When you’re looking to start a porn site — or give your existing one a fresh coat of paint — you won’t get far without a good designer. The saying “a picture’s worth a thousand words” may be as old as the missionary position, but it’s also true.
Indeed, what we see determines what we feel, and every business aims to evoke powerful emotions to grab customers’ attention and get them interested in the brand. That is why web design is such an essential part of branding.
That being said, you shouldn’t get overwhelmed. Deciding on how to choose a web designer may not seem easy, but with this guide, it’ll be like talking Riley Reid into a bukkake shoot.
The best way to start, however, would be to determine if you even need a designer in the first place.
When Not to Consider an Adult Web Designer
Despite what you may have heard, bigger isn’t always better. The more sizable your project is, the more of a budget you’ll require.
Your choice of web designer isn’t exempt from that rule. And the more skilled they are, the more they’ll cost.
The average hourly rate for US-based web designers is $19.51, meaning that at a respectable work pace, having a full website designed will cost between $1,500 and $3,000.
The costs will increase even further when we take into account that you’ll be looking into adult web designers. On average, you can expect them to be between 20% to 40% more expensive than their PG-friendly colleagues.
Knowing all that, anyone would want to lower — or even avoid those costs. In that case, we’ve got some great news: a designer may not be entirely necessary.
If you’re intending to build a conventional adult business such as a porn tube or escort site, chances are that a ready-made template — a premade website that you can use and customize — for such a project already exists on the net. All you’ll need to do is buy the right one for you, then have it tweaked.
While you could do the tweaking yourself, we suggest hiring a front-end developer instead. They can rebrand a template within little time — and as a result, for a fraction of the cost of designing a whole website.
There will be more on templates later.
On the other hand, if you’re launching something more complicated — such as a webcam business — you’ll almost certainly want a designer.
Everything You Need to Know About Adult Web Designers
Before you start throwing money around like it’s your first time on Ibiza, you should learn a thing or two about web designers.
The Different Types of Adult Web Designers
As stated before, there are four main types of adult web designers: graphic designers, logo designers, UI designers, and UX designers.
Graphic Designers
These guys specialize in creating sensual, enticing visuals, fine-tuned to touch your lizard brain in all the right (or wrong, if you prefer) ways. As you might expect, their works are purely graphical, with little to no actual functionality, including:
- Images
- Banners
- Animations
- Fonts
- GIFs
- Trailers
- Other kinds of marketing materials
So, you should consider hiring one of these if your project will be heavy on visuals — they’re practically a must for sex blogs. Also, investing in a graphic designer will be a great idea if you plan on doing a lot of promotion for your business.
While most graphic designers can provide you with illustrated art, they will often create that art by taking stock images off the net and modifying them. Those who can draw are rare, and those who can draw provocative adult art are harder to find than a condom in a Miami porn studio. If you want your future site to feature high-quality illustrations like the ones you can find on Vicetemple, you should hire an illustrator, instead.
Because graphic designers are crucial for branding and marketing assets, a subset of them has specialized in creating a visually striking brand for your company. We call those logo designers.
Logo Designers
Your company’s logo is vital for brand recognition. Whether you’re going for stylized erotic art or writing in a suggestive font, you’ll need it to communicate your website’s personality — be it playful, kinky, or outright hardcore.
You can only wow your users once, so you’ll want to make their first time special. However, depending on the nature of your business and your available budget, branding may not be an instant priority.
If you don’t want to start with a professionally-made logo, you can use online software like Canva to create one yourself. As long as you measure your expectations, you can have a respectable start, and rebrand later.
UI Designers
Simply put, the UI (user interface) is everything that users interact with on your website. That includes menus, buttons, sliders, and other functions, as well as the site’s overall style and tone, such as the color scheme.
And, believe it or not, there is a method to the madness behind the design of most successful adult sites.
For example, the predominantly gold-and-black formula that marks most escort platforms (and even Pornhub) is there to invoke a certain vibe. Namely, gold signifies luxury, and black suggests privacy, which is exactly what you want from an escort business.
Therefore, a UI designer’s main job will be to create elements for your website’s user interface while ensuring that they look good and remain functional. So, if you don’t want (or can’t afford) to employ one, you’ll almost certainly want a website template.
UX Designers
UX stands for “user experience,” so one of these will primarily consider how people will feel while browsing your website. Instead of creating specific elements such as buttons and menus, they will put everything together, and effectively design the website’s overall flow and navigation on the user side.
So, while a UX designer may have a hand in some of your website’s sexy visuals, those won’t really be their primary concern. Instead, they’ll be looking at the big picture.
Simply, they will make sure that the site works, functionally, stylistically, and in terms of whetting the visitors’ appetites. They will place the menus, buttons, sliders, art and decoration, and ensure that all those elements work in tandem to create a satisfying experience for website users.
Granted, adult UX designers who can do other kinds of design do exist. Like graphic designers who can illustrate, though, they are rarer than natural tits in a Brazzers porno — and several times more expensive.
If you don’t come to a UX designer with your own wireframe (mockup or schematic, as explained here), they will typically start work by creating theirs. In doing so, they will map out a hypothetical user’s journey through your website.
With that done and the project mapped, they will proceed to incorporate existing visuals into it, with the end goal of creating the best user experience possible.
Pretty much any project would benefit from a UX designer. As a rule, though, complex websites would benefit the most from their touch, while simple ones could possibly do without.
Decide on What You’ll Need
Before employing anyone, you should understand exactly what your project will require from web design. Once you do, you’ll be able to determine what type or types of designers you will need, as well as the length and total cost of the work.
When to Get a Template
As we mentioned earlier, a template or theme is essentially a premade website that you can use and customize. They tend to be quick to set up, easy to use, and very affordable when compared to custom-made sites.
Most of the time, if your website idea can be covered with a template, you’ll want to consider buying it. For instance, if you want to run a porn tube site, PornX would be an amazing choice.
Because templates typically come with all the features you’ll require, you won’t need a lot of work done, so you won’t have to pay the developer as much. Everything will come down to creating a stronger brand image and adjusting the template’s design to your preferences.
You can do those adjustments on your own (if you have the skills) or hire a front-end developer to do it for an accessible fee.
However, if the website you have in mind has no proper template, or the available templates can’t offer you the functionality you require, you’ll need to have the site built from the ground up.
Adult Website Examples and Tips
As mentioned earlier, you should generally consider a designer if you are creating a website from scratch or updating an existing one.
If you’re making an entirely new website, you will need all four designer types working together. The graphic designer and logo designer will produce what you’ll need for branding, the UI designer will create your website’s buttons, menus, and other elements, and the UX designer will take all that and turn it into an optimized, easy-to-navigate website. While you could theoretically save on the graphic and logo designer by doing their work yourself, doing so will rarely give you good results.
If you are retooling an existing website, the kinds of designers you’ll require will depend on the extent of the rework. For example, if you just wish to up your website design game, all you’ll need is a UI designer. If you’d also like to rebrand, then a graphic designer and a logo designer would also be a worthwhile investment. For a full site revamp, though, you’ll also want a UX designer to wrap it all up in a tight, sexy package.
How to Reduce Costs Further
The more you can do by yourself, the less you’ll need to pay in the long run.
For instance, you can make a quick but functional outline of your website, including notes on the kinds of buttons the website will need, what each button will do, where which link would navigate, what the main menu and footer should contain, possibly the color scheme, etc. Designers tend to be visual people, and they’ll have an easier time understanding a picture than a verbal description.
Making a list of your favorite websites (both in terms of design and features) and showing it to your designers will save them valuable research time. Furthermore, you can write down what you like and don’t like about those sites, and give the designers an even clearer idea of your vision.
If you have the skills for it, you could even create your own, amateur version of your upcoming website by using free tools such as Canva and Wireframe.cc. It doesn’t have to win any beauty contests, but it will give the professionals you hire a good reference point.
Decide on Your Budget
It’s safe to say that no one likes spending money for no reason. If an expenditure can be avoided, it probably should be avoided.
Even so, if you go the cheap route with your website design, you risk having the end result look unprofessional. If people can see that you’re skimping on something as crucial as your website, they will be suspicious about your brand, and you will get a lower return on your investment.
In short, your design will influence your conversion rate, so saving a bit of money today may end up losing you a lot of money tomorrow.
So, this is all fine and dandy, but what about the actual numbers? How much should you expect to pay for decent-to-good web design?
A good rule of thumb would be to go by the number of unique pages that you will need created. Depending on the designer(s) working on it, a unique page will cost you between $50 and $250.
If you’re going cheap, use $50-$100 as a basis. If you’re aiming for top-of-the-line, expect $180-240. Either way, just multiply your estimated value with the expected number of pages, and you’ll have your assumed budget.
For example, a reasonably cheap website with five unique pages would have an assumed budget of $70×5=$350.
But again, going expensive won’t guarantee you great service. Many designers (or even agencies) will charge much more than they’re actually worth.
To get your money’s worth, you should screen each potential candidate before hiring them. A detailed look at their portfolio and work history will go a long way in telling you whether or not they deserve their price tag.
Where to Find Your Designer
Typically, a designer will either work freelance or be associated with an agency. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, so let’s help you decide which to go for.
Freelance Adult Web Designer
Freelance adult web designers typically come with the following pros and cons:
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Additional Tips for Working With Freelance Adult Web Designers
Because a freelance adult web designer will give you less of an all-in-one package, you will need to take a hands-on approach with them.
First off, while you should always research whom you’re hiring, with freelancers you’ll want to know exactly what you’ll be getting for your investment.
What can they do? What are their specialties? What aren’t they good at?
To answer these questions, screen your candidates, and don’t be afraid to ask about their qualifications. A casting couch is optional.
Next, clarify your involvement with their work. Ideally, you’ll be able to check how they are doing at any time. Better yet, determine a specific list of deliverables that you’ll want them to provide at the project’s end.
Also, always discuss the payment model in advance, and decide whether you’ll be paying per hour or upon project completion. If it works when hiring a sex worker for some old-fashioned pole polishing, it’s good enough for every work relationship.
If you’ll be paying your designer(s) per hour, keep in mind that they’ll likely work slower. After all, they’ll make more money that way.
To get the best results under this payment model, be direct. Check milestones and ask for daily updates. Otherwise, you risk getting cucked on your own project.
If you’ll be paying your designer(s) upon completion, they’ll probably finish their tasks in time. However, if you end up needing revisions, you’ll likely need to pay for them separately.
To prevent that from happening, make sure to include a revision clause in their contract(s).
Where to Find a Freelance Adult Web Designer
There are two common ways of getting a freelance adult web designer. These are local sources and online work platforms.
Local Sources
Because a designer’s job is so internet-centered, it’s easy to forget that you can often find one by just asking around.
A big upside to taking this approach is the possibility of getting a good deal. Because local designers often aren’t very good at promoting themselves, you’ll probably be able to negotiate a fair price with them.
And even if they are, you shouldn’t underestimate the impact of direct conversation. Even someone with an established online presence and a steady clientele will often be willing to cut you some slack when you’re in the same room.
Here are some common ways of finding your local adult web designers:
- Look for designer meetups in your vicinity, attend them, and ask around for professionals willing to do adult-themed work
- Search Google for designers in your area, then contact them by using the information they provided
- Directly ask your local businesses or people you know for designer recommendations
Online Work Platforms
Upwork, Fiverr, and other online job marketplaces can give you a lot of value when hiring freelancers for any job. Sadly, they can also be money sinks.
Luckily, all online work platforms will let you check their listed professionals’ reviews and feedback before hiring them. Naturally, you should use this privilege with each candidate you find worthy of consideration.
If you decide to give these a try, something you will absolutely want to pay attention to will be their policies regarding adult content. Unsurprisingly, a platform like Upwork won’t allow you to publicly hire people for an adult job.
Instead, your designer job posting on these platforms will need to be somewhat vague and notably non-explicit. Once you find a promising candidate, you can let them know about the specifics of the job they applied for.
Also — just to be on the safe side — you should not exchange files over the work platform itself. Instead, use Google Drive or a similar service to avoid possible compliance issues.
Here are some of the more reliable mainstream online work platforms:
If, on the other hand, you’d like a more adult-oriented work platform, you should check out XBIZ.net.
Adult Web Agency
Adult web agencies have the following pros and cons over freelancers:
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You shouldn’t write agencies off because of their higher overall costs. Instead, you should look at those costs as future-proofing your website.
To elaborate, an agency will always be much better at QA than an individual. That means that once they are done with your site, you won’t need to invest in additional quality assurance again. In effect, their reliability will end up actually saving you money in the long run.
Also, not all adult web agencies will cost the same. Some — like Vicetemple — offer specialized adult-centered services at affordable prices.
Reaching Out to Your Adult Designer
Once you’ve thought long and hard about what you need, done your research, and narrowed down your list of candidates by checking their portfolios, it’ll be time to send each of them a proposal.
While no two business proposals are the same, one rule goes for them all: be as detailed and precise as possible, and fully transparent about what you need done.
Ideally, you will have the following ready:
- Your color preferences
- A detailed explanation of the website type you want, along with examples
- A specific list of pages you want to have designed
- Your overall budget for the web design portion of the project (not for the designers’ eyes, but yours)
However, if you find yourself lacking some of the above-mentioned information, there’s no need to get discouraged or hesitate to reach out. Any web designer worth their qualifications will be able to advise you on how to proceed and what to prioritize.
Either way, you will want to end your proposal with a concrete question, asking them if they are interested in your project and inviting them to contact you if they are.
Choosing Your Adult Designer
After the initial contact, you should arrange an interview with your most promising candidates. A video call is preferable, but a voice call would work just as well.
During the interview, don’t be afraid to ask each candidate about everything you want to know. Listen to them carefully, as some may seem more competent than they are, or vice versa.
Talk about your website, and make sure to determine if the candidates understand your project and what you’re trying to achieve with it. Those who don’t, almost certainly won’t be worthy of consideration.
With everything done, you can narrow your list down even further and finally pick your designer. Ideally, you’ll want an independent expert who will be able to implement your ideas with minimal input on your part.
The more your minds click, the fewer (if any) revisions your project will require.
What’s Next
Once your designer(s) finish their work and your future website has the look you want, you can proceed to have it developed.
For help with getting that done, check our guide on how to choose an adult web developer.
