You can see the gig economy has gained immense popularity in the last couple of years. According to studies, nearly 34% of US professionals have shifted to the gig economy much before the outbreak of the pandemic, and this figure is expected to touch 50.9% by the year 2027.
Freelancers or independent contractors are enjoying working according to their flexible schedule to maintain the work-life balance and entrepreneurs are thinking about investing in freelance website development solutions over other business ideas.
The new generation prefers freelancing over desk jobs from office locations. The shift from office jobs to freelancing has helped freelancer sites like Fiverr and Upwork offer a flexible platform for both workers and employers to find work and hire fresh talent.
Even when several freelancer websites are available today, not many of them are perfect. It means a business can jump in to launch their freelancer marketplace that can resolve the issues found with the existing websites. Only a few websites like Fiverr and Upwork are trending and still, not many freelance marketplaces have been able to live up to the expectations of users like how Fiverr and Upwork do.
So, if you are thinking of Fiverr or Upwork like website development, then read on to know about how to build such a freelancer marketplace.
Freelancer Marketplace – What Is It And How Does It Work?
It is an online platform that connects employers and freelancers under one roof to hire and get hired for remote jobs. The platforms offer complete security and flexibility to freelancers and employers.
Freelancers can find new job opportunities and employers can find suitable talent through this platform.
How Does The Freelancer Marketplace Help Employers?
- Employers can register on the marketplace and start posting the job requirements
- The job requirements are analyzed by the platform using big data algorithms and offer the listing of suitable freelancers registered on the freelancer platform. Here the bidding system works. This means the freelancers can bid for a particular job and the bids are viewed by the employers.
- The bids are types of job proposals posted by freelancers. These bids help employers compare the expertise, skills, and past reviews of the freelancer suggested by the platform to choose the best fit for their budget and requirement.
- Once the project is completed, the employers make the payment on hourly/fixed rates as decided in advance
How Does A Freelancer Marketplace Help Freelancer?
- Before registering on the marketplace, freelancers are asked to appear for some tests and go through the background verification process.
- Based on their expertise, skills, and experience the freelancers' profiles are suggested to the employers looking, for freelancers. Also, freelancers can hunt for jobs and bid or apply for a job post if the requirements match that of an employer.
- Once the job is completed, freelancers get paid on an hourly basis or fixed rates or even in form of milestones as decided in advance.
Why Is the Fiverr-like-Freelancer Marketplace Gaining Popularity?
The increasing popularity of freelance marketplaces states that this business idea is not going to end soon. In 2019, nearly 30% of Americans tried freelancing which is above 57 million citizens. It means almost all of them are using the freelance marketplace. So, as a freelancer marketplace owner, even if you charge a fee of $1, you can earn millions.
So, the above stats show that this is the right time to invest in Fiverr-like websites development.Let us explore some of the reasons for the growing popularity of this marketplace
- Help employers find suitable talent and hire experts from across the world without investing much.
- There is no commitment associated with hiring on these platforms so employers can cancel the contract anytime with the freelancers after the project is completed.
- With no limitations to using the platform and bid, new freelancers can start their careers with almost no experience.
- Even working professionals can take up jobs on freelancer websites to make extra money.
- Also, it helps freelancers balance their work and personal life easily.
What Are The Monetization Methods Used For The Freelancer Marketplace?
To help your freelancer marketplace generate revenues, you need to consider the right monetization methods from the models mentioned below :
Subscription Model
The subscription model helps platform owners earn consistent revenue on a monthly/quarterly/yearly basis. To use the marketplace the owner of the platform can charge a minimal fee from the users.
A fixed amount is paid by the users to use the services offered by the marketplace. As an owner, you can have different subscription plans with specific features.
For instance, the three different subscription plans offered by Upwork are
- $49.99
- $499
- enterprise plan
Commission Model
It is one of the common revenue models used by a freelance marketplace. Here, platform owners can ask freelancers to pay a fee against each earning through the platform.
The service fee can be a small %age, a fixed fee, or even both. Upwork charges nearly 5 to 20% from freelancers on their earnings whereas Fiverr charges 10% of the price for purchases over 10 dollars.
Banner Ads
The platform owners can show ads from third-party firms who want to promote through your platform. The advertising models.
Sponsored Model
To earn extra income, platform owners can charge freelancers to feature their profiles on the top list. It helps freelancers to get added recognition to grab more projects. The charges for featured listing may be based on the promotion period, position on the list, etc
Transaction or Processing Fees
Here, a small fee is taken for each financial transaction like listing, advertising, vendor earnings, membership, etc) that happens in the marketplace.
Earn By Selling Gigs
Fiverr offers gigs to its users (a certain set of services). Here buyers can merge the services and pay for the entire package based on their requirements.
How To Develop A Website Like Upwork?
For freelance web design and development, you need to follow a structured process to get the desired result. Here are the crucial steps to follow in the process
- Create your business idea
- Choose a business model
- Determine the significant features
- Hire an expert website design and development company to create MVP for your project
- Focus on the development phase
- Launch the MVP and continue with mobile/ web application development
- Launch
- Get Maintenance and support services
Features to be considered for Freelance Marketplace Business Like Fiverr
- Registration
- User profile
- Payment System
- Search System
- Review & Feedback System
- Communication
Final words
The detailed guide would help you know about Upwork/Fiverr-like websites developmentand plan to get similar websites. Once you learn about the various aspects of building a website like Upwork or Fiverr, you can try launching one.
Well, marketplace development is not an easy job to accomplish and hence needs an expert team to work on your marketplace development project. WebFox, a leading website development company in the USA,can help you launch your freelance marketplace like Upwork or Fiverr successfully. Our experienced team of developers would be happy to serve you so get in touch with us today to share your ideas regarding freelancer marketplace development.