How To Become A Freelance Web Designer

cppbutler · 07-10-2013 5:13pm #1

So after dropping out of two college courses I've realised college is not for me at all.
But the one thing I took from it was the module on Web Design. I loved it.
After dropping out I did a FETAC Level 5 in Web Design and passed it and I will do Level 6 soon although they both seem the same if I'm being honest.

I work full time in a dead end job and would love to do Web Design as a means of income. I plan to start working part-time and basically practice for as long as I can in my free time for how ever long it takes to become proficient at as much languages I can and to work on my graphic design skills too.

I already know a decent amount of HTML, CSS and can create basic websites no problem. I have a little knowledge in Java and Javascript from when I did it in college 2 years ago if I can remember it correctly.

So where should I begin my studies?
Can anybody outline a plan to follow for me as I'm not sure where to start to be honest.

I also plan on getting a desktop rather than using my laptop as I know I'll be lazy with it and end up practicing just sitting in bed and sleeping all the time so I need somewhere to properly sit down and have the desktop just for "work". Would anybody recommend a good desktop to use for coding and graphic design? Windows or MAC? etc. or any other useful equipment I need?
I have saved quite a bit so can afford most of whatever is needed for the moment.

Thanks for reading. I'm almost 22 and I want to start making more than minimum wage with something I actually enjoy so I can move out of home and start a life basically.

SweetCaliber · 08-10-2013 1:38am

cppbutler wrote: »

So after dropping out of two college courses I've realised college is not for me at all.
But the one thing I took from it was the module on Web Design. I loved it.
After dropping out I did a FETAC Level 5 in Web Design and passed it and I will do Level 6 soon although they both seem the same if I'm being honest.

I work full time in a dead end job and would love to do Web Design as a means of income. I plan to start working part-time and basically practice for as long as I can in my free time for how ever long it takes to become proficient at as much languages I can and to work on my graphic design skills too.

I already know a decent amount of HTML, CSS and can create basic websites no problem. I have a little knowledge in Java and Javascript from when I did it in college 2 years ago if I can remember it correctly.

So where should I begin my studies?
Can anybody outline a plan to follow for me as I'm not sure where to start to be honest.

I also plan on getting a desktop rather than using my laptop as I know I'll be lazy with it and end up practicing just sitting in bed and sleeping all the time so I need somewhere to properly sit down and have the desktop just for "work". Would anybody recommend a good desktop to use for coding and graphic design? Windows or MAC? etc. or any other useful equipment I need?
I have saved quite a bit so can afford most of whatever is needed for the moment.

Thanks for reading. I'm almost 22 and I want to start making more than minimum wage with something I actually enjoy so I can move out of home and start a life basically.

Do you have a portfolio? Like have you designed anything before?

A portfolio and a well designed website is a must for a web designer, it shows off you talent and it looks well.

If you don't have a portfolio, see if there are any local businesses in need of a website redesign or so, start small and see if you can get a portfolio together first.

Best of luck though, let us know how you get on!

I'm not 100% in this field so I'm sure there are others on here that can say a bit more.

cppbutler · 08-10-2013 11:03am

SweetCaliber wrote: »

Do you have a portfolio? Like have you designed anything before?

A portfolio and a well designed website is a must for a web designer, it shows off you talent and it looks well.

If you don't have a portfolio, see if there are any local businesses in need of a website redesign or so, start small and see if you can get a portfolio together first.

Best of luck though, let us know how you get on!

I'm not 100% in this field so I'm sure there are others on here that can say a bit more.

Thanks for the reply.

The portfolio is on my to do list. Although I plan on really knuckling down and studying and practising as much as I can before I jump into making a portfolio or offering to do sites in order to get my experience up.

Main thing I just want to know now is where to start on the study point of view. And is there any equipment I need and is a desktop a good idea over my own personal laptop.

Thanks

cormee · 08-10-2013 11:24am

cppbutler wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

The portfolio is on my to do list. Although I plan on really knuckling down and studying and practising as much as I can before I jump into making a portfolio or offering to do sites in order to get my experience up.

Main thing I just want to know now is where to start on the study point of view. And is there any equipment I need and is a desktop a good idea over my own personal laptop.

Thanks

SweetCaliber hit the nail on the head, your portfolio is far more important than formal training. make that your first priority. You'll pick up skills while building it.

If I was interviewing two people, one with a cert to say they had skills in x, and the other had an example of their work which demonstrated their ability to do x, the latter would get the job.

Personally speaking, a desktop is preferable to to a laptop, I can't for a second imagine trying to do graphic work using a laptop.

Fussgangerzone · 10-10-2013 11:53am

Jaysus you sound a bit like me. I dropped out of college, did some plc courses and wangled my way into web stuff. Here's my advice:

Don't start your career as a freelancer
It's painful. I did it and found the following.

Crippling financial instability
Getting ridden by clients who want you to work for nothing
Spending months learning how to do really stupid things (bespoke CMS, anyone?)
Using bad tools and processes (or none) because you didn't know better
Learning everything really, really, slowly
Nobody to learn from

I should add that I've worked with code by some "always a freelancer" devs, and my god, I've seen some horrible things. With nobody to vet your code, some really stupid things can happen and become habit.

Work somewhere with colleagues you can learn from, and a boss to ride your arse
You'll rapidly evolve. You might have to deal with some bull****, but very quickly, you'll become professionally skilled. Ok, it might be a bit rich telling a 22 year old "get a job", it's not that easy. So...

Consider an internship
This can be an expensive decision, so maybe you should put your dead end job to good use. Save up a reserve of money long enough to do maybe 3 months of an internship. This might mean finding somewhere to live in a city, if you don't already. Maybe do two different ones, so you can compare workplaces.

At the very least, you'll accelerate your learning and make some career connections. You might get snapped up if you impress somebody.

I put about 5 years full-time in the industry before going freelance. I'm damn glad I did, and there's always an option of going back.

One other thing, if you're thinking of freelancing. There's a danger of being a jack of all trades. That can get boring. You can spend half your time dealing with clients, which is mind-numbing.

In my experience, this job is more interesting the more you specialise, and you can have a few specialities. You have to work in a company to do that. Now, it could be your own company, either, no reason why not, once you have the skills.

One more thing. In the mean-time, start every project by asking yourself: why don't I use an existing content management system (anything from Wordpress to Drupal). It's what a lot of professionals do and it saves buckets of time. You'll rarely have a good reason to write your own backend from scratch.

ChRoMe · 12-10-2013 9:07am

Fussgangerzone wrote: »

Jaysus you sound a bit like me. I dropped out of college, did some plc courses and wangled my way into web stuff. Here's my advice:

Don't start your career as a freelancer
It's painful. I did it and found the following.
Crippling financial instability

Getting ridden by clients who want you to work for nothing

Spending months learning how to do really stupid things (bespoke CMS, anyone?)

Using bad tools and processes (or none) because you didn't know better

Learning everything really, really, slowly

Nobody to learn from

I should add that I've worked with code by some "always a freelancer" devs, and my god, I've seen some horrible things. With nobody to vet your code, some really stupid things can happen and become habit.

Work somewhere with colleagues you can learn from, and a boss to ride your arse
You'll rapidly evolve. You might have to deal with some bull****, but very quickly, you'll become professionally skilled. Ok, it might be a bit rich telling a 22 year old "get a job", it's not that easy. So...

Consider an internship
This can be an expensive decision, so maybe you should put your dead end job to good use. Save up a reserve of money long enough to do maybe 3 months of an internship. This might mean finding somewhere to live in a city, if you don't already. Maybe do two different ones, so you can compare workplaces.

At the very least, you'll accelerate your learning and make some career connections. You might get snapped up if you impress somebody.

I put about 5 years full-time in the industry before going freelance. I'm damn glad I did, and there's always an option of going back.

One other thing, if you're thinking of freelancing. There's a danger of being a jack of all trades. That can get boring. You can spend half your time dealing with clients, which is mind-numbing.

In my experience, this job is more interesting the more you specialise, and you can have a few specialities. You have to work in a company to do that. Now, it could be your own company, either, no reason why not, once you have the skills.

One more thing. In the mean-time, start every project by asking yourself: why don't I use an existing content management system (anything from Wordpress to Drupal). It's what a lot of professionals do and it saves buckets of time. You'll rarely have a good reason to write your own backend from scratch.

Listen to this person, they are giving you diamond advice.

SpaceCowb0y · 16-10-2013 5:51pm

OP Just to add a note to that excellent post above I'm only starting out in a web design career myself, I currently work for a web design company in Dublin and also try to do as much freelance work as I can... i don't get a lot! Finding work when you're starting out and trying to put a portfolio together is a nightmare so I'm glad I have a company to work for also! It took two internships before I got the job and I wouldn't say i'm entirely happy with it but its a start and will hopefully lead to something better!

al22 · 16-10-2013 6:29pm

Never start a business where you must to do a job by yourself - you will be poor

Start to search the Internet and see offers for web design from others? say look into India There are hundreds of web designers at a very very low cost
Make a team and collect their samples

Now start to advertise your business/ offers? find a customers That should be a priority

Your aim is to get a job / order
You always will have professionals who can do it fast, good and chep

Add your profit At @ Irish prices it can be very good
Deliver the job and get money

Sleep and relax well

Good luck!l it

Graham · 16-10-2013 6:41pm

al22 wrote: »

You always will have professionals who can do it fast, good and chep

I disagree:

Fast, good, cheap. Pick any two.

al22 · 17-10-2013 4:58am

Graham wrote: »

I disagree:

Fast, good, cheap. Pick any two.

Welcome!
http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-710&va=web+design+India

Individual web sites designers can do the job at a fraction of Irish quotes
Not just in India//// :-)

Graham · 17-10-2013 7:19am

al22 wrote: »

Welcome!
http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-710&va=web+design+India

Individual web sites designers can do the job at a fraction of Irish quotes
Not just in India//// :-)

The original post asked 'How to Become A Freelance Web Designer' not 'how can I learn to sell off-shore development services'.

The Corinthian · 17-10-2013 9:33am

cppbutler wrote: »

I already know a decent amount of HTML, CSS and can create basic websites no problem. I have a little knowledge in Java and Javascript from when I did it in college 2 years ago if I can remember it correctly.

Ignoring your lack of actual experience for a moment, you've not much to offer, TBH. And learning new one's are time consuming, which means that if you do so 'on the job', you'll end up taking ten times longer to do something because of it - giving you an effective hourly rate, lower than you'd get in McDonalds. In India.

Fussgangerzone wrote: »

Don't start your career as a freelancer

Very good advice. Going it alone in any trade or profession - plumber, solicitor, publican, GP - is generally something you do once you've not only built up experience but also understand how the business work. Remember, it's not that you simply need to know how to be a designer, but there's also the freelance bit you have to understand too; how do you run your business? What do you put in your contracts? How do you bill? How do you bring in new business?

Instead, what the OP is looking to do is akin to a solicitor setting up their own practice the moment their apprenticeship is over (without the practical experience of an apprenticeship).

al22 wrote: »

Individual web sites designers can do the job at a fraction of Irish quotes

Have you ever actually outsourced off-shore?

tricky D · 17-10-2013 3:34pm

Graham wrote: »

I disagree:

Fast, good, cheap. Pick any two.

Fyp: good, fast, cheap, India; pick none.:P

Also, becoming a quality designer is so much more than html, css, some graphics, javascript and other technical stuff needed for creating basic websites. There's loads of related technical matters, of various relevancies. There are tonnes and tonnes more soft and hard skills, proficiencies and experiences needed before a designer can produce quality sites. Then there's the perpetual change so you always need to be on various learning paths. Starting straight into freelancing as a sole entity can easily end you up somewhat cocooned in development without buzzing off the experiences and skills of others.

/2c

OctavarIan · 20-10-2013 12:08am

From my own personal experience starting out in the field (freelancing during college, now in a company position that I love), here are my top tips:

1) I'd advise against starting out as a freelancer. Get an internship somewhere and learn discipline, how to conduct yourself professionally, organise yourself and work with clients. If you can't get an internship then try find a mentor. Learning how to promote yourself/run a business/manage time/manage expectations/manage finances/build a portfolio/do your job all when starting out can be overwhelming. Last thing you want when trying to hone a craft is to be chasing down a client for money months after a project is finished because you were too inexperienced to see it coming and have a contract signed (:().

2) College grades mean nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Your portfolio and your ability to explain why you did something is what gets you work/a job.

3) Start networking. Go to startup/web meetups and design events. The Irish web community is small and friendly

Defuse Dublin is coming up in a few weeks, highly recommend it http://www.defuse.ixd.ie/

How To Become A Freelance Web Designer

Comments