Fiverr was launched in 2010 and was created as an online marketplace for people to offer their freelance services. Commonly known for its wide range of creative services, the company provides a platform to offer a variety of virtual services to customers worldwide: Logo design, Web Design, Math Tutoring, Copyright, Personal Training … you name it, you can buy it!
Don’t get us wrong, we believe Fiverr holds a great concept and has probably been a godsend for a lot of people during the Covid-19 pandemic…so we hear you, what’s the catch?
Quality
You know the saying, you get what you pay for? Well then, it can’t just be us that questions why services can cost a minimum of £5, and we don’t think it’s one of those lucky scenarios of ‘it’s too good to be true!’.
The creative industry has battled for years with the stigma of our work being seen as ‘easy’ and ‘anyone can give it a hack’ so it seems slightly mind-blowing that Fiverr creatives could value hours of their time and creative ideas all at the cost of £5. This leaves us with just two logical explanations:
- The seller devalues themselves as a creative (therefore supporting the stigma that creative work is easy and not worth that much)
- The seller has little experience in the field of work they are advertising
It is not to be ignored that there are some genuine freelancers out there that have set up camp on Fiverr. Those who may not have the time to fully commit to being freelance full-time or for those who are still in education and want to make some extra cash alongside their studies or even those who aren’t confident enough to quit their 9-5 yet. The worst part is, there’s no way of distinguishing the difference between the genuine lot and those looking for a ‘quick buck’.
Risk
In previous blog posts, we have already highlighted the importance of site safety and the maintenance that is needed to keep it secure.
Using Fiverr may be a great way to pay for an initial design but it is important to look beyond this and consider the aftercare of any site. It may sound great to have bought an awesome design for an absolute steal but the long term reality of having a website involves specific practices in order to keep it running and safe…and not everyone is willing to do this!
Although there is a difference in price for the addition of site management, knowing that your payment will cover the design, the maintenance and the hosting of your site all in one is the biggest steal of all. No effort needed. At Studio Illicit we pride ourselves on being able to offer each and every client a level of aftercare with their new site, depending on the package they choose!
Unique
Another point to consider when searching through sellers on Fiverr is, will you be guaranteed a completely unique website for your business? Using Fiverr’s services doesn’t promise that a seller couldn’t be using the same template for each of their clients – meaning there could be a bunch of other sites out there that look and feel just like yours! To get to the point, in order to charge such cheap rates, a seller on Fiverr isn’t going to put in hours of their time to create completely bespoke sites for every client that comes their way!
SEO
Good SEO is an extremely important practise of running an online business and will increase the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results! If your Fiverr seller doesn’t meet basic SEO practices by using WordPress tags or category pages, you will soon find yourself drowning in the pool of your competitors. A great looking website design won’t matter if your website doesn’t even rank on Google!
The Final Comment
We truly believe the initial purpose of Fiverr was meant to positively support the freelance community in promoting their skills, but over the years it has slowly become the place for ersatz online services – cheap and untrustworthy due to the misuse of the platform.
When it comes to creating an online presence, it is important to take it seriously as our digital world demands extreme competitiveness in order to succeed on the world wide web. Putting yourself online is far too important in the growth of your business to cheap out and get it all wrong, so next time you think about spending a quick fiver, why not grab yourself a coffee and croissant instead?