How to Make a Tutoring Website

Think about it for a minute. Who has been one of the most influential people in your life?

Chances are, it didn’t take long for you to think of a caring teacher from elementary, high school, or your university days. The positive force of a great teacher in your life may have even been one of the primary reasons you decided to pursue the same career path.

While teaching is a vital and prestigious career, unfortunately, it’s also one of the most underpaid professions in the United States. Can I get an “amen?”

If you are a teacher, the conundrum of having a strong passion for teaching but also a desire to make more money is most likely part of your daily life.

Thankfully, sticking to one form of income and spending all your time in the classroom isn’t the only option for teachers.

This article will explore how some top educators have expanded their teaching expertise and boosted their monthly income, by starting a tutoring or education side hustle. Here is a deeper look into what options you have for an online education business, how a website can help you promote your business, and how you can create your own website.

Let’s get started!

What Kind of Tutoring Side Hustle Options Are Available?

What better way to learn what kind of side hustle options are available than to look to the professionals that are already successfully running educational side hustles? Here are 3 examples from professionals that have built successful side hustles in the education niche.

1. Start an online tutoring business

You’ve probably heard of online tutoring companies like VIPkid and Teach Away. While these companies can provide additional income, there are a few caveats, including:

• there is a cap on how much money you can make,
• you usually have to get up before dawn to accommodate a student in another country, and
• the tutoring company takes a percentage of your earnings.

The solution to this problem? Do what Kelli Johnson did and start your own tutoring company. 

Kelli Johnson is a retired teacher that still had a burning desire to teach. She took matters into her own hands and started her own side hustle.

Johnson says, “I retired after 30 years of teaching public school kids to read, but did not want to just collect that small pension and sit on the sofa. So, I put together a website and started a tutoring business in which I can create my own schedule, stay local, and make an impact on my community. I have been seeing between three and ten kids at a time and specifically tutoring dyslexic kids who are struggling and need that one-on-one attention in reading. I love my side hustle! It’s fulfilling and pays for groceries and gas.”

Not only is online tutoring fulfilling, but it’s also a great way to make a difference. Johnson reports, “My goals were to make money, set my own schedule locally, and make an impact. My kids have all passed state exams this year and I am in my community making a bit of money. So success!”

Whether you are retired, or looking to make cash on the side, starting your online tutoring business is a great way to go.

2. Sell instructional materials online

Starting your online tutoring business is a fulfilling way to use your skills, but that’s not the only option you have for a side hustle if you have a strong background in education.

James Dauray graduated with an M.Ed. in Science education in 2004, and has created a side hustle where he sells his instructional materials online.

Dauray says, “I publish my own instructional materials for high school and college instructors, including lectures, worksheets, labs, and notes. I created this website because I was using document sharing services to make my lectures more easily accessible to my own students (Scribd, Docstoc, etc) and noticed that I was receiving a lot of hits from outside my own class. I created the website, received a significant amount of traffic, and began selling instructor materials to verified teachers.”

But, does this kind of business really yield results, you may be wondering? 

According to Dauray, he’s been successful. He says, “I’ve been able to attract a consistent level of traffic, between 1,000 to 2,000 visitors per day during the school year. I’ll typically have 1-2 teachers per week contact me to purchase a subscription to the instructor-only materials I provide, meaning that those teachers have fully adopted my materials.”

If you have a specific industry expertise and a knack for lesson planning, starting your own online store to sell educational materials may be the perfect fit.

3. Start an educational blog and online store

Linda Moore is another successful teacher and side hustler. She is a fourth grade teacher and also has experienced success with creating educational resources for teachers to use in the classroom. 

In fact, her educational resources are sold on the Teachers Pay Teachers website in her store called Mima’s Classroom. 

But, the success doesn’t end there. She also spreads her knowledge through her own blog.

In her own words, Moore describes her side hustle. “I created a blogging website, not only to promote my products, but also to educate teachers, or anyone else desiring to gain a better understanding of the content I provide.”

What’s especially interesting about Linda Moore is she doesn’t just create materials and blog about subjects that are taught K-12. She also shares expertise around another subject she is passionate about—health and wellness. She says, “I also teach about health and fitness in my blogs. My health and fitness tab teaches about diet and exercise and directs people to my Beachbody coaching website.”

To promote her products and materials, Moore uses a HostGator website. Through her blog, people can access more information about her on her YouTube channel, Facebook page, TPT store, and Beachbody page.

Linda Moore has the same sense of fulfillment from her side hustle that Kelli Johnson does. Moore says, “I am a teacher at heart, so my goal is to help people learn. If one person is helped by reading my blog, viewing my videos, or using my products, I consider it a success. I know people are reading my blogs and finding value because my blogs have likes. For me, I have already been successful and I will continue to blog, make videos, and create products.”

Teaching may be your passion too, and sharing your knowledge online via a blog or website is a great way to impact others as well as make extra cash. In fact, according to Glassdoor, successful bloggers can make an average of anywhere from $19K to $79K a year. Not a bad side hustle.

Why Do You Need a Website for Your Tutoring Business?

There are many reasons why your business needs a website, but the primary reason is this: to get found.

It’s difficult to find customers for online tutoring, to sell teaching materials, or to find an active blog following if you’re not online.

To give you a better idea of just how critical it is to build and maintain a strong online presence, consider the following stats:

• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
• 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. 
• 70% of shopping searches happen on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
• It’s estimated that by the year 2040, 95% of purchases will be through eCommerce. 
• 61% of internet users do research online before making a purchase.

With these stats in mind, it’s clear that customers are using online search to look for…well, everything.

But, what if you are aiming to start a local tutoring business as a side hustle? This just in: you’re not exempt from the need of having a website. 

72% of consumers who perform a local search visit a store within 5 miles of their current location, and 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site.

Even if you operate out of your house, people in need of a tutor will start looking for a tutor using the internet. The best way to promote your business and to generate sales is to exist online. In fact, even Kelli Johnson, with all her success, plans on improving her website through HostGator. She says, “I intend to make my website better this summer. I hope to enhance it with a parent commentary page and change up some of the graphics designs.”

How to Create a Website for Tutoring

Creating a website is vital to the success of your side hustle, but that doesn’t mean creating a website is a no brainer. 

Linda Moore says “I consider my website to be the infrastructure of my business. Creating the website was the biggest obstacle. I am the first in my family to start a business, so I have had no one to turn to for help. I have learned everything I know from watching “how to” videos on YouTube. I learned about HostGator from YouTube.”

It’s true. It can be difficult to create your own website for your side hustle. That is, it can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools.

HostGator makes it easy for even the most novice internet users to create a tutoring website. By following 6 easy steps, you can get your website up in less than a day with the HostGator Website Builder.

Step 1: Pick a hosting plan.

The Gator Website Builder has three plans. The starter plan includes a free domain, 200+ templates, a drag-and-drop editor, cloud hosting, and website analytics, and is the perfect pick for someone looking to start a tutoring website or blog.

If you are nervous about building your own website and want priority support, you’ll need the premium plan. 

If you are planning on selling educational materials online, pick the eCommerce plan.

Once you’ve picked a plan, click “buy now” and you can set up your account.

Step 2: Pick a domain name.

Every HostGator Website Builder package includes a free domain. To pick your domain, all you have to do is type something in the “get domain” box. If your top choice isn’t available, select another.

Need help picking a domain name? Here is a list of ideas for how to choose a domain name for your business.

If you already have a domain name, that’s great! You can connect it to your HostGator account by clicking “connect it here.” Easy.

Step 3: Create your account.

Once you have a domain name, you’re ready to connect your account. All you need is an email address or Facebook account to connect. Then, enter your payment information, and you’re ready to go.

Step 4: Pick a template.

The best news about creating your tutoring or education website is you don’t have to do any coding, because the HostGator Builder comes with templates.

Once you create your account, you’ll be directed to the “choose a template” page. You can scroll through over 200 professionally-designed templates, and select the template that best fits your business goals.

Step 5: Add content to your website.

Once you have selected the perfect template, click “start editing.” This will send you to your dashboard where you can add, edit, and delete pages. 

Gator Website Builder includes a drag and drop builder to make it easy to design your website. However, if you have any questions, Gator Website Builder also includes a free and easy step-by-step guide to show you how to set up the different sections of your site. 

To access this guide, Click the “menu” icon next to the Gator by HostGator logo and select the “getting started tour.”  

Step 6: Review your content and launch your website.

The last step is to review and launch your website. By clicking “preview,” you can see your website in full. This helps ensure your design looks how you want it to look. 

If everything looks great, then click the “finish preview” button at the top and then “publish website” at the top of the dashboard. GatorBuilder will present a series of quick steps to help you go live.

And, that’s all it takes to get your tutoring website up and running

Let’s Launch Your Tutoring Website!

If you’ve been wanting to start a tutoring side hustle or build a website where you sell educational resources, the time is now.

For a little extra motivation, listen to what Linda Moore has to say. She says “I would say that whatever your side hustle is, make sure it comes from your heart. Make sure you are helping people in some way and somehow. I think our job is to add value to this world and make it a better place.”

You have a talent for teaching, and the good news is you can also make money by sharing your talents with the online community. 

For help starting your side hustle and getting your website up and running, check out HostGator today.