Freelance Web Designer
One of the most lucrative freelancing opportunities is in the web-design business. As long as you have the ability to code up decent looking webpages and understand the basics of SEO and building sites for a mass audience, you can find business owners looking to hire you. However, if you are just starting off, it can be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start.
I have been freelancing as a webdesigner for over ten years now, and worked my way through a lot of the early mistakes I made. Let me tell you how it works.
1. Get a portfolio.
If you know how to build websites, you probably have already built some - whether for yourself, your neighbour, or your school. Design a professional website, and purchase a decent domain name. Whether you are 18 or 58, you want to present yourself as someone professional and serious about the business. It doesn't have to be a huge website, but make sure it shows off your design and coding skills.
2. Check out your local businesses
Most people aren't going to find you online. Your portfolio is there to back up your sales calls, not to sell you. So. Local businesses. This is the best place to start finding work. Look out for: local bands, youth groups, religious groups and churches, independent shops, and other freelancers - e.g. alternative medicine practitioners, interior designers, plumbers, TV aerial fitters, solar panel fitters and so on. If they don't have websites - great! Pitch them the benefits of getting online, and give them a few suggestions on what their site could do. Already got a bad looking website? Send them a leaflet or email outlining the problems with it, and how it should be fixed.
This is the crucial part of your business, so keep testing and working at it. You could send out leaflets, make phone-calls, or visit in person. Every 'no' is an opportunity for you to improve your sales pitch.
In my experience, most people are quite eager to get a website up, or to get their existing one improved. So you should get your first client relatively quickly. At this point you have to make some difficult decisions:
Pricing:-
Check market rates, and pick something comparable. You will want something you feel comfortable with - say $40 an hour to start with. Or you might prefer to charge per project - you could say something like "One page website plus SEO for $200". Whatever you decide, make sure that you are happy with it and you feel confident quoting it to clients. Don't forget you can always raise your rates later - but also make sure you are making enough to be worth your while.
Contract:-
Generally speaking, asimple contract you get off the internetand customise to suit your needs is fine. If you land a job with a large corporation, you might want to get a lawyer to draw you something up.
One thing you should always do is get a deposit. I usually ask for half the quoted fee up front.
3. Make your first job shine
The easiest and most lucrative way I have gotten new work is by referrals. Now I have a lot of people passing my name on to other businesses, because they are happy with the work I've done for them. So follow the golden rules:
- Set, and meet deadlines.
Tell your client when they can expect the first draft, the next stage and so on - and then meet those times. If you absolutely can't make it, then send them an email BEFORE the deadline and explain you need an extension. But do that as rarely as possible. Always give yourself a flexible window of time, so if something does go wrong, you have time to fix it.
- Produce high quality work
Make sure your site looks good and behaves well. Clients aren't going to know how shoddy or good your coding is, but they will know if they start getting search engine traffic and new business from the site. So make it clean, search-engine friendly, and fit for purpose.
- Be flexible
Listen to the clients feedback, and do your best to accommodate. Not all suggestions are good, so try and explain why not in a fair and clear manner. Don't confuse them with jargon, and don't ignore their ideas.
4. Keep it legal
Once you start earning some money, you need to start paying some taxes. Check out the local laws and regulations, phone up the tax office, and make sure you keep track of every bit of income and every expense.
Good luck!
