RE: FN-FORUM: Newbie
date posted 18th January 2008 22:53
Hi Suneth,
Welcome to freelancing - although I am still somewhat new myself, hopefully
this might help:
Finding work can be tough - it is not impossible. Have you got a portfolio
of sites to show off to people? These can be of example websites (live or
demo) which show your skills, where you can go to town? If not, this is
where you need to decide which markets you aim for. The portfolio needs to
be excellent - this is where you can go to town on it, as this will be your
way to advertise to the world what you are able to do. But - I think there
is a trend where people prefer simpler, cleaner designs; check out
www.danieloliver.co.uk as an example. This is a student's design, which is
basic, but given that this featured in a web design mag a few months back,
cannot be doing much wrong...
Speak to family and friends - look at local clubs and organisations. For
example, I have done a simple site for a music group through family
connections - it is basic, but it is a start. You could also look to see if
you can design any themes, such as for Firefox or Wordpress - OK, this is
PHP / XML, but it is another way to show off what you can do. Look to do
appraisals of sites you have seen, and can approach - see if they might
allow you to do a design for them, based on what they offer, but in your own
style? You may have to do some sites for low-cost or free to get going, but
this is purely to get the commercial experience (I say commercial, to be
taken in the theme of working as a freelancer, not because of skills!)
With regards to your skills - I personally think it is a mix of both out
there in the market. Some say that the way to go is ASP.NET, etc, but I am
not so convinced; SME companies don't necessarily look for flashy websites -
these don't always work so well. Something that is smart, consistent,
well-designed and straightforward to use is better than something that looks
flashy but only goes skin-deep, so to speak. I admit I prefer using PHP for
any site I design, but that is because it is free, it is updated regularly,
and is pretty much universal. ASP.NET is also well known, but when this is
controlled by Microsoft, I am never sure if features they add will not have
some form of Microsoft bent on them! I personally find PHP cheaper and
faster to use for sites within the SME market.
Hope this helps - the best tip though: ask. People on this forum are a
really helpful bunch of people, and will be only too happy to help - as long
as it is a sensible question, hehe!!
Alex.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL REMOVED] [EMAIL REMOVED] On Behalf Of Suneth
Sumanasiri
Sent: 18 January 2008 16:42
To: FN-FORUM / [EMAIL REMOVED]
Subject: FN-FORUM: Newbie
Hi all!
I am thinking of moving into freelancing and thought this forum would be a
good point to get to know some of the trade secrets!
I would really appreciate if any of you could give me some pointers to find
new work. My existing skills are based on the Microsoft platform - ASP.NET,
SQL Server, C#, etc.
I have noticed that there are more PHP jobs than ASP ones in places like
freelancers.net. Is it fair to say that its more profitable to have PHP
skills than ASP in order to succeed in the SME market?
Anyway, appreciate any advice that you may have to give to a newbie in the
market!
thanks a lot!
Suneth
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