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Discover Types of Simple Websites to Make Money Online
With an increasing demand for a fast and smooth internet experience, websites that are heavily loaded, with fancy themes and badly optimized hi-res pages, have a relatively slower loading speed. This can cause a high bounce rate, which increases with every second added to the loading speed. As per statistics:
- Today, even though most web traffic occurs on 4G instead of 3G, the majority of mobile sites are still slow and bloated due to too many page elements. (Google, 2018)
- Website conversion rates drop by an average of 2.11% with each additional second of load time (between seconds 0-9). (Portent, 2019)
- The highest ecommerce conversion rates occur on pages with load times between 0-2 seconds. (Portent, 2019)
Taking these stats into consideration, it’s clear that one of the most effective ways to counter a high bounce rate is to lower webpage loading speeds. Now, this is not easy to do, especially when using one of many fancy themes available online. And that is often why many of those in the know opt for custom web development services.
For those who wish to go with a ready-made template, choosing a simple website template with a minimalist design is your safest bet to successfully make money online.
This article will look into the different types of simple websites used to make money online, with a few tips on choosing minimalist designs for your own successful websites.
How to Make Money with a Website without Selling Anything?
Simple websites that help you earn money can be divided into two broad categories.
- The first one is where you don’t sell anything to earn revenue
- The other is where you are selling a product or service to make money through your website.
These days making money online does not necessarily require a large inventory of products. Nor do you need to sell services. You can make money with a website without actually selling anything these days. With the help of affiliate marketing links, banner ads, membership fee, sponsored posts and more, all you need is a website with quality content. And that will attract a lot of visitors each day.
If you are able to create such a website, the aforementioned tools can help you make the most out of your website’s outreach. Now, if you’ve decided that this is the way to go, the next step is to think about various important factors, such as:
- The budget for developing and designing such a website
- The kind of content that it should have.
The good thing about starting a website-based business today, is that you don’t necessarily need to hire a web developer to make a website.
Choosing Ready-Made Website Templates Over Custom Development
Ready-made templates are quite common these days, and you have a vast collection of these, free or otherwise, to choose from when starting with a new idea. In fact, today you are not even confined to these templates if custom development isn’t something you are after.
You can simply use a comprehensive website builder like Squarespace or Wix to create a customized website, simply by dragging and dropping different elements onto the page. Now, while these websites can be optimized for better performance, a simple website that’s designed and tailored to your needs from the start will have better performance out of the box.
Now that we know the options regarding the development of your site, let’s move on to the type of website you should opt for. To begin with, it’s hard to tell how profitable a website can be based on its niche. The profitability boils down to how well you create the website and what value does your website’s content deliver to its visitors. Starting from one of the simplest websites to make money our list is as followed:
Blogging Website
Blogging websites are generally one of the simplest websites, and the large variety of topics that a blogger can cover on their blog makes these kinds of websites ideal for beginners. They aren’t really confined to choose one particular market segment, instead bloggers can create content on whatever interests them.
Passion is what counts in blogging. Until and unless you’re passionate about something, you can’t really attract visitors to your blog, and even if you manage to do so, it could be very challenging to maintain that traffic volume. These days, blogging has become one of the most integral parts of a content marketing strategy for both small and large businesses.
You can easily market and sell different products or services via your blogging site. Someone who wants to earn without actually selling anything can easily leverage their traffic to promote and advertise other businesses or products, subtly boosting their leads.
Review Website
Many review websites are quite similar to blogs in regards to their design. However, the functional requirements for blogging sites and reviewing sites are distinctly different. The basic premise of these websites is guiding readers towards good buying decisions. The added benefit building such a website offers is that you can leverage banner ads and affiliate links, helping you break free from cycle of paid marketing and advertising.
This approach would allow you to generate revenue even if your visitors aren’t many, successfully marketing products would still generate a good income for you. It’s important to know, however, that not all affiliate marketing programs pay a handsome commission.
One of the most well-renowned affiliate marketing programs is by Amazon, which pays a percentage based commission varying between different categories. But there are many other affiliate marketing programs, spanning all kinds of industries. So be sure to look for more rewarding ones, based on your interest.
Create a Classified Ads’ Website or Job Board
It’s hard to believe but creating a classified ads website is not something too difficult. It’s just a matter of creating a customized website vs using a WordPress template. The latter is easy to set up, and can work just as well for you as a customized website. What’s important is to make sure that your classified ads website provides a unique value proposition to the public.
Usually, bigger websites such as Craigslist dominate their respective markets. In such a scenario, going against such tough competitors is challenging, but not impossible. Once a classified website starts to gain traction, it begins to shift towards paid ads and other premium options as ways of generating more value.
Overall, it is one of the better, if long term revenue generating website idea you can try and establish.
Create a Community Website
Community websites can be very simplistic yet very powerful in the demand they can generate for businesses to rush for their attention. These websites offer a place for the members of an online community to gather and have a good time talking about things that interest them mutually. And the best part, especially if your topic is something niche, is that it doesn’t require much customization in terms of design, if you’ve followed the common UX design basics.
This means that these websites could cater to a general audience as well as to a specialized group of individuals. However, while communities made for gamers might enjoy gathering on a website with customized skins, opting for a minimalist design is your best bet when it comes to parenting or medical communities.
Wiki Websites / Digital Encyclopedias
Wiki Websites are simplistic in design, yet attract a huge readership, all thanks to the huge fan following that revolves around its subject matter. The good thing about starting a wiki website is that fans would likely want to contribute on your website free of cost.
It’s basically a community based effort, but the host can nevertheless place paid and sponsored ads to earn income in exchange for their web hosting and administrative efforts. Some popular websites that are based on user contributions include Fandom, Wikipedia, and Gamepedia.
What are the most Profitable Websites to Start a Business?
Ecommerce Websites
Ecommerce websites have allowed many small garage businesses to expand into lucrative highly profitable businesses. One of the most popular and well-renowned examples of this is Amazon.
Amazon started operations as an online bookstore, and went on to store a large category of products in its inventory. Today, we know Amazon as the number e-commerce market, which has even furthered its expansive endeavors with the introduction of its brick and mortar stores.
On a similar model, someone who’s starting a business for the first time can begin by creating a simple website that targets a certain market segment only. This is the most common type of e-commerce website as every business, be it a sports store or grocery store, has online shopping option today. These websites are relatively cheaper than the ones that hold a larger category of products, and are perfect for beginners.
Freelancing Websites
If you’re an independent copywriter, designer or a web developer, making a website can be highly lucrative to promote your services online. Businesses these days usually opt for organic leads, rather than spending hefty amounts of cash on paid ads. That’s why content marketing is a major part of services websites.
Its importance stems from the fact that it helps businesses attract more clients by providing them with informative content. The layout is thus very simple, the website has a blog section, a main page that makes a call-to-action, and a services page or section that provides in-depth information regarding the services you provide.
Educational Websites (Sell Courses / Tutor online)
Websites like Udemy, Coursera, Edx etc., are widely popular with millions of users on the platform. The demand for quality and accessible education is evident by the amount of revenue these websites generate.
However, one of the most important factors besides quality educational materials, one of the biggest factors in making an educational website is the importance of a good design. People from different walks of life visit these sites to upskill themselves or refresh their concepts. And a website that works well on the PC but not on the mobile, is a prime candidate for the list of bad website design examples.
Many individuals today are certainly willing to pay for quality content, despite many similar offerings available on YouTube or other sites. By creating an educational Website, you can sell your courses in your field of expertise. Besides selling courses for earning a passive income, another method for earning a handsome amount of money is by tutoring on a global level.
If you have good command of English, you can attract students from different parts of the world where tutoring might be very costly. The good thing about making such a website is that you won’t need too many internal pages for such a website, all you need is a home and services page, testimonials, and some educational content for the sake of demonstrating your teaching style.
Services Websites
Are you a chef, physiotherapist, wedding photographer, beautician or an interior designer? People who provide in-person services, can make a simple website with videos and images to showcase their talent.
Even though you’re mostly limited to work in your own city, having a website would highlight your professionalism, and help you stand out. Of course, not only that, but it can help you gain more leads as well.
Personal Brand Website
A personal brand website is based on your expertise in a particular field. While this sounds quite similar to the previous example, as it revolves around the same idea of an individual providing services through a website, it’s not.
Personal brand websites are quite different in the way they operate. They should be well-optimized for a bigger audience, and must focus on the topic of the individual’s authority. Take a look at Neil Patel’s website. Not only does he portray his skill and expertise on the topic effectively, but he is also able to establish and promote his own brand as well.
Why Choose Simple Websites with Minimalist Design?
Simple Websites need a minimalist design. And the best thing about using a minimalistic design is that they cleverly make it look that your website is simple not because you’re low on resources and expertise to build an advanced website with smooth UX, but for the sake of creating a neat and clean look. In this section, we’ll look into some minimalistic website designs for the categories discussed in the previous section.
Minimalist Website Designs for Blogs
Making a minimalistic blog allows your readers to experience reading your content in focus mode by default. Instead of making them use the focus mode, why not have a beautiful website without all the common clutter and crowding of the layout.
By having a minimalistic website, you get the advantage of making a more responsive website that takes less time to load and works well on all kinds of devices.
Minimalist Website Design for a Freelancer:
As a freelancer, your website is one of your most important assets. It’s the first place potential clients will look to learn more about you and your services, so it’s important to make a good first impression. A minimalist website design is the perfect way to do that.
Minimalist websites are sleek, modern, and uncluttered. They focus on simplicity and usability, which makes them easy to navigate and visually appealing. A minimalist design can help you stand out from the competition and show potential clients that you’re professional and up-to-date with the latest
Minimalist Design for Classified Ads Website:
When designing a classified ads website, keep in mind that minimalist design is the key to a successful user experience. This means that your website should be simple and easy to navigate, with all of the important information front and center. Too much clutter will only affect the readability, so it’s important to limit the amount of text and images on each page.
Additionally, it’s important to use clear and concise language throughout the website. Users should be able to understand what your website is about and what it offers within seconds. Also, remember, the goal is to make the browsing experience smooth and hassle-free for your users.
Minimalist Website Design for Ecommerce Store
When you’re designing an ecommerce store, simplicity is key. This means that your website design should be clean and easy to navigate. Potential customers should be able to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. If they can’t, they’ll probably leave your site and never come back.
Your website design should also be consistent with your branding. Use the same fonts, colors, and style throughout your site. This will create a unified look and feel that will make your store stand out from the competition.
Minimalist Design for E-Learning Website
A minimalist design is perhaps most important for building an e-learning website. Students need to focus on the important aspects without being distracted by unnecessary images. Going for a neat and clean look should be your utmost priority to ensure that the website is responsive and easily accessible even on a 3g Network. It’s important to keep this in mind if you wish to reach out to a global audience. Because a fast internet connection is unavailable in many parts of the world.
Minimalist Website Design for Wiki Encyclopedias
Minimalist Website Design for Online Communities
There are several hosting websites such as Ning and peerboard that can help you create an online community with the help of their web-building services.
Take the example of this community of professionals with a similar interest in software outsourcing. Notice how there’s plenty of whitespace? The background color, and the complementary light colors of all the elements on page are contrasting, which makes it easier for users to read the text.
Minimalist Design for Services Website
A services website may often require you to be very careful about the aesthetics of the website. For an interior designer’s website, it must aesthetically please visitors, otherwise it won’t leave a good impression on potential customers. After all, why would someone have faith in someone who does not have the aesthetic expertise to create a neat and well organized website.
Minimalist Website Design for Your Personal Brand
If you’re in the business of dotnet development, marketing, or copywriting, a minimalist website is your best bet for creating a website that would appeal to all your visitors. As a graphic designer, having a minimalist website may not be impressive, but for other professionals, a neat and clean website with plenty of whitespace makes all the important details and sections easily readable.
Minimalist Design for a Review’s Website
Review Website’s can range from multiple categories such as B2B, B2C, and even C2C, with product reviews ranging from software testing tools to consumer goods. However, in case your website is targeted towards both business professionals and consumers alike. It’s important to use a minimalist theme so that it caters to the taste of everyone.
Conclusion:
We hope the article has helped you better understand the benefits of using simple and minimal designs for creating websites that can help you make money. Beginners often make the mistake of cluttering the layout with lots of content and ads for increasing their profit. But they forget that ads aren’t the only way of earning from a website. So, be sure to make responsive websites, and take into account all the revenue generating techniques we’ve discussed in this article.
FAQs
| How can I make a simple website for free? There are many web hosting services, such as Wix, Blogger, and WordPress which also allow you to use free templates for making a simple website for free. |
| What are examples of good websites? A secure, well-designed and well-optimized website for a great user experience is what we can consider a good website. |
| How many pages does a website need? A website only needs to have 10 to 25 pages of quality content on it for marketing your products and services to the visitors in an attractive and engaging way. |
| Does Google offer a free website? Yes, google sites offers a feature-packed solution with 24/7 support. Yet, one doesn’t see it getting recommended too often. |