When I first started blogging, my little WordPress site was sufficient and easy. No worries about anything, no themes, no plugins, no fancy jargon – nothing. But, I’m ambitious and had big plans for my blog, I wanted it to be my business and so needed a professional website building. The only trouble was, I didn’t have the budget to spend. Big ideas, little budget. I needed to find a way to source some cheap website design ideas fast.
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Attempt #1 At Cheap Website Design: Build Your Own Website
If I’m going to do something, I like to do it right. I knew that I couldn’t stay with a WordPress hosted site forever. I felt as though I was riding a bike in a triathlon with the stabilisers on.
There seemed to be plenty of DIY website building tutorials online so I decided to give it a go. How hard could it be?
Using an online program and plenty of enthusiasm, I began to attempt to build my new website.
I got 3 hours down the track, and I was stumped. Pulling my hair out. I am not a techie and I don’t know much about computers. In fact, it would be more realistic to say that back then, I knew zilch. This wasn’t going to work for me and I knew that I was going to need help.
Attempt #2: Buy A Theme And Create Content Around It
I went online and bought a ‘theme’ from Divi called Elegant Themes. It wasn’t cheap (about $400 if I remember rightly) but I loved their design templates. The idea being you buy a rough, ready-made design and then build your content around it.
I loved the template that Elegant themes provided but there was so much more I wanted to add to it (what can I say? I’m a fancy pants), so I set about having a go at website making.
With the help of my husband, Brian, we attempted to create something that resembled a website for about 8 hours.
Within that time, we managed to put the name up on the front page and get a toolbar along the top.
That was it.
This was going to take a long time, by my calculations approximately seven months.
No. I wasn’t in the mood to wait. We were leaving for our round the world backpacking trip in a few months and I wanted my new blog up and running by then. I needed help and fast. I didn’t even know what code was, let alone how to put it into a site to make it look pretty.
I have read [easyazon_link identifier=”0307465357″ locale=”US” tag=”itsadrama-20″]this book[/easyazon_link] by Tim Ferriss twice now. I highly recommend you read it. It changed my life but that’s another story. Within the book, Tim talks about ‘outsourcing‘. Paying someone else to do things that you can’t do.
Attempt #3: Pay Someone To Do All The Hard Stuff For You
I eagerly phoned around all of the local website designers and builders in our area and asked each one how much does it cost to make a website using the design that I had in mind.
I had seen other features on websites that I loved and wanted my site to be customized likewise.
Some website builders reluctant to give me a price over the phone but eventually, I managed to get four quotes. The cheapest was $3000.
Oh, my God.
There was no way we had that sort of money, especially not to spend on a blog that hadn’t yet made a cent in income.
I thought about the outsourcing website design idea that Tim Ferriss had talked about in his book, but I didn’t like the thought of handing over my website, my ideas, to a complete stranger. Especially not to someone who probably lived in India or China. But what other choice was there?I needed to create a website so I put my big girl pants on and decided to give it a go.
For Pinterest
Outsourcing Website Design. Where To Look For A Cheap Deal
I typed into Google: ‘Help to build my website’, and amongst others, Fiverr popped up.
I liked the look of their website, it was clearly laid out and easy enough that even I could understand the concept.
I typed in website designers and website builders and a ton of freelancers came up.
Some were quoting prices as little as $99 to build a standard website!
I did my research and read loads of reviews, but still, I was suspicious. Why, would a freelancer working for this company called Fiverr ( who couldn’t even spell their name right) do all this work – build and design a website for me, for so little money? It didn’t make sense and I started to doubt whether or not I could trust them.
I decided that the only way to find out if Fiverr was any good would be to check them out. Start with a small project. What’s the worse that could happen?, I’d lose $5. Big deal.
So, that’s what I did. I tried Fiverr out. Before I went straight into the website design I started small. I hired a freelancer from fiverr to design my logo. And it was a huge success.
The girl that designed my logo was American, she was extremely easy to work with, efficient, professional and best of all only charged me $35 for an amazing logo design. Perfect!
The entire fiverr experience convinced me that this would be the company that I would be using for outsourcing my website design.
Now, to choose a Divi website designer…
Choosing A Website Builder And Designer On Fiverr
While there are hundreds of designers to choose from, don’t let this put you off. Use the filter button on the left of the screen.
Put in the maximum amount that you want to spend, how quickly you want the order to be completed, whether you will accept someone from a non-English speaking country (more on this later) and what kind of design you are after.
It is an incredibly straightforward process. Believe me, if I can navigate it, you can too.
Look through all of the designs that catch your eye and add them to your favourites list. I got mine down to about 5.
Read all of the reviews, not just the first three, it will give you a clearer idea of what the seller’s reputation is. The more popular designers charge more. You will know who they are, they have “pro” written on their profile and their prices are a lot higher.
Next, choose the website builder that you want to work with, put in a few details regarding what design you want (you don’t have to fill this part in. I didn’t, I had no idea what I wanted), and then wait for them to contact you.
I chose ‘M’ from Bangladesh to build my Divi website. I chose him because of three things:
His reviews were excellent.
He was willing to spend lots of time chatting to me about the website before I had chosen him (good sign) and asked me all the right questions.
His price. I’ll get to that in a minute.
The Pro’s For Outsourcing Your Website Design On Fiverr
- Affordable website design. This has got to be the number one factor. I was quoted thousands of dollars to have a website built by a designer in New Zealand and ended up paying a fraction of this cost for my website to be built.
- Because you have the backing of a big website like Fiverr you always feel safe. If there are any issues between you and the freelancer you can file a dispute and Fiverr will sort it out. Luckily I have never had to do this.
- Your designer works while you are in bed! Especially if you choose someone from Asia as I did. You wake up and a big chunk of your site has been built!
- Speed. Because these website designers are eager for more work they will put an emphasis on getting the job finished promptly.
- Online reviews. Working with a freelancer on a website such as Fiverr means that you have full access to every review ever written about them. These reviews are authenticated by Fiverr so you know what to expect. Your freelancer will also be keen to keep you happy so that you, in turn, will write a positive review.
- Communication through skype or facetime is readily available and once you get over the awkwardness of speaking with a stranger you become good friends
Cons For Outsourcing Your Website Design On Fiverr
- The money. Yes, it’s good value in comparison to getting work done locally, but it’s still a few hundred dollars. If you are techy, know how to do website stuff and don’t mind trawling through ‘how to’ YouTube videos for hours, then you could probably do this by yourself. If not, it will cost you.
- Different time zones. Freelancers are often in bed (or about to go to bed) when you are up and about and full of ideas. When you are in the throes of designing your website know that there will be some very late nights or early mornings.
- If you are looking for a competitive price you are likely to hire a freelancer from Asia. Speaking with someone whose mother tongue isn’t English can be exciting, challenging and funny. Depending on the day. Depending on your mood.
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I have nothing but praise for my experience with my freelancer and I’m sure that if you do your homework, read the reviews and communicate clearly, you will be the same.
Remember though, if you do decide on someone from Asia, get a thick skin. Sometimes what they mean to say doesn’t quite equate to what they actually mean. Here are a couple of classics that I encountered and the roughly translated versions:
- “Why you call me in my bedtime?” (Good morning! You’re an early bird today!)
- ” I am thinking you are difficult to me” (I think we’ve got our wires crossed here)
- “Listen again of me Ok?” (I think we already discussed this)
- Remember, don’t take everything to heart. I tried to imagine how I would communicate in a foreign language, and the answer was, I couldn’t.
And now for the big question:
How Much Does It Cost To Make A Website Using A Fiverr Freelancer?
My website cost me $483.
For that price, I had the website that you are currently looking at custom designed for me. I took a basic theme and my designer added lots of different features to make my site unique.
All integration with social channels and email providers was included in the price, as was SEO optimisation (which at the time I knew nothing about), advice and aftercare.
As I mentioned earlier, if you are prepared to buy a theme and aren’t too fussed about changing anything or making it look unique, go ahead and do it yourself, it is totally possible. But, if you are a beginner as I was, who doesn’t have time to make a cup of tea let alone build a website and the mention of a CSS file sends you into a cold sweat, then hire someone to do it for you. Easy peasy.
Which leads me to my original question; can you find cheap website design on Fiverr and will you be happy with it? Yes and yes! Join Fiverr now (it’s absolutely free) spend $5 and find out for yourself. I love it and I’m sure you will too. And lastly, if you think of anyone who would benefit from using fiverr, then please share this post!
