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How to Become a Freelance Developer

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedNov 20222 min read

Developers have some of the most in-demand skills in the job market right now. Whatever the business, you can bet they need a developer to build their website or to help them process and analyse data to improve their service offering. For many programmers, becoming a freelance developer seems like an attractive option.

However, it can be daunting to set out on your own after working for a company, and if you’re thinking of becoming a freelance developer then you might not know where to start. This freelance web developer guide puts forward some of the top tips to help new freelancers on their path. Keep reading to learn freelance developer tips to start your career.

Find a niche

When you start work as a freelancer, it’s like starting your own business where you’re marketing your own skills. Any freelance web developer guide will tell you that you should think carefully about your niche before getting started. What are your unique skills that you bring to the table? What is your niche market?

For example, if you’ve worked in the beauty industry for years and you know exactly how a website selling cosmetics should work, then this can be your niche. On the other hand, you could be a specialist in a particular programming language, and you can market yourself using this. One of the best freelance developer tips is to find what makes you stand out from the crowd.

Develop your skills

Another one of the most important freelance developer tips is to develop your skills. This means spending time building websites, from your own portfolio site to real projects for clients. If you don’t have much experience, you can start off by volunteering to make websites for your friends or contacts, or by offering discounted rates.

Not only do you need to work on your coding skills, but it’s also important to get some business skills too. You’re essentially starting your own small business, so you’ll need to think about everything from marketing to managing your budget, as well as networking with the right contacts to get yourself work.

Think about your personal brand

Being a freelancer means that you need to do all the work yourself! As a developer, it can be easy to forget about the branding work that goes into building a company. If you’re wondering how to become a web developer, then one of the key steps is to consider branding.

Creating a strong brand strategy involves a number of different steps. Not only do you need to think about your visual identity, such as a logo and colour scheme for your website, but you should also find the best ways to showcase your work and prove your expertise. For example, many freelance developers will share knowledge via blogs or video content.

Use GoCardless for invoicing

Now that you know some of the top freelance web developer tips for marketing yourself, you should be thinking about accepting payments and processing invoices. This is where GoCardless comes in. It’s a system that is quick and easy to set up, and will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

GoCardless makes invoicing painless. Whether you’re collecting one-off or recurring payments, the process is made simple and puts you in control. Rather than having to wait for the customer to pay, GoCardless operates on a pull-based system that automatically collects payments on their due date, reducing the risk of late payments.

What’s more, GoCardless offers integration with major invoicing software partners such as Xero and QuickBooks.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.