One of our readers recently inquired if it was possible to create a Fiverr-style website with WordPress.
Making a niche micro-job website has become a popular online business idea due to its ease of implementation, quick monetization, and low overhead.
According to a recent study, more than 36% of US workers made money by freelancing their services online in 2018. That equates to one out of every three working adults in the United States.
For a small fee, online job marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr connect freelancers with employers. They aren’t the only ones; there are a slew of other micro-job websites dedicated to specific niches and industries.
We’ll show you how to make a micro-job website like Fiverr with WordPress without any coding experience in this article.
What You’ll Need to Create a Fiverr-Style Website
To create a site similar to Fiverr with WordPress, you’ll need a few things.
To start, double-check that you’re also using the appropriate platform. You’ll need a self-hosted WordPress.org website to create a micro-job website (see: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org for more details).
You’ll need the following items to get started with WordPress:
- A domain name is the name of such a website. (This will be the URL for your website.) For instance, take a look at yourblogmaster.com.
- A WordPress hosting account (this is where the files for your website are kept)
- Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate (You need this to accept online payments)
- A Micro-Job theme and addon
It will take less than 40 minutes to set up, and we will guide you through each step.
Here are the steps to creating a Fiverr-style job marketplace with WordPress.
- Installing WordPress
- Using WordPress to create a micro-job website
- Methods of payment and packages to choose
- Changing the branding and content of the website
- Putting your micro-job website to the test
- Taking care of your micro-jobs website
- Resources to help you expand your microjobs website
Are you all set? Let’s get started.
Step 1: Install WordPress
A WordPress hosting account domain name and an SSL certificate are required to install WordPress.
A domain name is normally $14.99 per year, an SSL certificate is $69.99 per year, and WordPress hosting is $7.99 per month.
If you’re just starting out, this seems like a lot of money.
Fortunately, our friends at Bluehost are providing Yourblogmaster users with a free domain, free SSL, and a 60% discount on WordPress hosting.
In general, you can get started for as little as $2.75 per month.
To Enjoy The benefits of This Limited-Time Bluehost Offer, Go Here.
Bluehost is one of the world’s largest web hosting companies and a WordPress hosting provider that is officially recommended.
If you don’t want to use Bluehost for whatever reason, check out our list of the best WordPress hosting companies.
After you’ve purchased hosting, follow our step-by-step setup instructions in our guide on how to make a website.
When you sign up with Bluehost, it will automatically install WordPress for you. Your WordPress admin dashboard can be accessed directly from your hosting account.
Step 2: Using WordPress to Create a Micro-Job Website
It’s time to use a micro jobs theme to add micro-job engine functionality to your WordPress site now that you’ve installed WordPress.
The Microjob Engine theme should be installed and activated first.
Microjob Engine is really an app-theme, which implies it’s built to become an entire app with both a backend as well as a frontend.
You’ll be redirected to the theme’s welcome page once you’ve activated it. You’ll need to enter your license key on this screen, which you can find under your EngineThemes account.
Then, to import and set up a demo website, click on the ‘Install Demo’ button. This will enable you to quickly create a website that looks identical to the demo. The content can then be replaced with your own.
MicrojobEngine comes with two different skins from which to choose. You can choose one of the skins to use on your website after you’ve imported the demo data.
Your website is now configured in the same way as the theme demo. You can see it in action on your website.
Step 3: Choose Payment Options and Packages
Microjob Engine comes pre-installed with PayPal and 2Checkout. Other credit card payment gateways such as Authorize.net, PayU, PayStack, and Stripe are available as addons.
In your WordPress admin area, go to Engine Settings » Payment Gateways to set up your preferred payment gateway.
Explanation of Packages
You can make money using the Microjob engine in two ways:
- When a job is completed, you may be paid a commission.
- You can sell packages that allow users to submit gigs in exchange for a certain amount of money.
Setting a payment barrier from the start may discourage some users from joining, but it will also help keep spam at bay.
Enabling free job posting, on the other hand, will help you attract more freelancers to your website.
Once your website begins to attract enough attention from both freelancers and employers, you can always change the settings.
To configure these options, go to Engine Settings » Theme Options and select Payment Type from the drop-down menu.
You can enable or disable free posting from here. You can add packages that freelancers can purchase to submit their offers if you disable free posting.
Step 4: Modifying the Website’s Branding and Content
After that, you’ll want to customize the branding and content to make it uniquely yours. This can be done by going to the Appearance » Customize page and changing the theme settings while seeing a live preview.
Take your time and go over the various options, adjusting them to your preferences.
Before leaving the customizer, remember to click the Publish button at the top to save your changes.
Step 5. Microjob Engine Preview
It’s time to thoroughly test every aspect of your website after you’ve set up your theme.
Try using your website in a new tab as if you were a regular user. Begin by placing a freelancer ad on Craigslist.
After that, test job listings and hire a service while browsing your website as an employer.
Each user, whether a freelancer or an employer, will have their own profile page on your website. Profiles for freelancers will include information such as their bio, recent gigs, and ratings.
A custom dashboard will be available for each user to manage their account. All of their chats, messages, and jobs are displayed here.
You should also make sure that your website can send you and your users email notifications. Email deliverability issues can occur on WordPress sites.
Step 6: Taking Care of Your Micro-Job Website
Even though your users (both freelancers and employers) won’t need to go to the WordPress admin area, you’ll still be able to manage everything from the WordPress dashboard.
By going to Engine Settings » Orders, you can see all of the orders that have been placed on your micro-job site.
It also has a system for reviewing completed jobs.
Visit the Jobs Verification page to see completed jobs that need to be verified. You can approve, keep pending, decline, or verify a job status from this page.
The freelancer will be able to withdraw their funds once they have been approved.
You must go to Engine Settings » Money Withdrawl tab to see all withdrawal activity. A list of freelancers who have withdrawn their earnings can be found on this page.
From the admin area of your WordPress site, you can manage all site functions and even listen in on user conversations.
This ensures that freelancers do not require clients to use other untrustworthy payment methods. It also aids in the resolution of disputes between freelancers and employers.
Step 7: Obtaining Resources to Help You Expand Your Micro Job Website
You’ll need to learn how to grow your website and make more money once it’s up and running. Let’s take a look at some of the tools you can use to achieve these objectives.
1. Extend the scope of your website
Thousands of free and paid plugins are available when you use WordPress. These plugins function similarly to apps on your WordPress site.
Plugins can be used to expand your job marketplace by adding new features.
However, with over 55,000 plugins to choose from, how do you know which ones to install?
We’ve got you covered, don’t worry. See our list of the essential WordPress plugins that should be installed on every WordPress site.
2. Advertise your job openings
Once you begin to receive traffic, you must understand where your visitors are coming from and what they are doing on your site. This data aids you in making well-informed decisions about how to expand your company.
This is where MonsterInsights comes in handy. It guides you through the process of installing Google Analytics on your website. Most importantly, it displays simple traffic reports directly within your WordPress dashboard.
3. Execution
Microjob Engine is a robust app theme with a slew of useful features. However, as your website grows, your servers may become overburdened.
You must optimize WordPress performance and speed to ensure that your site runs smoothly.
You’ll run out of shared hosting resources as your site grows. In that case, you’ll need to upgrade to managed WordPress hosting or a virtual private server (VPS).
We hope that this article has shown you how to easily create a WordPress micro-job site.
If you liked this post, please find and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
