17 Profitable Business Ideas for Web Developers to Start in 2022.

The best businesses do not strive on mere “ideas”. They succeed when you solve a problem with a mission and vision. So, even though I am sharing 17 profitable business ideas for you, you need to find an angle that serves people. They will allow you to practice as a web developer and earn along. Further, you can expand and scale to make more profit. 

I will recommend a book- The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. This book teaches you how to communicate with your customers and know if your idea is worth executing. So, if you enjoy reading by any chance or not, pick it up to read this. It is a pretty small book with only 134 pages. An excerpt: 

As a Dev, the most stable way to earn money is through a job. But if you want more flexibility, freedom, and independence, you can try any of these business ideas. 

1. Web Designer

If you know how to create web pages with appealing designs, web designing is a great point to start. You plan, code, and make websites and web pages for companies. Your job is to enhance customer experience with soothing UX. Google’s latest update laid focus on user experience. So, if you help companies with that, you have great earning potential. It involves creating new pages or rebranding the existing ones.

2. Writing Medium Articles

Many developers rely on Medium to stay up-to-date with new technologies. So, If you have relevant knowledge and skill, you can write medium articles. You can even monetize them later. Also, you can write on basics and help other developers through your pieces. Here are some topics on Medium related to web developers. The signup process is simple. So, your first piece is easy to publish. Here are some topics that medium includes for “web developer”.

3. Open Source Work

Every developer is working on some side projects. So, you can put those side projects on GitHub for Patreon pages and keep them open for donations. This way, with little advertising, you get money for your open source work.

4. Bug Bounty Program

Numerous tech companies have bug bounty programs. Under this program, you get paid to find bugs that may exist in their software/ product. Companies can pay you anywhere from $5000 to $30,000 for finding a bug. But it requires skill to find the bugs in these programs. Nonetheless, you can create a system to crawl these and get sustainable income.

5. Selling Templates {Plugins, WordPress Themes}

As a developer, you can create various templates for many platforms, such as WordPress. There is potential to expand this. You can design plugins, app templates, WordPress themes, and many more. With effective marketing, you can easily make big bucks by selling these. You can sell these on many platforms, the best one being ThemeForest. A few instances are:

6. Offer a Course {Alternative, Tech Tutor}

Platforms like Udemy allow you to sell courses online. It requires a one-time investment, and you can earn pretty well through it. Alternatively, you can opt to become a tech tutor. It means you monetize your knowledge by teaching others.

7. CSS Designing

You can create visually appealing front-end pages with CSS styles, files, and set properties. You can help companies by offering webpage/ landing page enhancement services. Alternatively, you can provide functional front and back ends, depending upon your specialty. 

8. App Development

You can code apps and software for business. Start with simple apps, or games and put them to sale. It requires more management on the back and front end as you need to work UX and troubleshoot any errors. You can use AdMob to monetize them.

9. API Developer

As an API developer, you work on somebody else’s idea and vision. Your job is to create an API depending upon the companies requirements and aspirations. You need several skills to be efficient at API development, such as cross-platform development and integration knowledge. The aim is to simplify the exchange of data and enhance functionality.

10. Embedded Developers

Embedded developer job includes writing software to support hardware functionality for many devices ranging from phones and tablets to complex machinery. If you know C and have knowledge of basic electronics such as voltage, current, power, resistance, ohms law, you are good to start. You can get a starting point for the embedded developers here.

11. Code Review 

Code review involves checking the codes of other developers. You work with other developers to analyze code changes of one developer and discuss those. The goal of code review is to highlight any problem in the code to get high-quality code. The review includes checking many elements of the codes, such as testability, security, missing validation, etc.

12. Maintain an eCommerce Store

Digitalization aroused the need of having a commercial website for every business. These commercial websites/ stores need maintenance from time to time. You can provide your services in maintaining and growing their stores/ websites. Start by reaching out to 100 businesses with personalized emails to set base.

13. Social Media {Blogs, YouTube Channel, Podcasts, Newsletter}

Social media is booming more than ever before. There are so many channels to earn by creating a personal brand. You can start blogging, YouTube channels, podcasts, newsletters and monetize your audience. However, they are highly competitive and require a long-term commitment.

14. IT Consultant

Companies run into various technical issues and always need assistance to tackle those. If you have that kind of expertise, you can offer services as an IT consultant to businesses. It will involve providing technical advice depending upon business objectives. Also, you will collaborate with the in-house staff to manage tech-related operations. 

15. Data Mining

Data is crucial in today’s world. Not only is it a symbol of credibility, but the insights that it provides are worth millions. Big companies make data-driven decisions and depend upon data mining for the data. So, if you have experience in data science and are from a tech background, data mining will be a profitable field.  

16. Technical Writer 

Many companies look for expert tech writers. So, if you are well versed in even one subject, you can offer your expertise through writing. It includes writing. 

* Blogs,
* manuals,
* project plans,
* white papers,
* design specifications,
* software test plans,
* how-to guides,
* journal articles, and other documents. 

Your job is to communicate technical and complex information more easily.

17. Start your Company

Pick your specialty and offer services to different companies. You can start a service company by providing services, such as UX or software development. Alternatively, you can opt for freelancing if you can not work full-time.

But, how do you get clients for your IT company? 

There are many ways to get clients as an IT company and freelancer. Here is a quick roadmap:

* Select a niche.
* Work on open-source projects.
* Finally, either create a personal brand on social media to get clients or outreach companies yourselves.

Remember These Before Starting a Business

Before you decide and hop on any idea, study these three elements of a business:

* Market Size– Does your business idea have a big or small market size? You might create a product/ service for a smaller market where you get stuck and do not find new customers. Creating a balance between customer retention and acquiring is essential with time to break even.  
For example, the market size for an IT consultant is $48 billion. Here, if you choose a small segment to serve, you can earn a lot.
* Growth Potential– Can you grow your business with time? Is there a scaling opportunity? It is advisable to start with smaller sections and grow once your idea/ business shows outcomes. After all, your first product can never be your final product. We improve along the way.
For instance, if you choose to blog, you can scale and choose other forms like videos or podcasts to reach more people & earn more.
Bringing forward the previous example, as an IT consultant, you can grow by collaborating, expanding services, or adopting new tech.
* Competition– Finally, you need to understand market competitiveness. Blogging, YouTube, or podcasts are pretty competitive. Many people are trying to build a community & earn through these methods.
If we take the previous example, there are over 450K+ IT consultants, in the USA only. So, there is high competition. 

You require the right balance of these three to succeed in your business. 

The ideal case is big market size, high growth potential, low competition. The worst-case is the small market size, low growth potential, and high competition. 

So, you should devise small services/ products and see how the market reacts. Work on several smaller units and finally pursue the one that generates the maximum profit. It is something that many giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon follow.

Apart from this, study your competitors and reverse engineer their success. It will help you in solving many initial problems. Also, here is the story of Martin Ramsin, who shares his journey from web developer to founder. 

So, choose an idea, plan a business strategy, and work consistently to get money flowing in!

Today’s blog was brought to you by Tripti Garg. 

“Hello,
I am Tripti, a freelance blog writer. I help companies become industry leaders with the power of blogs. You can connect with me on Twitter, and read my articles on Medium :)”