In the previous section, we discussed one type of web design work that
you can do to make money—namely, creating sites for local businesses and
creating local business directories. In addition to this, there are other ways
that you can make money through web design.
Sell Your Services as a Freelance Web Designer
If you haven’t already designed multiple web sites, it’s probably not a
good idea to try to sell yourself as a high-end web designer. However, as long
as you have a WYSIWYG editor, know a little about Internet marketing, and are
willing to work hard, you can expect to earn a decent bounty from mid-to-low
level web design work.
Since I’ve gone over the general concept of freelancing several times
already, I won’t focus on it too much here. Again, look at sites like
Elance.com,
SitePoint.com, Guru.com, and others when trying to sell your web design
services. Additionally, remember that it is vital to have a portfolio
(perhaps one
site with multiple sub-domains to show off various styles and themes)
and to
avoid overselling your skills.
Sell Site Re-Designs to Companies
This is a little bit harder than doing typical web design work. Instead
of simply
selling your services, getting site specs, and then performing the
design job, you will need to start this process by seeking out sites (and
preferably sites of local businesses) that could benefit from a site-re-design.
Once you have located these sites, make a pitch to the business owner.
Offer to redesign the site, so that it is more functional, provides more
interactive features for visitors, generates more traffic, and appears more
professional and better organized.
When you begin this process, offer to do it for a very low price until
you build up a customer base; and begin receiving some feedback. Another thing
you should do is to offer to maintain the site once it is re-designed. This
means that you would be on call to monitor downtime; and to make any changes
needed. This might seem like a hassle, but it could be well worth it if you
accumulate a large portfolio of sites that require very little maintenance. By
charging around $50/month for maintenance, you could reap a large and
virtually passive income while only working 10-15 hours per week.
Summary
Freelance web design is an excellent way to make money, even if you have
only created one or two websites and know nothing about Flash, php, or even
html. The key is that you should work with a WYSIWYG editor (and master it over
time), focus on working with local businesses, and sell the maintenance work as
a package. Additionally, you should make an attempt to pitch your proposal over
the phone.