Working as a freelance website designer brings with it lots of freedom and excitement. You can pick and choose your hours, have lunch when you want, nip out to see friends and family whenever you please and be available for all those important school plays. No more begging the boss to leave early so that you can pick your kids up from school because your child minder has let you down or feeling guilty about taking time out for a doctor’s appointment.
Indeed, freelancing as a website developer has many blessings and can provide you with a cosy lifestyle. However, it isn’t all a walk in the park. Starting as a freelance developer provides many demands. Even though many freelancer platforms are available to find and secure work, many people are searching for a person who has built up recognition and a great looking portfolio. It takes time and it's tough to build up a good reputation. Consequently, the first few months especially can show very hard in terms of income – you’ll be bidding for jobs at much less than you would like to charge and may resent doing jobs for less than the market rate.
You also won’t be paid for holidays, sick days and those doctors/dentist appointments. At the start you’ll likely find yourself working plenty extra hours than your hired buddies. You are completely answerable for your income.
Have I referred to hard customers yet? Alas, now not everybody is a pleasing individual to work with. Clients can be difficult and managing them can be very time consuming. Projects get put back or cancelled altogether – that nice little earner you were counting on is no longer on the agenda.
The good news is that once you’ve got yourself established and your portfolio and reviews are looking good, you'll find that the work comes to you rather than you having to find it. You can then start to increase your prices and earn a decent income. It’s then that working as a freelance website developer becomes a good deal less difficult and also you start to realise that all the long hours were worth it.
Being a website designer in Bourne, Spalding and Stamford, I know what’s it like to work as a freelance website designer. Website design in Spalding is particularly difficult due to the small population of this town.