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Kanav Mahajan
497 PointsQuestion about web design career!!
Hello! i am 14 years old and was wondering how I can start a side business of web design. I was interested in this because it could be a great side hobby and a smart way to make some money. Please help me!!!
3 Answers
Lee Chavers
22,506 PointsThis answer will come off easy but it'll definitely be some hard work. If you already have the skills to design and build websites, start approaching friends, family members, friends of family members (especially those that own a business) and offer to build them a website for whatever price seems reasonable to you and them. After you start getting a handle building websites for clients on a regular basis you'll get a feel for how long on average it takes you and you can start adjusting your rate to ensure that you will start making some profit on your time involved in the building and designing process.
Kelly von Borstel
28,880 PointsIf you want to build a portfolio of work to show potential clients, doing free sites for nonprofits is a good way to get started.
Kanav Mahajan
497 PointsWOW thanks! How long does it usually take you to make a website? What was the fee you charged for the first couple websites? And how much profit have you made total? And lastly, how can I be taken seriously as a 14 year old?
Tyler Groskreutz
14,793 PointsKanav, you seem to be fishing for this magical answer of how much to charge for building a website. Its a fish we're all trying to catch.
My best advice is to build one for yourself, keep track of the variables associated with building it (built in only html, the number of pages, with a CMS, responsive design, added functionality like lightboxes, animations, or image carousels), and assign a dollar amount to your hours. Adjust the cost of the website accordingly. You'll notice that you'll get faster at building some of these things as time goes on, and some of those variables are already built for you in frameworks or libraries.
If you start with your price low, you won't make much money, but you'll expand your portfolio and get people talking about your work. You can always raise your rates as your time and work become more valuable, but if you start high, you may never get someone to give you the initial work to get you off the ground.
Kanav Mahajan
497 PointsThanks a lot for the advice Tyler!
Kanav Mahajan
497 PointsKanav Mahajan
497 PointsWOW thanks! How long does it usually take you to make a website? What was the fee you charged for the first couple websites? And how much profit have you made total? And lastly, how can I be taken seriously as a 14 year old?
Lee Chavers
22,506 PointsLee Chavers
22,506 PointsThe time it takes to build a website highly depends on the size and complexity of the website or project. I've done simple splash pages in an afternoon all the way up to having to spend over six months on a fairly complex web app. How long it takes really comes down to the complexity of the site and your skill set. Just starting out don't be discouraged when it takes you longer to build a website versus someone else or your perceived time of how long it should take.
(Once again a simple answer but is anything but simple) A very strong portfolio of websites to show to potential clients will definitely help with be taken more seriously. Another option is partnering up with someone older than you to help with the selling process and possibly offering a percentage of the person for being the "face" so to speak. Lastly you might want to look into web agencies in your town and see if they would be willing to hire you and take you under their wing. You'd be getting the benefit of a regular paycheck and you get someone to mentor you in building websites.