⌛ So you want to be a web developer, here's how!

I'm starting this thread as a small way for me to give back to the community. There are a number of people who have asked how to get started as a web developer/designer. Here is my advice on how to get started.

The question is something like this...

Q: I love computers! I know X programming language and I use the X CMS and I want to be a web designer!

A:

First, What do you really want to be?

Web designer and web developer are two completely different areas. Being "good with computers" doesn't translate into having a good eye for design and building a good user interface. It's really a different track and a totally different part of the brain than programming.

So the first thing you would have to do is decide which track you would want to take. Some people can do it all, but most not at a guru level. Most of the designer/developers I work with are okay in one area and guru in the other.

You aren't a technician, you are a business owner!

Also, very important to keep in mind is that as an independed designer/developer you are firstly a business owner and secondly a designer/developer. Being a good technician doesn't mean you can effectively run a business.

The tech skills are nothing. Anyone can pick up PHP/MySQL. By far the most difficult is the people side. You have to be a good manager, communicator and salesperson among many other things. You have a lot of hats to wear which you must be good at. I know people who can work circles around me in PHP/MySQL but can't get the work because they aren't good at the things I already mentioned.

Climb out from under that rock!

Once you have all of the above, you need to get yourself known. If you are a designer, create some sites that you can use for your portfolio. If you are a developer, start building code you can release to others. If you like Drupal, build add-ons to extend the system and release them to the Drupal community. Once you get to a point where you have some code out there for people to see, perhaps you can even start to contribute to the core Drupal system. When you are looking for development work, being able to say that you are a core Drupal contributor will give you a lot of cred over others who can't say the same. If you can't be a Drupal core contributor, then having your work in the list of Drupal community downloads is also very powerful.

Connect with clients and fellow designers/developers.

Understanding the psychology of the buyer is helpful. As you gain experience in web development you will notice that people flock to those whom they are familiar with. When I apply for a project, I may get the job over others simply because I have less degrees of separation from the client as the others. My biggest surprise in web developement is to see that I have had return clients even from projects which turned into complete disasters. Again, here the familiarity with me as a developer was a stronger force than the previously bad experience.

Be where the paying clients are.

Because clients prefer familiarity, networking is very important. Make contacts with as many developers and potential clients as you can. Build your soapbox (a website where you post your work and write articles based on your knowledge.) Create a Twitter account and follow others in your industry. Post in industry forums. Build your reputation. Keep in mind that when a clients need work done, they will often go to industry forums to look for people to hire (if a client needs a site built in Joomla, then he will likely be active in the Joomla forums.) Make sure you can stand out from the crowd! Also, don't restrict yourself to clients who need a full site done, I get much of my work from other developers/designers to do a certain portion of the site.

You aren't selling a commodity, you are selling a customer experience.

As for pricing, you must understand your rates mean little. You aren't simply charging a market rate, you are bringing value to the client. Good clients aren't looking for the lowest bidder, they are shopping for good value. Though my application/proposal may be in the same box as Indian developers charging far less than I do, I'm rarely in competition with these low priced developers. The reason is simple, the Indian developers are providing the Indian market rate while I'm providing the best value. Value is tricky to understand as it is something you can't phsically measure. Instead, you are providing a customer experience. Don't charge low rates because you are in the Philippines, sell yourself as the right person for the job and the client will pay for that value.

Okay, so what should I be charging?

Setting your rate is difficult, but a good starting place is to figure out your business expenses, figure out the cost of the sort of lifestyle you require, make room for taxes, add up all these numbers and then devide that number by the number of hours you want to work. As you get going, make adjustments. The rate calculator from FreelanceSwitch is a great place to help you with this.

FreelanceSwitch Hourly Rate Calculator

I hope this helps someone. Good luck!

 

the absolute post of the day... didn't expect that from you... deepest respect... I almost feel like a cold one later with you if you are not "busy"

 

All extremely true and some of the better advice I have seen concerning web development/designer. I have run myself ragged trying to be a one stop does all type of provider, it is much better to specialize in something and run with that.

 

anyone can make a web page and add content, if the SEO (Search engine optimisation) isn't done correctly, no one will ever find your page, let alone click on it.

 

Great advice

Extremely well written post there Dude, you've covered all the bases. Web design does need to have the nasty developer code behind it to make it all work. I gave up trying to excel in both areas about 3 years ago - best thing I ever did. There are plenty enough plates to spin with sorting the page layout/site design, getting the client to get their stuff in some kind of logical order and feeding that to the developer working in the background. Add to that the sizable amount of work to tune and promote the sites for Search Engine ranking ... and there's plenty to do!

Cheers
Adrian

 

web design where?

hello I am a web designer and I have found it hard to even fathom working in Philippines as one.

Yes manila and Cebu has marketing potential, but I really do not like the sound of living in these monstrous excuses for a city..

I know the best trick is to market abroad, if you have those kind of contacts, which I do not, i mean you really need a team to get a Web Solution!

regards

kevin :D
KD WebSolutions & Associates
kevindauth.com

 

i have to agree with Kevin.
to produce quality work you really need an experienced team, each member with quality knowledge in at least one of the main skills - business analysis, architecture, the browser, server, database, the user, project management, design and customer relations. the teams do not have to be big, google use 3 member teams

all rounders do exist and their output can be literally awesome but they are freaks of nature

there is a minimal market in the philippines, which primarily is for marketing and to a lesser extent adword driven content. i can not see why anyone would try and sell web applications locally

 

I always work with a team. If I'm not working directly with a team, the other work not in my area has already been done.

Because all of my work is done over the internet, my clients are from many different areas of the world. I have never met a client face to face. I have also never worked within shouting distance of the people I have worked with. Your location means little, but you need to be a self starter and have good communication skills.

@Kevin, my post covers how to build your contacts. Again, I have never met my contacts face to face.

 

and then!

Do you really think we can make money here in SEO? maybe without google adwords?

 

yes thx Dude I didn't even give myself time to read it all, I will put it to practice thx oh where do you live by the way, if it isn't a to personal question? I am moving to Dumaguete soon so if your there i would like to buy you a drink:-)