With so many places online to create a professional profile – I’m talking about sites like LinkedIn, UpWork, Behance, and the list goes on – do freelancers need a website of their own?

The short answer – YES! You absolutely need a website.

Professional profiles are important for attracting clients who are browsing for freelancers on those sites. But having a dedicated website for your freelance business is one of the most important things you can do to stand out from the crowd.

If you ever want to grow your business and start attracting your ideal clients who pay you well, UpWork isn’t going to cut it.

Your freelance website is the first step in getting clients to come to you. It is your brand, your portfolio, your ‘digital storefront’. A website increases your visibility and up-levels your brand from ‘$10/hour UpWork contractor’ to ‘business owner’. And I’m living proof…

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My freelance business didn’t take off until I created my freelance website.

When I first started freelancing, I was charging a tiny hourly rate for my services. I needed to have at least 6 or 7 clients at a time, and work 60+ hours a week, just to make enough money. And I was spending SO MUCH TIME bidding on new jobs every week – some of which turned into new contracts, but was largely a waste of time.

It wasn’t until I created a website that I started getting inquiries for my work. I had people coming to me! They were finding me through my blog, through social media, and through Facebook groups I was active in. They went to my website and saw the services I offered. And they reached out to me to work together!

I was able to start charging higher prices and put together packages for my services. It was then that I realized I could earn the same amount of money working with only a few clients at a time. Plus, I could provide better services to them. And I could stop spending so much time pitching and getting nowhere!

Having a website for my freelance business was a game changer for me. It helped me to stand out, to look professional, to communicate my services, increase my prices, start attracting my ideal clients, and stop wasting time pitching.

With so much competition for freelance work, I absolutely think all serious freelancers need a website.

Look More Professional

Taking the time to build a home for your business on the web shows the world that you take your business seriously. Simply having a website makes you look like a professional, not just a hobby or wannabe freelancer.

Your website communicates who you are, what you do, and who you work with. It shows potential clients what you can do. Having a website is crucial if you want to be taken seriously as a freelancer (and charge the rates you want).

Stand Out From The Crowd (Of Bad Freelancers)

Do you know how many clients have told me about horror stories with freelancers? Well, to be honest I don’t keep track but it’s probably like 80% of them!

Clients hire a freelancer and suddenly they disappear halfway through the job. They stop responding to emails and texts. Or the freelancer said they could do a job but they really couldn’t. The result is the client loses money and loses trust in freelancers.

Having a website shows clients that you mean business. It communicates that you’re a professional that they can trust. Your content, testimonials, and photos all help to convey that you take your business seriously – and you won’t ghost on a client!

There are so many terrible freelancers out there, if you can show clients that you take your work seriously you’ll be one step closer to getting the gig.

Freelance writer Locke Hughes makes a great first impression with her site, and shows her credibility by sharing where her writing has been published.

A Place To Send Potential Clients

When you meet a potential client – whether in person or online – you want to make a great first impression, right? You want that person to take you seriously, to think of you as a pro.

Having a website to send them to is a great way to do that. They’ll immediately get to see some of your work and the services you offer, allowing them to make an instant connection in their mind of how you can help them (or help someone they know).

Your friends, family, past clients and network can also more easily make referrals for you when you have a website. Every time someone tells me about a freelancer or agency I should hire, my immediate response is “cool, send me their website so I can check them out.” If they don’t have a website, I’m unlikely to even consider them because it’s so much more work for me to find and connect with them.

You can put your website on your business card, your social media bios, and your freelance job site profiles so potential clients can always find out more about you.

Show Your Personality

Your clients want to work with YOU, not some faceless company. Your website is like a digital representation of who you are.

With your site design, style, images, and copy, a potential client can get a better idea of who you are and what you’re like. When they know a bit more about you they’ll feel a deeper connection to you – much deeper than they would from simply reading your “Social Media Consultant” headline on LinkedIn.

Maybe on your about page you talk about your love for hiking on the weekends, or your constant quest for the best sandwich in every city you visit (just me?), or your crazy obsession with your dog. Any of these things can make a client say “aww, me too!” and feel an instant connection with you. They’ll start to like you before they even meet you.

Let your personality shine through and you will start attracting more of the clients you want to work with.

Brittany Berger shows off her personality and her fun approach to working with content marketing clients on her freelance website.

Display Your Services and Prices

A services page on a website allows you to go into greater detail about the services you offer. Give potential clients all the details of what it’s like to work with you so they know exactly what to expect before they ever get on a call with you.

This page is really helpful for people coming from referrals or finding you from social media. It clarifies what you do, who you help, and how you help them.

Displaying pricing is a personal choice, but if you do decide to display pricing then clients will know ahead of time what the investment will be, and you can stand firm on how much you charge and avoid lowball offers.

And you can have a “work with me” button directly on this page so people who need what you offer can get started working with you right away.

Streamline Onboarding New Clients

Once you have clients coming to you (instead of you chasing them on bidding sites), a website can help you manage your new client leads like a pro.

On your contact page, embed a form or questionnaire for clients to get in touch with you about working together. This way, you’re taking the guesswork out of it for them because you’re telling them exactly what you need to know.

You can even take it a step further by embedding a booking calendar so potential clients can book a call with you with just a few clicks.

There are so many options for automating client onboarding these days, and it all starts with your website. And anything you can do that makes it easier for your clients AND easier for you is a major win-win.

Host Your Portfolio

Show off your skills! Adding your portfolio of past work on your site lets clients see what you’ve done – and helps them imagine the great work you can do for them.

Your portfolio style will depend on the type of work you do. You can add images, videos, text, or links. Here’s a few ideas:

• Link to guest posts or blog posts you’ve written
• Display websites you’ve designed
• If you’ve worked on social media campaigns, share screenshots and designs you used

And if you can, add in some results – for example, this campaign increased reach by x% or got x% clickthrough rating. Or the new web design increased email signups by x%. Adding metrics can show that your work not only looks good, but gets results.

Portfolios are an expression of you and your work, so get creative and have fun with it!

Chloe Leonard shows off her portfolio of design work to attract her ideal clients looking for a similar style

Show Off Client Testimonials

Social proof is gold. Testimonials can take your portfolio up a notch by adding another level of trust. You can talk about how great you are all day long, but someone is more likely to believe it when they hear it from someone else.

Add rave reviews from anyone you’ve worked with. Think you don’t have any testimonials? You can use:

• Reviews from freelancing sites like UpWork
• LinkedIn recommendations
• Praise you’ve gotten for work on social media posts
• Nice emails from clients thanking you for your work

Always ask your clients for a testimonial and get permission to post it on your website. Bonus points if they let you use a headshot – people like to see human faces.

A good testimonial can help to take a client from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes’.

Share Content

Content is king. Content is a requirement for any business these days, and freelancers are no exception to that rule. Here’s why content is important:

• helps to establish you as an expert
• shows clients what you can do
• builds trust
• can add to your portfolio
• helps you get found on social media
• helps SEO
• answers common questions your clients have

And that’s just a few of the reasons you need content.

Content can be anything you’re creating – blog posts, ebooks, checklists, guides, resources, designs, social media posts, photos. Depending on what you do, different types of content can help you attract clients.

Build An Email List

Have you ever heard the saying ‘the money is in the list’? They’re talking about email lists. When you have an email list of people who are interested in what you are doing, want to hear from you, and like your work, you are always only an email away from getting a new client.

An email list allows you to launch promotions or specials on your services. You can send out offers and reminders to book a spot with you. When you’re low on work, if you’ve got a list it’s an immediate way to get in touch with potential clients who’ve already heard of you and like what you have to say.

If you ever want to launch products – ebooks, courses, prints, etc. – an email list is an absolute must-have.

Your website is the best way to start building your email list now. Even if you don’t think you need a list right away, you’ll wish you had started building one earlier.

Build Your Business

Bottom line, a website will help you grow.

A website helps attract clients to you instead of you always chasing after them on bidding sites.

It can streamline your client intake process.

And it will help you to build an audience so you can one day explore other income streams.

A website is the first step to go from a wannabe freelancer, to a full fledged self-employed, thriving freelance boss.