How to Become a Freelance Web Designer
Being a freelance web designer is not something that I expected to land on. But during my early years I really have that strange deep interest in almost anything that involved computers. I am not surprised that even after taking up engineering and passing the boards for that, I still find myself doing IT-related jobs: these past few years I had been offering my services as a freelance web designer.
Many of my friends and strangers ask me: what have you been up to lately? I answer them – I do web design (but I am mostly concentrated on doing WordPress blogs). I also earn from blogs. All these I do full-time right in my home.
image credits to SuziJane
Some people expressed interest in learning web design – either from old friends that I find again in Facebook, or emails from strangers who drop by on this blog. There are also other freelancers who want to learn this skill because they are after the higher rates. In my personal opinion, it is possible to learn web designing to be a freelance web designer, but it is not that easy.
- HTML knowledge: This is actually the easiest part in learning web design. Many people could follow and even memorize HTML tags. Some could even go further into learning CSS. In addition to that, there are various software that help generate web pages such as Dreamweaver, MS Publisher and CoffeeCup HTML. Because this part is easy, some people have that misconception that web design is easy.
- Scripting: Debugging scripts is the reason why technical jobs in IT get higher pay, and IT freelancers are not an exception. Making JavaScripts, Flash, PHP and other programming languages work with web pages is not something for those who don’t like to play with code.
- Databases: Can you get inside mySQL databases or any other database if there’s some troubleshooting needed with the data? Are you able to make web pages work so that data entered by the user is stored into these databases?
- Graphic Design: Possessing graphic design skills is also important as this spells out the appearance of any website.
To be able to learn all that, one can opt to enroll in a full bachelor degree in IT or related courses which can take as long as four years, or simply go to computer schools and go after associate or diploma degrees (that teaches many of the fundamental skills and languages) which usually takes two years. It is also uncommon to find computer schools that offer 6-month courses (or less) on these skills.
Jena Isle
March 21st, 2010 at 10:45 am #
Hi Gem, wala bang short cut to learn about this? i am imagining your earnings here. Grabe, mas mataas pa sa mga karaniwang executives. Congrats.
.-= Jena Isle´s last blog ..Solitude =-.
Jhong Medina
March 21st, 2010 at 4:08 pm #
Great job Gem, I really you could teach me with those stuff!
Working at home with your kids around for me is a great reward than doing a 8 to 9 hrs job. Is there a secret ba?
Best Regards,
Jhong Medina
.-= Jhong Medina´s last blog ..Is Mayweather Ready to fight Paquiao? =-.
Roy
March 21st, 2010 at 4:29 pm #
You are right, it’s not for everybody. The mere mention of HTML can send me running hehe…
But for you, it all seem so easy. Hats off to you Gem!
.-= Roy´s last blog ..Festivities and events in Angeles City =-.
louise
March 21st, 2010 at 9:34 pm #
Hi Gem,
I’ve been visiting your site since last year and learned a lot from it. Right now, i’m doing my research because i also want to put a website pero hindi sya madali ah! Hopefully, it will be operational before June. Thanks for inspiring me.
=)
Anne Bender
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:40 am #
I can usually get around basic html, but find I still get caught up on css. You’re right about databases being a bit more intense. I would definitely have to get help with that. Good information here, Gem.
.-= Anne Bender´s last blog ..Happy Birthday! =-.
Tim
April 15th, 2010 at 9:58 pm #
I only tried doing freelance web design once… It was right after graduation. Yes, I agree to the points you mentioned above but to me, there is more to it than just technical skills. You skills like
- Sales
- Marketing
Eversince I actively began blogging, I’ve been thinking of doing part-time web design again. I’m still thinking twice though because I tend to use all my energy whenever my right brain’s in use.
Neil Hes @ Low cost web design
August 7th, 2010 at 7:23 pm #
I love designing with interactive Web sites,and it is fantastic that people pay that to do something .Thanks
madnet
September 16th, 2010 at 6:24 am #
to be a web developer its great, but you have to be pation for dealing with thousands of code lines.
Rommel
September 26th, 2010 at 12:08 pm #
hi. can you send me some tips on how to get projects..
PinoyLifestyle
November 7th, 2010 at 11:06 am #
I am a freelance writer and people are always expressing interest in finding a similar job. However, no matter how many tips I give them, they never actually do anything. People are more comfortable getting a regular paycheck than finding freelance jobs on their own.
“It is also uncommon to find computer schools that offer 6-month courses (or less) on these skills.”
Typo? Did you mean “common?”