Freelancing in Web Design
By Sumayah Hassan | Originally written for the Basekit Blog
There are several important aspects we can discuss on the topic of freelancing in web design. However, I’ll focus on a few points I feel that are rarely discussed but crucial to having a successful career in freelance web design.
Contract
Assuming the client has agreed to work with you on the project, the first order of business is to make sure a contract is drafted and signed by both parties. There are many advantages to using a contract, but the most noteworthy is that it gives everyone involved in the project a single document to refer to that outlines the scope, schedule and budget of the project.
Your contract should specify your main point of contact for the project, in addition to defining a method of communication with all other decision-makers involved. It’s important that you also outline the resources needed from your client and their respective deadlines. When I say resources I’m referring to any content like copy, images, fonts or media that will be required for the completion of the project.
Be sure to include a clause in your contract that discusses what happens in unexpected situations. For example, if the project is terminated before completion or if the client is suddenly unhappy with the results midway through the project.
You also need to take into consideration how you would calculate your rates, as well as how you will bill your client for additional revisions or changes to the scope of the work.
If you choose to document your process more closely, you can make the contract exclusive to the financial and legal issues and create other documents that have detailed explanations of the project deliverables, due dates and specifications. Whichever way you choose to go, make sure you have a written agreement(s) that you can refer back to if misunderstandings occur in the future.
50% up front
It’s almost standard practice to request an advance payment of some portion of the total project cost. This guarantees two things: the first being that the client is committed to working with you because they’ve invested cash in the project. The second is that you take the project seriously because you’re now indebted to your client. This practice also indirectly serves as a vetting mechanism for difficult clients, because anyone who will hassle you about payment probably isn’t the type of client you’re looking for.
Deadlines & Sign-off
If you want to finish the project on time and within budget you will have to set deadlines for yourself and meet them relentlessly. This is easier said than done, and not for the reason you might think. You’ll find over time that you aren’t the one that’s holding up the progress of project, but those seemingly small things like content, revisions or getting approvals will take more time than you had guessed.
As we mentioned in the contract section above, make sure you have one main point of contact that gives you approvals or sign-off on different stages of the project. This way you won’t spend too much time chasing six different people to get an approval on the homepage design.
In the (hopefully rare) case that you are actually running behind on your work, then honesty is the best policy. Be sure to let your client know what’s happening and keep them up to date on your progress and the new expected due date. Clear and open communication is the only way to go, that way there are no surprises from either party.
In closing, these are a few tips you should keep in mind when you’re planning for your next project. Although you’re process may vary these are a few practices that will hopefully prove useful in the future.
