A Web Design Freelancer’s Guide to a More Profitable Career

Freelancing is one of the fastest growing careers today, primarily because it attracts people from all walks of life – housewives, hobbyists, full-time professionals and self-taught workers. It’s that new dimension freedom where one will not worry about how he looks or what he does while he works. It’s the stress from traffic, boss rages and office gossips that also puts workers to choose the quieter side of freelancing.

A joint venture survey conducted by the Freelancers Union and Elance-Odesk found out that 69 per cent of freelancers in the US find it easier to freelance nowadays because of technology. Now that people have more access to wireless communications and internet connectivity, it is easier to do work even without inside offices. People have practically every gadget they need within their hands – smartphones, laptops, portable printers and scanners, etc. It is also faster to work because of technology-based tools to utilize, and to send your outputs online. And another thing that drives the number of freelancers to climb is basically the companies that are interested in hiring them.

Who Can Freelance?

One of the careers that can take advantage of freelancing is web designing. Because of its nature, web designers usually get bored with routine as with working in a 9 to 5 job. To break the wall that limits their creativity, growth and self-expression, many are choosing to take the freelancing path instead. Aside from a break from the monotony of office jobs, freelancing in web design can also offer more freedom in executing the ideas. It gives web designers the free hand to execute their own design because some clients don’t really know what they want anyway.

Why Hire Web Design Freelancers?

Companies that are built to outsource web design freelancers and the ones that get web design freelancers themselves are basically the reasons why the sector is growing. In 2010, the Intuit report about the top 20 trends that will shape the next decade revealed that by the year 2020, 40 percent of the American work force will become contingent or freelance workers.  More companies are recognizing the importance of web design for their businesses. Therefore, they find ways to get the best deal for it, which attracts them to hire freelancers. It makes sense, because of the following reasons:

1. Greater flexibility

This drives freelancers to embrace the lifestyle, and so as companies too. By opening their projects to freelancers frees them of sustaining the resources for it, and at the same time, spares the accountability to give them benefits that full-time workers are required to have. Freelancing jobs are also on a per-project-basis, which gives more flexibility for businesses to fire or re-hire freelancers based on their performance.

2. Cost efficient

Freelancing job salaries are not fixed; therefore businesses can negotiate to freelancers based on their project budgets. It also maximizes the budget for labor because you don’t need to continually pay for it after the project has closed, unlike with full-time workers. Sometimes, it is more affordable to get the services of a freelancer to implement a good web design, especially when you get first-timers or those with less experience that is just starting to build his portfolio.

3. Freelancers tend to be more productive

Maybe because they want to do jobs faster so they can get more to earn more, freelancers are typically more productive than their full-time counterparts. Most charge per hour, so the tendency is they strive harder to earn a reasonable increase to charge for their rates. It could also because freelancers do not have other things to attend to aside from the job such as meetings, orientations and trainings which can also eat up on an office worker’s time at work.

Downsides of Freelancing

Not every day is payday, and so as the freelancing side is not always the greener. There are also some downsides that you must take note before jumping into the web design freelancing bandwagon. Freelancing is not for everyone, and it is still a matter of right timing, hard work and skills that can make you successful in being one. Here are some of the cons of freelancing:

1. You are a one-man company

The task, time, document, payroll, marketing, HR and all kinds of management are within your hands. As a freelancer, you are basically a functioning as a “one-man-band” of the business sector. You are responsible to look for your own clients, negotiate your rates, do the work, and invoice. You will also be the one to file your taxes, or even pay for your own insurance. For some, this time consuming things are the ones that discourage them to be freelancers. But still, in doing everything lets you get to take home all the pay isn’t it?

2. You may encounter problems with your cash flow

There may be times that work is hard to come by, especially when the competition tightens in the web design industry. In this case, you should also know how to market your own skills to expand your market. There are times that you should lower your rate too for the sake of getting work or adding something to your portfolio. Freelancers should also be wise in handling their pay, which can be useful when you cannot find work to sustain your needs. Every freedom comes with responsibility, and being a freelancer can enable you to become more responsible for your own benefit.

3. You will miss out on socialization

For those who embrace socialization in the workplace, freelancing won’t be a healthy option for you. Especially for those who do online work, it is sometimes lonely to work without a team to cheer you up, motivate or encourage you. Freelancers actually program themselves to focus on their work as much as possible to be more productive. But all work with no play sometimes contributes more stress than the actual work itself.

4. You may not get to keep a portfolio

Some companies may require you to sign an NDA, or a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This means your work becomes the property of the company, and you cannot use it in any way, even to include in your portfolio. Without evidences of projects you accomplished makes it difficult to prove your experiences to future projects you might want to apply for.

Now knowing the pros and cons of web design freelancing, you can better assess your strengths and personality if you can fit in to become a freelancer.

More Benefits for a Freelance Web Designer

Another perk of being a freelance web designer is a more attractive pay. If you are more diligent and hardworking, it also increases your capacity to accept more workload, which also means more pay for you. It gives you a direct compensation for the actual amount of work you rendered – without health insurance cuts and others. Freelancing may mean more financial freedom for some, and more time for family to others.

Freelancing in web design can also expose you to more opportunities to build your network and portfolio. It also lets you encounter more challenging projects that force you to continue learning and honing your craft. It brings out your negotiation skills at work. It makes you more aware of your time and productivity, which is an essential skill, especially nowadays that people are exposed to more activities.

Freelancing can also open the doors for more meaningful and lasting relationships with your clients, especially that you provide a personalized touch as a freelancer. You basically handle everything, which makes you closer to your clients. Some companies are better off with this kind of relationship – the one that is built on trust and confidence when it comes to quality service and exceptional customer service.

Tips to Maximize Your Freelancing Career

Freelancing as a web designer can either make or break your career. At this point, you may have that strong inclination to pursue your freelancing job, therefore here are more tips to take you to the road towards a more meaningful and profitable career:

1. Set clear expectations and goals for your freelancing career. Do you intend to do it part-time or full-time? Know your worth and be confident with your skills.

2. Know how much it costs to freelance. It may require you to actually invest first on essentials like a laptop, a reliable internet connection, your own website, work space and supplies, taxes, insurance, trainings, and lots of your time.

3. Establish your brand by hosting your own website, and market it to different social media sites to enhance your chances of finding opportunities. Build your online presence and your network.

4. Start building your portfolio locally. This not only saves you time from doing large scale marketing; you can also have an opportunity to give back to your community by offering web design for free. You can volunteer to set up your local community’s website, or design the website of your relative’s small business.

5. Comply with the legal side of freelancing. Make sure you sign contracts for your work, you get guarantees for copyrights and you remit the right taxes.

6. Invest in technology-based tools that can help you be more productive with your work such as time tracking software and schedulers, which can improve your time management skills to maximize your opportunities.

7. Avoid multitasking and prioritize quality to maintain your credibility in the market.

8. Upgrade your skills, especially that web design is crucial aspect of a business. Know the web design essentials, and stay updated with web design trends from time to time. You must not only have creative skills, but also it goes a long way to know SEO and content marketing as well.

9. Be a professional web design provider in all aspects, that is, you treat your clients with respect and with the highest form of professionalism by being on time, dressing smartly, and by being ready with the necessary documents when you present your credentials and offer your services.

Find out what clients look for in web design services by reading about professional web design provider reviews at CrowdReviews.com. By digesting and applying everything in this article, there is no doubt that you can be one of the best professional web design providers out there in the market very soon.