Successful freelancers are those who have turned their skills and passions into full-time work.
However, we are aware that being a successful freelancer is easier said than done. Doing so takes a lot of hard work and determination. Plus, you need to sacrifice many things like having a monthly fixed salary, employee benefits, and other incentives.
You also need to invest a lot of time and money in the process. Also, according to experts, the key to success is starting the proper foundation.
This includes building your freelance website.
Why Do Freelancers Need a Website?
Creating your freelance website will show how committed and professional you are. Without a website, clients will be unable to get in touch with you. Worse, they may not even know that you exist.
Meanwhile, by having one, you’ll be recognized as a professional in your field that deserves the proper fees.
How to Build Your Freelance Website
Now that you know why having a website is essential, here are six tips on how you can build one to kickstart your freelance career:
Get a domain and hosting
To start your site, the first thing that you need is a good hosting provider. We recommend that you get excellent hosting such as BlueHost or SiteGround.
There are also free hosting options available, but it’s often not ideal since you don’t control your content. You’ve probably heard horror stories about people who have taken the cheaper options and got their sites shut down for no reason at all. That’s why you must start with a great host.
Decide on a layout
Just like you couldn’t start driving before placing the address of your destination on your GPS, you should also think about your site’s ideal layout or visual structure before you can start working on it.
Sytian Productions, a web designer in the Philippines, advises to ask yourself questions such as what particular elements do you want to stand out? What’s the first or last thing that users will see when they’re on your site? How do you visualize your site’s overall flow and structure?
Use color psychology
Picking a suitable color scheme for your freelance website is vital for branding and audience engagement. It can also impact your website’s user interface and user experience.
That’s because colors evoke strong emotions from site visitors. This entices them to interact with the various elements of your website.
Your site will suffer in the long run if you fail to pick the right colors. It would be best if you also had a solid idea of who you are as a brand and your target audience.
That way, it’s so much easier to make an informed decision about your color choices. By learning about color psychology, you can use that knowledge to pick the right color hues that will benefit you in the long run.
It’s also worth noting brighter call-to-actions (CTA) leads to higher conversion rates. You have to draw in the user’s eye to critical areas that talk about the kind of services you provide and work with you with a click. Doing so will have a captivating effect on your audience.
Create relevant pages
Think about the specific content that you want to publish on your site. This allows you to organize your content depending on your goals strategically. You can add ad many pages and sections to your site as you go, but here are the essential things that you need to include:
- Homepage: Your homepage is the first thing that users will see once they enter your site. Make sure that you include descriptive texts here.
- Services: This section explains what specific products or services that you offer.
- Projects: This section will highlight your professionalism and your quality of work. You can use this to showcase selected projects you’ve made in the past and reputable clients who have worked with you.
- Testimonials: Place various testimonials from satisfied clients here.
- About Us: Showcase your strengths, and give important information about activities. You can also summarize here your work ethic, identity, values, etc.
- Contact: This should include your contact form, email, phone numbers, social media networks, and any other way prospective clients can reach you.
Make it mobile-friendly
The most common mistake a lot of people make is not making their site mobile-friendly. Chances are, a lot of people will be viewing your site using their smartphones.
Therefore, one of the challenges you need to face is building a solid online presence on mobile.
Optimize for Search Engines
What’s the purpose of having an aesthetically pleasing site if no one can see it?
That’s why you must place a lot of effort in search engine optimization (SEO) to make it easy for clients to find and book your services.
It also places your site higher up on search engines, like Google. Just note that SEO is an ongoing, long-term strategy.
Launch Your Freelance Website Now!
Having a website can help your freelance career grow. This will help attract clients to you rather than chase them off at bidding sites.
Not only does it enable you to build your audience, but your revenue streams as well.
So, before you kickstart your freelance career, we suggest that you build your website first.
