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Turn your hobby into
  your profession
    Freelance web designer




Each month we look how people have successfully
  turned their hobby into their profession. This
 month we continue this feature with web design.

  Here we will be discussing the most important
factors and issues you may come across when you
   set up your own business as a freelance web
                     designer.
Freelance Web design
In today’s internet-driven world, having a well-
designed website is essential for running a
successful business. A huge proportion of
business is conducted via company websites.
Therefore web designers are in great demand
and play a very important part in the online
business environment.

There are many factors to consider when
developing a web site. It is often the initial point
of contact between the customer and the
company so the website should be visually
attractive but also be functional. The website
must help the user find the information they are
looking for and make it easy for the user to make
a purchase. Because of the technical
requirements and huge importance of web
design many companies call in professional web
designers to develop a robust website.

                                                       It is common for web
                                                       designers to begin their career
                                                       working at a web design or a
                                                       digital marketing company
                                                       before becoming freelancers.
                                                       This is because it is important
                                                       to know how your role fits in
                                                       with other digital services.
                                                       However, this is not essential.


 Technically you don’t need any professional qualifications to become a web designer,
 you could be self-taught. However, any relevant qualifications (for example, in
 graphic design) are likely to impress potential clients. The most important
 demonstration of your ability is your portfolio, which will be discussed in this post.
 This is a fast changing industry so it will require you to keep up to date with
 developments in software, best practice and skills.
Specialising                         Developing your business

There are many different aspects to         A large amount of business may come
designing an effective website and          from other freelancers or small
many skills involved in its creation.       businesses who have either just started
Many designers choose to specialise in      up or are getting the online side of their
a certain area of design, for example,      business up to speed. Therefore it is
Joomla web design, ecommerce web            important to network with other
design, graphic design or Word press        freelancers and small businesses. You
web design. As a web designer you           should also network with other
could also chose to specialise by           freelance web designers. Instead of
vertical, for example, you could            seeing them as competition; view them
specialise in creating online dating        as a people you can share knowledge
websites or websites for financial          with.
services providers. This could help
attract clients, if you become well
known for your high quality of work in a
specific type of web design.
                                            One way of building links with other
You could also think about offering         freelancers and web designers is by
additional web services so that your        establishing a strong social media
clients can come to you for more than       presence, on sites like Facebook and
one service and you will be able to         Twitter, to accompany your website and
extend the client relationship. Clients     portfolio. Make sure you regularly
who are redesigning their website may       discuss the latest trends and
also be interested in mobile web design,    developments in the industry via these
graphic design for banners, e-commerce      channels, add lots of influential contacts
(online shopping) services, SEO services,   and even blog about your thoughts. This
and copy writing services.                  will help you build up a wide range of
                                            contacts in the industry and you will be
Whilst there are obvious advantages to      more likely to attract work from
taking on a greater range of work, you      prestigious clients.
must ensure that you don’t spread
yourself too thin. As a freelancer you      You could look into further training
will be solely responsible for the          options to keep your skills fresh. But
completion of all work, so by taking on     there is no substitute for experience;
too much, the quality of work may           often you can get the best training and
suffer or you could deliver late on         advice from other freelance web
projects.                                   designers who have been working in the
                                            industry for a long time.
Legal documents

   It is important to create legal documents with your clients to protect your rights and
   deal with problems, should there be any. The first thing you need to do is create a
   contract with your client that sets out all the terms and conditions of the project.
   You should also create a copyright agreement. As a web designer it is important to
   protect your work, prevent your work form being miss-credited and have control
   over who can use your work. It is extremely important for you to research copyright
   law and be able to apply it your work.

   The way you charge for your work should also be discussed with the client before any
   work is carried out. There are two ways you could chose to charge for your work. The
   first method is fixed-price. This means that you charge a fixed price for a set project
   which you agree with the client ahead of time, irrelevant of how long it takes to
   complete the work. It can be difficult to determine a fixed-price for a project before
   actually completing the work, however this method also means that designer’s with
   efficient methods for saving time won’t be unfairly penalised with a low cost.

   Alternatively, you could choose to charge your clients per hour. This method means it
   is much harder to be under or over paid for a project. However, this also means that
   you will need to fill out timesheets and there needs to be an effective way to transfer
   timesheets back and forth between yourself and the client. For this you should look
   at small business accounting software which allows you to track the time you spend
   on each project and generate flexible timesheet reports to pass onto the client.




                                     Summary

  Success as a freelance web designer ultimately depends on your
 ability to establish yourself in this highly competitive industry, and
  also your ability to network with others. There are relatively low
 entry barriers to establishing yourself and experience will be your
  greatest asset. It is a fast moving industry so you need to take a
proactive and innovative attitude to finding work and keeping up-to-
                   date with industry developments.

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Turn your hobby into your profession web designer

  • 1. Turn your hobby into your profession Freelance web designer Each month we look how people have successfully turned their hobby into their profession. This month we continue this feature with web design. Here we will be discussing the most important factors and issues you may come across when you set up your own business as a freelance web designer.
  • 2. Freelance Web design In today’s internet-driven world, having a well- designed website is essential for running a successful business. A huge proportion of business is conducted via company websites. Therefore web designers are in great demand and play a very important part in the online business environment. There are many factors to consider when developing a web site. It is often the initial point of contact between the customer and the company so the website should be visually attractive but also be functional. The website must help the user find the information they are looking for and make it easy for the user to make a purchase. Because of the technical requirements and huge importance of web design many companies call in professional web designers to develop a robust website. It is common for web designers to begin their career working at a web design or a digital marketing company before becoming freelancers. This is because it is important to know how your role fits in with other digital services. However, this is not essential. Technically you don’t need any professional qualifications to become a web designer, you could be self-taught. However, any relevant qualifications (for example, in graphic design) are likely to impress potential clients. The most important demonstration of your ability is your portfolio, which will be discussed in this post. This is a fast changing industry so it will require you to keep up to date with developments in software, best practice and skills.
  • 3. Specialising Developing your business There are many different aspects to A large amount of business may come designing an effective website and from other freelancers or small many skills involved in its creation. businesses who have either just started Many designers choose to specialise in up or are getting the online side of their a certain area of design, for example, business up to speed. Therefore it is Joomla web design, ecommerce web important to network with other design, graphic design or Word press freelancers and small businesses. You web design. As a web designer you should also network with other could also chose to specialise by freelance web designers. Instead of vertical, for example, you could seeing them as competition; view them specialise in creating online dating as a people you can share knowledge websites or websites for financial with. services providers. This could help attract clients, if you become well known for your high quality of work in a specific type of web design. One way of building links with other You could also think about offering freelancers and web designers is by additional web services so that your establishing a strong social media clients can come to you for more than presence, on sites like Facebook and one service and you will be able to Twitter, to accompany your website and extend the client relationship. Clients portfolio. Make sure you regularly who are redesigning their website may discuss the latest trends and also be interested in mobile web design, developments in the industry via these graphic design for banners, e-commerce channels, add lots of influential contacts (online shopping) services, SEO services, and even blog about your thoughts. This and copy writing services. will help you build up a wide range of contacts in the industry and you will be Whilst there are obvious advantages to more likely to attract work from taking on a greater range of work, you prestigious clients. must ensure that you don’t spread yourself too thin. As a freelancer you You could look into further training will be solely responsible for the options to keep your skills fresh. But completion of all work, so by taking on there is no substitute for experience; too much, the quality of work may often you can get the best training and suffer or you could deliver late on advice from other freelance web projects. designers who have been working in the industry for a long time.
  • 4. Legal documents It is important to create legal documents with your clients to protect your rights and deal with problems, should there be any. The first thing you need to do is create a contract with your client that sets out all the terms and conditions of the project. You should also create a copyright agreement. As a web designer it is important to protect your work, prevent your work form being miss-credited and have control over who can use your work. It is extremely important for you to research copyright law and be able to apply it your work. The way you charge for your work should also be discussed with the client before any work is carried out. There are two ways you could chose to charge for your work. The first method is fixed-price. This means that you charge a fixed price for a set project which you agree with the client ahead of time, irrelevant of how long it takes to complete the work. It can be difficult to determine a fixed-price for a project before actually completing the work, however this method also means that designer’s with efficient methods for saving time won’t be unfairly penalised with a low cost. Alternatively, you could choose to charge your clients per hour. This method means it is much harder to be under or over paid for a project. However, this also means that you will need to fill out timesheets and there needs to be an effective way to transfer timesheets back and forth between yourself and the client. For this you should look at small business accounting software which allows you to track the time you spend on each project and generate flexible timesheet reports to pass onto the client. Summary Success as a freelance web designer ultimately depends on your ability to establish yourself in this highly competitive industry, and also your ability to network with others. There are relatively low entry barriers to establishing yourself and experience will be your greatest asset. It is a fast moving industry so you need to take a proactive and innovative attitude to finding work and keeping up-to- date with industry developments.