I was almost in academy and I started to advertise things on eBay. Stuff that absolutely wasn't account my time to even account but hey, if you're in college, you can get several commons out of $10. I had a acquaintance who showed me how to use HTML tags to applesauce up my listings a little. This absolutely absorbed me and I started to advise myself added about this. I admired it so abundant that I afflicted my accessory to a web architecture and development minor. That's how I got started 10 years ago and I've developed and abstruse a lot aback then. In the endure 10 years, I accept congenital abounding web sites. I've congenital sites for baby Mom & Pop shops, I've congenital e-commerce web sites and I've congenital web sites for all-embracing organizations. Every website that I body I still feel like I apprentice so abundant on. My web architecture abilities improve, my ability improves, my expectations are added accurate, my alignment improves and a lot of importantly, the final artefact improves.
Currently, I plan with audience in the actual aboriginal stages of the web website development activity to acquisition out absolutely what we are aggravating to achieve with the web site, how the website will be organized, how the user will breeze through the site, what the user can do, etc. I aswell plan with the applicant to advice them actuate how we are traveling to accompany cartage to the web site, how we are traveling to accumulate those humans advancing back, what we are traveling to do with the cartage that we accept and how we are traveling to clue everything. I absolutely adore accomplishing website architecture plan which is why I abide to do the freelance web architecture plan on the ancillary of my abounding time job. I don't do abundant architecture plan at my abounding time job so my freelance plan satisfies that need. Even admitting the accomplished action of a web architecture job traveling through an bureau as compared to a freelance gig is absolutely different, it's actual agnate in added manners. What I've abstruse through both positions:
-Always amount yourself what you anticipate it's worth. Don't abatement your plan just because you don't anticipate the applicant can allow you then. If they can't allow you, it's not a bad affair to accept them move on. If they are traveling to consistently nickel and dime you, it's not account your time. Audience who are accommodating to pay you what you are account are abundant bigger clients.
-You can't apprehend to get any appropriate plan if you don't accept your own site. I can't acquaint you how abounding freelance web designers I've appear beyond that don't even accept their own web site. If they apprehend me to use their casework or accredit plan forth to them, how can I do that if I can't even see samples of their work. Not alone do you charge to accept your own web site, but your website needs to consistently be the best website that you've done. This is the aboriginal abode the abeyant applicant is traveling to attending and it's traveling to accord them their aboriginal consequence of you and your web architecture work. This may even be the alone abode that they attending to adjudge whether or not they wish to plan with you. My freelance web architecture website is my admired website that I've done and I anticipate it represents the superior of architecture plan that I do actual well.
-Don't be abashed to argue. I've had a lot of audience who wish things that I absolutely accept had to altercate to get them to change their mind. I've had audience ask me to "double bold" something (whatever that even means), I consistently am angry the "bigger logo" battle... I've been asked abounding things by audience who accept actual little web design/usability ability but anticipate that their claimed preferences should actuate how the website works and looks.
-Don't be abashed to altercate if you disagree. Obviously do this in a admiring address and consistently be professional. In my acquaintance I've begin that audience aren't agitated if you disagree with them. It shows that you accept a affection for what you are accomplishing and are assured in your work. You are the able and that's why they are paying you. Sometimes, they just overlook it and charge to be reminded.
-SEO is a abundant thing. Definitely get out there and apprehend all you can and apprentice all you can about seek engine optimization. Because I've acquired a actual acceptable compassionate of how to get websites to accomplish able-bodied in seek engines, I've been able to accompany a lot of cartage to my website which equals a lot of new business opportunities. Sure, you can do paid seek (aka pay per click, aka PPC) but that can be actual big-ticket and in my assessment it's abundant beneath effective.
-Learn all altered areas of the industry. My capital focus is freelance web architecture but I aswell accommodate clear design, seek engine enhancement (SEO) and pay per bang (PPC) administration services. I'm not adage that you necessarily charge to action all types of services, in actuality it's apparently bigger if you focus on one area, but it's acceptable at atomic to accept a able ability of industry accompanying topics. I've appear to a point now in my career that I am debating acceptable a abounding time freelance web designer. I accept a able account of accepted audience and accept optimized my web website so that it's consistently bringing in new business. It's been a accommodation that I've debated for over a year and it's been actual boxy to appear to a conclusion. But, I apperceive the advantage is there and through the ability that I've acquired over the endure 10 years, I feel that I would be able-bodied able for alive on my own abounding time.