Tips To Become A Freelance Website Designer

For anyone who has pursued a course in website designing or has sufficient knowledge of the same, the

idea of working as a freelancer is quite attractive. A freelance website designer is one who isn’t

employed at a web designing company on a permanent basis but rather works independently and has

more control over what he chooses to do and also over the manner of doing it. As a freelancer web

designer, your job will be much more flexible than of someone who works for a company. This flexibility

comes from the project choices, client choices, payment choices and work duration choices. However,

self -employment in the case of freelance website designing is more complex and difficult as you may

think or expect. The duties to be performed and the skills needed to be successful as a freelancer are

more in number. A freelancer web designer is not employed permanently and thus has to constantly

find clients to stay in the business. The following is a detail of how you can tread on this path and

become a successful freelance website designer.

Job Duties for Freelance Website Designer

Besides website designing and the technical aspect of the same, there are many other job duties to

perform as a freelancer website designer. Here’s a list of a few major ones:

To be able to use codes and programs to do the website coding work, which is the most basic

requirement for this job

To try to learn the maximum codes since the more codes you know the better will it be to

produce an excellent website.

To be build websites on the requirements and specifications of the client.

To keep the client in the loop of things so as to get constant feedback to build the site

satisfactorily.

To make the web pages or web sites visually appealing and as original as possible.

To obtain or create graphics or photographs for the site or delegate this work to someone else.

To find clients, build clientele and collect payments after the task is done.

To maintain the websites designed and to update them as required.

To constantly learn more functions and develop new designs to polish skills further.

Skills

Becoming a website designer is not just about having the knowledge of the field and knowing how to

use codes but is also about possessing the skills, creativity and ability to constantly develop functional,

visually appealing and unique websites. Here’s a list of the major skills needed if you wish to become a

freelance website designer:

Some of the technical skills needed are HTML, CSS, Design Sense, Ajax and JavaScript, PHP, ASP,

Java, C++, MySQL Database, Flash, SEO and web server administration.

Besides these skills, one must also possess good written and verbal communication skills,

project management abilities, uniqueness, creativity and time management skills.

Ability to marker yourself or project yourself correctly in front of prospective and new clients is

also needed.

Ability to work fast on computer systems and thirst to learn more codes and designing tools is

also required.

Client retaining is also a crucial skill which can help to bag all future projects of existing clients a

far as website designing or development is concerned.

Being Successful as a Freelance Website Designer

There are many people working as freelance website designers all across the world these days and thus

there is a stiff competition in this field of work. To stand out and create your own identity can be

challenging at times. To be successful as a freelance website designer, you can follow the following tips:

Make sure you research what other freelancers are charging so that you can set your price

smartly. Do not overcharge during your entry level days and keep the prices competitive yet

reasonable.

Try to set aside some time to create a website where you can showcase your skills and talents to

prospective clients. This dummy website can help you win maximum clients which can be

instrumental to your success.

Consider hiring an SEO expert to help provide content to those clients who do not have a writer

of their own. This can add a star to your portfolio and help you bag more jobs.

Advertise and market yourself on social networking websites and other online portals. Create a

strong profile and define your target audience. Make sure you give your main skills so as to

attract more clients.

Send out sale letters, proposals and free estimates over websites like Elance, where you can find

ample of freelancing jobs. Some other websites where you can find work are O-Desk,

Freelancer.com etc.

Average Remuneration

Since every business, no matter how big or small it may be wants to build a website to attract the

‘internet generation’, the need for website designers or freelance website designers is high at the

moment. But the secret to bagging these jobs and earn a respectable salary is to know where to hunt

for jobs. There is wide scope within freelance web designing and absolutely no shortage of jobs. This is

both a good thing and a bad since availability of many designers brings down the service cost. On an

average, an entry level freelance web designer can earn up to $40 per hour whereas those with 2-3

years of experience can expect a salary of $50 per hour. The figure keeps going up with the number of

years of experience and skills possessed.

Finding work

The best way to find work as a freelance website designer is to log online to freelance work websites

and start sending out proposals. There are several sites such as Elance.com, O-desk.com, and

Peopleperhour.com etc. which offer many opportunities for freelancers and are flooded with job

requests. While the competition may be high, a good proposal can land you decent jobs. Other ways to

find work is to contact your friends and relatives and ask them if they need websites designed. Put up

your profile on professional channels such as LinkedIn and let work find you. Social media marketing is a

good way to get visibility as a designer.

For more information on Freelance Resource please visit www.careerlancer.net