Why and How You Should Make a Name in Web Design

Street cred is not only prevalent for gangs or mobs. In web design, establishing a good reputation or “name” is important because most of the time, it’s what brings good projects.

But like many other things, establishing a good reputation is not easy, and it will never be. This entails a lot of things, sacrifices and compromise.

More than a business, being a designer focuses heavily in establishing relationships, between you, the client, and other designers as well. And if you are motivated to be well-known, you should put a lot of effort in introducing your name.

Why is your reputation important?

• Because your reputation brings you clients. Let’s take the client’s shoes here. If you want a website designed (and you have the means for it but don’t have any idea who to hire), what will you do? You may think of different options: freelance portals, quick Google searches, or ask your friends around. But it only boils down to one thing: which of all the designers interested in you is the best (and probably the most famous).
• Reputation makes you respected. Once you establish a good name in web design, you will be respected and revered by your peers. This means that you get a say on things and your opinion will matter. Say, there is a new design trend, and you were asked if it looks good. If you are a prime mover in your field, chances are, you will be believed (and nothing’s more flattering than that).

But how will you be able to establish a good reputation?

If you are really persistent on making web design their career, you have a few markers to track your progress in the web success ladder.

Here are a few tips for you to increase your web design cred.

Learn Basic Search Engine Optimization

SEO is essential to building a good reputation in web design. It gives a designer a framework on how to build a site that is easily found via search engines. Being on the first page of the search engine list means that the site is reputable, hence increasing web traffic.   In addition to that, some clients do not need to redesign their websites in full, some only need to increase web traffic for more exposure.

Here are a few basic SEO tips for you:

Use of Social Media – Use of Social Media not going to build follow back links but it’s a powerful source to deliver traffic to the website. However, social media sites drive traffic to the website which is also important factor in SEO.

Quality Link Building – Don’t build your links abnormally fast. Quantity of backlinks doesn’t really matter. Quality does. Remember that websites should be built for humans, not for search engines. So write your articles good and interesting and the Back link will flow automatically to your content.

Build your Network

Learning from colleagues who are established gives any budding web designer an inside view of web design trends. Also, having a network of web designers can jumpstart your career since some freelance web designers often turn down clients since there is too much workload for them already.

As your web design business expands, you begin to realize that your professional circle grows to include successful web designers. This is very helpful since the rally of ideas can ultimately benefit you and your web design colleague.

But how can one reach out to fellow web designers?

To increase your network, you can use social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also join communities in Reddit and Pinterest. Engage in the threads of the ideas that you find intriguing and useful.

Creating a Linkedin profile can also add a more professional air. Check out who has recently viewed your profile and give them a message, if they found you, then probably you have common interests in web design.

There are also social networks devoted for web designers such as Pixel Groovy, which is a user-controlled tutorial directory, and Dribbble, which is kind of a show and tell for designers, sharing screenshots of the projects they are working on, and here they can get useful criticisms from other designers.

Clients

Several web designers are not as social as telemarketers. You can start with these three things: be polite, ask how their day was and smile.

A difference of opinion is inevitable, always remember that the client is always right. At times the client really is not, perhaps a contrast using a demonstration of what you think will work better and what the client thinks works better can be used at this point. Then let the client choose which one is better.

Client rehire and referrals

Being hired again by former clients means that your work is esteemed as professional. With this being said, always keep a notebook on what each of your former clients like and your pet peeves about them.

When former clients rehire you to update and re-customize their websites, it means that your work is 100% satisfaction guaranteed. This also means that if the client likes you and your work, they would refer you to their friends and colleagues.

Choose your work

Being a freelance web designer means you have the power to choose what work you do.

Of course, very few make it big the first time. Being a budding designer with no work experience means that you must find a client whose work could be representative of your brand as a web designer.

How?

You must create an online portfolio, and make your online presence resonate with a boom. Create something simple yet artistic, trendy but has general appeal.

Put your best works first. Add a comments section on where former clients and existing clients can give their feedback on how good you are. Lastly, always make it feel personal. Your online portfolio is representative of your work, however, it must be portrayed in a way where your work is catered for the client and the web user.

At first, you do not need to have several clients. The most important thing is to build rapport with clients and deliver to the work contract, and ensure client satisfaction.

Make a timetable and stick to it

Make deadlines for yourself and meet them. This will make sure your work is evenly spaced and built upon your personal style of productivity.

Create your own blog/web site

Your blog or website is your online identity, and can also be a reflection of your portfolio. After all, if you are a web designer and do not have an online presence, how would anyone searching through the web find you?

Famous blogging platforms include Google’s journal, WordPress and Blogspot. Out of the three, WordPress the most recommended because it is easy to use and would offer you as much security as you would hope for.

Conclusion

As of now, the web is shifting the market, paving the way for a strong dynamic industry. The need for web designers nowadays is increasingly rampant since everything has to have their brand represented on the web. It is better that one start now and establish themselves immediately before the ratio of web designer to web client reaches a surplus of web designer and a scarcity of web clients.