It’s an excellent time for independent web developers to get started. Today, many businesses recognize the utility of hiring independent professionals to execute web development tasks or supplement the skills of their internal teams.
However, freelance developers need to know more than just the fundamentals. As an independent web developer, you’ll be expected to have the skills to complete a project. If you’re looking to jump-start your freelance career, you need a portfolio that can impress potential clients and showcase your mastery of several industry skills.
This guide provides a few tips on picking the best projects for your portfolio to attract business your way. These projects will help you prove to clients that you’re capable of success in a wide array of development projects.
Launching your career in freelance web development: Keys to keep in mind
As an independent professional, you may not have the luxury of consistent work. A big part of freelancing is finding your next job. Some ways you can establish your freelance business and get your name out there include:
- Contributing to blogs or websites in your field
- Advertising on social media
- Attending networking events
- Contributing to open-source projects on platforms like Vue.js, React, and GitHub
Still, no matter how big your reach is, you’ll need a way to showcase your skills. A quality portfolio is essential. Your portfolio is much more important than your resume. Before companies spend money on the development, they want to see that you’ve completed projects similar to theirs.
You need a portfolio that can inspire a business’s trust, but it isn’t enough to have just one project type. Software development is competitive, and to increase your chance of securing work, you’ll need to have real-world knowledge and expertise in various frameworks, development tools, and coding languages.
However, development is ever-evolving. There are always new tools, technologies, and processes for you to be aware of. Good developers are always reading about their industry and completing tutorials. Even the methodology behind the development has changed. For example, many teams are using the DevOps methodology, which requires the use of tools for continuous integration and automation.
6 web development projects to kick off your freelance career
A big part of putting together an impressive portfolio is choosing the right project ideas to include. A diverse portfolio will help you attract the best possible clients. In the next few sections, we’ll go over a few projects that can communicate your value to potential clients.
1. A new website build using a CMS platform
Building a webpage on a content management system (CMS) platform is a great project for beginners. The best thing about a CMS platform is that you don’t need any technical knowledge to use one. A CMS platform lets you create a website without needing to code. You can create virtually any type of website design in it.
You can even integrate third-party software like Hootsuite to the website to automate things like featuring content on social media accounts. Showing familiarity with different CMS platforms like WordPress and Squarespace can help you build websites quickly and easily so that you can focus on things like user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design issues.
2. A website expansion or redesign
Businesses are always looking to make their company websites more appealing to consumers. A quality web design can increase the company’s return on investment (ROI) and attract more visitors. Look for businesses or clients who could use a website redesign or expansion.
An example of a redesign project would be a company that needs to adjust its website to work seamlessly on a mobile device. To create a responsive design that works in real-time, you might have to alter the text size so that it’s easier to read and rearrange images so that they don’t cover information. You can also use a website builder like HostGator with website templates that work on mobile, or even an open-source platform like Bootstrap.
An example of a website expansion would be a business that sells jewelry and wants customers to buy products online. You’d have to set up an online store using a service like PayPal to process payments and a gateway like Authorize.Net for authentication and to keep payments secure.
3. A product or service landing page
A company’s landing page is the first thing visitors see when they click on a web ad or search result. Great landing pages can increase the likelihood that a visitor will become a customer. Quality landing pages show how a product or service will benefit a consumer, add to a business’s credibility, have great functionality, and ultimately increase sales. They can also have forms to get visitor information and store leads.
Landing pages vary greatly, depending on the type of business you’re working with. For example, business-to-business (B2B) companies need their landing pages to be much more informative than business-to-customer (B2C) companies. To save time, you can use landing page templates from sites like HubSpot.
4. A portfolio website for freelance or small business
Developers aren’t the only freelancers who need portfolios to showcase their work. All types of small businesses need platforms to show what they can do. Unfortunately, many small business owners and freelancers don’t have the budget or skills to create a great online portfolio. That’s where you come in.
A good portfolio website should be easy to find and navigate. Let’s say you’re building an interactive portfolio website for a freelance writer. You might want to split their portfolio into different sections for different types of writing. The sections could be organized by “copywriting,” “technical writing,” and “grant writing.” The website should also have a clear domain name that helps it show up in a Google search. Skills like search engine optimization (SEO) can also benefit you with these projects.
5. A project that utilizes a client-side API
An application programming interface (API) is a shortcut or “block of code” that works like a plugin and saves you from having to code everything from scratch. A client-side API works with a web application, like a web browser, on a client computer or other device and lets it request information from a server.
A client API in a web app browser can help a developer adjust a website to work on multiple devices, like computers and smartphones. One example of a useful client-side API is Google Maps. The API lets you make your maps and embed them into a website. This can be advantageous to a business trying to make it easy for customers to find them.
6. Projects in multiple programming languages
As an independent professional, the more programming languages you know, the better. It’s OK to have a language you’re most comfortable with, but having diverse coding skills will greatly increase your odds of landing web developer work. Many tasks require the expertise of different types of developers.
Front-end developers may use JavaScript to optimize the user experience and design aspects of a website. Back-end developers create APIs that allow front-end applications to interact with a server. And full-stack developers can perform both front-end and back-end tasks.
Some front-end coding languages include:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
Some back-end coding languages include:
- Ruby
- PHP
- Java
- Python
Let Upwork fuel your freelance development career
If you’re trying to become an independent web developer, the first thing that potential clients will look at is your portfolio. To make it appealing to businesses, you’ll need it to feature several kinds of projects. Even if you have your skills listed on your resume, companies will need proof of your skill level.
To be successful as an independent web developer, you have to offer immediate value to your clients. You must be able to handle their projects most efficiently and cost-effectively possible. An exceptional portfolio shows that you’re up to the task.
