Is It Hard To Make Money As A Freelance Web Developer

Do you want to be your boss? Are you tired of waiting for employers to respond to your application? Finding a job can be a total pain. When you’re trying to find a web developer role, the interviewing process can take months. Freelancing is an option while you are waiting. I have known many people get their career started by freelancing. But, the most important question to answer is, “Is it hard to make money as a freelance web developer?” But, let me tell you by experience, get started as a freelancer is NOT easy.

One of the biggest side hustles for web developers is freelancing. There are many places online where you can create a freelance account and bid for jobs. However, I have tried these methods, which do not work well for me, but maybe they will for you.

If you want to try these online freelancing sites, try them. I won’t stop you. Online sites may not work for you, and you may have to get more creative and develop connections.

Let’s dig deeper into these online sites and discuss networking.

 

Fiverr

Once you create a profile, you wait for customers to come to you with a need. As a beginning freelancer, it may be hard to stand out on this platform because you cannot proactively search for customers.

After doing a lot of research online, this platform gives you more successful if you are experienced and can make yourself stand out by having many projects you can showcase on your profile.

Upwork

I have personally used Upwork and had a lot of trouble acquiring customers due to the high amount of competition. However, you can still try it. It didn’t work that well for me.

If you are new to freelancing, Upwork may be better because you can approach customers, which I will discuss below.

When looking for work, you can proactively search for customers with specific needs. The filter option makes it easy for you to get your first gig if you are new to freelancing.

Making Your Website

You can also make your website showcase your projects and abilities as you start to freelance. You can use free templates online through html5up if you struggle at design.

After you have made your website, you can incorporate the next section’s points to supercharge your freelancing career.

Word of Mouth/Marketing

You also don’t need to use any of these platforms to get into freelancing. You can design and print business cards to attract clients. How do we do this?

1. Go to Vistaprint to make and buy business cards.

I finished making business cards on Vistaprint and spent $28 for 500 regular cards. But I think it will be less than $28 if you decide to go that route. I don’t want you to get mad at me if the cards aren’t $28 for you.

You can customize the cards anywhere you want; the price varies depending on the customization.

2. Display/Attend Events

Does your city or town have a library or a store where you can showcase your cards? This is a great way to attract clients.

Another great way to attract clients is to attend community events in your city or town. As you meet people, you can casually mention that you are a web developer. When I tell people I am a web developer, many times they ask if they can help me with the website. This recently happened to me at a wedding.

3. Meetups

Meet-ups are networking events that are organized around the industry you want to pursue.

At Marketing meet-ups, you may be the sole software developer and can market yourself more efficiently because you may not have any competition. Shh… This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone. When I graduated from school, a mentor told me this little trick. If you think about it, it makes sense, right?

You are the odd man out at these marketing meet-ups because you are not a marketer but a web developer, and you can develop a good network of people that might need a good website.

If you want to find greet meet-ups, go to meetup.com.

My Experience

A while ago, I completed my profile on upwork.com. I put in a bid for a few jobs although, I didn’t get any work through Upwork.

However, I wasn’t focused on it because I was in school and working my regular job. So you can say that I didn’t commit to it because of life circumstances.

Next Steps

A study done on payscale.com said that around 85% of the jobs are found through networking. So, go out there, meet people, and make yourself known.

Where do I get these skills? Do I need to go to college? This might be on top of your mind when you are thinking about getting the necessary skills to freelance, but college is just one of multiple different path where you can gain these skills.

Here is a table that will give you plenty of resource where you can supercharge your freelancing efforts.

Absolutely, Spidey! Here’s a table of resource recommendations that could significantly benefit readers looking to delve deeper into freelancing, web development, and continuous learning:

Resource Type	Recommendations	Description/Use
Online Courses and Tutorials	Coursera, Udemy, freeCodeCamp	Platforms offering a wide range of courses from web development basics to advanced programming languages and freelancing skills.
Books and eBooks	“Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug, “The Freelancer’s Bible” by Sara Horowitz	Essential reads for understanding web usability principles and navigating the freelancing world.
Blogs and Articles	Smashing Magazine, CSS-Tricks, DevTuneUp	Stay updated with the latest industry trends, tutorials, and professional advice on web development and freelancing.
Networking and Community Platforms	LinkedIn, GitHub, Stack Overflow, Meetup.com	Join communities for support, collaboration, and job opportunities. Engage with peers and industry professionals.
Tools and Software	Visual Studio Code, Adobe XD, Trello, FreshBooks	Tools for coding, design, project management, and invoicing to streamline your freelancing workflow.
Guides on Networking for Introverts	Networking for Introverts	Advice and strategies for introverts to effectively network and build professional relationships.

This table serves as a starting point for readers to explore various resources and tools that can aid in their journey from starting as a freelancer to becoming a successful professional in the field.

If you want a more detailed curriculum to follow to gain more skills, you can try college, but the problem is it is insanely expensive.

If you want to find alternatives, click the button bellow.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful and that you add networking to your skills to better your chance of getting freelancing jobs. If you have comments or questions, let me know below, and I have some questions that I would love for you to answer below.

• How have you approached freelancing in the past?
• How have you utilized networking with freelancing?
• What are some more creative ways you can network?