Internet has made world smaller and cost of living does matter. Many individuals/companies from US and Europe and other parts of world are looking to outsource their work to other countries so they can get their work done for less. What may be a small price for a person living in USA will be very good income for a person living in Asia, if you consider currency and exchange rates. So every web designer or developer either beigginner or experienced one wants to get those web development or programming projects which are outsourced by individuals or companies in US or Europe. This is not only about web developers or web desginers or programmers living in developing counteries, individuals or businesses in USA who wants to get their websites developed may also will want to hire a freelancer living in USA because companies may charge them huge amount of money. Also, a smaller web development company may not want to get all full time working staff and pay their salaries, they may want to hire a freelancer on as needed basis to save costs.
Enough introduction, now onto why I am writing this. I receive phone calls and emails every other day from people asking me how to become a freelance web designer, web developer or a programmer. I thought rather than explaining to each one of them, I should write it down and put my experience online so that everyone interested in becoming a freelance web developer/designer or a programmer can find out how to take their first step towards becoming a successful freelancer. On this page I am going to share my experience as well as have some advice for new web developers or designers who have just learnt a programming language or some tool to develop web sites, as well for people who are already working for some companies and want to start working as a freelance web developer/designer in their spare time. This article is divided into two main sections.. First one 'You are an aspiring freelance web designer or developer' is relevent to beginner web developers or designers and second one 'You are an experienced web designer or developer' is relevent to both beginner as well as experienced web designers or developers.Many students who finish their computer degree or computer course find it hard to get jobs because no one is ready to appoint a fresher or employers are not ready to pay what they think they should be getting after spending so much time and money to get those degrees. In most cases, when doing these degrees or courses students are just taught basics and not how to develop real world applications. Then they think they should become freelancers because it offers better money but they must understand it is not easy to get work and they must first gain some experience.
Say, someone is ready to give you a job even for a very small salary then you should just accept it to gain experience. I had to work for a small salary and travel all day. I did my first real world web site in ASP back in 2000. There is nothing like real world web development experience. It'll help you when a prospective clients asks you to show you the web designing or development work you have done.
If you cannot get a job then you should start experimenting and learning by reading books written by experienced professionals who have done the web designing or development themselves, rather than by a person who is teaching at some university. You must enhance your skills and know how real world applications are developed. I preferred internet because it has wealth of information.
If your interest is web designing and have learnt photoshop, flash, dreamweaver etc. then try to see how how people have created their static (non database) websites and try to copy them using the tools you know. Also there are so many tutorials on internet explaining how to start designing web sites. On the other hand, if you are a beginner web developer who knows some programming language like PHP, Asp.net (C Sharp, VB.Net), Java, JSP, Servlets etc then there are so many open source applications available. You can download their source code and study it. Other thing you can do is, look at some of the existing websites to see the features they have. Try to make sites like those, while doing so, you'll learn what sort of problems arise when doing a real world application. When I started, I liked a matrimonial site, I started writing code to develop a site which had all the features of that existing one. If I faced a problem, I asked questions on forums. There are many nice people out there who like to help others.
After you have gained enough experience of developing real world web applications, you are ready to work as a freelancer. So read on..
Everyone wants to earn that extra cash. People already working for some company want to earn more by working on their personal projects. I had done the same until I had enough work that I couldn't continue with my job. Experienced web designers or developers should just not quit their jobs. They must first try to make a client base and work as a part time freelancers. Some people who call me say that they have just quit their jobs to become freelancers and are now sitting at home with no work. That is not the correct move.
These are the ways which have worked for me.
First thing to do is to go those freelancer sites and register. I cannot provide you links to those freelance sites. Just search for them in goggle. Registration and bidding on most of these sites is free. If you find the site you like and register there, next step is to look for project you have skill set to do. For example a web designer should not try to bid on a project which involves database work. Thee is so much competition on those sites that it is hard to win a project. The option is to bid reasonably and provide just enough information about yourself to get noticed. Don't exaggerate. Don't bid too low or too high and claim to complete a project within 3 days if in reality it is going to take 10 days. Clients who post their projects on these freelancer sites normally know how much work it is. If client likes your bid and contacts you, he will ask for examples of work you have done. Here your prior experience of doing some web sites will come in handy. If client is happy and you get the project then you must try to complete it within agreed period. If you don't complete it within agreed time or don't reply to client's emails or phone calls then you make a negative impact. On these sites you are rated by your clients so if you ignore your clients after receiving some money up front or even if you haven't received any money, they are going to rate you lowly and it'll be hard for you to get new projects. You should always try to make your clients happy even if you have to do little extra work than agreed.
Payment on freelance sites
Every freelance site has its own method when it comes to receiving payment for work done. Some sites has some escrow payment option where a client submits the full project price and after successful completion of the project these sites deduct some percentage of project fee and you can get rest through various payment methods.
You should always keep enhancing your skills. For example if you know Photoshop and dreamweaver you should try to learn flash as well as other 2d or even 3d animation tools. When you are in demand you should try to accept only as many projects you can think you can complete within project's deadline. The time difference between different countries has to be taken into account as well. You may have to work late nights to accommodate to client's time zone. If you followed what I have written above and work sincerely then there is no one stopping you from becoming a successful freelance web designer/developer or a programmer.
Sukhwinder Singh
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19/04/2024 07:54