There are tons of ways to make extra money online these days.
You don’t have to go too far before you hear how someone sits around all day just clicking links on a website and earns $100k per year.
Not buying it.
While there are a lot of fake folks out there trying to sell you “10 EASY WAYS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY ONLINE,” there are some legitimate things you can do to make money on the internet.
How do I know?
Because I did it.
My Story
In case we haven’t met: Hi, my name is Chris. That’s me there in the photo.
I put this here not to brag but to show you it’s possible.
I made $80k from Upwork alone by working an average of 20 hours a week building websites for people.
5 years ago I knew NOTHING about web development and very little about design. But, I was in a place that I HAD to make more money.
My full-time job wasn’t cutting it.
So, I turned to web design. And, I’m so grateful I did.
You can read my full story here.
In web design, I found a simple way to make extra money online that I could do in my free time while my kids were sleeping.
Want my free video course where I explain all the tools I used to learn and begin my freelance career?
How to Make Extra Money Online Building Websites
Was it easy? Not always.
Could you do it without putting that much effort into it? Not a chance.
Is it worth it? 100%
It’s so worth it that instead of freelancing in my spare time I’ve dedicated myself to trying to help people figure out how to do what I’ve done.
It’s not impossible. It doesn’t take a super high IQ.
It just takes a bit of patience and the willingness to put in the effort.
You can make extra money online building websites if you’re up for it. And, I want to show you how.
1. Call Yourself a Web Designer
When I first got started I probably had no business telling people I was a web designer. BUT, I did anyway.
Was it a gutsy move? Yes.
But, here’s what it did. I now had skin in the game.
In other words, I was jumping in with both feet and putting myself and my reputation on the line.
Something happens when we commit publicly to doing something.
First, people come out of the woodworks wanting help. AND THAT’S AWESOME. That’s your chance to learn.
Second, it creates accountability and momentum from the people you know.
A lot of people think that you first have to go through a 4 year program or 6 month intensive bootcamp before you can start calling yourself a web designer.
But, that’s just not true.
I see so many people who get caught in an endless cycle of LEARNING and never DOING.
They buy course after course. Come up with game plan after game plan.
And 6 months later, they haven’t built anything.
If you want to make extra money online building websites then give yourself a bit of natural motivation by telling people you’re a web designer.
Change the career title on the about section of all your social media accounts. Tell your friends in conversation.
Call people you know and let them know what you’re doing and all about your fancy new title.
2. Get the Basics
You don’t need to know everything there is to know about frontend development, BUT you do need to have a bit of a foundation.
So, start with a free course on Codecademy.
Specifically, focus on the HTML and CSS course that teaches you how to build a website.
There are also some great courses on Free Code Camp and the Odin Project
The main things you need to know are HTML & CSS.
HTML makes up the structure of a webpage. Think about it like the frame of a house being built. It’s the beams inside the walls.
It’s made up of elements called tags.
Tags are like different sections of the page. For instance, you can have a header tag that looks like this:
<header>This is a header</header>Notice that there’s an opening tag and a closing tag. That lets the browser know when to stop looking at a certain section of content as a certain type of tag.
Then there’s CSS.
CSS is like the paint and decorations on the wall. It’s what makes a website look pretty.
CSS looks for different HTML tags and then gives them styles.
There are 3 parts to using CSS: a selector, a property and value.
It looks something like this
The selector targets the tag. The property tells the browser what element of the tag it’s wanting to effect. And, the value is telling the browser how the property should be treated.
So, with our example we could change the height of the header by having something like this:
Once you get a bit of HTML and CSS it’s time to brush up a bit on some design software.
You’ll likely need to manipulate some images that you’re using for your site. If anything just to make them more compressed so HUGE images don’t take up a good amount of bandwidth.
I suggest Adobe XD. It’s free to use unless you’re collaborating with a ton of people and is really simple to learn
Once you get HTML/CSS and some design software down it’s time to start building!
Honestly, you learn more in building a website than you would learn from any course you could take.
There’s something about hitting a roadblock and having to figure out the answer on your own. You learn things in a deep way.
So, once you get the basics let’s start building!
3. Find Good Templates
When you’re first getting started it’s super helpful to start with a good template.
Templates come in all shapes and sizes. Everything from HTML templates to premium WordPress Themes.
The one place I go to time and time again is Themeforest.
Themeforest is a market of web templates that you can purchase and then customize to fit the needs of your client. It’s got an easy way to filter exactly the kind of site you’re looking for.
This is exactly what I did when I first started building websites for people. I would talk to the person I was building a site for and try to get a good idea of what they were looking for.
Then I’d search Themeforest to find a themed that came close enough to what they’re looking for.
Of course, this was only a starting point. I would customize each template pretty heavily based on what my client needed.
BUT, it saved me tons of time in the process. So, as you’re getting going find a template that comes close to what your client is looking for and start building.
PRO TIP: pick one that has a good track record. Not all templates are created equal.
Templates have a tendency of getting outdated after a while. If the person or company that built it doesn’t stay around you’ll be left to keep things updated on your own.
So, find one that’s popular and has been around for a while.
A few WordPress themes that I love are
4. Find Some Clients
This is something that a lot of people who are trying to make extra money online building websites get tripped up on.
But, truthfully, it doesn’t have to be a scary thing.
I always encourage everyone to start with people you know. Make a list of everyone in your circle that might need a website.
Someone you know have a business? See if they could use a new website.
Have a friend that’s been wanting to start a food blog? Ask them if you could make it for them.
You’re just trying to get a few projects under your belt so you can start building a portfolio.
Once you’ve got a few projects to show for your ability it’s start to take your skills to the masses.
For that, I recommend websites like Upwork. I’ve made a list of 52 different places to find freelance web design projects online.
There are plenty of great places to find clients that will love the work you do and are willing to pay you what you’re worth.
5. Keep Going
Good things take time.
That’s true for slow-cooked BBQ ribs and for your new business making extra money online building websites.
So, don’t get discouraged if you’re not a millionaire with tons of clients knocking down your door within the first few months.
I didn’t get my first project from Upwork until about 3 months in from signing up. And, then the next one didn’t come for another 3 months.
The key to the game is patience and persistence.
You have to learn from your mistakes, adjust and get better the next time around.
You’ll never make a dent in the freelance world if you don’t give it some good time to develop your skills.
So, settle in for the long haul. Be ready to for some setbacks.
If you don’t quit, you’ll win.
How to Make Extra Money Online Building Websites
Making extra money online building websites doesn’t require you to have genius-level IQ.
How do I know that? Because I definitely don’t have that and I’ve been successful.
It’s much more about having grit and a willingness to see something through to the end.
At the end of the day, you need something to keep you motivated. Something that you can come to when you feel like giving up.
A why behind the what.
For me, it was providing for my kids.
I talked to someone today who wanted to learn how to make extra money online so she could spend time with her kids.
She wanted to be home and make snacks for them after school and be there for their piano lessons.
She could easily find a full-time job making money that required her to show up at a certain time and certain place every day.
But, she wanted the flexibility of being able to make extra money online while they were sleeping or at school.
Whatever your reason is, you can do this.
Follow these steps and keep going!
I’ve created a free video course to help walk you through all the tools I used to learn. I’d love for you to take the course and use it to start your journey!
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