Clueless About Beginning a Freelance Web Designer Career?

To be a successful freelance web designer or graphics designer, you need to be able to deal with requests of all kind of clients because no two clients are the same.

You will have to face difficulties working with different kinds of clients. If you want to become a freelance web designer you will have to take the challenge and need first of all to find places where you will find your jobs.

Start working with a place like a church or any charitable group. This may not give you money but you will get experience and gain credibility in the community. This will up your reputation and add to your profile. You may think you are wasting your time doing charity work but actually you are making the best beginning by working for a good cause and also gaining experience, reputation and popularity to help you in the future.

You can then move to contacting small business groups. At this stage, your job becomes tough because to make a small business owner understand that a website is a worthy investment and not just an extra show off feature is really tough.

Adding to this, small business owners can be tight with their money. They are also very strict with what they want so to satisfy them you have to use your best skills and still it won’t be a surprise if they ask you to do some ridiculous changes in your design.

Just face the challenge and do it because these are people from which most of the freelance web designers get their first pay check.

Next you should move to the marketing department… businesses don’t mind spending money on websites because all they want is popularity to build up their business.

If you get a marketing client it is a huge success for a freelance web designer. Having marketing clients in your client list secures you of a lot of money and a good position in web designing.

However, the tough part of the game is when you are working with a marketing firm where there can be multiple internal clients having different demands and needs but also because of being an organization the decision maker is always a different person.

Quickly learn these trends and know the demands of the actual boss and work accordingly to his taste instead of others involved in the project. The other major problem with them is budget cuts and you can’t complain so you’d better sign a contract.

Then the best of all is to work with agencies and design firms because they understand the business and don’t make crazy requests. They are also regular and pay off well.

The agencies always face an excess of work which internal designers can’t handle. So, they move to trusted freelance web designers.

The tough part of the job is gaining their trust. You don’t need to worry, just build a good portfolio and keep sending them your best when they assign you a project. Once they trust you… they send you regular work. So, always try to make a network of clients.

Important Tips To Follow To Be A Successful Freelance Web Designer

1. Do not approve of everything the client wants you to do. You just do those projects you are good at and not every job out there.

This may seem like a loss to you but it helps a lot in the long run. In freelance web designing business, your portfolio depends on the perfection of your work so if you do those jobs you are not skilled enough at it will destroy your portfolio and create a bad reputation for you.

2. Do not support the people who think freelancing web designing is cheap by under charging.

As a freelancer you may not need an office and staff but still you need to earn a good living so never undersell your work. Always keep competitive prices. Charge what is reasonable.

A professional never overcharges or undercharges. It may sound easy to you but it takes a lot of experience and time to fix the exact price which satisfies everyone.

3. Try to create a bond with the client by interacting with them as much as possible within professional limits. This builds credibility and they’ll keep coming back again and again with new work.

4. Don’t think an assignment to be too small and ignore it. It may seem foolish to you to spend time on them but often the clients whom you satisfy with your work on the smaller assignments come back to you with bigger ones. In their eyes, you understand the importance of a job however it may look. This is what enhances your reputation.

5. Never begin a job without an initial deposit. Usually it is good to settle the money in two payments. One payment should be done at the beginning of the project and the other before handing over the final project.

You can be a bit liberal with the clients whom you personally trust. It makes your relationship with the client stronger and they become your repeat clients.

6. Keep your portfolio always ready and up to date. It may sound funny but many freelance web designers either don’t have a portfolio or have a bad one. This creates a negative impression on your new clients…they haven’t worked with you. When you get free time, work on making your portfolio the best it can be.

7. Don’t work all the time. Don’t over exploit yourself because then you will get bored with your work and won’t be able to focus and produce your best. Quality is the most important element.

Also, don’t waste your time surfing the net when you are free. Use the time to learn new programs and create some template designs that helps to get more customers.

Follow these easy tips and launch your freelance web designer career with confidence!