The only reason why you’d want to work for an established agency as a web designer is for the consistent work they’d indicatively send your way. After all, the most well-established of web design agencies have been in the game for so long that they have long lists of clients who pay some sort of monthly fee for the services that come together to keep their website online, up-to-date with any new information, safe (secure) and fresh. Some even commit to providing marketing services such as search engine optimisation and the likes of list-building, email newsletter blasts, etc.
In this case then a web designer who is employed full time would have a relatively comfortable time completing what are likely routine tasks, but this structure is becoming less and less common. These days there are more web designers who are going it solo, independently offering their services either as individuals or under their own web design agency. Some of the most talented of these independent web designers are self-taught.
Competition is extremely tough, mounting with each passing day as more and more self taught web designers are challenging for contracts. Additionally, there appears to be a general embracing of Content Management System (CMS) platforms as the preferred route to take in web design, both from end-users who want to create their own websites and from web designers who deploy the likes of WordPress templates as web design solutions for their clients.
Aside from the mounting competition though, the lazy web designer probably gets that way as a result of having to deal with unnecessarily fussy clients who at times don’t know where to draw the line by way of standard web design practices. They just want to be able to say that they had a hand in the design of their website, which is fair enough, but it can get annoying very quickly for a web designer if you constantly have to make some changes which are nothing more than petty fiddles.
This is why more and more web designers are looking towards more passive income streams and there are plenty to explore.
It’s simply a matter of finding a way to have a web design project you’re working on paying you over and over again once it has been completed and launched.
One way of doing this is by partnering up with people who have ideas for online businesses but don’t quite have the skills to develop the project themselves or the money to hire professionals at market-related prices. Partner up with them and offer to do the coding/development for a stake in the online business.
Another way of earning passive income is by simply selling templates, particularly WordPress templates. It’s better if you design them yourself and then list them with a well-known templates marketplace so that all the marketing and by extension all the sales are taken care of for you. Imagine a WordPress template you designed for which the listed price is $50 gets downloaded 20 times per week, for example!