![11 Tips For Coming Up With A Freelance Web Design Idea [Explained]](https://unleashcash.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/11-Tips-For-Coming-Up-With-A-Freelance-Web-Design-Idea-Explained.jpg)
When it comes time to come up with a freelance web design idea, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. The best way to make sure that you don’t waste your time is to come up with an idea that will be effective and useful for your clients.
If you want to get started, here are eleven tips for coming up with a freelance web design idea that will help you get started:
1. Identify Your Niche
You may think that narrowing down your market to a niche is limiting, but in fact, the reverse is true. The more you narrow your focus to one specific audience or type of business with a single goal, the more successful you will be. A freelancer who can effectively target a niche audience and meet their needs enables themselves to stand out from the crowd and become an expert in that field.
So how do you identify this niche? Begin by making a list of all the skills and services you have to offer as well as any areas of interest or expertise. Next, think about your potential clients and how they are different from each other. What makes them unique? How can you use these differences to focus on solving a specific need they have?
For example, if web design is something you enjoy and want to pursue further, look for companies that are in need of web designers within that field such as restaurants looking for new websites as opposed to lawyers looking for new websites.
This will enable clients who know nothing about coding languages like HTML/CSS but want an attractive website with great content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla!
2. Do Your Research
This is the most essential aspect of the whole project. Do not underestimate its importance. You will be doing a lot of research and analysis, so you need to have the mindset that it’s going to get done, and it’s going to get done well.
How do you do your research? You look for things that stand out as common themes across multiple themes in the theme store. For example, does every single one of your competitors use a contact form on their homepage at the bottom? Then it would behoove you to include one too, as customers are used to seeing it there and may even expect it without realizing they’re expecting it. What fonts or colors do they all use heavily? How much text can you find in their demos? Are there any patterns that show up repeatedly in different demos from different vendors?
What should you look for during your research phase? Look for what stands out about each demo—what elements make each demo unique, and which elements are ubiquitous across almost all demos (in terms of color usage, placement of content blocks on certain pages or templates).
Why is this important? Because those are the features people like best about other themes—the ones that make them want to buy! You need to know what those features are before building them into your own design so you can build something people will want!
3. Find Inspiration Based On Your Research
Now that you’ve gathered some inspiration, it’s time to use your research to narrow down the types of ideas your client is looking for.
Look for any patterns and similarities between all the websites in your inspiration pool. What do they all have in common? What separates them from one another? By comparing these sites to each other and setting aside any striking differences, you can begin to form a framework of what your client likes.
When coming up with a freelance web design idea, you’ll want to stay within this framework while still being original and true to yourself. There’s a fine line between using inspiration and copying it exactly as is—but as long as you keep it in mind, that line won’t be crossed.
4. Brainstorm
Brainstorming is a great way to generate ideas. Brainstorming helps you find what you are looking for.
When brainstorming, it really helps if you have done your research. The more information you have, the more ideas you will be able to generate. For example, if you know what kind of website your client wants, then that will help determine the kind of ideas that you should be brainstorming.
One way to start is by doing a mind map (or spider diagram). In this method, create a diagram that has all your keywords in it. For example, if we were doing brainstorming for a restaurant website design, we would do something like this:
Restaurant
|_ Indian Food
|_ Main Dishes
|_ Chicken Tikka Masala
|_ Recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor (Indian Chef)
Another way of generating ideas is by talking to people about them. These people could include friends and family and other freelancers like yourself who have experience in the field. The goal here is not necessarily to come up with ready-made solutions but rather with new ways of thinking about the subject at hand.
5. Narrow Down Your Ideas
When it comes to freelance web design, the best idea wins, so be ruthless. Don’t worry about what you lose; focus on what you gain.
Relate your ideas to the target audience. Find out who they are and match your ideas to them. Relate your idea to the research that you’ve done in relation to both niches and audiences as well as more general information about them (psychographics can be very useful here).
6. Stay Open-Minded To New Ideas
But don’t settle for the first idea that catches your eye. Stay open-minded to new ideas and inspiration. It could be the perfect piece you were looking for.
To stay open-minded, make sure to take breaks from looking at other websites. Go outside, read a book or do something else you enjoy. Take some time to clear your mind of all the ideas and inspiration you’ve been exposed to so far. This way when you return to your research, you’ll find it easier to discover new ideas that are better suited for your design concept.
7. Be Organized With Your Ideas
The best way to come up with a great idea is to go through each step of the creative process methodically. I organize my ideas in a spreadsheet or notebook, and I do this as soon as possible after having them. Then, I’ll group my ideas together based on themes of sub-categories.
The organization is key to an efficient creative process. There are many ways you can organize your freelance web design ideas:
- Grouping ideas into themes
- Grouping ideas into sub-categories
- Grouping by priority
I’ve been using this approach since the start of my career. When you create solutions for clients, it helps to have enough options until you find one that fits their needs well and makes everyone happy (remember: more choices = happier clients).
8. Don’t Be Afraid To Let Go Of An Idea
Realize that not all ideas are created equal. Your job is to come up with good, implementable ideas. So if you’re struggling to come up with a good idea, you might need to let some ideas go.
It’s okay to have a lot of ideas when you begin brainstorming—it can be fun and exciting, but don’t get attached to them. Not everything will work out the way you think it should; that’s just the nature of trying new things.
9. Keep A Notebook And Pen On Hand At All Times
You may think you’ll remember a great idea when it comes to you, but you probably won’t. If it happened to me, the concept would likely come to me in the shower or on my bike ride home from work. Unless I jot down what I was thinking about immediately after getting out of the shower or buying dinner, I would have undoubtedly forgotten about it.
The same thing can happen when you are doing anything else – driving your car, taking a walk and so on – so have something you can easily write with and take notes in as soon as possible!
10. Never Stop Brainstorming!
I’m sure you’ve heard it before… and I’ll say it again: brainstorming is an essential part of the creative process. It is essential to the success of your freelance web design business.
It’s not just a good idea—it’s a must!
When designers don’t think they’re “creative enough,” that’s when I tell them to brainstorm. Brainstorming can trigger some incredible ideas you never would have thought of otherwise.
There are so many elements to web design, from color choices to typography treatments, from call-to-action buttons to navigation bars, from full-screen videos and parallax scrolling effects—the list goes on and on!
Never stop brainstorming for your next project! You never know when inspiration will strike. Carry around a notebook with you everywhere you go (but don’t let anyone see it!) because you never know when your muse will visit!
11. Identify Your Target Audience
Your target audience is the group of people you are designing the website for. You should have a clear understanding of who your audience is so that you can create a site that will appeal to them.
Your target audience is not you, so don’t just focus on what you like. Think about your audience and what they might like. For example, if your target audience is kids and teenagers, then bright colors with fun animations might be something they will enjoy. If your target audience is older adults, then use more subdued colors and less animation.
You may have more than one target audience for a website depending on the content and purpose of the site. For example, if you are creating an online clothing store for women’s fashion, then there would be two groups of people who will visit this site: customers who want to purchase clothing (your primary target) and potential investors (your secondary target).
If this were the case with our client’s website, I would choose different design features based on these two audiences’ needs/wants: One thing a customer wants when ordering clothes online is simplicity; they want it easy to navigate through pages quickly so they can find exactly what they’re looking for in seconds flat! In contrast, potential investors are more interested in flashy graphics that catch their eye immediately; these features would show off how beautiful or unique our designs are while also showing them why investing in us pays off!
Wrapping Up
In the end, coming up with a good freelance web design idea is no easy task. But hopefully, with these eleven tips, you can come up with something you’ll love and that your clients will love as well. When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to pick a niche because you feel like at least you’d have an area of expertise—but don’t do it! You’re better off being versatile and more of a “full-service” designer. Only when you’ve established yourself as a freelance designer should you start specializing in certain areas.
People Also Ask
How Can I Choose A Freelance Web Design Idea?
When choosing a freelance web design business idea, you’ll want to narrow down your niche, figure out what skills you have, and decide how much time you can dedicate to your new venture. Once you have all these factors in mind and know what kind of ideas you’re interested in, you can start getting a clearer picture of what kind of business you want to build.
How Do I Come Up With A Web Design Idea?
When trying to come up with a web design business idea, get clear on who you want to work with, what services you’d like to provide, and which skills of yours will help make that happen. If you’re stuck for an idea, try looking at websites that are different from each other and taking note of the trends in their designs.
What Should I Know About Designing Websites?
Before starting a freelance website design business, it’s important to have an understanding of the basics: HTML and CSS are the two primary languages used to code websites; JavaScript is another coding language used by some websites; UX (user experience) design is essential for making websites that are easy for users to use; making sites mobile-friendly is crucial because more people are using mobile nowadays.
What If You’re A Freelance Designer, But You Don’t Have Any Ideas?
It’s a problem that many faces. Here are some tips to get those creative juices flowing!
1. Make it personal. What do you love? What do you want to learn more about? What do you wish there was an easier way to do? Use these questions as starting points for brainstorming web design ideas that can work for you.
2. Be relatable. Whether it’s a personal website or something more in line with your professional career, make sure your web design idea is something that people can relate to and easily understand. That’s what will keep them coming back for more.
3. Write down every idea you have and then narrow it down from there. You may not be able to implement all of the designs on one site—but who says they all have to go into one site? Save those ideas for later and turn them into future projects!
What Does Freelance Web Design Mean?
Freelance web design means that you’re creating websites for clients independently. You will typically have some form of agreement or contract with the client, but you are not formally an “employee” of theirs, and you don’t work for them in their offices. Instead, you find the client, come up with the idea together, create content together, and launch the website.
How Do I Find Clients?
The answer to this question depends on your location and your personal preferences, but typically you can either go to co-working spaces or join online communities to find people who may be interested in having a website designed by you.
How Much Money Can I Make As A Freelancer?
That depends on your skills, experience, and demand. Web designers who are experts in user interface design (UI) are typically able to charge more for their services than professionals with less specialized skills. The more you know about software programs like Adobe Photoshop and Sketch, the higher your potential earnings.
