApp is often more effective than email. Many small business owners check WhatsApp far more frequently than their inbox.
After sending an email, follow up with a brief WhatsApp message:
Hi, I'm [Name], a web designer based in [Your City]. I just emailed you about building a website for [Business Name]. Happy to send you a quick sample design if you're interested.
Keep it short. The goal is a reply — not a pitch.
Step 5: Price Confidently
A common mistake Nigerian web designers make is pricing too low and creating low-value perception, or pricing without a clear structure.
A practical pricing structure for Nigerian clients:
| Package | Price | Includes | |---|---|---| | Basic | ₦80,000 – ₦120,000 | 3–5 pages, mobile-friendly, contact form | | Standard | ₦150,000 – ₦250,000 | 5–10 pages, WhatsApp integration, Google Maps | | E-commerce | ₦300,000+ | Product listings, payment integration, inventory |
Annual maintenance (hosting + updates) can add ₦30,000–₦60,000/year.
How Many Leads Do You Need?
If your close rate is 10% (realistic when targeting no-website businesses with personalised outreach):
- To land 1 client: contact 10 businesses
- To land 3 clients a month: contact 30 businesses
With Runvax's free plan, you get 5 searches per day and 20 results per search — that's up to 100 fresh leads per day, enough to fill your pipeline within a week.
The Fastest Way to Start
- Go to Runvax (free, no card needed)
- Search your city (Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan — all work)
- Pick an industry you want to serve
- Filter for no-website businesses
- Click "Generate Cold Email" on each result
- Send the email, follow up on WhatsApp
If you do this consistently for 30 days, you will land clients. The supply of no-website businesses in Nigeria is effectively unlimited.