TL;DR:
- White label lets agencies sell sites without hiring more staff.
- Texas firms gain speed, margins, and access to niche skills.
- Use clear scopes, QA, and SLAs to protect your brand.
- Meet WCAG and Texas privacy rules to cut legal risk.
- Start with a pilot, a checklist, and a pricing grid.
White label web design means a provider builds a website that your firm sells under your brand. This model started with white label products, where one company makes the product and another sells it with its own logo.
In practice, your team handles sales and client service. The partner handles production behind the scenes. The client sees your brand at every step.
Why it fits Texas businesses
Texas companies serve fast-moving sectors like energy, healthcare, and tech. Sales cycles can be short. Project loads spike. White label helps you add capacity in days, not months.
Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio host many agencies and IT firms. A silent fulfillment partner helps them take larger scopes without adding fixed payroll.
Core benefits
1) Faster delivery and sales velocity
A ready team cuts hiring delays. You can quote tighter timelines and win work that needs quick starts.
2) Lower cost per site
Vendors spread costs across many clients. Your unit cost falls, which protects margin even at competitive price points.
3) Elastic capacity
You scale up for busy seasons, then scale down. No long contracts or idle bench risk.
4) Access to specialists
You can add skills like Webflow, headless CMS, Shopify, accessibility audits, or LMS builds. You offer more without retraining staff.
5) Focus on client value
Your team spends time on strategy, CRO, content, and account growth. Production happens in the background.
6) Brand control
Work ships with your process docs, your domains, and your support email. The partner stays invisible.
The models and how to price them
Common delivery models
- Per project. Fixed scope, milestone payments, clear handoff.
- Hourly or day rate. Good for discovery or unknowns.
- Retainer. Set hours each month, rollover rules.
- Sprint packs. Prepaid points, fast task intake.
Markup patterns that work
- Cost plus. Add a standard margin to vendor quotes.
- Value based. Price by impact, not hours. Use cost only as a floor.
- Tiered bundles. Bronze, Silver, Gold with rising speed and options.
Example grid: If vendor charges 60 USD per hour, set your internal rate at 120 to cover PM, QA, revisions, and risk. For fixed price, add a 15 percent buffer for scope creep.
Legal and compliance boxes to tick
Privacy in Texas
The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act took effect on July 1, 2024. It sets rights for residents and duties for companies that do business in Texas and process personal data. Build consent, rights requests, and data mapping into your web stack.
Accessibility
Design to WCAG 2.2, target level AA at minimum. Bake checks into design, content, and QA. This reduces legal risk and grows reach.
Contracts and IP
Use NDAs, a master services agreement, and a statement of work that assigns IP to your firm on payment. Add a white label clause that bars vendor contact with your client.
Regulated verticals
Healthcare needs HIPAA-aware workflows. Finance and education have extra review. Ask the partner for proof of controls.
A simple delivery blueprint
- Scope and spec. User stories, sitemap, CMS model, acceptance tests.
- Design. Wireframes, components, tokens, accessible color pairs.
- Build. Reusable blocks, clean semantic HTML, CMS schemas.
- QA. Cross-browser, performance, forms, 404s, redirects, schema.
- Accessibility checks. Keyboard paths, focus order, alt text, labels.
- Content load. Real copy and media, not lorem ipsum.
- Stakeholder review. Your team filters feedback before vendor sees it.
- Launch. DNS, SSL, backups, monitoring, analytics, consent.
- Warranty. Fix bugs within a set window.
- Handoff. Loom videos, admin guide, and rollback plan.
Roles and ownership table
Area | Your agency | White label partner | Client |
Contract, billing | Own | Support | Approve |
Strategy, scope | Lead | Advise | Input |
Design system | Lead | Build | Review |
Dev and CMS | Review | Build | Review |
QA and accessibility | Lead sign-off | Execute tests | UAT |
Content | Coordinate | Load per scope | Provide |
Hosting and DNS | Own or advise | Configure | Approve |
Analytics and consent | Own | Implement | Approve |
Post-launch support | Own | Fulfill per SLA | Request |
How to choose a partner
- Proven work. Ask for unbranded samples and live URLs.
- Process fit. Alignment on tools, handoff, and QA checklists.
- Security posture. Access control, password policy, SSO, and logs.
- Compliance basics. WCAG 2.2 AA and TDPSA awareness for forms and data.
- Clear SLAs. Response times, hotfix windows, and rollback steps.
- No-poach clause. Protects your clients and staff.
- References. Speak with two current agency clients.
- Pilot first. Start with a small site to test fit.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Selling timelines before scoping.
- No content plan, which stalls build.
- Skipping accessibility until the end.
- Handing clients to the vendor, which hurts brand control.
- No staging or rollback, which risks downtime.
- Weak QA, which drives rework and refunds.
Quick checklist to get started
- Pick 1–2 niches to serve.
- Draft package tiers and a pricing floor.
- Write a one-page playbook for briefs and approvals.
- Add WCAG AA and privacy checks to QA.
- Create a branded client portal and ticket queue.
- Sign an NDA and MSA with white label terms.
- Run a paid pilot with a short site.
- Hold a retro and refine the playbook.
Why it matters
Texas firms can grow faster with less risk when they separate selling from production. White label partners give speed, capacity, and depth on demand. With sound scopes, QA, and compliance, you protect your brand and your clients.
FAQs
Is white label different from outsourcing?
White label is outsourcing under your brand. The vendor stays invisible. You manage the client.
Can I keep my tech stack?
Yes, if you set standards up front. Share component libraries and token files.
What about support after launch?
Offer a care plan. Include updates, backups, uptime, and a ticket SLA.
Sources:
- Texas Attorney General, Texas Data Privacy and Security Act overview, https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/file-consumer-complaint/consumer-privacy-rights/texas-data-privacy-and-security-act, 2024-07-01
- Texas Department of Information Resources, Texas Data Privacy and Security Act page, https://dir.texas.gov/technology-legislation/texas-data-privacy-and-security-act, 2024-12-30
- Texas State Law Library, TDPSA spotlight and effective dates, https://www.sll.texas.gov/spotlight/2024/07/texas-data-privacy-and-security-act/, 2024-07-25
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/, 2024-12-12
- W3C, WCAG Overview, https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/, n.d.
Investopedia, What Are White Label Products, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/white-label-product.asp, n.d.