By business · Professional services

Instagram auto-replies for web designers

A web designer posts a before-and-after of a client’s homepage and the comments ask what it costs and how long it took. Comment-to-DM answers by asking what you would ask on a discovery call, so the quote conversation starts with a brief. It cannot price a project for you.

Updated 6 October 2026

Start free See the set-ups

Comment words for web designers

Ask people to comment one word in your caption or video. Each word sends something different.

QUOTE: How you price: fixed packages or a day rate, what pushes a site up or down in cost, and a question about how many pages the person has in mind.
BRIEF: Your short project questionnaire: goal of the site, who it is for, pages needed, who writes the text and the date it has to be live.
AUDIT: The checklist you use for a first look at an existing site: speed on a phone, clear next step, readable text, broken forms.
TIMELINE: The stages from kickoff to launch with typical weeks for each, and the thing that usually causes delay: text and images arriving late.
CARE: What your maintenance plan covers each month: updates, backups, small edits and how fast you answer, plus what counts as a new project.
LAUNCH: The pre-launch checklist from your carousel: domain, redirects, forms tested, analytics, privacy page and a backup before the switch.
REDESIGN: How to decide between fixing a site and rebuilding it, with the three questions you ask before recommending either.

4 set-ups to try

Each one shows the conversation it creates. After a comment, the first DM is plain text, as Meta requires, and the link follows once they answer.

Price questions on a before-and-after Reel
Someone comments on your post
QUOTE
Public reply under their comment
Good question, I’ve sent how I price to your DMs 🖥️
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for the comment. What does the business do, and roughly how many pages do you imagine the site having? Answer here and I’ll send how my projects are priced.Yes pleaseHow my website projects are pricedSee pricing
“How much?” under a redesign Reel has no single answer, because a three-page brochure site and a shop are different jobs. The plain-text question gets the business type and page count first, which is what you need to say anything useful.
A site review from a Story reply
Replied to your story
AUDITThanks for replying. Which site would you like looked at, and what is the one thing it should get visitors to do? Send me that and I’ll share the checklist I use for a first review.My 15-point website review checklistOpen the checklist
A Story where you tap through a slow page on a phone gets replies from owners who suspect their own site is the same. Asking for the single goal of the site separates people who want a rebuild from people who want a small fix.
Care-plan questions from past clients
CAREThanks for asking. Is the site already live, and who makes changes to it today? Tell me and I’ll send what a care plan covers each month and what would be a separate job.What the monthly care plan coversRead the plan
Owners message a designer months after launch, often with a broken form or an expired plugin. Asking who edits the site today shows whether they are your client, someone else’s, or on their own, and the answer decides what you offer.
Pre-launch checklist from a carousel
Someone comments on your post
LAUNCH
Public reply under their comment
Checklist coming up, look out for a message from me ✅
First DM (plain text)
Thanks for the comment. Are you building the site yourself, or is someone doing it for you? Let me know and I’ll send the checklist I run through before any site goes live.Yes pleaseBefore you launch: the 20 checksGet the checklist
Carousels of “things people forget” are saved and shared, and the people who comment are usually mid-build. The answer tells you whether they might hire you to finish or check the work, or just need the list.

Freebies worth commenting for

A pre-launch checklist: domain, redirects, forms, privacy page, analytics, backups and a mobile check on a real phone
A one-page website brief the owner fills in before the first call, so the quote reflects the real scope
A homepage content outline: what goes above the fold, the three proof points and where the contact button sits
A guide to getting images ready: sizes, file types and how to avoid a page that takes ten seconds to load
A who-owns-what sheet for domain, hosting, logins and files, so a handover never leaves the owner locked out
Fifteen questions to ask any designer before you sign, including who owns the site when the project ends
A list of the pages a small business actually needs, and the ones it can skip for now
A plain-language accessibility check: contrast, text size, alt text and keyboard use, with what to test first

What people ask a web designer in DMs

Most messages come from owners who cannot see how the pieces of a website fit together, so they open with a price or a deadline. Some questions have a standard answer. The ones that mention their own site need your eyes.

The message	Handle with a set reply	Take over yourself when
How much for a website?	The QUOTE card, after asking about the business and pages	They name a budget far below your lowest package
Can you do it in two weeks?	The TIMELINE card with typical weeks per stage	They have a real deadline such as an event or product launch
Is my site any good?	The AUDIT checklist so they can look first	They send a link: look at it before replying
Can you fix my site?	A question asking what is broken	It was built by someone else: ask who holds the login
Do you take over hosting?	The CARE card	Their domain or hosting is in a former developer’s name
Here is my password.	Nothing: reply yourself right away	Always: tell them not to send logins in a message and give a safer way

Tip: Never ask for a password or a payment detail in a DM, and add a line to your first reply saying so. Owners often type a login into a chat because it feels quick.

Posts that earn comments for a designer

A screen recording of a client’s old homepage swiping into the new one, with QUOTE in the caption. Get the client’s agreement before you show their site.
A carousel called “what to check before you go live”, with LAUNCH for the full list.
A Story that walks through a slow page on a phone, so viewers reply with their own link or the word AUDIT.
A Reel of the same homepage in three sizes, with REDESIGN for the questions that decide between a fix and a rebuild.
A behind-the-scenes shot of a project plan with dates, with TIMELINE for the stages.

Enquiries often follow a client launch you post about, and again around the start of a financial year or a trading season, when owners decide to refresh their site. Put the matching word live before then and test it by commenting from another account.

From a comment to a signed proposal

The first DM asks one scoping question. Keep it to the business and the number of pages, not a whole form.
The card opens your pricing page, your brief form or your booking page for a discovery call. DMFast does not generate quotes or take payment for a project.
Offer the checklist or brief for an email, and export that list as a CSV for a short note after a month.
Use the one reminder for people who asked about a project and went quiet.
Send your own reply within a day for anyone who shared a site link or a deadline.

If you work from India, the DMFast store can sell a template pack or checklist as a digital product, give one away in return for an email, and take free or paid 1-on-1 calls, with payments through Razorpay. The website project itself is billed in your own way.

Things to watch

Client permission. Show a client’s unreleased or private site only with their agreement, and check your contract for portfolio rights.
Image and font licences. A card that offers a template should only include assets you are allowed to share.
Accessibility claims. Do not say a site is fully accessible or compliant unless it has been tested; rules differ by country.
Pricing. Say what a price includes and excludes, such as stock images, copywriting and extra rounds of changes.
Meta’s limits. One private reply per comment, within 7 days, and automated messages only reach someone within 24 hours of their last message.

Messages to copy

Questions people ask

Can the auto-reply give a firm price for a website?

No. DMFast sends the words you write, so it can share your package prices, a starting range and what affects the cost. A real quote needs a look at the pages, features and content, so the first DM asks for those and you reply with the number yourself.

Why can’t the first message to a commenter include my pricing link?

After a comment, Instagram and Messenger allow only plain text in the first private message. Ask a short question, such as how many pages they need, and the link card follows once they answer. If someone messages you first, the card can come straight away.

Can it look at someone’s site and tell them what is wrong?

No. It only sends your checklist or card and collects what they reply. The review is yours to do. A good pattern is to send the checklist first and offer to look at the site on a short call once they have shared the link.

Should AI replies answer technical questions about a site?

Only simple ones. AI replies on the Growth and Business plans answer from the business information you provide, such as your services, process and care plan. Tell them to pass hacked-site, outage and anything involving logins to you, and say a person will reply.

Can I follow up with people who asked about a site last year?

Not by DM. Automated messages go only to people who messaged you in the last 24 hours, and official tools cannot send mass DMs. Use the emails you collected through a checklist, and follow your local rules on marketing email.

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Words to know

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Answer every QUOTE comment in seconds

Pick a post and the word. DMFast replies under each comment, sends the DM and follows with your link once they answer, day and night. It can collect emails on the way. Free plan, no card.

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