Freelance WordPress Developer

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 at 6:34 pm

Starting as a freelance designer PHP!

While there are jobs available PHP, there is often great competition for them. Beginning PHP developers often complain that there is no work for them as it seems that many companies hire Java or "Net" web development. Entry-level jobs can be PHP hard to find. That's why many developers prefer PHP freelancers. PHP is often the development platform of choice for small and medium enterprises, which means that there are plenty of jobs available to independent developers.

Thinking of working for yourself can be a bit intimidating at times. As a developer, you will have to handle sales, accounting, customer management and make their development. Undoubtedly has a lot to juggle roles. The positives more than offset the extra work. As a freelancer, you will be able to work on projects that excite you, you will gain greater diversity of experience as a developer and you will be helping other small business owners bring their vision to reality. Here are some key things to know or think about starting as a freelance programmer PHP.

Know Your Stuff (and knowing when not)
This may seem obvious, but often tips autonomous new offer jobs that are not capable of. If you hang your shingle as an independent developer, make sure you have the ability to be a developer. If you are new to PHP, do some development of practice before trying to sell their skills. There are a number of large aperture source projects which could contribute. You hone your skills and get feedback from other developers about how to make the code better. Another good way to practice your skills is the WordPress Plugin Development.

It is equally important that you know you do not know how to do something. Companies can be very bad to leave important details their requests for proposal. This is usually because they do not know or have the skills or knowledge to ask the right questions. As a developer, is your responsibility to determine the scope of the work. Applications tend to sound trivial when the reality is they are very difficult or impossible altogether. Make sure you know the limits of their skill set.

This is important. The image of the independent developers as a group is often affected by amateur developers most committed and under offer. Want to be an asset to the development of the autonomous region should therefore ensure that it can provide the service you are selling.

Set your own pace
This is another area in which new independent workers are often criticized. New freelancers tend to set their rates way too low leading to a general perception that it is "cheaper" to have something developed in PHP. Many of these workers just separate it out of business because their rate was too low to be sustainable. Freelance rates for web development can run anywhere $ 30 to $ 120 per hour. As a freelancer, you will be responsible for their own social security and other taxes. This can be as high as 15%. If you have worked as programmer, you can use your previous hourly rate as a starting point. I usually add 25% to cover the costs of self-employment taxes, insurance and paid time free. Besides this, you must add a percentage to cover overhead and provide a benefit. You also need to consider your market. What others are charging and what the cost of living as he is? These should also affect your rate. I found it useful to develop a range of rates. I quote work at the lower end of the range if the work is nonprofit and at the top if the project is of great interest to me.

The Building your portfolio
You will need a portfolio to show potential customers. You must have a good 5-7 sites you have built to show their skills. These can be personal sites, blogs or sites you have done for other clients. Ideally, you want sites to display a variety of capabilities so do not show a client 7 blogs unless you're building them a blog too.

New independent workers often have trouble building a portfolio. If you are passionate about a cause you can donate your time to build a website for your favorite charity or offer a reduced rate for business a friend in exchange for a referral. This allows you to build a portfolio that can be shown to other customers. Note that future customers can contact the owners of sites in its portfolio. If you make a donation to a charity of development, given the same level of service that gives customers the payment.

Some words about the independent online sites Employment
A number of online sites like Guru.com and freelance work Elance.com. These can be good places to freelance again to get a job but be careful how you use them. First, we expect to make much less than its normal rate. These sites are is very competitive and are often bidding against foreign companies that charge extremely low rates. You also need to provide a very detailed proposal of job details are often vague. The number of self is a mistake to trust these sites for much of their income. While they can be good places to starting to get a job or supplement their work, according to them can be detrimental to your business long term. The diversification of where they acquire their customers is a decision smart.

Proposal development and project management Areas
To succeed as a freelancer, you will to be able to write good proposals. His proposal is a way to sell a potential customer of your vision for your project. A key component of its proposal must be an area defined job. He wants to explain exactly what services they provide and the characteristics of the finished project will contain. This will help with the change of control in the future. Change control is the process of documenting the changes that a customer wants to be outside the original scope of work or changes are made to the finished parts that were previously accepted by the customer. It is normal to charge an additional fee for these changes. Most independents have a procedure to document change and fee charged for change. You will need to develop a process for this too.

Network with other freelancers
You can learn a lot from other freelancers. Networking with other independent professionals to share experiences, learn new skills, and even can provide referrals and new business. I follow a number of independent developers on Twitter. You can also meet other freelancers through meetings Networking in your area. Meetup.com is often small business groups that can participate. Networking with others is an important part of building a successful freelance practice.

Learn Project Management
Autonomous use a lot of hats. As a result, may sometimes be difficult to manage distractions and keep projects on. New self often underestimate how long a project may have. Developing good skills project management is essential to succeed and keep their customers happy. Consider a course or research project management certifications of project management. These skills will help keep your projects under way and will help provide customers with more realistic estimates of their projects is complete.

Freelance is a very difficult race. It is also very rewarding. To be a successful independent developer, you need to develop a set of skills. For a new independent, learn to write proposals, learn how to manage projects, building a portfolio and networking are essential started. From this solid base, can develop more skills that will make her successful freelance career and satisfying. Good luck!

About the Author

Michael Dorf is a professional software architect and instructor with M.S. in Software Engineering and 12 years of industry experience. He teaches for LearnComputer! (learncomputer.com), which offers public instructor-led PHP training courses. Whether you prefer to sign up for our PHP course or just read a review of the Best PHP Books, you will find many useful resources on our website.

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