How to Build a Fiverr or Upwork Clone using WordPress

As a solopreneur and someone new to the digital world, you might have often wondered about the various possibilities of conducting online business.

But have you ever wondered whether it is possible to create a website like Fiverr or Upwork with WordPress?

Recently, freelance websites like Fiverr and Upwork are creating all the buzz. This is mainly because they are simple to get up and running, don’t require a lot of effort in terms of operating, and have low overhead costs.

Also, they are successful because they serve a particular niche: the freelance community. Freelancers all over the world rely on these websites to get work, make money, and expand their work portfolios. A platform like Fiverr or Upwork functions by connecting people in need of work with those that need work done. In short, they are super helpful and hence, can turn into a successful business venture.

But the main question - how do you make a website like that?

Luckily, very easily! You can make a website like Fiverr or Upwork without any coding knowledge whatsoever - with WordPress!

Everything You’ll Need: A Checklist

Before we walk you through the process itself, it would be good to keep in check everything that you need to make a website like Fiverr or Upwork.

Out of all the things, the first thing you need to pay attention to is that you are using the right platform. To make the website functional and easy to use, we suggest that you opt for a self-hosted wordpress.org website. Make sure you know the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com. WordPress.com would not be the right fit for a freelance website.

Once you have the platform sorted out, make sure you have the following items off your list:

● An attractive domain name.

● A WordPress hosting account.

● An SSL certificate that will prove the security and authenticity of your website.

● A freelance addon and theme like WPFreelance.

● A communication plugin like AtomChat so you can stay connected and ensure proper communication.

AtomChat being a popular WordPress Plugin their theme is highly compatible with more features such as:

1. Easy to Integrate

2. Interactive & Collaborative

3. Works with all plugins

4. Secured Admin Controls

5. Communication-centric with Real-time language translations

6. Unlimited groups

7. Easy to monetize your content

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Now that you have these things out of the way, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of creating a website like Fiverr or Upwork.

The Method

Let’s walk through the plan now! It’s very simple, and it will barely take you any time to get the whole thing created and running.

Set Up WordPress

To start setting WordPress, the first thing you need to ensure is that you have a hosting account domain name and an SSL certificate. Keep in mind that a domain name is likely to cost you about $15 per year, whereas an SSL certificate is for $70 per year. In addition to that, the hosting is for $8 a year. You need to keep these budgetary requirements in mind before you commit to the task of creating a website.

Set Up a Website like Fiverr/Upwork

Once you have installed WordPress, you can move on to adding freelance engine functionality to your newly set up site. A freelance theme like WPFreelance will bring that necessary flair to your website and will ensure that it runs seamlessly. It will give you both backend and frontend functionality, which means that you get to have full control over the way the website operates.

You will just have to activate the theme, and once that is done you can easily make any necessary tweaks that will help you take it to the next level.

The key features of this particular website should include:

● Escrow system ready(Credit number or PayPal Adaptive).

● Convenient Workspace 

● Premium project post(urgent or featured project).

● Multi-payment gateway

● Multi-Lingual

● Allow submitting projects and multi-bidding.

● Effective Project Matching

● Custom email template.

● Rating system.

● Elementor page builder (Free download Elementor pro).

● Dispute Management Available(refund or release).

● Effective Ways To Make Money

● Setup Commission fee

This expansive list of features just shows how easily you can make your website as advanced as Fiverr or Upwork - and that too without any coding knowledge required!

These themes and plugins listed will also help in making your freelance platform look aesthetically pleasing which is an added advantage. With a freelance website, it is very important to make it look as welcoming and pleasing to the eye as possible. The better your site looks, the more likely it is to attract people, gain their trust, and convince them to find jobs via your platform.

Set Up A Communication Plugin

At the end of the day, you want to bridge the gap between freelancers and their prospective clients, which can only be done by streamlining communication between them. In that regard, AtomChat can help you!

AtomChat is the easiest and quickest way to incorporate text chat, voice, and video calling into your website, which means you can make your freelance platform even more interactive than you’d expect it to be.

It also has features like real-time multilingual translation, screen-sharing, and other collaborative features. These features ensure that your users no matter where they live and what language they converse in can have an open and transparent conversation.

Installing a strong communication plugin like AtomChat can ensure that the freelancers and the hiring team can have clear, concise, and honest conversations. The plugin can also help set up clear contractual boundaries and be a catalyst for real-time contract negotiations.

Adding a communication plugin like AtomChat adds to the credibility of your platform and makes sure everything runs smoothly.

Implement Effective Branding and Website Content

Another thing that you need to ensure while building your freelance website is that you make it yours. It should not look generic, because the chances of a generic website attracting enough customers are very low. So, make use of the controls provided by WPFreelance and put in place some effective branding!

Your branding should be unique, but also relevant to the cause. It should be done in such a way that it puts all parties involved in the transaction at the forefront. By using the features provided by the theme, you can easily do this and create a platform that is effective, convincing, and trustworthy.

Test Your Website

It is important to test your website! Since a freelance website requires high-quality functionality, it is important to ensure that it is operating properly in every regard. Slow loading times, half-hearted content, or any other technical problems can result in you losing customers and thus, losing revenue. Therefore, it is crucial to run regular tests and check thoroughly whether or not you have the desired functionality instilled.

Manage Your Website Regularly

Another thing that you need to do regularly is to manage the website. Although your customers and visitors will only be limiting themselves to the front end of operations, you have to familiarize yourself with the admin area of your website. By doing that, you can make necessary changes and ensure that every aspect of the website is running the way you want it to. The WordPress dashboard makes it easier for you to keep in view all aspects of the website, and you can easily monitor everything that is happening.

Additionally, you can also see all orders placed on your freelance site by visiting Engine Settings > Orders. Viewing withdrawal activity is just as simple: all you need to do is visit Engine Settings » Money Withdrawal tab.

General Tips to Follow

Now that we have the essentials out of the way, you can also have some extra mechanisms in place to ensure that your new website gets the same amount of attention and traffic as Upwork and Fiverr.

Here are some of these tips:

● Expand your site with the use of more plugins.

● Market your freelance website by focusing on SEO and other digital marketing tactics.

● Optimize your WordPress Performance and speed.

The Key Takeaway

See how simple it is to create and run your freelance market and micro job website?

Once you begin to understand how lucrative this venture can be, it will be hard to step out of it! Remember: even Fiverr and Upwork started somewhere!

As long as you make sure that you follow all the important pointers we have listed, running a freelance marketplace is not going to be a difficult job. It is going to be quite easy and fulfilling! With the rise of freelancing gripping us more each day, it makes sense to invest in a platform that serves the freelance community.

What are you waiting for? Get in touch to learn more about how WordPress and AtomChat can help you run your freelance marketplace!