If you’re a freelance web designer and you’re looking for new ways to branch out and earn money using the skills you already possess, you’re in the right place. There are so many ways in which you can make more money, so read on to find out about 15 of the best.
15 Ways to Make Money Through Web Design
1. Ecommerce websites
If you’ve been doing traditional client work and designing basic websites, it’s not much of a step up to start creating other kinds of websites too. The perfect example of this is with ecommerce sites. They present more of a challenge in some ways but they also earn you more money from your website design skills, so this is something you should be looking into.
2. Making money from advertising
Using advertising can be a great way to earn more money. You can create adverts for clients and make money that way. Or you could even start to advertise your own services in a targeted way if you’re looking to seek out more clients who you can provide your web design services to.
3. Payment Schemes
Integrated payment systems into your web design process could help you appeal to more clients. Many clients need to take payments on their websites and there are various payment schemes and payment systems out there that can be used as an integral part of website design. You should look to gain these skills and find out why they matter.
4. Create a job board
Creating a job board can be a good way to monetize your skills further if this is something you’re currently looking to do. Lots of people look for their jobs online and employers increasingly search for their next hires online as well, so you can make a lot of money from creating a job board and add a paid membership feature to make money from it.
5. Selling services
Selling a variety of services to clients could be a way for you to make more money too. Maybe you’ve been offering a limited set of services so far and you feel now is the time to start offering more. By offering niche and smaller services, you might find more clients and make extra money as a web designer on the side.
6. Collect Email & Market to them
It’s always a good idea to create a list of email contacts. These should be made up of potential clients who might be interested in using your services. Once you’ve collected emails, you can start using them and marketing to them directly. Make your marketing emails and newsletters appealing, interesting and show the value that you’re offering prospective clients.
7. Review products as an affiliate
If you have a website from which you run your operations as a web designer, it might be a good idea to start adding some relevant review content to the site too. If you do this and people are interested in reading what you have to say in these product reviews, you can use affiliate links to make more money. When people click those links and make a purchase, you’ll get a cut of the cash.
8. Offer a membership site or premium content
If you have a website that you’re currently struggling to monetize effectively, you should think about offering premium content that people have to pay for. This is a good idea when you already have a loyal audience and you know that they’ll be willing to pay for a membership and for access to additional high-quality content you produce.
9. Create & sell your own digital product
If you’re a skilled web developer or designer, you might be able to turn your hand to other kinds of digital production. By creating and selling your own digital product that’s entirely of your making, you’ll create a potentially huge revenue stream for yourself if it’s successful. This could be an app or any other kind of digital product, but it’s something you should explore.
10. Sell paid directory listings
If you’ve created a directory site, you can sell paid directory listings on that site. It’s a great way for web designers to make some extra money and it’s certainly something that shouldn’t be ruled out. You can earn a lot of money for each listing, and paid directory listings can often sell for up to $200.
11. Host webinars & sell something
Hosting free webinars is a great way to get people’s attention. And when you’ve captured an audience’s attention with your free webinar, you can then look to sell something relevant to them that they see value you. It’s one way in which many web designers manage to make money on a regular basis.
12. Make a combo
By running a combination of programs and taking lots of different approaches to making money via affiliates, you can create a strong income stream that will become more and more passive over time.
13. Publishing a book because of your blog
If you have a blog that people love and you get good visitor numbers on each post, it might be a good idea to start looking into the possibility of publishing a book off the back of your blog. It can be sold to the people already interested in your blog and expand on the kind of content they enjoy reading.
14. Offer live training and workshops
Maybe you have a set of skills that other people want. If that’s the case, it makes sense to offer some kind of live training or workshops. People will pay to gain new skills and if they can see that you’re the person to pass on those skills, they’ll certainly be willing to pay you for that service.
15. Promote products as an affiliate
Promoting products as an affiliate can be done in a wide range of ways. Once you become an affiliate, you’ll be trusted by the brand you’re working with and you’ll get a percentage of any sales that are made via your online presence.
Bonus Tip: Sell your site
If you’ve been running a site and you no longer want to retain control of it, you can simply sell it. Selling websites that are in a good position and have good visitor numbers and search engine rankings is easy, and there are plenty of people out there willing to pay good money for them.