Ol’Otis
The Picasso of the Ghetto
or did some type of web development freelancing?
anybody ever started a web development company?
- Thread starter Ol’Otis
- Start date
Never but very familiar with the industry.
Unless you are an experienced WordPress developer, stay away from WordPress.
You will have to deal with endless security and hosting issues because it is Open Source.
You will also deal with temperamental clients, regardless of platform who will take forever to complete or approve designs.
I suggest having an agreement with some money down, a clause that says that designs require x amount of time for approval and turn around, limits on revision without some type of cost increase or bill by hour rate.
Be prepared to have companies NOT pay you. Try to host sites yourself until they pay for a hand off point and payment first.
Be prepared to get screwed and undercut by overseas developers.
Have samples of work but NEVER create an original design for someone to "see if they like it" without an agreement/money in place. They will run off with it and go to someone cheaper.
In general, I don't think its a lucrative way to make money now the way it was in the early 2000s. These days anyone can go to square space etc and make a professional site on the cheap for practically nothing.
You need some type of software cut edge to make you stand out.
Unless you are an experienced WordPress developer, stay away from WordPress.
You will have to deal with endless security and hosting issues because it is Open Source.
You will also deal with temperamental clients, regardless of platform who will take forever to complete or approve designs.
I suggest having an agreement with some money down, a clause that says that designs require x amount of time for approval and turn around, limits on revision without some type of cost increase or bill by hour rate.
Be prepared to have companies NOT pay you. Try to host sites yourself until they pay for a hand off point and payment first.
Be prepared to get screwed and undercut by overseas developers.
Have samples of work but NEVER create an original design for someone to "see if they like it" without an agreement/money in place. They will run off with it and go to someone cheaper.
In general, I don't think its a lucrative way to make money now the way it was in the early 2000s. These days anyone can go to square space etc and make a professional site on the cheap for practically nothing.
You need some type of software cut edge to make you stand out.
Ol’Otis
The Picasso of the Ghetto
How did you get started?
What was the process like?
Were you successful?
Are web developers still in demand?
How many years experience do you have?
Back in 2005 I needed a website, the cheap developers were flaky, and I didn’t have money to afford anyone of quality.
What was the process like?
- Consultation
- Plan of Action
- Agreement
- 50% Deposit
- Site Development
- Remaining Deposit Due
- Training
Yes. But long hours, repetitive stress injury, and dealing with clients drove me out of the industry. I catered to a SMB/Mid Market space that’s being served by platforms like squarespace, shopify, and etc. These clients have unrealistic expectations and often times have no clue what they want...I run an IT Consultancy now and the same holds true.
Are web developers still in demand?
Yes but for complex applications because squarespace, shopify, and etc make the basic website very turnkey. If you tried to compete in that space, people will only pay 3-400 max I would assume. You need to learn PHP, Javascript, Ruby, and etc so that you can make custom solutions...backend and frontend.
How many years experience do you have?
Since 2005.
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