A career as a web designer can be extremely lucrative. The average web designer in the US makes about $ 50-55,000 a year, which equates to an hourly rate of about $ 25. Of course, not all designers automatically get a full – time, high – paying job once they earn their web design credentials.
Sometimes, you may need to generate some extra cash, perhaps to supplement your part – time income or to keep the lights on while undertaking some new courses. You can even use your web design skills to earn extra cash on the side while working on a 9-to-5 standard.
Today, we will look at some of the most effective ways to make extra money on your web design skills.
1. Citizen
Starting with the simplest option, working as a volunteer is one of the best ways to make money with your design skills. There are many websites out there to help volunteers find clients these days. Some of the best options include:
- Toptal: For web developers, designers, and software experts;
- Upwork: For all types of standalone design;
- 99Designs: Great for selling your designs whenever you want;
- Dribbble: Showcase your work and find new clients;
- Behance: Sell everything from animation to video;
- Envato Studio: Selling packages for web design.
As a volunteer, you will be able to choose the hours you want to work, and the projects you will work on. You can make money on all kinds of design skills this way, from creating pages for your website to designing widgets and applications.
However, you will also be responsible for tracking potential directions, building your portfolio, and managing your own taxes, so keep this in mind.
2. Sale of Design Assets
As a web design professional, you will end up with many assets over the years. Whether you work independently or full – time, not every asset you create will be available to your customers. Sometimes, you will end up with unused content sitting at your computer.
Fortunately, you can leverage these assets for some extra cash. You can sell things like icons, backgrounds, UI assets and much more. You can even sell themes on sites like ThemeForest if you have built something that your clients were not happy with.
There is a market out there for almost every asset, from PSD icons and templates to documents, fonts, UI assets, backgrounds and brushes. You could even build your own website where you can sell assets in the future.
3. Design and Sale of NFTs
Do you want to enter the forefront of a new market? NFTs are probably one of the hottest topics in the digital world today. Because there are concepts like Web 3.0 and the metaverse gain pull, NFTs will only become more valuable.
Numerous companies and innovators are looking for people to design their NFTs for them these days. If you don’t mind dedicating some of your free time to creating digital graphics, you have a significant amount of earning potential.
If you learn a lot about NFT landscape and blockchain, you might even create your own NFTs. However, this would probably require a lot of time and research. You can learn more about the design and landscape art of the NFT here.
4. Become a Counselor
Don’t have time to build endless new websites right now? No problem, just help others build their sites instead. Consultants in any industry are people with expertise and insights who can share to support others. As a web design consultant, you can offer your expertise to designers or other upcoming business leaders.
You will need to invest some time to build your personal brand as a consultant. This means developing your social media pages (like LinkedIn) and creating a portfolio. It also helps with the air of thought leadership. This usually means that you will need to share at least some content online.
Consulting is a great way to share your skills with others without having to do all the work to build a design course.
5. Teach Web Design
On the other hand, if you like the idea of becoming a teacher, you can make money almost passively with web design courses and webinars these days. While you have the option of selling one-on-one education to students, this will usually take a long time.
If your current focus is on pushing sideways to increase your earnings, it is often much easier to use a site like Udemy or Skillshare. The great thing about teaching web design these days is that it’s much easier than you might expect. Most web-based solutions allow you to automatically stream content to your clients. This means you only have to create the content once.
You can create a handful of videos, quizzes, and downloadable assets, and make money from your educational resources while you sleep.
6. Create a Web Design Blog
Blogging is a very lucrative way to make money. If you have a creative streak and know how to write about web design in a way that other people can understand, you can do this in an excellent way.
Start by building your own website using your design skills, then start publishing regular blogs with content you know your customers would be interested in. It’s a good idea to cover a range of topics, from Photoshop, to how to design widgets and much more. You can even share reviews on various web design tools and add affiliate links to earn money that way.
Make sure you use SEO strategies to improve your chances that customers will actually see your blog and promote your content as often as you can across social media. Once you have your blog, you can make money by:
- Working as affiliates and promoting design products;
- Displaying banner ads or sponsored posts on your Website;
- Sell digital products through your blog (like themes).
If you decide to take the affiliate route, here are some great programs to consider.
7. Contribute to Other Websites
If you do not have time to launch your own website and build a following for your blog, you can still make money from writing in other ways. Becoming a freelance web design writer allows you to sell your blogs and content to other leading publications.
Many popular websites are always looking for new content to add to their blog. If you have a strong relationship with some of these site owners, you could get yourself a regular gig.
Contributing to other sites as a writer helps you develop your thought leadership. Many companies will even allow you to link back to your pages or social media profile.
At the same time, you can earn extra money by writing about what you enjoy.
8. Selling Themes and Templates
Many web designers today rely on themes and other templates created for WordPress to help them build their websites. Accessing themes and templates can make building a new website a much easier and simpler process.
If you have excellent coding ability, you can develop and sell many website themes and templates, and sell them wherever you choose. As mentioned above, there are several websites available to sell web design assets. Alternatively, you can sell your own packages and templates on your website, depending on your needs.
If you create an extremely valuable theme, you can earn a full-time passive income over time. If your themes and templates are placed on marketplaces, you will get a lot of attention from potential future clients.
9. Flip Websites
If you have ever seen one of these shows where someone buys a house, looks great, and sells it for a higher price, you will understand the basic principle of flip websites. The idea is to buy an existing Web site at a low price (preferably a good domain name), then set it up for sale on a website sale directory.
If you want to earn a decent amount of money for your website, you will need to spend a reasonable amount of time building traffic, improving the appearance of the site, and so on. However, it can be enjoyable to undertake these projects in your spare time if you are looking for a way to improve your skills.
You may learn some important lessons about how to make websites more profitable by streaming to different sites, which can make you more attractive to customers in the long run.
10. Write a Book
Like flipping websites or generating revenue from a high-traffic blog, writing a book is not something that will give you enough extra income overnight. However, it can be an excellent source of passive income in time if you know how to use this strategy properly.
If you specialize in web design, or cater to a specific niche, you can generate a lot of attention for an ebook or physical book that shares a wealth of accurate and unique information. Remember, if you write about web design, in general, it will be harder to earn money because there is already a lot of competition.
Writing a book is a great way to create a potential source of additional revenue as a side, and it can also make you more credible if you decide to go full – time with your web design skills in the future. It is certainly more significant to present yourself to your clients as a published author.
Don’t forget to advertise your book when you can to improve your chances of further sales.
Get Your Side Hustle
Web design skills are very much in demand in different parts of the digital world. If you are willing to spend a little time and creativity on exploring the various ways above, they can all provide a great source of income for you and your potential business. All you have to do is find out which side makes the most sense to you.
Remember, there is no one size fits all. In some cases, you may be able to run many different sides at the same time, especially if you are using strategies for passive income, such as writing your own book or selling your own course. .
Image seen via Unsplash.
