Chicago? Ny? La? Make a Living Anywhere As a Freelance Web Designer

Contributed by Klaus Black

Designing Web Sites from Your Chicago Home

Many Chicago web designers have the desire to work freelance from home. If you have an organized home office and great web design skills, you could easily start doing freelance web design in Chicago or anywhere else. Once you have that, you will just need clients and they are easier to find than you might think.

What You Need in Your Chicago Web Design Office

Before you get started, you should make sure that you have all the things you need in your Chicago based web design home office. You should have a home computer, of course, loaded with the web design software you are most comfortable using, multiple browsers for testing your web sites, an internet connection, and an online portfolio of your previous work.

Starting Your Chicago Web Design Portfolio

If you don't currently have samples of previous work, do not fret. There are a couple ways you can create work for your portfolio. You can start by making some mock websites. Choose a hobby you enjoy or another subject that interests you and create a couple of mock web sites. Design these web sites professionally, as if you had been hired to do so. You can then take screenshots of these web sites and use them in your portfolio.

Another thing you can do is volunteer to create a website for a friend that might need one, or for your favorite local Chicago small business or non-profit organization. Although those jobs will not earn you any money, they will build up your reputation and broaden your portfolio.

Where to Find Freelance Web Design Clients

Once you have a professional web design portfolio set up, you will be able to start looking for clients. There are many ways that you can do this. A good place to start is the classified section in your local newspaper. Also check online classified ad web sites such as craigslist.org, and internet community groups like the ones found at groups.yahoo.com, tribe.net, and friendster.com.

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