Dylan Davino is an example of a first-time freelance web designer who did not know where and how to start. He didn’t have contacts in the industry. Dylan applied for and became a Pait Pro community founder. He would go on to create his web design agency applying the knowledge he learned from the Pait Pro. Today, Davino Digital builds and manages websites. Dylan’s agency helps clients improve their online presence and grow their organic traffic.
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Pait Pro Review: From a Simple Web Design Course to a Community of Over 750 Professional Web Designers
Pait Pro is a private community for web designers. Founder Payton Clark Smith launched the community in 2022 to create a space where beginner web designers may find resources and advice for improving their skills and knowledge. Freelance web designers are also welcome.
Pait Pro’s goal is to provide resources for freelance web designers. This includes training to use Webflow, a web-building platform. The community also provides training in the basics of SEO, performance optimization, organic traffic, and lead generation. Pait Pro was named after the shortcut of the founder’s name (“Payton; Pait”)
How a Simple Course on Web Design Inspired the Creation of a Community for Web Designers
Pait Pro started as a web design course. Payton had already been coaching and sharing tips through his Facebook community group in 2021. The course was called, “SEO and Webflow by Paitdigital.” It was a guide for web designers working on the Webflow platform. It covered website building, SEO optimization, local SEO, and generating organic traffic.
The course has since been updated. Its latest iteration is called “SEO and Webflow 3.0.” But Payton’s original idea for launching the course continued to grow. Eventually, it became the Pait Pro community.
In this Pait Pro review, you will learn more about the private community, its web design courses and programs, its activities, and its founder. You’ll also learn about taking your newly learned skills in web design and applying them to a business model like local lead generation.
Pait Pro Review: Enrollment and Payment Plans, and Membership Refunds and Cancellations.
Applying for membership to the Pait Pro private community is easy. The low barrier of entry is intentional so that first-time web designers can join. The first official enrollment was in October 2023. Since then, Pait Pro has grown to more than 750 members. Enrollment is every three months and membership is capped at 1,000 members. Spots open up only if there are members who leave.
Pait Pro Review of the Membership Payment Plans
Pait Pro has three payment plans for its members:
- The Monthly plan - $99 per month
- 3-Month plan - $207 total (or $69 per month. Payable every quarter.
- 6-Month Plan - $234 total (or $39 per month). Includes free lifetime access to Pait Pro's Web Design Sales Mastery Course (which costs $397).
- 12-Month Plan - $300 total (or $25 per month). Includes free lifetime access to Pait Pro's Web Design Sales Mastery Course (which costs $397) and a Portfolio Critique video (at $149).
Pait Pro’s Refund and Cancellation Policies
Pait Pro’s refund policy on membership is fairly straightforward. Payton states on the website that the refund request must be within 15 days of purchase.
If you’re a member and request a refund beyond that period, there is nothing you can do other than cancel your membership. For members on the month-to-month plan, they can apply for cancellation at the end of their billing periods. The same goes for those on the quarterly, semi-annual, and annual plans. They can cancel their membership at the end of their billing cycle.
The Pait Pro Membership cancellation is controversial. Web designers who cancel their membership can no longer re-apply. They are, effectively, banned from re-joining the community.
In Payton’s YouTube video, “What’s Inside Pait Pro?” one commenter, @lovefrommana, states this is a heartless and cruel rule. Payton disagrees. He states that the policy will generate more activity from community members. He explains that without such a policy, moving in and out of Pait Pro can become a bad trend that can harm the community, as a whole.
Pait Pro Review: What Does the Community Offer?
The Pait Pro community offers web designers an array of web design courses and training programs. At the core of Pait Pro is its monthly training courses. A monthly training course focuses on one particular topic. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Webflow Platform Training
- Web Design (UX, Site Performance, Design Trends)
- SEO Basics (Technical SEO, local SEO, Organic Traffic)
- Website diagnosis (Site Audits, Performance and Tracking)
- Digital Marketing Strategy (Organic Traffic, Search Rankings, and Engagement)
- Site Migration and Management
- Running Your Web Design Agency
- and more.
Payton conducts many of these monthly trainings. He also invites fellow web design coaches to teach in Pait Pro. The community’s website lists experts Jesse Showalter and Grace Walker, Timothy Ricks and Rob O’Rourke, and Amau Ros, among others.
Pait Pro Review and Private Coaching
Pait Pro also offers its members the opportunity to have their works and websites reviewed. These review sessions are done in a group setting. Members may also join the private group coaching sessions. There, experts can help and offer advice on overcoming design issues they come across.
Pait Pro Resource Library
Pait Pro members have full access to all training programs, like the Live Monthly Training. They also have access to the Resource Library. The library contains past webinars, video tutorials, and others. Members can also join the monthly competitions held within the community to win cash prizes and awards. Other training programs within Pait Pro come with a premium, like Private Coaching, and some exclusive training courses, among others.
Pait Pro Design Challenges
The community also organizes monthly design competitions where members can compete against each other. These monthly competitions are organized as a way for web designers to apply their skills in a controlled setting. Feedback can be given without risking client work. The benefit of winning cash prizes and awards, and adding winning designs to their portfolios is also there.
Key Takeaways:
- Pait Pro is a private community with paid membership.
- Pait Pro membership payment ranges from $99 per month to $300 per year. The low entry barrier is intended to attract first-time web designers.
- Enrollment opens every three months until membership reaches 1,000. To date, there are more than 750 Pait Pro members.
- Pait Pro membership refunds and cancellations are available but within limits.
- Pait Pro started as a web design course. It now comprises multiple courses.
- Pait Pro founder Payton Clark Smith is a Webflow Professional Partner. Still, Pait Pro is open to freelancers working on other platforms like Wix, Snapps.ai, and WordPress.
- Payton invites industry experts and fellow coaches to teach, including Jesse Showalter, Grace Walker, Timothy Ricks, and many others.
Are Members of the Pait Pro Community Successful?
Founding Members Give Their Pait Pro Review and Opinions
Another Pait Pro community founder is Casey Lewis. Casey is a web designer and a Webflow Professional Partner. He is the founder of CL Creative, a web design and development agency. He notes in his September 2022 blog article that while web designers are always focused on their clients, they should not forget their own websites and online presence. He credited two influences that motivated him to do an audit of his website. The first was fellow web designer Evgeni Tilipman. The second was Payton. Casey had undergone Payton's portfolio training. It was one of the motivating factors that made him audit and then redesign his website.
Pait Pro Reviews and Reactions from Reddit
Not all reviews about Pait Pro are positive, however. Last February 2024, a discussion thread in the official Webflow subreddit asked for reviews about the Pait Pro community. Redditor xDermo offered a balanced and honest review, comparing Payton to Timothy Ricks in terms of level of instruction and pace:
Comparisons to other groups and forums like Awwwards are few. If there are any, they are written as commentary. Redditors from the same subreddit noted that Timothy Ricks, Gary Simon, and Awwwards are better sources of learning for beginner web designers. Others advise learning from free tutorials and hands-on work, rather than enrolling in the Pait Pro community.
Who is Payton Clark Smith? (Pait Pro Founder)
Payton is the founder of Paitdigital, a web development and SEO agency. He also created Semflow, an SEO plugin for Webflow, and founded the Pait Pro community
He started Paitdigital in 2018 as a solo freelance web design practice. In 2019, Payton created Semflow, an SEO plugin for Webflow, a website-building platform.
In 2020, he grew Paitdigital into a full-service web design agency. He also created the Facebook group, SEO and Webflow by Paitdigital. In 2021, he launched his first coaching course, SEO and Webflow. In 2022, Pait Pro was born. With the success of Semflow and Pait Pro, Payton decided to shift the focus of Paitdigital from web design to a fully dedicated SEO agency. Today, Payton is busy with Webflow and Semflow support, as well as coaching fledgling web designers.
Pait Pro Review Final Thoughts
Pait Pro is successful in providing education and support for beginners and freelance web designers. It provides a sense of community and support (and exclusivity) that new web designers may otherwise find challenging to have. The community does not discriminate; web designers working on different platforms like Webflow, Wix, Weebly, Snapps.ai, or WordPress can join.
The downside is that Pait Pro is a new community (less than a year old). There is doubt and speculation about its future success (or failure). However, if we take early adopters like Dylan and Casey, as examples, Pait Pro is doing a good job. It’s training new web designers and providing them with the skills and confidence to take the next step. And if you’re making a killing doing web design, imagine the possibilities of combining your skill with the potential of earning steady and growing passive income.
All it takes is a slight shift in focus. You can do web design and consider local lead generation as an alternative online business model. Even first-time freelance web designers might find success in it. Here’s a
quick read about building websites for your local lead generation business and earning more income.
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