The low cost of web hosting, the reach one can achieve online, and the brand image that it lends makes the website essential for most businesses that have growth aspirations beyond their geographic bounds a must. Most new companies are now being operated from small spaces and even their houses from all parts of the world. Even brick-and-mortar stores are finding it convenient to have a website to make themselves easy to locate and purchase from.

So, what does a good website need the most? On the backend a strong, smooth-functioning platform, and on the front end, they need an aesthetically all-encompassing design which is easy to navigate and creates brand recall. Website designers require talent in understanding how to balance design and utility and ensuring everything works seamlessly with the backend.

A freelancer website designer has the opportunity to work with end-to-end projects with companies of all sizes. There is a great demand for freelancers as website design and development is an activity most companies will undertake only once and even if they do add pages in future, or upgrade it, they will prefer to go with a freelancer once again.

Earning potential of a website designer

Web designers are among the top earners in the freelance job market. How much money one makes depends largely on how much time one invests in their work and how skilled one is. Freelance web designers anywhere between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 3,00,000 per month depending on the scope of work. Freelancing is like going into business for oneself. So, the more effort one puts the better returns one earns. Web designing is one of those fields where freelancers earn more than full-time employees. 

Don’t confuse a website designer with a website developer

A website designer’s role is a creative one, they design the look and feel of the website. They arrange the various elements of the website, code the style sheets, and make the front end of the website. On the other hand, the web developer is in charge of developing the algorithms for the website functions for user interactions and checkout systems. 

A website designer’s role is challenging because even if they replicate some of the page elements, they still have to make an original design. A web designer must know about user experience design and web development to create an optimised website. 

Understand domains, servers, and web hosting

Most businesses that are searching for a freelance website designer expect help in buying a domain, hosting plan, and doing the complete website setup. A basic understanding of servers, domains and web hosting can help you create a strong proposal. It will also help you understand the nuances of integrating design elements into workable models as frameworks. A freelance web designer can work as an interactive web designer, WordPress Theme designer, or web designer among other alternatives. You must be familiar with basic programming and coding languages such as HTML, PHP, and CSS among others. You should be able to use WYSIWYG tools such as Dreamweaver and graphic editors like Adobe Photoshop. Interactive tools such as Flash, Java, JavaScript, jQuery and CSS Animation are important tools of the trade.

Knowledge of Graphic Designing helps

Graphics, illustrations, logos, and animation is an essential aspects of website design. Irrespective of the nature of the business, clients will expect you to add some or all of these elements to the website there is the option to team up with a graphic designer for handling the design aspect of these elements. If you learn to use graphic design tools and design these elements yourself, you can earn a higher fee. 

Price it right

How much you earn depends largely on your level of experience. Having said that, it is important to stick to the market rates and avoid undercutting them for long-term benefit.  There is a disturbing trend on freelance job sites such as Upwork, Truelancer and others where freelancers are undercutting the rates and offering their services at throwaway rates. This hurts the freelancing community and the business community alike. 

How much one charges for a freelance web designing project depends on the amount of time required, the platform on which the website will be built, the design elements, and other work. one way to get an estimated idea is to visit freelance job sites such as ZoopUp, Freelance, or Simply Hired and seeing how much other freelancers are charging for similar services. 

Freelance website focus

Studying freelance job sites will also give you an idea of –

• What type of website design clients are searching
• Various ways in which one can apply for these projects
• Ways to sell one’s website designs online
• Some websites also have skill training courses that you can complete in short-term

Websites such as Upwork and Truelancer have projects from clients around the world. You can build a strong portfolio and always be engaged with as many projects as you can take up. The benefit of working with a freelance job site is that even if you take a break from freelancing for some period, you can always find projects to do once you get back to it. 

Furthermore, as all your payments come from freelance job sites, you will not be taxed as a businessperson. 

ZoopUp receives multiple projects for web designers each day. They are posted for bidding or competition. Web designers are also selling their project proposals or creating page designs and publishing them on their ZoopUp page. These are being purchased by many clients who do not wish to wait for proposals to pour in. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced web designer, you can sign up with ZoopUp and explore opportunities on the website.