Jump to content


Photo
* * * * * 2 votes

Can an average person make enough to pay his bills?lol.


  • Please log in to reply
32 replies to this topic

#1 AeWaqas

AeWaqas

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:ny

Posted 06 January 2006 - 05:00 AM

To the people of P2L,

Just curios Faken, should one bother making a website if it cant earn more than 300 US DOllars or more. A good website makes allot of time. U have to pay for the domain name and hosting. and all that stuff. anyway waiting for you opinion.
Regards,
AE WAQAS

#2 Jamie Huskisson

Jamie Huskisson

    Retired P2L Staff

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,648 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Nottingham, UK

Posted 06 January 2006 - 08:21 AM

This is a great question and I look forward to the debate that follows :)

My answer would be no, the average person can't. However... if they are willing to actually go that one step further and change their given web field - then yes they can. For example - the average person sees putting together 50 strung together websites as the solution, whilst that would work... they aren't anything special in the end. Sticking to one area of the web, specialising in it and getting to know it is the answer if you ask me. As only when you really know the area can you make the changes that make your site stick above the rest.... and earn that money that allows you to run full time :D

#3 AeWaqas

AeWaqas

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:ny

Posted 06 January 2006 - 09:15 AM

Jay,
thanks for the reply. I wil take into account that your an expert when we talk about websites. Wouldnt it be better for a new webmaster to start with free webhosting. Like Angelfire or shosting? I myself had website for one year but the ads were.. what can i say click "me not". so I had to get rid of it cause it was getting expensive.

P.S. What softwares were used for the P2L Web design?

#4 Jamie Huskisson

Jamie Huskisson

    Retired P2L Staff

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,648 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Nottingham, UK

Posted 06 January 2006 - 10:41 AM

It is best to get a 1 or so of experience on a low-level host yes, I wouldn't recommend going for the 2-500 dollar a month dedicated hosts for a first site :) Unless you've got the money of course!

Pixel2life is built using PHP for the backend (to make the site's information dynamic), HTML/CSS for the frontend (to generate what you see here) and I believe Faken used Photopaint to create the layout (The Corel alternative to Adobe Photoshop)

If you've got anymore questions feel free to ask :D

#5 Jaymz

Jaymz

    Retired P2L Staff

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 4,104 posts

Posted 06 January 2006 - 11:40 AM

Free hosting is great to start out with, but your professional image gets a huge boost once you've moved to your own domain name :) The way to succeed on the web is to find something that hasn't been done before or to find something that's done adequately but do it better. :D

#6 SKETCHi

SKETCHi

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 117 posts
  • Location:Southern California

Posted 06 January 2006 - 12:18 PM

Well, hmm. I think it takes a certain level of dedication if you're going to try it as a full time job. It definitely isn't easy in any sense. There are many things you need to learn, new languages, new programs, and how to use them all effectively.

Free hosting is a great place to start, it is how I started. But, I would recommend not using any of the online web builders. Learn all of the languages yourself and write your own code, make your own images and so on.

Most importantly, think of something new. Do things that haven't been seen before. Of course, this is probably the hardest part. That and coming up with a good domain name, that isn't already taken.

So my answer is no, the average person couldn't make a living from doing this. But anyone can be above average with a little knowledge and practice. :)

#7 Nike

Nike

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 204 posts
  • Location:Ohio
  • Interests:Controlling the human and and duck race.

Posted 07 January 2006 - 02:10 PM

I highly doubt you could make a living on Web design without a college cirtificate. But if you put your life to doing it. Just like anything else. Anything is possible. I agree with not using any sitebuilder. I recommend Tripod.com for your first time. I used it. http://purplesmurf4.....com/index.html Good times. If you have any questions with anything just ask.

#8 xwazawx

xwazawx

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 45 posts

Posted 08 January 2006 - 07:45 AM

I think web design is really just like so many other professions. No, the "average" person can't make a living off of it, because they don't know what they need to know. That's not at all saying they're incapable of learning what they need to know though, so on the other hand - yeah the "average" person can make a living out of a website; given they dedicate a lot of time into learning what they need to learn and doing what they need to do :P

I disagree with the comment of having to have a college certificate.. If you want to work for a web company, yeah go to college - and that way is the easy way, less likely to fail - but you won't be making as much and IMO it'd be boring working for someone else. I tend to feel you're just as good learning on your own and creating for yourself... The main thing I have found is that you need to spend money to make money, and there aren't many exceptions in the world of webdev :P

#9 Nike

Nike

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 204 posts
  • Location:Ohio
  • Interests:Controlling the human and and duck race.

Posted 08 January 2006 - 12:11 PM

If you show someone you have a college certificate. I guarantee you will get 3x the business than without one.

#10 SKETCHi

SKETCHi

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 117 posts
  • Location:Southern California

Posted 08 January 2006 - 06:10 PM

I also disagree with the college requirement... I actually do make enough money to pay my bills doing this and I'm a high school drop out.

Like I said, anyone can be above average if they try. College is great, but not everyone can afford it. Just because you didn't go to college doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. So from my personal experience, I don't think college is a requirement for success. Determination plays a much bigger role.

#11 Jamie Huskisson

Jamie Huskisson

    Retired P2L Staff

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,648 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Nottingham, UK

Posted 08 January 2006 - 06:48 PM

I disagree with the college 'certificate requirement' statement as I've never had anyone ask me my qualifications whilst freelancing on the web... they are simply interested in my skills.

However, college does give you certain advantages over people who don't go to college... hence why for jobs your moved ahead of others in the pecking order. For example I've done a desktop programming course for visual basic/java over 2 years, and around 9 months of that 2 years was based around logic, algorithms, business plans, business methods, time management and organisation - of course you can attempt to teach these yourself, but you'll never beat the opportunity to test the skills out in a college environment and get feedback

You may say - why would I need business knowledge? I was doing desktop programming.... Trust me, you use all the skills taught in these courses, they are always there for a reason B)

#12 AeWaqas

AeWaqas

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:ny

Posted 09 January 2006 - 10:58 AM

I will have to say that college certificates atleast gives u backup. It kinda puts your employer into confidence. but then again what good would books do if u cant open them? I mean you must have experience. Even experts have to look up things. For me, Practice is the most important factor.

#13 Donna

Donna

    Retired P2L Queen!

  • P2L Staff
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 12,330 posts
  • Gender:Female
  • Location:B.C Canada

Posted 09 January 2006 - 01:44 PM

If I was looking for someone to design a site for me I would never employ someone with a degree, you don't need a college qualification to design a website sheesh even an 8yr old can make a web page these days.

As for average people making a living on web design, yes they can and do, the WWW is quite big and not everyone wants what we all consider as web design. Don't look on the web for jobs go around your local community and you'll be quite surprised at what you can actually pick up.

If you put the effort in you can do it, if you just sit on your butt and wait for everything to come to you nothing will ever happen.

So in answer to the original question yes the average user can make enough, if he knows what he's doing and is prepared to put the time in.

#14 Eck

Eck

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 14 posts

Posted 09 January 2006 - 09:49 PM

Having a college certificate is great in all but really college is just your meal ticket to life.
If you go to a expensive college, your going to meet people who can get you great connections.
But thats all college is. You learn the same stuff you do in High School basically.
So in reality you dont need to go to college unless if you want connections to really good companies.

#15 Ruben K

Ruben K

    Cliff

  • Twodded Staff
  • PipPip
  • 438 posts

Posted 10 January 2006 - 03:26 PM

If your site gets enough hits, you can make a damn lot off ads.
A friend of mine with a rather popular site makes upto $30 a day off ads.
30 * 30 = 900 that's $900/month, not a bad income in my opinion -_-

#16 Nike

Nike

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 204 posts
  • Location:Ohio
  • Interests:Controlling the human and and duck race.

Posted 10 January 2006 - 10:42 PM

I may be wrong about that. But It seems that you would have a better shot at getting it.

#17 z77

z77

    Content Contributor

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 176 posts
  • Location:Atlanta
  • Interests:Art, Computers, Goldfish, Church, Pizza, Ice Cream, Frisbee, Paintball, PHP, C4D, Photoshop, Friends :)

Posted 01 February 2006 - 10:01 AM

I kind of disagree with the statements about running multiple projects at once. I think there are ways to manage many sites and still be very successful in the long run. Based on my experience with website management, it is better to stick to 1-3 primary projects at once (similar to what is said above in another post), but running multiple other smaller sites can never hurt so long as you do not spread your main revenue sources too thin. Lets take a look at the following scenario:

You own a website called basketballblog.com, a subject matter that you have a serious passion for and great interest in. You have been running this site for several months, and have developed a pretty good base of traffic for your first REAL attempt at a website (meaning that you are constantly updating it with fresh content, and gaining popularity with incoming links). You are making about $20 a day in revenue on this website for a total of $600 a month, and $7200 a year. It may not be what the big players in Website Management are making, but it is a good start.

You also own another website called tvepisodereview.com, another site that you have a true interest in. You simply post reviews on new television series on a weekly basis, and earn $10 a day for a total of $300 a month, and $3600 a year. You manage your time accordingly to update both of the primary revenue sources on a frequent basis so that you can build them up in SERPS and build up your traffic (and in the long run, potential revenue).

In total, you are making an estimated $10,800 a year off of your first two websites. These figures are purely hypothetical, but should serve the purpose of my argument when I finish.

Using some of the money you have generated off of your websites, you have decided to invest in some new domain names on a hot new topic. Lets pretend that there is a new piece of technology coming out called the "iPod" (yes, I know that this is already a very popular technology, but once again, this is all hypothetical), and you are one of the first people to stumble across it. You immeadiately buy 5 domain names centered around this new technology, and put up some filler content and fresh articles on your domains to put it at the top of the SERPS as no one else has yet to do so.

Using your already built up sites, you start linking to your new domains to get Search Engines to see them. You update these 5 domains with very basic articles maybe once every two weeks, so that you do not spread yourself too thin on your main revenue sources. When the technology becomes more popular, you suddenly have another revenue source. Lets say that all of your new domains in total are generating another $20 a day with minimal traffic (as this technology is just starting to become well known). This is another $7200 a year.

Now you have several options. You can go along with making around $20,000 a year, and keep building up your websites traffic to build more potential revenue, or you can choose to sell one of your websites for some instant cash.

I myself am a fan of keeping a website, and building it up until I have generated a large revenue source, but I know quite a few people who prefer instant gratification.

The General rule of thumb is that you sell your website for 2 years worth of estimated income. That said, you could probably sell all 5 of your new domains for around $15,000 instantly. However, if you knew how big the iPod was going to be in less than a year, chances are that you would hold onto your domain (or kick yourself later for selling it).

There are some upsides to selling a website however. For example, by selling your site, you can get some fast cash to invest in other websites. I have a good friend who has sold several websites in the past year for over $50,000 a pop, but then again, if he had held onto these sites, he would have definately generated more income in the long run. He continues to prove his method effective however, as he always builds up new websites in a matter of days, which he is able to put a market value on in less than a month.

So in short, yes, it is possible to pay the bills if you really are interested in taking up a career in webmastering :(

As far as going to college, yes, of course it will help in some ways. I think College is very important, although I am still working on High School, but I do not believe that it is necessary to go to college to run a successful website. However, there is nothing about going to college that could hurt you in the long run. It will help you get more people to hire you for services which is always a good way of earning extra income, and probably open your eyes to some new concepts that you will not develop by yourself.

#18 459Productions

459Productions

    Young Padawan

  • Members
  • Pip
  • 164 posts

Posted 01 February 2006 - 12:40 PM

I felt I needed to make a new topic about this because I want people to see this because I have some serious questions. Im a high school student and I love making websites I feel I have alot of potentila with them so i was reading in the other topic that people can make quite a bit of money off website my questions is that with just ads and if so how do you get so many clicks per day? I know my websites arnt exactly up to par but I would honestly like to know how to make a decent income off websites. Thanks Kyle

#19 Jamie Huskisson

Jamie Huskisson

    Retired P2L Staff

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 3,648 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Nottingham, UK

Posted 01 February 2006 - 06:15 PM

In my opinion - I prefer to stick to one, possibly two (with a small website being the second) and specialising in that field... then advancing that field on a whole, specialising in doing new things in that community

But some people I see, are deffinatly in it just for the money... and create clone site after clone site (existing easy to build feature set over and over) with no real effort... it'll bring in money if you network enough... and sometimes doesn't require much talent to do, but at the end of the day your just adding to a long list of trailers to the leaders... and won't ever be a leader of the pack

Just my honest opinion...

Edited by Jay, 01 February 2006 - 06:16 PM.


#20 Faken

Faken

    Pimpmaster G

  • Admin
  • 5,966 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Montreal, Canada

Posted 08 March 2006 - 10:32 PM

Nice discussion guys :D Before I share my viewpoint, I'd like to chime in with the whole college diploma thing. While as a freelancer it makes not difference what your education is as long as you got your skilsl from SOMEWHERE, but if you plan to work for a large company and want a management position, they won't even look at you unless you have a university degree. If you're lucky, you can get up there in terms of salary in a smaller company or in a higher end position, but you won't get upper management or VP status unless it's a small company. I worked as director of IT for the company I worked for, but it was a small place... there's no way I'd get that kind of position over at a larger firm because I have no degree.

A good friend of mine was upper management for Nortel years ago, and he told me how they used to hire. Applicant CVs with no degree listed went straight in the trash. The remaining CVs were then sorted by the level of the insitute where the degree was earned. They would then whittle away the pile by who had the best degrees by the higher institutions.

Now if you have your own business in mind, or don't want to be on the board of directors, then it's no big deal. But if you want to work in a big company and want to climb that corporate ladder, you need the degree. You'll do less clawing and scratching to get where you want to be with one under your belt.

Now, can the average joe run a website and earn a living? No.

Why? Because the average Joe is exactly that... average. Not trying to be offensive or pomous here. You have to be EXTREMELY dedicated for months and years to get your site earning a fulltime income, and even then it might not work out and you'll need to find something else. All these kids today expect to have a site raking in cash within a month or two... That's not how it works. I gave up video games, online chatting on IRC, sports, the gym, my sleep and pretty much all social activities to get P2L to where it's at. The average Joe won't give that up.

And I have a long ways to go yet!

Dan




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users