A Profitable but Often Overlooked Digital Side Hustle
How you can earn money off website design and build services with no prior experience.
Shopify is a template-based website creator, well-known for its ease of use, which enables anyone to create a presentable website in less than a day. Because it is so easy, aspiring entrepreneurs are willing to give E-commerce a shot in hopes they discover the next pot of gold.
I am not an online marketing guru trying to sell you courses on Dropshipping. In fact, I have written an extensive article about why selling online is not an effective way to earn passive income. Instead, I capitalized on the growing numbers of digital entrepreneurs and offered them Website building and design services. Before you click off because you think it’s too hard, let me tell you that I had zero knowledge when I started, but now earn $1200 a month. I have a complete revenue breakdown at the end of the article. Let’s dive straight into it.
Step 1: Learn How To Build A Shopify Website
Gone are the days where creating a beautiful website is exclusive to only those who know how to code. Now, anyone can do it with the help of template-based website builders like Shopify, Wix, WordPress, etc. From experience, Shopify is the most beginner-friendly, and hence I focused solely on this platform.
To provide website designing services, you will have to first learn how to create a Shopify website from scratch. Nobody can do it well from the beginning, but it only took me 1 week to get familiarized. Currently, I can create a brand new website in just under 30 minutes!
I will not dwell on this point because there are tons of information available online. To get you started, you may refer to the video below (I am not affiliated in any way):
Step 2: Become A Shopify Partner
If you had any prior experience of looking for a Shopify website developer, you would have heard of Shopify Partners. They are the ones “licensed” to help people create Shopify websites with their developer accounts and transfer ownership once completed. How do you get this license? Well, anybody can apply to be a Shopify partner; no tests or certifications are required.
This is an important step to get your business started and revenue rolling in, so make sure to apply for this first!
Step 3: Market Your Services
This is likely the most difficult step because there will be some costs involved if you want to scale your services. My recommendation will be to first post free advertisements on platforms like Fiverr, eBay, and Craigslist to get the first few customers and familiarize yourself with handling website requirements. Once you feel ready to take on more projects, you can then start to utilize paid platforms such as Instagram/ Facebook/ Google ads.
Step 4: Getting Requirements From Customers
Once you got your first customer, it is inevitable to feel a little lost on what information you would require and the steps you should take and bring your customer through. Let me save you the trouble. This is my message to the customers upon receiving their inquiry:
Hello, I am charging a base fee of <$x> for Shopify Website development, there will be a re-quotation if you need complex customization. If you would like to confirm, the process will go something like this:
1. Provide me with:
- Company Name/ Logo
- Product pics/ description/ quantity
- “About Us” description
- Any other info you find relevant2. I will create an account for you and start development
3. After development, you will check and fine-tune the website before making a payment of <$x> to me
4. I can help you purchase your Domain and tag to your website, or transfer your existing Domain (if applicable)
5. Transfer ownership of the website to you, and you can officially start selling
Of course, customers will have their ideas and requirements on what their website should look like. The message template above is a good starting point, and you may add on to it.
Step 5: Start, Build, And Deliver!
This should be the easiest step after some experience. As mentioned earlier, I take an average of 30 minutes to create a Shopify website from scratch. The total amount of time spent developing the website also depends on the number of revisions your clients make. I stated upfront that only 3 revisions are allowed, so on average, I spend around 90 minutes for each client.
Show Me The Money
As promised, I will provide a breakdown of my monthly revenue stream from this business:
1. Development Fees: ~$560/month
This is a one-time fee charged to compensate for your development time. Depending on the complexity and requirements, you may feel free to quote and negotiate the rates with your clients. I usually charge a (relatively) low rate of $80 per website because I am still expanding on my portfolio. I receive 7 new requests every month on average, and therefore this will amount to $560/month.
2. Shopify Partner Commission: ~$191.40/month
This is the reason why you should sign up for a Shopify Partner account because you are entitled to a 20% commission from your client’s monthly subscription to the Shopify platform:
All of my clients are currently under the “Basic Shopify” plan, which means I am entitled to $5.80/ month for each client I have. As of June 2021, there are 33 websites still in business, and this amounts to $191.40/month.
3. Website Maintenance Fees: $495/month
Some of your clients might even pay you monthly to continue utilizing your services. This may include helping them update inventory levels and adding/removing certain products. You can price your services according to the time required for you to complete the tasks. Currently, I have 5 clients under this monthly service, where I charge $99/month.
Total Earnings: ~$1,246.40/month
Closing Thoughts
I started this side hustle around 1 year ago when COVID-19 started to get serious, and we are all quarantined at home. My portfolio was relatively small at the start, so I only made around $50-$100 for the first few months. As time went by and my portfolio got larger, the commissions earned from Shopify Partner will accumulate, and this gave me the confidence to charge higher for my services as well. I have no doubts my earning potential will grow through time in the future when my portfolio balloons.
While this is a relatively easy line of business to be in, it takes a lot of patience before you start seeing meaningful results. So, my friends, I urge you not to give up. Treat the journey as a learning experience, and soon enough, you will be rewarded with dividends.
