I am a web developer starting out and i mostly outsource all of my design work but what i have read online for various companies for a web design freelancer starting out ive read that doing free websites for friends and family and and small businesses but how do you define on how many websites do you think should be enough before you start charging and not doing free web design?
atm ive got one client where i told them i’ll do a redesign for free and ill organise the hosting and they just pay the monthly fee for hosting.
The point behind this is to have a portfolio of work you can demonstrate to potential clients. You need as many sites as you think are required to adequately demonstrate your skills.
The number is not a matter. What matters is your expertise in the work and if are you are confident enough to take up higher levels of Web Design , you can start charging and work on the same.As mentioned by TechnoBear ,you can specify it to the clients to show your skills.
There’s no particular number. I was able to demonstrate what I could do with five websites in my portfolio, which is grown significantly over the years. Most prospective customers want to see your capability with respect to their requirements. Hey, if you could do that and three websites, more power to you. But I wouldn’t worry about quantity, but it’s really more a question of quality.
Even if you do hundreds of projects for free, if the result lacks quality, it will be likely useless. I guess the point of doing projects FOR FREE, as mentioned by most of them, is to have a work portfolio to show to your future clients and somehow to market yourself or your skill. People always like discounts and/or “free” stuff. But if you already got the knowledge and expertise and able to deliver quality projects, why still accept projects for free? You don’t always have to apply what you read.
It’s one thing knowing yourself that you have those things, but another thing entirely to convince a paying client that you do if you have no portfolio to show.