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Having a professional website is the first step to success as a freelancer. Your social media accounts/pages or directory profiles can’t replace it. A website creates the difference between a powerful success story and an average business.
Also, a website is your own property and has a unique digital address. You can design and publish anything you want to, and your clients can easily find you. And there are even more benefits of having a professional website for your freelance business.
In this guide, I’ll share an easy method to create your freelance website in a few minutes without coding.
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Benefits of having your own freelance website
Personal branding
Every freelancer has their own style and something different to offer. This is the unique value proposition to build your personal brand around. And a website is the best way to do that because it represents your personality the way you want.
You can show examples of your past work, publish success stories, the results you deliver to your past/existing clients. It will show you as an expert in your field. You can place endorsements and testimonials for the social proof and trust signals. You can show your personality, share your hobbies, photos of your cat/dog, or anything else that you want.
Better vsibility
Having a website gives you complete control over how you present yourself. When a potential client finds you somewhere and wants to know more about your skills, experience, and personality, nothing can be better than having a professional website showcasing your skills, expertise, etc.
Establish yourself as an expert and make a good impression that’ll increase your chances of customer acquisition.
Add your website URL in your social media posts, bylines, ebooks, etc. It will help others to know how to reach out to you.
Portfolio
It’s pretty challenging to get clients without having a solid portfolio. Examples of previous work are more trustworthy than just words. When you have a solid portfolio to show your expertise, your work speaks for you.
You’ll get the right kind of clients who need your services and work with you for the long term because they can understand your style before hiring you.
Lead generation
The most challenging part of starting your journey as a freelancer is to get new clients. But if you don’t have any prior experience, it becomes even more difficult to get them.
That’s why many newbie freelancers try different ways to get new clients like bidding sites, cold email outreach, etc. With lots of effort, they get low-paying clients.
When you have a website for your freelance business, you can promote your business with marketing strategies like SEO, content marketing, and marketing funnels. You can pretty easily automate your lead generation. There is no need to put lots of time into finding potential clients and reach out to them – they will reach out to you to get your services.
Build a sustainable business
Your website plays an essential role in building the reputation that gets new leads. A well-designed and maintained website representing your personality and values will convince potential clients that you are worth your charges. All these factors help you build a sustainable business. A website increases your chances of bringing a steady flow of customers to your business.
Important elements a freelance website should have
How you design and what you should add to your website is subjective. It depends on your business type, personality, taste, and creativity. But here are some elements to turn an average website into a stunning one and help it perform better.
Your website must have these pages:
- A static homepage: A static homepage is also known as a custom homepage. It’s a homepage that doesn’t have blog posts or other kinds of regularly updated content. It will show the same content until you don’t make any changes on the page. Having a professional and well-designed homepage provides users with essential information and helps you with your personal branding.
- About page: This page on your website provides details about you and what you do. A well-written about page helps you build a brand and become an industry leader. You should share important information about your business, work ethics, and values. Read more on how to create a simple and effective about page.
- Services page: This is the page that provides information about your services to your website visitors. On the services page, list all the services you offer, the process, case studies (success stories), pricing packages (if you have them), and call-to-actions to encourage contact from potential clients.
- Portfolio page: This page shows your best work examples to your website visitors. Get inspired by these portfolio page examples and learn how to create yours.
- Contact page: The contact page helps users contact you, providing details or a contact form.
- Testimonial page: Having a testimonial page on your website helps you collect and show testimonials from your past/existing clients. You can show the real-person headshots with testimonials and the logos of companies’ you have worked with.
- FAQ page: Your Frequently Asked Questions page should answer all the common questions that a potential client has about your services. It could be related to your pricing, services, revisions, and payments & refunds.
- 404 page: This one is a just in case page that pops up because a visitor typed in the wrong URL address or clicked on a broken link that leads them to a page that doesn’t exist – a website looks much more professional if it has one and you can make it enjoyable to visit. Lear more about great 404 pages here.
Other Elements that you should have on the website:
- professional logo
- clear navigation menu
- social media icons & links
- lead forms
- call-to-actions
How to create your freelance website?
Follow these steps to create a freelance website for your business in just a few minutes:
Step 1: Go to Getresponse.com and sign up by choosing the right plan. If you’re unsure which plan is the best fit for you, choose the Free account! It’s free forever and doesn’t require any contact details. And, you can design your very own website on a custom domain there.
Note: You’ll be able to test premium marketing features for the first 30 days of having your free account, like webinars, for example. Make sure to get the most out of it!
Step 2: Go to your Inbox and confirm your email. Then, complete your profile by providing details like your name, etc.
Step 3: Go to the Menu Icon and click on the Website Builder option.
Step 4: Then click on the Create Website button. Choose how you want to build your website: using pre-made templates (or making it from scratch) or using the innovative AI Builder.
I’ll explain both methods one by one.
Creating a freelance website with templates
Step 1: Click Use a Ready-Made Template.
Step 2: Now, choose a template that looks good to you. You can expand the preview by clicking on any template’s “full site preview” option.
Then click on the Use Template button.
Step 3: Time to customize your website!
You should add your logo, content copy, customize the colors/design/fonts, and other things you want.
You can change the pages to edit from the drop-down menu in the top left corner.
Manage pages, customize design, and add more sections by clicking on the vertically placed icons on the right-hand side. (Indicated by a vertical red square in the screenshot above)
Once you customize your design, you can preview it for desktop and mobile.
Step 4: If you’re ready to publish your perfectly designed freelancer website, click the Connect domain button.
Enter your website name and choose your domain name. You can use a free subdomain for your website, like example.grwebsite.com.
I recommend using a custom domain for your website. It looks the most professional, and it’s your very own address. You can get a new domain by clicking on the Buy Now button.
If you already have your domain name, you can connect it to your website by clicking on the Connect button.
Now add your domain name and click on the Add button.
A pop-up window will appear where you can find the DNS records (domain nameservers). You just need to go to your domain registrar’s website and add/replace these nameservers for your domain. You can check this guide to change nameservers for Godaddy and Namecheap.
It may take a few minutes to be connected.
Now choose your domain name from the drop-down menu to connect it with your website. Then click Publish.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully created your freelance website.
Creating your freelance website using the AI-powered builder
Step 1: Go to the Menu icon, choose the Website Builder option, and click on the Create Website button.
Then choose the option to Use an Ai-powered builder to create your website.
Step 2: Now, you need to choose the appropriate options from drop-down menus for What type of business do you have? and What kind of website do you want to build?
Step 3: Choose the features you want to add to your website and click on the Next Step button.
Step 4: Choose a colors and fonts combination for your website. Or, you can upload your logo to create your custom color theme. You can also import styles from your existing website.
After that, click Next Step.
Step 5: Provide the details about your company and click on the next step button.
Now your website is getting ready for you.
Step 6: Pick the website design that fits your business best by clicking on the Use This Design button for the design that you’ve selected. You can preview the full site before choosing a design.
Now you can customize your website design elements as you want, just like in the first method – the following steps are the same as I mentioned above (method 1) for creating a website using pre-made templates.
Why should I choose GetResponse website builder over other options?
GetResponse is not just a Website Builder – it is a complete all-in-one digital marketing software with tools that every business needs to start and grow an online business. It’s even more critical to have all these solutions in one place for a freelance business.
You can automate lead generation, connect content marketing, email marketing, list building, funnels, live chat, webinars, web push notifications, ecommerce solutions, and much more – everything that plays a critical role in the growth of a business.
The Website Builder in GetResponse is intuitive and straightforward to navigate. You don’t need to know how to code, host websites, or even design beautiful pages. It’s hassle-free. And, best of all – you can create a website in the free account!
Examples of best freelancer websites
Here are some best examples of professional and straightforward freelance website designs.
Yuvika Mehta
The beauty of YuvikaMehta.com is in its minimalistic design. The minimal approach to design helps increase the conversion rate and is widely used by businesses and web designers.
The site has a good color scheme and font family that is easy to read. A user-friendly navigation menu makes it more accessible. There’s a neat and short About me section, and the testimonials and clients list helps convince potential clients that the author is trustworthy. There’s a CTA button in the top section of the website, which might urge the visitors to convert.
Vikas Kalwani
VikasKalwani.com has a simple website design that looks and reads like a CV, with essential details about Vikas presented in a structured way.
Elna Cain
Elna Cain’s website also has a minimal design. A smiling image and an animated heading get the attention of the visitors. The website has a straightforward navigation menu and color scheme that gives the website a professional look.
The freelancer then provides the details of what she does and all the right elements that attract the right kind of clients.
Nazim Ansari
Nazim Ansari is a freelance WordPress developer and has a website for his business. NazimAnsari.com has an interesting color scheme, a balanced layout, and just the right CTAs to help you quickly access the website and take action.
Details about the benefits of working with him and the description of services he provides helps users understand if they’re the right fit for each other or not.
The portfolio and testimonials from past clients show off the quality of Nazim’s services and his customers’ satisfaction.
Marijana Kay
Marijana Kay’s website is an excellent example of having a professional website as a freelancer. A simple and engaging design layout provides all the details that a potential client needs to know to hire you.
The Hero section gives an idea about the freelancer’s skills and then provides details about clients, success stories, and testimonials. The About Me section helps people get to know Marijana and engage with her more personally.
Bibi Lauren
Bibi Lauren is a well-known name in SEO, and she offers link-building services. Her website BibiBuzz has a simple design layout that is easily scannable.
Kaleigh Moore
KaleighMoore.com has a minimalistic design and layout, with a “black&white + accent color” scheme, simple fonts, and no flashy graphics. The Homepage copy is short and to the point.
The Heading shows which niches Kaleigh works for right away. There’s a bullet-point list of results that she produced for previous clients – it’s a convenient and upfront way to learn about the outstanding work of this freelancer.
This website proves that you don’t need extravagant designs or a long-form copy to get clients. A minimalistic approach that only focuses on the crucial elements and right messaging can be enough to get tons of excellent leads.
Ryan Robbinson
Ryan Robbinson is a content marketing consultant and a well-known blogger. His website gets around 500k visitors each month, and he makes more than $35000 each month from his services and blog. You can make money from your blog and get clients for your services. It’s a win-win situation.
What stands out on his website are the video testimonials.
Conclusion
Nothing can replace a website for your business, no matter how big or small your business is or in which industry you’re working – a professional website is the backbone of business growth.
Create a website for your freelance business with the right tools, and you’ll see how easy and rewarding it is!
