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The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

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Becoming a freelance web designer is a common dream among many designers, although it takes quite a bit of talent, business savvy, committment, and time. With all there is to consider when becoming self-employed, one can become overwhelmed — enough to deter themselves from trying at all.

Realizing many Smashing readers probably already have a head-start into the world of professional and freelance web design, this post is meant to act as not only a step-by-step guide, but also as a checklist for those who have already started their career. Hopefully this guide can cover all aspects of becoming a professional and freelance web designer, from business aspect and working with clients, to creating an effective portfolio and advertising one’s work.

Also consider our previous articles:

1. Do the Necessary Research

The absolute first step into any freelancing career is to do the needed research ahead of time. Freelancing is a huge life and career change, and one needs to look into exactly how it will change life before diving in.

Research the Costs

Making money on one’s own terms sounds incredibily appealing, until the realization comes that it’s a lot less money than working at a company (at first, at least). Below is just a short list of expenses to consider. Make sure they are covered when venturing into a freelancing lifestyle.

  • Domain name and hosting services
  • Stationery, Business Cards, and other marketing material
  • Needed software
  • A desk space and supplies
  • Subscriptions to stock photo sites and other forms of resources

On top of that, consider basic living expenses and additional emergency or living money. At this point, a formal budget is not needed, but it’s a very smart idea to go over the basic numbers of starting a freelancing business, and maintaining it. Most of the time, designers must save up before starting a freelancing career.

Estimation in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Taxes & Insurance

While most aspiring freelancers will slowly transition into the lifestyle, opposed to quitting their day job cold turkey, it is important to look into taxing information, insurance, and other assets that will be changed with self-employment. Because local laws and personal circumstances can vary so significantly, new designers should research this area on their own.

Research the Time

A more specific schedule can be setup later, but it’s a good idea to look into the time requirement for work each day, per week, and even per month to handle X amount of clients. For some, the time needed to be invested in this type of career path is not currently available.

Consider current social or family happenings, career responsibilities, and for some — even school. If it is not a good time in life to change focus, it may not be a good time to start freelancing full-time. Sometimes it is appropriate to put dreams on hold. With that being said, set a realistic date to begin a true freelancing lifestyle, whether that means just easing into it now, or setting a time in the future to go full-time.

If all consideration is put into place, the idea is well researched, then it can be time to start a freelance web design career! Below are the remaining steps to take.

2. Become a Brand

There are many differences between a young freelance web designer just trying to get by, and a successful freelance web designer with their business and future in mind. One of those differences is that successful freelance designers understand, and pay close attention, to branding.

Branding a business, even if only a one person operation, can do a lot of things in terms of the business’s sucess. A good brand builds credibility, client loyalty, delivers a target message to clients and other businesses, and even aids in marketing strategy.

What’s in a Name?

The name of a freelancing business can signify a lot, and most designers just choose to use their full name as the brand name. This is fine, but another option is to use a specialized brand name. Depending on the future plans of the business, it is smart to think closer about an official name.

If one plans on turning an individual freelancing business into a firm one day, a name other than the designer’s given name may be more appropriate. Also, a specialized brand name may be more memorable than the designer’s given name, and the posibilities are then endless as far as finding an SEO friendly name, or a name that gives off a portrayal of the business it represents.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s easy to see the benefits of using a given name as a business name. Using a designer’s given name is always original, and something uniquely personal to the designer. Really, both can be successful decisions, but it is a decision that is often times taken too lightly. The way the brand is futher marketed depends largely on this decision. Below are successful examples of both instances.

Here are four great examples of using a specialized name for the brand:

Goodbytes in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Ectomachine in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Noe in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Base6 in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

 

In contrast, here are four great examples of using the designer’s actual name as the brand.

Leemunroe in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Richarddavidson in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Juanvelasco in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Brianburns in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

 

All of the examples above are the portfolios of individual designers. However, one will notice that designers who chose a specialized name for their brand often call themselves a studio. This gives the impression that they are a bigger business; a more formal organization. The portfolios with given names, though, provide a more personal appeal — something many clients look for. This often gives them more of the true freelancer feel.

Depending on how a designer wants to operate their business, the clients they want to attract, and based on the future goals of the business, the final decision of the freelancing business name can have many possibilities.

Logo

After the official brand name is decided, it’s time to start creating a logo around it. Many beginner designers don’t understand the importance a logo has in a brand, or even how important a brand is in itself. Opposed to creating a quick logo in the process of designing a portfolio template, a logo should be made separately and with the utmost consideration.

Below is a small showcase of excellent logo design in a few web design portfolios.

Well in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Kuhboom in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Ohmedia in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer Nosleepforsheep in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

 

Because these designers, and so many more, took the extra time to create a well-branded and effective logo, they have the opportunity to expand the logo design to stationery, business cards, advertisements, and more. Not to mention, these logos serve the origial purpose of logo design — to create a brand, build business loyalty, and create an image that aids in recognition.

A designer will want to create a logo that represents their design style, and that will attract a client that is looking for that type of web design. To create a great logo, read up on logo design principles, tutorials, and logo design processes.

Below are just a few of these tutorials and walkthroughs.

An Elevator Pitch

There is a lot more to being a successful freelance web designer than just being good at web design. Any sort of freelancer has to be an entrepreneur as well. Rule #1 for entrepreneurship: create an elevator pitch.

For those that don’t know what an elevator pitch it, it is a premeditated, well thought-out introduction to one’s services or a person’s business as a whole. Let’s take a look at a better definition. Excuse the use of Wikipedia for a professional reference, but Wikipedia’s definition of an elevator pitch is just about perfect for the freelance web designer:

An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds and 100-150 words).

A variety of other people, including entrepreneurs, project managers, salespeople, evangelists, policy-makers, job seekers (web designers and freelancers), and speed daters commonly use elevator pitches to get their point across quickly.Elevator pitch, Wikipedia

Take the time to create an elevator pitch for a freelancing business. For a freelance web designer, it can venture beyond the traditional use of a speech in an elevator, to the introduction to a portfolio, the about page, or as an introduction to an application for a freelancing position.

Many marketing gurus leave the assumption that the creation of an elevator speech for a business will increase the client list dramatically. Usually, this isn’t the case — at least not directly. What it will do though is still quite useful:

  • Save the designer countless hours in coming up with a smart introduction over and over again.
  • Create a professional atmosphere for a portfolio, or whereever it is used.
  • An elevator speech will make sure that any new introductions don’t leave out vital information about the services or freelancing business.

The following is an example of an excellent elevator pitch for a 45royale web design studio.

45royale is an enthusiastic web design studio located in the bustling metropolis of Canton, Georgia. We promote web standards and bring energy and commitment to our work every single day.45royale Inc.

The above is a strong example for a small, yet established business. Freelancing can use the same principle, but with a more personal approach:

Hi there, my name’s Brian Wilkins and I am a web designer/front-end developer living outside Boston, Massachusetts. I currently work at Reelpoint, an online design and marketing firm. I build clean and functional interfaces. With a hunger to constantly grow and evolve as a designer, I have a genuine passion for art, typography, design, technology and creative thinking.BrianWilkins.net

That detailed elevator pitch can be seen on his about page, telling potential clients exactly what he does. On the front page, as part of his portfolio design, he includes a much shorter, but equally effective pitch:

I’m a web designer that creates clean and modern content for the world wide web.

Taking the time to create an elevator pitch can help launch a freelance career through the use of business tactics. Below are some further resources for creating a great elevator pitch.

An Overall Style

The last thing to do is create an overall style for the freelancing business. Fortunately, most of this is accomplished by the above several factors. The overall style, colors, textures, and even how a designer presents one’s self should reflect the style of work a designer completes.

To promote consistency throughout the life of the freelancing business, though, designers need to look at branding in a more broad sense when first starting out. Creating a color scheme, design style, and other overall design guidelines based off of the logo design, and information presented in the elevator pitch. Then, stick to the brand as the freelancing business progresses.

3. Create a Portfolio Website

Step number three is an obvious one — create a portfolio website. However, it deserves a decent overview and closer look because we as designers are our own worst clients. Many new freelancers, or anyone just entering the web design world of business, will open Photoshop and start grinding away. Instead, think about what a portfolio can actually do.

A mediocre portfolio will have a great design, and show off a designer’s past works. However, an excellent portfolio will do the following things:

  • Reflect and grow a designer’s brand.
  • Show a client not only what a designer can do, but what the designer can do for them.
  • Show great talent, but also business savvy and professionalism.
  • Intrigue potential clients strongly enough so that they stay on the website long enough to make contact with the designer.
  • Provide a user-friendly interface for the client (who very well may not be so Internet or design savvy).

Keep all of this in mind during the design process of a web design portfolio. Make note that a designer’s portfolio has to be their best work. Furthermore, consider the following items when creating, or even modifying a design portfolio.

Consider a 1-Page Portfolio

It’s called direct response marketing, and it’s proven to be one of the most effective forms of marketing to get the most sales. It’s bascially a method that involves making a huge impact in the most direct way possible. In the world of web design, this means an incredibily effective and amazing portfolio — but in only one page.

Onepage in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Of course, this isn’t a great method for everyone, especially those who offer more than just basic web design services. However, without a one-page design, a designer can still take use of this knowledge by applying more direct-response marketing to their portfolio. This may mean simplifying it, puting the contact form on the front page, and merging similar pages together.

Use a Contact Form

Provide a traditional email address and other information, but most importantly, include an email form. It makes things easier for the potential client to get ahold of th designer, even if only to ask for more information. This then provides further opportunity for the designer to sell their work.

Contactform in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

The form above (Komodomedia) is a perfect example because it gives the visitor various options for the form, rather than just requesting a quote. This designer has made themselves approachable, which is an excellent way to gain more clients. Also, above the form, there are other ways to contact the designer, which may be suitable for different visitors.

Make the Most Important Things Noticeable

Make sure the most important components of a portfolio design are out in the open and easy to use and find. For most, this means the contact form and information, the portfolio pieces, and the logo.

Mostimportant in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

A perfect example is Alexandru Cohaniuc’s portfolio. The biggest text on the page is “Portfolio”, “Hi, I’m Alex”, and “Contact.” Right above the word “Portfolio” is the logo, strategically placed in the top left.

4. Build Legal Documents

To make things really official, a designer has to create some legal documents. These can be reused for each client, but must be made initially to deal with potential problems later.

Contract

A contract is a necessity for a freelancer of any sort. It will help protect the designer and the client, as well as outline some rules and guidelines. For more information on how to create a freelance contract, check out the resources below.

In addition, one can hire a technical writer or other writing professional to do the job.

Terms & Conditions

Terms and conditions are a more in-depth view of the rules between the web deigner and the client. Again, one can hire someone to write a terms and agreement paper for them, otherwise here is a great template: Terms and Conditions Template.

Copyright Agreement

A third needed agreement is a separate copyright agreement. Designers are always at risk for work being stolen and miscredited. A copyright agreement is a way to protect that work, and a way to set further rules for who can use the work.

Because copyright law can vary among different countries, we won’t get much into it here. It is important, though, to research copyright law, know one’s own rights, and apply it to one’s own circumstances.

5. Find a Starting Wage & Budget

Deciding on a personal starting wage is difficult, because we never truly know how much to pay ourselves. As anyone can guess, someone just starting out in freelancing won’t be making much. A new designer just has to make sure they have basic living expenses paid, and a bit of cusion room for emergency costs or budget mishaps.

Pros and Cons of Fixed-Priced Projects

A fixed-priced project is one where the designer and client agree on an overall cost for a design project ahead of time, and the payment is completely independent of how long it takes the designer to complete. Below are some pros and cons of using this method.

Pros:

  • These types of project can be easier to apply to a monthly budget.
  • Designer’s with efficient methods to save time during a project won’t be unfairly punished with a low cost.
  • It is easy to see how many projects per month need to be completed to determine profits and budget handling.

Cons:

  • It is much more difficult to determine a fixed-price for a project before actually completing it.
  • Sometimes designers are underpaid using this method.
  • Payment doesn’t come at regular intervals, which may not be suitable for all lifestyles.

Pros and Cons of Hourly Wage Work

While hourly work may be what we’re all used to, there can be some equal pros and cons to consider when thinking about this payment system as a freelancer.

Pros:

  • Budgeting is easier for those that require a daily or weekly budget.
  • It is harder to become under or over paid for a project.
  • It is much easier to explain to the client the final cost of a project.

Cons:

  • It is hard to determine our own hourly rate based on the judgement of our own skills.
  • It is more difficult to work with a monthly budget.
  • Timesheets need to be filled out and there needs to be an effective way to transfer timesheets back and forth between the designer and client.

A closer look into these two types of payment plans can help a beginner decide. For further reading, look over Effective Strategy To Estimate Time For Your Design Projects.

Tools for Managing Money as a Freelancer

LessAccounting.com
Less Accounting is an all-in-one money managment application that will let one connect to bank accounts, and even let a freelancer invite a personal accountant login to help watch money. In addition, LessAccounting also features all the other basic money management needs for freelancers.

Lessaccounting in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Mint.com
Mint may not be made for freelancers specifically, but it is one of the best tools out there for taking control of one’s own money. This is perfect for new business owners that may be low on money, and need to pay extra attention to their cash flow.

Mint in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Tickspot.com
Tick is a time management tool aimed at organizing time so that freelancers can hit their budgets. It’s a great tool that breaks up time so a freelancer can enter hours worked, hourly pay rate, project pay rate, and more.

Tick in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

SlimTimer.com
Slimtimer is similar to tick, in that it is a time and budget management tool. One can create tasks, time their own work, run reports, and manage their money overall more efficiently.

Slimtimer in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Invoicing Tools

SimplyBill.com
SimplyBill is a very simple invoicing tool to help effectively keep track of clients, their invoices, and to send invoices out.

Simplybill in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

FreshBooks.com
Freshbooks is a great invoicing tool for freelancers with a lot of versatility to meet anyone’s needs. Best of all, it’s free up to three clients, so this gives designers plenty of time to decide if FreshBooks is right for them.

Freshbooks in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Intuit
By the creators of QuickBooks, Intuit is a free alternative invoicing system that is perfect for designers just starting out that need to save that extra bit of cash.

Intuit in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

FreeAgentCentral.com
FreeAgent allows a freelancer to manage all their invoices, and will even tell the freelancer what they owe the tax man.

Freeagent in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

6. Create a Résume

Without a strong portfolio just yet, new freelance web designers need to rely on a strong résume. This is a designer’s true chance to flaunt their skills in full detail. Most of us learned how to create a résume back in high school, and another good portion of us probably still hold on to our most recent one today. When venturing into a new freelance web design career, though, it’s time to tweak it to meet the needs of this new career path.

Below are some resources for creating the perfect résume for web designers and freelancers.

For a newly created web design freelance portfolio, providing a download link to a designer’s full résume may be just what the client is looking for.

7. Find “Portfolio Building” Clients

Now that just about everything is set up, it’s time to take action. Finding the first few clients is always tough, because nobody wants to hire a nobody. It may be near impossible to find good, well-paying clients yet, so sit tight and take on the first few “portfolio building” clients.

Consider Offering Free Services

Willworkforfood in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer
Image source: On the Block

Working for free is never fun, but it may be necessary. Do some volunteer work for a church or another non-profit/low budget organization. These services obviously aren’t hard to sell; just put an ad up for yourself up on Craigslist or in freelance and web design forums.

When creating an ad to offer free services, be sure to avoid failure. This means setting limits — no designer wants to spend a month on a complicated job making no money. Offer only PSD templates, 1-page websites, or something of the like.

Of course, this isn’t an option for everybody because we all don’t have the time, nor the patience to do a free job. If that is the case, explore some options below to get paying clients that will gladly deal with a new designer.

Advertise Locally

Flyers in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Put up fliers or an ad in the local newspaper to gain some local recognition. Not every potential client knows where to look online for web design services, and it may very well be that many are looking locally. Otherwise, they’re only finding top Google-ranked web design businesses that they can’t afford.

If a new designer comes to them offering cheaper services, whether in the form of a newspaper ad, a flier at a grocery store, or through word-of-mouth via friends and family, they’ll be very happy to hire.

 

Offer Freebies or Sell Templates

One more option requires no actual clients at all. Many designers choose to make free templates in their spare time, and use them to advertise their services, show off what they can do, and in some instances, sell them for some residual income.

Over at ThemeForest, Collis has sold a PSD template at $10 — 168 times. This means over a thousand dollars in his pocket, and a great portfolio piece to show off.

Manilla in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Unless one makes spewing out free or cheap templates, Wordpress Themes, or scripts their full-time business, this isn’t going to be a great option for making monthly living expenses. It is however, a great alternative to 1) get a designer to create some portfolio pieces, 2) get the designer’s name out in the community, and 3) let the designer make a bit of extra cash.

However, it is important to try a few real clients as well, for the business experience.

Then what?

After finding a few clients, keep these few things in mind.

  • Create a personal (yet professional) connection between the first few clients. This may welcome great testimonials and word-of-mouth clients.
  • Offer variety in your services when starting out. For example, one may want to try logo design, web design, and basic coding. Later on, when trying to add a new service to the freelancing business, this will make for a much easier transition.
  • Just because new designers have to deal with low (or no) wages, doesn’t mean they should offer low-quality work. Put in the hours and create something great. Keep in mind that there is more to the first few projects than just the money.

Tools for Client Management

BaseCamp
BaseCamp is a very popular project managment tool for freelancers. With BaseCamp, a freelancer can share files, set deadlines, assign tasks, organize feedback, and more.

Basecamp in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Zoho Writer
Essentially, Zoho Writer is an online word processer. In addition to being that though, it is aimed at freelancers, with the ability to share documents and collaborate with clients in various ways.

Zohowriter in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Big Contacts
Big contacts is an online contacts solution to help share files, email, have meetings, send notes, and more between the freelancer and client.

Bigcontacts in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

8. Create (and Stick to) a Schedule

A huge part of freelancing is finding a schedule that fits the designer’s needs, and allows the designer to get the necssary work done on time. It is a step in itself to becoming a professional freelance web designer.

Find the Hours Necessary

To find a schedule, a designer needs to find how much time it actually takes them to do the tasks at hand. A freelancer has to ask themselves, “How much time does it take to create a simple PSD template, and then how long does it take to code it?” Depending on the skill sets of individual designers, this length of time can greatly change. However, work from previous clients or the creation of sample templates can give a rough estimate.

After determing how long the workflow takes, decide on a daily hourly input for work — and work only.

A Daily Schedule

A general daily schedule depends greatly on each designer’s personal lifestyle, and is something that needs to be predetermined in order to be successful. After a designer realizes how much time it takes daily to get the required amount of work done, he or she should create a daily schedule for themsleves.

A daily schedule will help aid the designer to stay on track, instead of constantly checking email, jumping back and forth between projects, or ignoring client work altogether.

Googlecalendar in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

A Weekly & Monthly Schedule

On top of a daily schedule, freelance professionals should also make a weekly and monthly calendar. A broader calendar can be used to keep track of deadlines and plan out longer projects.

Googlecalendarmonth in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Whether it be a calendar hanging on the wall or a web-based calendar like below, make sure to keep track of deadlines, payment schedules, and other checkmarks along the way of a project.

Find the Motivation

Anyone can see the benefits of a steady schedule, but the hardest part for most may be staying motivated to keep to it. Below are some things to keep in mind if the urge to break a preset schedule creeps up.

  • Do the same specific thing during work at the same time every day. For example, check email first thing in the morning, then start directly on client work.
  • For those who have already quit their day jobs to pursue this career: Wake up at the same time everyday. If it means sleeping in a few extra hours than the traditional worker, that’s fine. However, having a constantly altering start to the day can mess up a schedule, even if things are done in the same order during wake time.
  • Write a to-do list in the morning of items that need to be addressed that day.
  • Use a calendar and daily planner to keep track of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

A Few Time Management Tools

Dejal Timeout
Quite the opposite of most time managment software, this application actually tells you when to stop working. With timed breaks, this tool can help a freelancer have an overall more relaxing career.

Dejal in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a great option for those that use Google’s other tools a lot, in that it will be all in the same place. Like many of Google’s other tools, it is free, versatile, and very useful.

Googlecalendar2 in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Ta-da List
Ta-da List is an easy to-do list tool hosted online for convenience. It is easy to create lists for one’s own use, or for others.

Tadalist in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

9. Create a Business Plan

One of the most boring and tedious tasks one can do is create a business plan. Most might feel free to skip this step, but wait a moment and consider the benefits (and assurances) of taking the time to create one.

Benefits of a Professional Business Plan:

  • Creates a real business in the designer’s eyes, and in the client’s eye.
  • A business plan can be used in tricky legal situations, to differ the business from just a hobby.
  • Identifies future plans, direction, and goals for the business.
  • Keeps the designer, as a business owner, on track with the development of the business.
  • Upgrades the simple monthly budget to a long-term financial structure.

Anyone can see the benefits range from business growth, to financial growth, and credibility. To learn more about creating a business plan, view the helpful article on About.com, Back to Business Planning: Developing a 4-Part Business Plan for Freelance Designers.

10. Know How to Gain Recognition

Not all designers are marketing experts, but a bit of knowledge about how to gain recognition in the freelance web design world is necessary to be successful. Designers should do research on marketing, and create a long-term plan for the growth of their portfolio and their reputation as a freelance designer.

Expand with Social Networking Sites

Use social networking sites to not only promote a portfolio, but also to promote new designs and projects. In addition, one can use Twitter, or something similar to get valuable feedback on current projects. For more ideas on how to get the most out of Twitter as a web designer, take a look at Ramsay’s post: 5 Simple Ways Twitter Can Make You a Better Web Designer.

Socialmedia2 in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Also, those who are active within social media communities benefit far more than those who use them for only self-promotion. Create a community, find other designers, and even discover some interesting finds along the way. Take the time to enjoy social media websites, while gaining recognition as a web designer.

Get Recognized in a Crowd of Applicants

Knowing where to look for more work is necessary when depending on that work for a decent income. However, with thousands of freelancers floating around in forums, job boards, and other sources of possible clients, getting noticed can be some hard work — especially when others (who may be doing it for just a hobby) are willing to offer their services extremely cheap.

Forum in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

To get noticed by clients and win a job, follow a few of these simple rules.

  • Don’t apply to jobs that are more than a few days old — chances are they’ve been filled, and it’s really a waste of time.
  • Use multiple job board websites and forums to have a wider range of possibilites.
  • Be a good designer. This sounds like a dumb tip, but often times clients get application for web designers that either 1) aren’t good at design or 2) have designs that show no unique abililty and are very ordinary.
  • Don’t apply for jobs that you don’t qualify. Client’s can’t stand hearing, “I haven’t done a design for the style you’re looking for, but I’ve been creating websites for X years and could probably do it.” The next designer that comes to them with a decent portfolio proving they can meet the client’s needs is going to get the job instead.
  • This shouldn’t even have to be said, but sadly, it does: Capitalize your sentences, use correct grammar, and don’t make spelling mistakes when applying for a freelance job.

As for the best tip of all — don’t sell work cheaper than it needs to be just to gain a client. If a client can’t see why a logo design costs $200 when the kid that applied the day before is offering the same service for $20, then it’s really their own loss. Somtimes it’s worth losing jobs, and that’s a part of the difficulty when just starting out.

11. Blog often, but pay attention to the quality of your posts

Blogs are great for improving search engine rank and gaining popularity in the web design community. Whether designers have a lot of time or barely enough, a blog showcasing interesting finds or discussing anything related to the web design or the freelancing profession can gain an audience fast.

Below are just a few websites that use blogs to promote their general careers as freelance web designers.

Wellmedicated in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

WellMedicated.com really doesn’t update that often — only about once every two months — but it’s still a well respected design blog in the community. Andrew Lindstrom is a freelance web designer, and spends most of his focus on that. However, with a great following on his blog, he can easily gain traffic to his web design portfolio through his sidebar and about page.

Vandelaydesign in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

In a recent interview of Steven Snell of Vandelay Design, Steven discussed how the popular Vandelay Design Blog was indeed intended to bring more traffic and clients to the Vandelay Design portfolio. Well, that mission was very successful, and the blog changed direction to fulfill the wants of a different audience, as a full-time design blog.

Now, it is updated every few days and it’s goal is no longer to bring portfolio traffic. However, with a link to the portfolio and further information about the web design business, there is no doubt it still does.

Blogspoongraphics in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Chris Spooner’s blogging experience started with just some simple experimentation, and as a place for him to simply explore and share. However, the blog soon gained a lot of popularity, and now does great work in promoting his portfolio as well.

So the lesson to be learned is, no matter what reason a designer has to start a blog, it can be a great source for traffic and a way to gain recognition in the community. Not to mention, the additional income from selling advertising spaces.

12. Get into the Community of Freelance Web Designers

Don’t be a freelancing loner. Getting involved in the community and meet other web designers and freelancing professionals to grow as a designer.

Make contacts within the community by blogging, joining a design network like Envato, and using forums. One could also donate freebies to larger communities, or try to do guest posts.

Below are just a few ways gaining a strong social network in the community can help a freelance web designer.

  • It creates a support group. Guessing that many freelance web designers don’t have many offline friends or family that do the same thing for a living, having an online support group for your field of interest can be very beneficial. Get into the web design community to share, rant, rave, and get feedback as a designer.
  • Learn new things. Following a blog regularly, being active in social networking sites, and participating in forums is a great way to improve your current abilities, and expand horizons. Instead of grinding away at what needs to get done or what needs to be learned for a current project, being a part of a community will help you to explore new things and find inspiration.
  • Become an authority and let the clients come. Being the best designer in the world doesn’t make that designer an authority figure. As skills and wisdom improve, others in the web design community will reference a designer’s work, portfoio, and services for them.

Attend Conferences and Other Face-to-Face Events

Attending various web design and other conferences for webmasters is not only a great way to network with other designers, but also a great way to learn new things and keep up with the latest trends. Get to some conferences, and become a real person, rather than just an online presence.

Below are just a few popular conferences within the community.

AnEventApart.com
An Event Apart is an intensely educational two-day conference for passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. If you care about code as well as content, usability as well as design, An Event Apart is the conference you’ve been waiting for.

Aneventapart in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Carsonified
For Web Designers, Creatives and anyone who cares about web design.

Carsonified in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Web Design World
Since 1997, we’ve helped thousands of Web designers learn what they need to know to make better web sites, manage web projects, and get home at a decent hour.

Webdesignworld in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

As a freelancer, we have the ultimate schedule for attending these events, and it can be easier than for others to gather the funds. In order to truly succeed, freelance web designers should attend these events to socialize, learn, and grow their freelancing web design career.

13. Reinvest the Income

It takes money to make money, so when starting out, reinvest some of the income made back into the freelancing business. It’s tempting to pay off bills or buy something nice once it can be afforded, but dedicate a certain percentage to the business’s growth.

Among the many things that need to be maintained for a freelancing business are software upgrades, hosting and domain renewals, desk space upgrades, stationery, and more. In addition to maintinence items, though, some of the income may be turned into a luxury web design item — for fun and for work.

Figure how much of the income is actually needed for living expenses, and use either all of the remaining profit, or a strong percentage of the profit to go back into the business.

14. Get a Professional Space

Finding a place to do work may help new freelancers differ play time from work time. On another note, a good workspace is needed to keep organized and create an effective workflow. Below are two great workspaces that are effective and fun, both held as a home office.

Workspace1 in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

The workspace of Ben Mautner provides a lot of worspace to get things done, with plenty of inspiration handing on the walls as well.

Workspace2 in The Roadmap To Becoming A Professional Freelance Web Designer

Jay Hilgert’s office space is is clean, neat, and trendy — but also has all the necessary equipment.

Beyond a home office’s benefit of staying organized and aiding in getting some work done, it can make anyone finally feel like a true professional freelance web designer. You may want to take a look at the workstations of other designers as well.

15. Keep Learning New Tricks

As the final stage of the transformation comes into completion, there is only one more thing that needs to be done to create and maintain the status of a professional, freelance web design career. That final step is to keep learning. Designers should always be discovering new practices, techniques, standards for client work — and also tweaking their own business along the way.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this walkthrough can help most web designers just starting out in freelancing go down the correct path. Freelancing in the web design niche is an exciting and freedom-filled career path, although it requires a mix between design, development, and entrepreneurship. Finding a good grasp of all three can only mean success as a freelance web designer.

Because everyone’s experiences are different, for anyone who has already accomplished a freelancing career, feel free to share further tips and advice for doing so. It’s always great to hear and discuss more tips.

Further Resources

You may also be interested in these extra references:

Kayla Knight is a college student, freelancer and blogger. In her spare time, she maintains two blogs, Webitect.net and DesignFinds.Me, as well as her portfolio. Feel free to get in touch with her through her blogs.

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  1. 1
    Rob F
    July 9th, 2009 6:44 am

    Great tutorial :)

    Excellent as usual

    ….edit: wow – 1st comment…. that’s never happened before :p

  2. 2
    Ben
    July 9th, 2009 6:45 am

    Thank you very much for that detailled article! It will help me a lot in some of my future steps.
    Great!

  3. 3
    Muhammad Usman Arshad
    July 9th, 2009 6:48 am

    very useful article, thanks to share,
    keep it up, all the best

  4. 4
    azizbaba
    July 9th, 2009 6:58 am

    Thanks for that article. Very useful and inspiring.

  5. 5
    Jessica
    July 9th, 2009 7:00 am

    Really nice post! Only thing I would change is 9. Create a Business Plan should be #1!

  6. 6
    AaronMoody
    July 9th, 2009 7:05 am

    Great article, haven’t read in full yet, but through scanning, it seemed like allot of useful tips which I will later read.

  7. 7
    shaymein
    July 9th, 2009 7:13 am

    NSFW!

  8. 8
    Gaurav Malhotra
    July 9th, 2009 7:16 am

    Thanks for this.

    I just love smashingmagazine.com

  9. 9
    Chris
    July 9th, 2009 7:23 am

    excellent, post. great content. keep em coming.

  10. 10
    Mike
    July 9th, 2009 7:25 am

    I have a businsess manager that handles all boring legal, getting clients, contracts stuff. I just do creatives stuff and deposit checks!

  11. 11
    Tschai
    July 9th, 2009 7:26 am

    Good tips…I think.

    Would like to read the comments from real freelancers though…

  12. 12
    Analise Smith
    July 9th, 2009 7:32 am

    This is an incredibly thorough article! Great tips for me especially as a student. Some people greatly underestimate the whole social networking bit, as an avid digger I’ve overlooked stumble upon. There’s much to learn

  13. 13
    RTorres
    July 9th, 2009 7:36 am

    Absolutely awesome post guys! Thanks a lot!

  14. 14
    Damian Bartosik
    July 9th, 2009 7:42 am

    Gorgeus post, thank you, and I think it will help me in future.

  15. 15
    Alex
    July 9th, 2009 7:46 am

    Great article, as always.
    But, you missed a good collaborative password manager.

    I use Passpack for a year now. It’s perfect for me because it supports secure sharing and I can send encrypted passwords to my clients.

  16. 16
    July 9th, 2009 7:49 am

    Waouh !!! Will work on it right now…
    See you in 10 years…!

  17. 17
    Anthony Woods
    July 9th, 2009 7:49 am

    One of the most in-depth articles i’ve seen in a quite a while Smashing, Love reading it, I have a few things to fix before I consider myself a professional freelance web designer! :) Thanks for the amazing tips.

    @anthonywoods

  18. 18
    Vanilla Man
    July 9th, 2009 7:54 am

    Super mega stunning post!!! Thank you very and very much!

  19. 19
    Troy Peterson
    July 9th, 2009 8:09 am

    The biggest challenge I’ve faced in moving towards a freelance career is taxes…
    Nobody seems to be able to give me a clear cut way to determine my quarterly taxes.

    There has to be some type of formula to determining how much I should pay.

    If anyone knows, please twitter me @tpeterson

  20. 20
    Matt
    July 9th, 2009 8:11 am

    This is so impressive, that if there was a competition for the post of the year, this one would been in top3 !!

  21. 21
    Kevin-K
    July 9th, 2009 8:13 am

    Exactly what I need! I’m starting as a freelancer after the holidays! :-)

  22. 22
    Pete
    July 9th, 2009 8:24 am

    Excellent post. “Become a brand” is some of the best advice for new freelancers. If you’re building brands; you need to have a strong one behind you.

    I’d throw in that all new freelancers should keep a spreadsheet of every single invoice, incoming and outgoing bill from day one, regardless of yearly income for three reasons. The first being that it’s good practice, the second being that you WILL have clients who query each invoice and fail to meet payments, the third, and most important; the Tax Man will eventually catch up with you.

  23. 23
    Andrew
    July 9th, 2009 8:27 am

    great advice. thanks for the help

  24. 24
    John G.
    July 9th, 2009 8:33 am

    Very impressive! I’ll forward this on to a couple of friends I have thinking about jumping in to the web game. Thanks!

  25. 25
    Eric Swanson
    July 9th, 2009 9:05 am

    I plan on following this process next year when I’ve got more $$$ saved up.

  26. 26
    Paul
    July 9th, 2009 9:31 am

    i love smashing magazine!
    thanks for those great advices!

  27. 27
    Jonathan V.
    July 9th, 2009 9:35 am

    Great article, a lot of advertising for Envato though :P

  28. 28
    Tony
    July 9th, 2009 9:35 am

    That article is worth an hour’s pay! Very concise and filled with “awesomeness and win”

  29. 29
    Jen
    July 9th, 2009 9:45 am

    Good article – this will certainly help aid in setting folks up who don’t know the ropes – but I’d like to see more focus put into marketing and how to – as it seems most newbies to the freelance world don’t understand how to market themselves, they get themselves all set up and then wonder why clients aren’t pouring in.

    I also don’t agree with work for free as a portfolio builder – absolute rubbish.

    I’ve started out freelancing 6 years ago – and have since built my business so that it now has it’s own employees. I make good money – and my employees are well taken care of. My advice? Book yourself out if your plate is full continue marketing (don’t ever stop as it’s like planting seeds, takes time to grow) and schedule your jobs out so you fill up your year – don’t take on more than you can chew, ALWAYS use a contract, and remember to cover your own A** with everything. Good luck!

  30. 30
    Chris
    July 9th, 2009 9:45 am

    This is a great list of resources and suggestions for helping people get the most out of freelancing. It can be a tough world out there but these tools will help ease the burn. Awesome job. Thanks.

  31. 31
    Lorilee
    July 9th, 2009 9:45 am

    Amazingly helpful & honest. These are all tips one MUST follow to be successful. I especially loved the part about conferences. I’ve wanted to attend them for years, but never know which is the best value.

    Thanks again!

  32. 32
    Yahir Vite
    July 9th, 2009 9:53 am

    One of the best posts I’ve ever seen here

  33. 33
    small business owner
    July 9th, 2009 10:01 am

    I’ve run my own web dev firm for a decade now, so I think I qualify to provide a bit of feedback.

    This article covers the superficial characteristics of being a freelancer. But it glosses over some of the most important business-oriented factors that make the difference between success and failure.

    I don’t have a ton of time to respond in detail, but here are some initial observations:
    – You must, must, MUST have a business plan.
    – Get an accountant and an attorney.
    – Learn Quickbooks or one of the other financial management packages, or hire someone who knows this stuff.
    – Have six months of your personal expenses stashed in the bank.
    – Don’t think that the quality of your work alone will carry your practice. It won’t.
    – Think long and hard about business development. How are you going to get new clients? How are you going to get additional work from existing clients?
    – You better be able to clearly articulate why you’re different/better/more valuable than your competition, or you’re toast over the long term.
    – If you’re in the US, learn the relevant tax code information. Don’t eff around with the IRS. Make your estimateds. If you don’t know what I mean by ‘estimateds’, you’re asking to get screwed.
    – The cursory notes about contracts and insurance grossly understate the importance of these elements.

    Why do I have a stick up my posterior about this? As a freelancer you are becoming a businessperson, not a superdesigner. Which is why I find some of this advice counter-productive. For example, a shiny brand is useless (or even harmful) if you haven’t done the homework to determine WHAT exactly the brand or company name is supposed to communicate and accomplish. That comes from thinking long and hard about what you’re trying to do as a business.

    And a side note: “stationery”, not “stationary”. Attention to detail is what keeps you going in this business. The web is littered with the corpses of millions of freelance careers, IMHO because a lot of people don’t pay enough attention to the little things. Like checking your work for grammatical errors, for example.

  34. 34
    Branndon
    July 9th, 2009 10:01 am

    Thanks! It’s my Birthday and I’ve been trying to break in to Freelance for a while, this is an amazing step by step guide!

  35. 35
    YiZ.
    July 9th, 2009 10:02 am

    freaking great article.

  36. 36
    Diogo Iglésias
    July 9th, 2009 10:09 am

    Great article. Thanks for the amazing information.

  37. 37
    WoodenBook
    July 9th, 2009 10:11 am

    Good stuff. However you wrote:

    Stationary, Business Cards, and other marketing material…

    …expand the logo design to stationary, business cards, advertisements, and more.

    …desk space upgrades, stationary, and more.

    stationary:
    1a. Not moving. b. Not capable of being moved; fixed.
    2. Unchanging: a stationary sound.

    stationery:
    1. Writing paper and envelopes.
    2. Writing materials and office supplies.

    Also, resume and résume s/b résumé.

    Cheers.

  38. 38
    Ben
    July 9th, 2009 10:22 am

    awesome post. very interesting and a lot of very useful information here. there are a lot of things i will follow up on here being a freelancer myself. cheers

  39. 39
    Kevin Althaus
    July 9th, 2009 10:33 am

    Great, great, information! Bookmarked this for later reference.

  40. 40
    Ben D.
    July 9th, 2009 10:34 am

    @small business owner, thanks for your comments. More, please.

    I was initially impressed by the this post but then I was thrown a bit when I read the byline and saw that the author is a 20-year-old student and part-time freelancer.

    With respect to Kayla — who’s clearly way ahead of the pack — I suspect that there’s a lot of business experience that she has yet to acquire.

    Not to mention that freelancing part-time as a student is one thing, and freelancing full-time to support a family and a mortgage is quite another.

    Would love to see a response to this article, written by someone like “small business owner” above, who has a bit more experience running a successful freelance operation — and better yet, has done so as the head of a household.

    The more I think about it, the more I think that solo freelancing as a way of life, for the long term, is totally insane. Can one person both run a business *and* do all the productive work of the business at the same time — over the long haul?

    Maybe I’m understanding the word “freelance” too strictly.

  41. 41
    NotAlame
    July 9th, 2009 10:55 am

    Really thanks a lot!
    It gives ides to people!

  42. 42
    Phil Barron
    July 9th, 2009 10:55 am

    Ben D. @ 40: I was initially impressed by the this post but then I was thrown a bit when I read the byline and saw that the author is a 20-year-old student and part-time freelancer.

    With respect to Kayla — who’s clearly way ahead of the pack — I think there’s a lot of business experience that she can’t possibly have yet.

    And yet you were impressed before learning the author’s age. You’re not saying, surely, that her youth invalidates her article?

    For all we know, she spent a great deal of time interviewing, ah, old folks in preparation for this piece.

  43. 43
    Bruno Henrique Stein
    July 9th, 2009 10:56 am

    Excellent article!

  44. 44
    Danny
    July 9th, 2009 11:04 am

    Thank you for posting this article. I validates my efforts and gives me a clear list to follow.

  45. 45
    Scarletbits.com
    July 9th, 2009 11:06 am

    Really nice article :) Pretty much covers everything!
    It sure is hard to start but if you are successful it sure is rewarding ;)

  46. 46
    pbear
    July 9th, 2009 11:06 am

    Under 2. Become a Brand, base6design ripped icons from the IconFactory, and made their “brand” in the same style. A good example of how not to build a brand. Maybe you can find a better example?

  47. 47
    matt
    July 9th, 2009 11:20 am

    Woo, that’s a lot of info. This looks like a great start for anyone interested in freelancing. I don’t have any experience as a freelance designer, but I DO know that lots of new designers neglect the business side of things. Written contracts, business plans, strict-packages and the like are ridiculously important. You can’t just slap together a portfolio site, throw a “C” on your logo, make your mom a website and call yourself a business.

  48. 48
    Jeff
    July 9th, 2009 11:39 am

    The thing I learned first is have a rock solid agreement that outlines everything and have clients sign off on everything! That way you can avoid feature creep (for fixed budget projects), and you can also avoid the client coming back at you with “oh I didn’t agree to that, why am I paying for it?” The bonus is clients will perceive you as a professional & process driven!

  49. 49
    MSFX
    July 9th, 2009 12:10 pm

    damn, really nice article – thanks! :)

  50. 50
    kovi
    July 9th, 2009 12:19 pm

    Wow, simply amazing! One of the best articles on SM. :)

  51. 51
    Iain
    July 9th, 2009 12:41 pm

    Spookily timely article. One of the best – thanks!
    :o)

  52. 52
    Dariusz Ejkiewicz
    July 9th, 2009 1:04 pm

    After reading this article I thought that it’s time to stop being “a freelance loner”. Many of the facts stated in this article are 100% true.

    I think one of the hardest things for starting out freelancers is the time management skills. For instance let’s say that there are various family events during the week and additionally to working you are maintaining a loving relationship and for the person i your relationship it is really hard to understand “this is my work time” because for them “you are just sitting there” when in fact you are trying to figure out a concept or get a problem solved that actually leads to paying bills and maintaining that business. So at times this might be hard if the other person doesn’t understand that this particular moment of the day is “work only” and time for vacuming, going shopping or driving to buy gas is less important at that moment than the actual freelance work.

    So I would say that time management and keeping a relationship with family/loved one going are crucial factors in being a successful freelancer, In the beggining cash flow might be hard also but if you love designing and you provide quality work then your current and future clients will see that.

    Once again great article, going to my favourites and definitely getting it on twitter ;-)

  53. 53
    mkjones
    July 9th, 2009 1:17 pm

    @pbear The icons on base6 were not related to the branding of my the business.

    The version which is live is the 3rd in a line of designs which I have developed over the past 2 years. Only recently did I use the ‘Sticker Icon Pack’ which I wrongfully thought was a GPL-type product:

    http://www.base6design.com/blog/getting-my-hand-slapped-for-using-a-freeware-icon-set

    The base6 brand has little to do with the style of these icons. Like many sites I chose an icon pack which fitted in with the overall design of the website.

  54. 54
    juli
    July 9th, 2009 1:40 pm

    Great article. Super helpful and informative! Keep up the great work.

  55. 55
    Reynald Bouttard
    July 9th, 2009 1:44 pm

    Fabulous as usual, thanks !

  56. 56
    Douglas Mendes
    July 9th, 2009 2:02 pm

    amazing post. this will help me alot. thx!

  57. 57
    Ben D.
    July 9th, 2009 2:05 pm

    @Phil Barron: You’re not saying, surely, that her youth invalidates her article?

    Well, sort of. I’m at least saying that the author’s youth weakens her credibility on the subject of running a business — because it’s very likely that she has not in fact run a business full-time, for several years, in a context where her living, and the living of her family, depended on it.

    So when she presents a guide meant to cover all aspects of becoming a professional and freelance web designer (her words), and I see that she’s very young, and I see more experienced people offering some criticism (comments 29 and 33), then I start to wonder about the article’s value as a guide to the business aspect of freelancing — which is probably the most important part.

    Now there’s a slim chance that the author has run a business full-time for years, or that she interviewed lots of seasoned business owners before writing this article, and if so, I retreat blushing. But it would be nice if the article mentioned either of those things.

  58. 58
    josh
    July 9th, 2009 2:23 pm

    @42 For all we know, she spent a great deal of time interviewing, ah, old folks in preparation for this piece.

    Don’t you mean ripping it from all over the web and putting the info in one place? This is the general rule at smashing and I don’t see any reason they would deviate from that for this article.

    Nice list is nice, but is really just a list

  59. 59
    ostry-deXter
    July 9th, 2009 2:30 pm

    wow! super article!

  60. 60
    Rif
    July 9th, 2009 2:33 pm

    Many good advice, but the point “Use a Contact Form” is a mistake. I find it very annoying when this is the only way you can contact the company/owner of the web site.

    Like it is shown in the example the site designer was more interested in the look of the page, than providing a useful larger text editing field. Form over function – no thanks.

    How do you attach a PDF file or similar to your email on such a form?

    You type in your email off it goes and you have no trace of when and what you sent. How can you refer back to it later if you need to follow up? Or never get an answer?

    The site do not provide a contact email yet expect you to provide your email. No, I should be able to require that you have to go to my site to fill out a stupid form with your reply.

    Please keep it simple and provide a contact email address: info@???.com

  61. 61
    Max B.
    July 9th, 2009 2:40 pm

    Well i must admit i only read half of it so far.
    As for the future I’d recommend you split long articles up and make a series out of it. This article could’ve been a series with 4 articles weekly released. People would be visiting SM more regularly and the reading would be more enjoyable. This amount of text is simply too much! Well that probably concerns the SM team though.

  62. 62
    Prioleau Alexander
    July 9th, 2009 2:50 pm

    You remember in the movie BACK TO SCHOOL when the business professor was talking about “starting a business” and Rodney Dangerfield raised his hand to ask if the business was going to be located in Fantasyland?
    I’m raising my hand.
    Excellent writing and strong presentation, though.

  63. 63
    yukon
    July 9th, 2009 3:02 pm

    I missed Billings on the billing software list.. great article!

  64. 64
    frank
    July 9th, 2009 3:09 pm

    very useful post. I am still working in my online portfolio before I freelance,

  65. 65
    Kyle
    July 9th, 2009 4:04 pm

    @#6: It’s either ‘résumé’ or ‘resume’, not ‘résume’…

  66. 66
    Oliver
    July 9th, 2009 4:17 pm

    wa…nice post for web developer/designer. keep going guys. make other people be inspired.

  67. 67
    Vance Lucas
    July 9th, 2009 4:32 pm

    Great post. Very helpful as I am starting to pick up more freelance work.

    Another option for invoicing is InvoiceMore

  68. 68
    Graham Sysko
    July 9th, 2009 4:53 pm

    One correction, the theme peddler mentioned is probably making significantly less than estimated. At that volume, he is likely making the lowest percentage of commission… 40% or $672; still not bad for one PSD and no coding.

    I would like to suggest a more in-depth analysis of these theme sites as a article topic. It would be interesting to see the various sites pros and cons and how they stack up in regards to % paid and expected volume.

  69. 69
    z0r
    July 9th, 2009 4:55 pm

    This is completely smashing. Thx alot for posting info like this one, keep it on!

  70. 70
    Brad Ryan of Illinidesign.com
    July 9th, 2009 5:07 pm

    You guys are quickly becoming my favorite website. Great article.. Loved the mac app one as well. Keep it up!

  71. 71
    Adam
    July 9th, 2009 5:10 pm

    You’re missing a great tool for invoicing/time tracking:
    Cashboard

  72. 72
    Osvaldo Osorio
    July 9th, 2009 5:30 pm

    Really Good Check list for me. I have three years in my own Web design business, and this advises help me so much, to correct my current way. Thank you.

  73. 73
    Chanel
    July 9th, 2009 6:02 pm

    The greatest article EVER!! I have been freelancing for a couple years and there are some very GREAT items here. LOVE It. Keep’em coming.

  74. 74
    Allen
    July 9th, 2009 7:19 pm

    Has anyone heard of Fastdue.com or Sosius.com. I have used both for online contract agreements. Also, for project and proposal management.

  75. 75
    Royal Design
    July 9th, 2009 7:22 pm

    Great read loads of help thank you

  76. 76
    Robert Robles
    July 9th, 2009 7:42 pm

    Many interesting and useful ideas! thanks :D

  77. 77
    Tejendra Shandilya
    July 9th, 2009 7:49 pm

    G8 i am very happy ……. Awesome article
    Thanks a lot SM

  78. 78
    Gina Alzate
    July 9th, 2009 8:17 pm

    This is a great post, not just useful for freelance web designers but for other freelance work as well. You’ve encapsulated many of the practical and necessary details of self-employment that can easily be overlooked by creative professionals. I appreciate your comprehensive take on freelancing. Thank you for being thorough.

  79. 79
    Dhaval Shah
    July 9th, 2009 8:23 pm

    Really a Excellent article, Thanks a Ton for sharing this article..

  80. 80
    Agnes
    July 9th, 2009 8:34 pm

    This is a well of invaluable information I’ve been waiting for.
    I plan on following all these steps. To be honest I am at point no 3, so much ahead!

    Thank you so much Smash!

  81. 81
    Tina
    July 9th, 2009 8:36 pm

    This is a great article. Thanks for the tips, makes me want to create a new portfolio, resume and get back into the freelancing world!

  82. 82
    ardyonline
    July 9th, 2009 8:43 pm

    nice article! it was very helpful…
    keep it up and more power!

  83. 83
    Vijayanathan
    July 9th, 2009 8:54 pm

    Thanks a ton, Excellent…

    Lot to consider before being a Free…

  84. 84
    Shinichiro Matsuda
    July 9th, 2009 10:52 pm

    Very nice article. Thanks to share it!!

  85. 85
    Phillip Peet
    July 9th, 2009 10:56 pm

    B-E-A-UTIFUL!!! An awesome article to say the least… nice work!!!

  86. 86
    john
    July 9th, 2009 11:18 pm

    NICE!!

  87. 87
    Philip Wallage
    July 9th, 2009 11:23 pm

    Huuuuuuuuge post. Pretty awesome stuff and you’re very very correct.
    You spoke to all the needs and must-haves. Anyone who’s even remotely intreseted shouls check this out.

  88. 88
    Anton
    July 9th, 2009 11:28 pm

    A useful collection of thoughts and pointers, thank you for putting this together.

  89. 89
    Kedarweb
    July 10th, 2009 12:00 am

    Thanks very very helpful article
    I am also work some freelancing project & this can be helpful in feature projects.

  90. 90
    perception
    July 10th, 2009 1:23 am

    WHAT A BOMB!! probably the best guide tutorial for a designer!!

  91. 91
    thom
    July 10th, 2009 1:26 am

    Very interesting article and it’s definitively not only for web designer but also for everey freelance artist …

  92. 92
    Sarah
    July 10th, 2009 1:28 am

    OH! Thank you so much! I’ve added this to my bookmark toolbar titled ‘THE BIBLE!’.
    I really, really needed some sort of checklist and some hints and tips in this department so this is fabulous! All the links are great may I add – seems I’m doing things right too! Yay!

  93. 93
    Tom Arnfeld
    July 10th, 2009 1:46 am

    Useful beyond belief!
    Perhaps not for me freelancing but just allot of tips for my site/s!

  94. 94
    Muhammad Omer
    July 10th, 2009 1:53 am

    excellent article, very informative. Thanks Smash

  95. 95
    Enk.
    July 10th, 2009 2:18 am

    Awesome Awesome Awesome Article.. really really really useful :)

  96. 96
    Modisana
    July 10th, 2009 2:22 am

    This one of the most awesome posts EVER! EVER!
    Very detailed and more than enough to get every freelancer going!
    Thanks you so very much, this’ll help a lot of people (Myself included)

  97. 97
    Paul
    July 10th, 2009 2:29 am

    what is the average yearly income of a freelance web designer?

  98. 98
    Floris Fiedeldij Dop
    July 10th, 2009 3:02 am

    My millionth SM bookmark .. la sigh. ;) Good stuff, as always.

  99. 99
    Hastimal Shah
    July 10th, 2009 3:59 am

    Great Article. It will be helpful for me in future…
    :)

  100. 100
    Mark @ Alchemy United
    July 10th, 2009 4:22 am

    Handy list :) Thanks.

    If you asked me to add one it would be:

    Realize That Good Design, Making Clients Happy and Satisfying Business Needs Might Not Always Be The Same Things.

  101. 101
    Alexander Bickov
    July 10th, 2009 4:40 am

    Helpful post. Thanks!

  102. 102
    Gustavo Lemos
    July 10th, 2009 4:51 am

    Awesome post, very complete as usual. Thanks

  103. 103
    Alan Smithe
    July 10th, 2009 5:23 am

    This is the best post I have ever read on Smashing Magazine. Excellent and very thorough!

  104. 104
    Amy Stoddard
    July 10th, 2009 5:53 am

    This post is extremely thorough and very well-written. I’m new to the freelancing game and this is a great place to start.

  105. 105
    John
    July 10th, 2009 5:58 am

    great tutorial once more :)

  106. 106
    Kevin M. Scarbrough
    July 10th, 2009 6:23 am

    You should never work for free. Ever. You’ve completely devalued your services for all future contact with the client and anyone they would recommend to you. If you do not have the skill to work for money, or if the client doesn’t have the money to pay for your skill, work something else out. Product samples, exchange of services, a guest at an event that they help you build contacts (”I’ll refer you!” doesn’t count). If they are in business, they have something of value. Trade.

  107. 107
    Tomi
    July 10th, 2009 6:28 am

    Great!

  108. 108
    Ben D.
    July 10th, 2009 6:45 am

    @Kevin M. Scarbrough “You should never work for free. Ever.”

    I tend to agree, with one exception: donating time to non-profits. That’s legit.

    Even then I would “invoice” the client at my usual hourly rate and then put a credit on the invoice to zero out the balance. This would help avoid the devaluing you mentioned.

    An invoice like that might also make the donated time tax-deductible — not sure about that, though.

  109. 109
    Thomas Strobl
    July 10th, 2009 6:50 am

    oh lá lá SM publishes brilliant articles again! keep it up

  110. 110
    r_jake
    July 10th, 2009 8:06 am

    Being a “professional freelancer” means running a business.

    As others have mentioned, before you even decide to go freelance, you MUST do a business plan to work out if it is possible and worth it. The cashflow forecast part is perhaps the most sobering … expect the business to actually loose money in the first year

    Next, learn how to monitor your finances: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, etc.

    When working out how much to charge, figure out how much you personally need to live on across the year, add business overheads, capital expenditure, tax, insurance, pension (yes, pension!) plus contingency, then divide by 12. This is what you need to earn every month, just to keep in the black. Scary stuff!

    Get clients through networking and word of mouth, not through spending lots on advertising.

    Finally – recognise that you will be working much harder, and for longer hours, than when you worked for someone else!

  111. 111
    Stephanie Orma
    July 10th, 2009 9:07 am

    It would great to see an article just dedicated to “how to get clients.” Without clients, there is no business. And in this economy, finding solid paying clients (and not just freebies or small peanut clients on Craigslist or elance) is a serious challenge, one I admit I am personally struggling with now in my own “small business.” I interviewed three stellar creative firms who know a thing or two about getting clients and building successful businesses here: http://tinyurl.com/dnhccm

  112. 112
    SS
    July 10th, 2009 11:17 am

    I need a suggestion. I am working for a company as full time and I am also looking for freelance job, now my problem in creating my portfolio website is, I cant use my name b’cos if my company knows this, then it could be a problem to me.

    So, how can I create a portfolio? do fake name helps? if so, will client consider me as genuine? any legal problems?

  113. 113
    gesmith
    July 10th, 2009 12:35 pm

    I’ve been a freelancer for over 5 years, as a developer not a designer, but I think there is a lot of overlap. Random thoughts:

    1. When you quote on work, be detailed. I’m talking super anal retentively detailed. Include assumptions of what material must provided to you, exactly what you will do, and exactly what you will not do. Don’t assume that clients will know where your work ends and scope creep begins. If you don’t do this, scope creep will destroy even the most carefully crafted quote as you redo things over and over to meet a client’s changing whims. Some clients seem to view freelancers as temporary employees — I’ve had clients hire me to build a website and then ask me to fix their email clients. Uh, no.

    2. In terms of branding, I had good luck being very honest that I was just “one guy” working as a freelancer. I put my photo on my portfolio and presented information in a friendly, approachable tone. I think that if you are one person working out of your home it is somewhat misleading to present yourself as a big company with a fancy name and refer to yourself as “we” in your correspondence. Besides, when you’re starting out it may be easier to land clients who feel they are too small to contact a big corporation. Later, if you are successful, you can consider expanding and branding.

    3. Learn when to say no. I learned the hard way that not all work is good work. Some clients are simply time sinks: right from the beginning some people don’t know what they want, don’t know how to express themselves, don’t provide the necessary information to let you quote accurately, keep changing their minds, and so on. Unless you are starving politely decline work from these sorts of people. It’s very hard to make a profit off these types of clients, and you want to keep your plate clean enough to take on quality work.

    4. Nurture repeat business. My best clients come back again and again, and we’ve formed symbiotic relationships: they know they can trust me to deliver, and I know I can trust them to be reasonable to work with and to pay me on time. A “cold call” off the web or craigslist always carries the risk of being a non-paying dud. Working with someone you know and trust is great: things go faster and smoother. Faster and smoother means more profitable. That said, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, in case that one favourite client suddenly gets run over by a bus or moves to Alaska.

    5. Once you’re rolling, remember that there’s more to life than money. Working from home can make it hard to acknowledge when the workday has ended. There are different reasons for freelancing, but personally I was tired of the corporate world with high stress work, long commutes, and constant mandatory overtime. As a freelancer I can make a comfortable living and still have time to do other things that the corporate world didn’t let me do. In short, I now control my own work-life balance, which is a powerful and rare thing in today’s workaholic society. I turn down work regularly: a couple thousand extra dollars at the end of the year isn’t necessarily worth working evenings and weekends indefinitely. Keep perspective!

  114. 114
    Husien Adel
    July 11th, 2009 1:32 am

    Very Useful Article Thanks for Sharing :)

  115. 115
    Karen
    July 11th, 2009 3:58 am

    There is a neat little desktop tool called Fanurio http://www.fanuriotimetracking.com . I love it! You can try it for free too. You can just click to start, pause it, etc and you can do nifty reports. I use it to track the time I spend on client projects.

    Even though I only bill hourly for consulting projects, it helps me to see how much time I’m spending to make sure my rates are in line. With Fanurio you can customize invoice templates using your own layouts and export them to HTML or PDF.

  116. 116
    ronihind
    July 11th, 2009 5:28 am

    Wow. This article is spot on and right in tune. I started being a full-time print and digital designer about 6 weeks ago after a redundancy and although I love and want to it a proper go – their were so many things I wondered. Most of which have now been answered. Thanks.

  117. 117
    RedKoala
    July 11th, 2009 6:32 am

    Creating your own portfolio is hell. I’m just creating mine and I must say it’s the hardest thing I’ve done so far. And it’s exactly like smashing mag said – I am my worst client! I’ve been changing the whole design 3 times already.

  118. 118
    Blake Samic
    July 11th, 2009 8:23 am

    This is an outstanding wrap-up. I especially like the section on the different tools available online. Great stuff from Smashing Magazine as always!

  119. 119
    jkuik
    July 11th, 2009 10:16 am

    wow… so many comments…. and yeah – what a Great Article!!! One of those which you read several times to get it all.
    Big thanks to SM and the author for inspiration!

  120. 120
    Kris
    July 11th, 2009 8:37 pm

    great tips…thanks a bunch………. took the advice uploaded a free PSD template :)

  121. 121
    Agnes
    July 11th, 2009 10:33 pm

    Thanks gesmith for additional info. I wish I was in a position to turn down work, not to mention to get anything at all. I’m only starting, and actually wondering if it wouldn’t be best to find someone knowledgeable to partner with.
    Is there someplace to find a freelancer partner at? Any sites that offer opportunities to find and build online design partnerships out there?

  122. 122
    Lexi
    July 12th, 2009 4:54 pm

    This article was great! Thanks smashing for finally writing an article like this!

    Freelancing is a tough life, I’ve been doing it for 3 years and my business is finally starting to pick up (I’m also a student). This is what I would add to this article:

    - Expect to always have a cash flow problem (don’t commit to financing, like if you want a new car, save up the cash and buy it in full)
    - Time management is key (don’t make deadline promises you can’t keep)
    - Always look professional. If you want the high paying clients, you need to dress like them. Invest in some nice looking business outfits for meetings.
    - Be a salesman (aggressively pursue referrals and always be looking for potential business opportunities)
    - Form partnerships with other designers (print designers, photographers, usability experts, seo companies… anybody who can make your company appear more professional)

    There is so much more about freelancing to know, but you won’t know till you actually try. Making mistakes is okay because it makes you a better business person. You also need a really tough skin, because some clients will take advantage of you and your work will be insulted. Consider this a part of the profession and move on from it.

    Hope that helps, good luck to all of those that decide to freelance!

  123. 123
    Charlie
    July 12th, 2009 10:54 pm

    a lot covered, very good article.. congrats

  124. 124
    Denis P.
    July 13th, 2009 4:10 am

    Great. already started to follow the steps. Thanks so much.

  125. 125
    Eddie
    July 13th, 2009 6:09 am

    The best post !!!

  126. 126
    Boone Spooner
    July 13th, 2009 6:41 am

    Hi there – I think that you need to mention Harvest for time tracking / invoicing – it’s great for tracking your overall hours per week / setting goals for projects / estimating project times etc. It’s also a wonderful invoicing tool. It’ changed the way that I work and enabled me to feel like I’m accomplishing my 40+ hours a week – because I can easily view all the work I’ve done….

    Thanks.

  127. 127
    Nikki
    July 13th, 2009 7:04 am

    I am really looking forward to at least becoming a part-time freelancer and this is some seriously valuable information.

    Thanks!

  128. 128
    Joshua Sortino
    July 13th, 2009 1:03 pm

    Excellent article! This is why I love Smashing Magazine!

  129. 129
    Fernando Pereira Brites
    July 13th, 2009 1:58 pm

    Tks to spend so many hours for others can improved…Have a great life.FPB

  130. 130
    Juliann
    July 14th, 2009 9:24 am

    Your article decide me to become a free lance editor. Thank you for sharing so much interesting info, even if most of it doesn’t work in France

  131. 131
    pbear
    July 14th, 2009 11:37 am

    @mkjones (#53)

    The icons on base6 were not related to the branding of my the business.

    The version which is live is the 3rd in a line of designs which I have developed over the past 2 years. Only recently did I use the ‘Sticker Icon Pack’ which I wrongfully thought was a GPL-type product: …

    The base6 brand has little to do with the style of these icons. Like many sites I chose an icon pack which fitted in with the overall design of the website.

    Au contraire, your main logo (the rocketship) is done in exactly that style. And you continue to use the icon pack even though the IF has contacted you otherwise. Your services page clearly shows the Panic truck next to e-commerce. A candidate for Panic’s Rip-off Express.

    Since you realize you’ve made a mistake in understanding the license, then you should take them down. It’s not that you can’t do icons in that style. The style is fine: e.g. Unsanity’s recent haxie icon redesign, or anywhichway.co.uk. It’s that you should make your own graphics.

  132. 132
    dmk
    July 15th, 2009 12:04 am

    Really useful post. Thank you for all that useful information in one spot.

  133. 133
    Giselle
    July 15th, 2009 12:38 am

    Thank you SM for this great article. *thumbs up*

  134. 134
    Omar
    July 15th, 2009 7:11 am

    Hi!!
    Thank you for this great information. It’s really helpful for a freelancer like me that want to be better organize.

  135. 135
    Mahdi
    July 17th, 2009 9:27 pm

    Thanks very much for the great article. Though not a freelancers myself (nor a web designer either), nearly all of it rang true for me and what I do as an instructional designer for a small company. Keep it up!

  136. 136
    Carl - Web Courses Bangkok
    July 19th, 2009 7:25 am

    Really amazing article thank you also for mentioning my article “50 ways to get your site noticed”

    Regards,

    C

  137. 137
    Giselle
    July 20th, 2009 11:18 pm

    did I mention this is bookmarked? :P

  138. 138
    Andrea
    July 21st, 2009 12:02 am

    Hi SM readers,
    I’m an italian blogger
    and I find Smashing Magazine the best web resource about the future and the digital culture!
    Best
    Andrea

  139. 139
    Tagy
    July 31st, 2009 11:03 pm

    To SM team, Thank u so much for the great effort..
    This is the best of the best magazines on the whole web ;>

  140. 140
    Marcell
    August 11th, 2009 6:33 pm

    WoW! That was very long but useful.

  141. 141
    thomaz toz
    August 13th, 2009 8:03 am

    this is really great article! helpful for me
    thank for sharing

  142. 142
    jmj godville
    August 18th, 2009 12:23 pm

    Kayla Knight rocks…
    Very muck edifying article…it’s not only admirable for beginners but also to the professionals.
    Thanks :)

  143. 143
    deconlabel
    August 26th, 2009 8:29 pm

    thanks for great super duper article and after read some comments, there is a good comments to support this article as well ..
    Cooments number …
    #22 #29 #33 #37 #40 #48 #52 #60 #108 #110 #111 #113 #122 #126
    and the things that must underlined become a new freelancer is “Skill”, “Time Management” & “6-12 Months Saving Money for personal expenses stashed in Bank”
    Great post …

    cheerss

  144. 144
    Matt Kim
    September 2nd, 2009 4:09 am

    For months I have been wondering what to do to become a freelance designer and this article came just in time. thanks for the great information. I am now ready to become a designer.
    Thanks so much!!

  145. 145
    Oggy
    September 6th, 2009 1:02 pm

    Brilliant, brilliant article! This was really helpful! I’ll be bookmarking this and coming back to it for months! :D Thankyou SM.

  146. 146
    Issa Qandil
    September 6th, 2009 1:03 pm

    Very useful

    Thanks for sharing

  147. 147
    Berong
    September 8th, 2009 8:28 am

    totally helpful.
    thanks

  148. 148
    Mike Seesholtz
    September 13th, 2009 10:31 am

    Very informative, another article that has been helpful is Web design and Development

  149. 149
    Ethan Patrick
    October 5th, 2009 9:46 am

    Excellent information. I’ve been working as a freelancer full time recently and got started with this website, Fireboss.net. They give some similar information compared with what is found here but they also have some excellent ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere else. They also have an excellent listing of freelance websites where you can find a lot of work. I prefer using those websites to find new clients because there are so many different jobs to choose from. If you are a freelancer trying to get more clients, definitely take a look through this site’s freelance article.

  150. 150
    Alfons
    October 31st, 2009 5:44 pm

    Great article!
    Thanks for putting the time and effort in it

  151. 151
    alex
    November 18th, 2009 8:46 am

    Rather than seeking one client at a time, seek independent contractor work.
    http://www.osgiant.com/jobs/anywhere

    That’s an easy way to find off location contract work.

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