A lot of newbies in freelancing ask me all sorts of questions about what it takes to freelance and even how much should they charge. I have even had scenarios tossed at me, like if it was okay to design a site to get exposure. That sparked an idea for a blog post, because I have been there and let me say, DO NOT DO IT. It is not an acceptable payment for freelancers.
Web design and graphic design both take a lot of learning and practice. If you are new and someone approaches you saying they got this cool site that has some traffic, but they need their site designed. Then they ask you if you can design knowing the only payment you will either see is a post, a link at the bottom of the website, or maybe a couple Facebook or Twitter mentions.
IT IS NOT WORTH IT!
Why?
Because even if that site gets 5,000+ visitors a day, only a small percentage is going to scroll ALL the way down to the bottom of the site and actually notice the link or image on who designed the site. Depending on how much time you spent and the quality of work you do, you just gave a free layout away that someone not willing to actually invest in their site.
Giving freebies is cool. I do it sometimes. But, giving someone that could pay a bill or even be money to invest in months of marketing on various sites, it just seems logical to say no. The person asking you for a freebie may grumble, but you walk away starting a smart business that you will make money rather than being fooled and not getting your own ROI.
Think about it. What if the site really was not all that hot as the person said it was? What if the site you designed for totally sinks a year down the line?
So, what are acceptable payments for freelancers in web design?
- Money (obviously)
- Bartering for services. Of course, you do not want to barter for a service that is not of equal value.
- A Simple Thanks – from close friends or if you volunteered for a non-profit charity organization
No matter what, freelancers do not work for free. Something is exchanged. However, it is up to the freelancer to be smart about how they do business. Make sure the payment it is equal to the work. You can still get paid and have the link. FYI: A lot of site owners who have hired web designers do allow for acknowledgment in the form of a link or image at the bottom of their site.
Have you ever been asked to design in exchange for just a link or post mention? If you have bartered for services, what did you exchange your web design services for?
Right on ROCK STAR!!! 😉
My recent post Social Media Time Suck
agree 100%, it doesn't worth it, the clickthrough rate is about 0.5% for most of the designs
Thanks for letting us know. For me I think the best exchange for freelance work is money perhaps, to maintain my site’s hosting and the likes.
Hahaha this post reminds me of a time I was asked to design a Hip hop site for a friend of a friend.At the time I was still learning about business and had just gone self employed as a Designer/Developer. I had spent 2 weeks building this site from the ground up and it looked fantastic was really proud and it was ready to launch so naturally I went to collect my £600 fee.
To my shock and horror my friend said his friend wanted the site made ‘SIMPLER’ and would not pay up till I made it simpler! How to make the site simpler I did not know as my 10 y/old cousin could use the site easily!
Anyway its been 3 years now and just 2 months ago this client got in touch and asked if I could remake the site but this time he would pay me £400 for it upfront and only £400.I naturally refused. Now guess what this site is called! you are not going to believe it but its called \’PAY UR DETS TV\’ and yes its actually spelt like that. Well they are Hip hop types.
Thanks Niles for this post it has brought me back some funny memories. as well as lessons I have learned!
i cant imagine there are someone who will to do that
design a site then got no money
well ,for me
no money is no service
My accountant agrees that bartering is not worth the hassle. Especially if you have an assistant, plus time tracking software or other SAAS – you are actually losing money or PAYING THEM to develop the website. I’ve stopped all bartering and free work – ok, I have one freebie I do and it’s for the church and it takes only 1 hour every couple of months.
Freebie work also takes away from the time you can be marketing yourself and your services in the community in person at networking events and such.