18 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
18 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Anyone still make a living from web design?

by Josh MacDonald
14 replies
Does anyone own a small home-based web design company and actually make money? Or is the market advancing onto Google Places and Mobile Sites, etc?

I'm pretty decent at designing (coding) websites and just wondering whats the latest.

I appreciate it.
#design #living #make #web
  • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
    I can't speak for everyone, but web design seems to have gone down the crapper in my area. Most of my clients are interested in results based marketing, social media, and mobile sites.

    I do get a website client every now and then, and I generally just outsource the work because it can be had so cheaply on sites like elance, etc.

    I tend to focus more on results based marketing (consulting, lead generation, marketing audits) because the payout to me is much higher than trying to compete with all the "web designers" out there offering websites for next to nothing. (That's not always the case, but a lot of the time it is)
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4482726].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Josh MacDonald
      Originally Posted by mr2monster View Post

      I can't speak for everyone, but web design seems to have gone down the crapper in my area. Most of my clients are interested in results based marketing, social media, and mobile sites.

      I do get a website client every now and then, and I generally just outsource the work because it can be had so cheaply on sites like elance, etc.

      I tend to focus more on results based marketing (consulting, lead generation, marketing audits) because the payout to me is much higher than trying to compete with all the "web designers" out there offering websites for next to nothing. (That's not always the case, but a lot of the time it is)
      So starting email lists for geo-targeted niches and then selling the emails would be more beneficial or something? eg. people with bad backs in toronto or something?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4482764].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
        Originally Posted by Josh MacDonald View Post

        So starting email lists for geo-targeted niches and then selling the emails would be more beneficial or something? eg. people with bad backs in toronto or something?

        Well, that depends on your skill set and what your prospects are looking for.

        Personally I offer consulting, leads packages, and audits. That's about all I sell to offline businesses unless they ask me specifically for something else.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4483103].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author iamchrisgreen
      Originally Posted by mr2monster View Post

      I can't speak for everyone, but web design seems to have gone down the crapper in my area. Most of my clients are interested in results based marketing, social media, and mobile sites.

      I do get a website client every now and then, and I generally just outsource the work because it can be had so cheaply on sites like elance, etc.

      I tend to focus more on results based marketing (consulting, lead generation, marketing audits) because the payout to me is much higher than trying to compete with all the "web designers" out there offering websites for next to nothing. (That's not always the case, but a lot of the time it is)
      You hit the nail on the head there.
      Signature
      The No.1 Podcast for Offline Marketers
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4484855].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael D Forbes
    I know a number of people that make a decent living at it, although the real money seems to be in acting as a consultant and providing SEO services. Basic website design can be had pretty cheap.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4482729].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Artificer
    You really have to go into some of the newer things like Facebook pages, Google Places, mobile, etc. My web coding skills are from the mid-90s and I can design a beautiful, professional website with an hour or two and a nice Wordpress or Google Sites template.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4483694].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Cobin H
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485022].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author kbsamurai
      It really depends on the business, who you know, networking, referrals, etc.

      I'm just finishing up two websites and each was $2000 and they are getting a good deal. It all depends on what you can do and can offer. I happen to know of those that charge much more than that for less. Also came across a potential SEO client that had done a Genesis based WordPress site for $5000. The business was quite happy with it in terms of looks and all. Not the lack of traffic though. Not even onsite SEO had been done. She was purely a professional web designer. Unfortunately they had blown their whole budget and weren't willing to spend what was needed to drive more traffic. Value per customer was enough but only marginally so.

      At least in the U.S., serious offline businesses aren't aware of elance, odesk, etc. and probably wouldn't trust them if they were. Certainly how would they evaluate it, and generally such businesses need to have to have website maintenance and support and prefer that from someone local or at least in the same country. Any small mom and pop business that doesn't want to spend the money for on a local web designer, and looking to go cheap, has simply purchased some DIY software, or using an online website builder like weebly or yola. They don't make good clients anyway. I once walked in to a local bike shop to catch the owner pouring over the large manual as he was working on his website in Dreamweaver. I guess there are times of the day when the shop is empty but still, you want the business owner that doesn't want to spend hundreds of hours learning website design to roll their own. Those who see that as a waste of time that they could be spending time generating revenue. Generally talking to businesses that already have websites is pretty good because often they may not be happy with it, the designer is no longer around, badly need an update, etc. and they obviously already see a value in being online and it's quick enough to determine what kind of client they might be based on what they did to create the website the first time.

      WF and online IM can distort your view a bit. Offline is a different world and website design still has value especially if you know optimization as well and can continue offer followup to help drive traffic to the site once done.

      Craig
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485291].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Quentin
    Its now called offline marketing and yes people are making good money at it but incorporating other services into the mix.

    Quentin
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4486853].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author origin
    I make a full time living of it yes. I differentiated myself however in terms of being an Internet Marketer first and web designer second. So when I talk to a client and when I work on their website I do it as if it's my own website and do recommendations ito content and rankings etc. I tell tem up front that I want 1 : more visitors to their website + 2 : convert those visitors into customers. I go so far as to recommend that they do NOT use pure "web designers" or "graphic designers" for their websites but get Internet Marketers to do it for them.

    The main reason I build websites however is in order to build up my RECURING - semi residual income.

    The "hidden" income for me is in the hosting. I am actualy selling my resseller hosting packages and making a nice recuring - residual income from that. In order to get them to buy hosting I build a website for them. i.e offer them a complete package, design + hosting.

    After abt 6 years I now invoice between $2000 - $3000 pm on hosting and domain renewals alone, before I have even taken on a new design client for the month and over and above my affiliate websites.

    With this method I sold 5 new hosting packages this month. So for the next 5 years (the average lifespan of a small business) I will be generating income from their websites RECURING. That is excluding updates, re-designs etc.

    So to make a full time income from just web designing as say a freelancer I would say it is tougher now than a few years back, but if you sell websites to get the hosting then you can still do well. Takes a bit of time though...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4487752].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
    Yes people make alot of money with web design its one kind of business which gives more profit.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4487818].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JToneyUK
    I have considered offering local businesses a web design service. Whether that is creating a website for them brand new, improving a current, dated site or including hosting and or SEO services but I'd imagine it is tricky to get started! Furthermore, I am quite savvy in SEO and know the techniques required, but I do not like the idea of not being able to guarantee performance! It could be a huge battle with a client who expects crazy web presence which you just can not guarantee will happen! Offering SEO services to clients is not something I would jump at in all honesty.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4488381].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Cherrelle
    I outsource web design and use it as a lead generator for social media/ on going SEO packages and it works really well!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4489191].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
    Yup. Sold one today but its a part of a larger "marketing" package. Integrates with a flyer, facebook page and scheduling system. Sell them customer generating systems, not websites.
    Signature
    I have no agenda but to help those in the same situation. This I feel will pay the bills.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4489199].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SiteSmarty
    I've been customizing WP sites and membership sites since 2008. Not many people want a web designer because they "the one who wants the site" are the designer. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone on this entire forum that isn't a web designer.

    Everyone is a website designer.

    If you want to make money with websites, grab a WP framework and ask the person how they want it customized. Forget your ideas and just do what they want. You won't get rich, but you can pick up a few bucks from each job.

    Upsell anything else to the customer you do the website work for. Be there "go to" guy. I find that the most profitable.

    Upselling and monthly maintenance stuff will create a good monthly revenue stream.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4490465].message }}

Trending Topics