Hi All,

 

I will be designing my freelance web designer site for myself, however I need some help.

 

Do I use a CMS for my site to manage the content if so shall I purchase a theme an configure it or should I design in PS and convert to CMS after if so how would I go about doing that?

 

Also do freelancers use a CMS for they're site?

 

Thanks

As a designer I would not expect you to be a developer and thus I also would not necessarily expect you to have a custom site coded from scratch. The look and feel of the site however does need to represent your design ability. So as being a designer is your living I would suggest doing a design and then commissioning a Front-end developer, and a back-end developer to code the sites template/s & functionality that you need.

 

So first do your design, and have some portfolio designs ready as well, think carefully about your content when you do this and the UX. Then contract both the front-end and back-end developers and get them to help you select the right CMS for your needs before any coding begins. That way you can stick to what you know and rest assured that your needs will be met.

 

Of course this does require an investment, but as with any business venture you have to speculate to accumulate. The investment is not strictly speak just in your web site, it is in the future of your business. One added bonus is that you will be building a working relationship with people you may wish to work with on design contracts you win from your web site as well.

As a freelancer it's a very good idea to have a blog so a CMS is a good way to go. I first designed my site and then converted the style into drupal and now in WordPress.

I don't know about your design but what I've learned is to try to make the most of the layout in CSS instead of PS, especially text as it can resize nicely. Same for buttons and even shadows.

I have a feeling Bainze may not be in a position to hire a designer

 

I don't know enough to tell you whether or not you should use a CMS for your site, but if you do decide to do so, then there are quite a few free WordPress themes around which are meant to be starter themes and would give you an almost blankish canvas for your own design. e.g. http://wordpress.org/themes/responsive or http://wordpress.org/themes/quark

 

Or this is a starter theme I have heard mentioned, but never used: http://underscores.me/

 

Or you could purchase one that is fairly blank but has a page builder, if you are interested in design rather than coding. e.g. http://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/ something from http://themify.me/themes (their basic theme is free: http://themify.me/themes/basic ) or http://ithemes.com/find/themes/

 

Any developers here are probably cringing at how badly written the code might be in some of these.

Edited April 22, 201412 yr by Jane B

Hi All,

 

I will be designing my freelance web designer site for myself, however I need some help.

 

Do I use a CMS for my site to manage the content if so shall I purchase a theme an configure it or should I design in PS and convert to CMS after if so how would I go about doing that?

 

Also do freelancers use a CMS for they're site?

 

Thanks

 

What you're asking comes across like you have very little web design experience. Are you sure you're ready to offer any kind of freelancing service?

Just something to bear in mind. Bainze has said that he (or she) is just starting out and very young.

 

 

Hi all!

New to this forum, I'm 15 years old with a passion for Web Design.

I want to start right away with designing and coding and get far with a lot of clients etc.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on being a freelancer taking into mind the age I am! I want to know the which is best to design in? (Photoshop, Fireworks etc) How hard is it to get clients How hard is it to code HTML and CSS (I know basic HTML)

I wanna start earning a bit of cash and in my free time keep learning how to code and design properly.

So please can anyone give me tips starting up.

Thanks so much.

Edited April 22, 201412 yr by Jane B

Just something to bear in mind. Bainze has said that he is just starting out and very young.

 

Nothing wrong with that, but personally I think anyone who is inexperienced and learning the basics shouldn't be charging for their services. It would be much better to build up your skillset using your own personal projects first. Using tools like Treehouse and Code Academy would also be of benefit, Robert actually updated a thread on this recently (http://www.webdesignerforum.co.uk/topic/71345-how-to-become-professional-web-designer-developer/).