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Freelancing

Welcome to the HackerYou Freelancing Guide, a place where all resources for our freelancers live. Here, you'll find documents, advice, discussions on topics important to freelance web developers who are part of the HackerYou community.

This resource will be updated on a regular basis. New resources can be sent to Eva at eva[at]hackeryou.com.

Huge thanks to our ever-growing freelancer community for sharing all of these resources.

###First Steps

###Bookkeeping

  • Wave: a free bookkeeping service.

  • Freshbooks: free trial, approx. $20 per month

  • Xero: approx. $30 per month

###Contract Resources

  • Contract Killer by Andy Clark: a great template to build a contract on for web developers & designers.

  • Fork of Contract Killer by Anna Debenham: an expanded fork of the above contract.

  • The Pause Clause by NGen Works: something you can add to your contract.

  • Hellosign: an online tool for electronically signing documents.

  • Bonsai: a contract-building tool that integrates invoicing and e-signing.

###Finding Clients

  • Use your own personal network.

  • Work with other creatives.

  • Go to meetups and conferences.

  • Mentor at Ladies Learning Code workshops.

  • Tap into the HackerYou Freelancer Slack and Basecamp channels.

  • Recruitment agencies like Creative Niche and Vitamin Talent.

###Pricing & Scoping Projects

###Client Onboarding

Before you spend too much time on the project, figure out the following:

  • Find out the budget and timeline.
  • Figure out the scope.
  • Do they currently have a website? How was it built?
  • What is the prospective client's objective with the new site?
  • How will the client measure success?
  • Do they need design alongside development?
  • 100+ questions to ask when developing a site

If you're developing a WordPress site, you should also consider the following:

  • It's not about pages, it's about custom templates and features.
  • Will they be using this theme for a long time, or potentially changing it in six months?

###Proposals & Quotes

  • When writing a proposal, tailor the amount of technical jargon you use.
  • Consider quoting a price range instead of a fixed amount. Another option would be quoting different versions of the project -- one with just the basics, one with some enhancements and a third option with all the bells and whistles.
  • It's standard to require a 50% deposit before starting work.
  • Write up a contract and be sure to be clear about what is and is not included in the deliverables.
  • Get EVERYTHING in writing.

###Accessibility

Similar to brand or style guides, accessibility guides are becoming more popular and commonplace for larger companies. They're a great resource!

###🔥Tips

  • Take the amount of time you think a project will take and double OR triple it.

  • Don't agree to start work on a site until the client has their content together.

  • As soon as you start a project, get the communication OUT of your inbox and into a project management tool like Trello, Basecamp or Jumpchart.

  • Use version control like Github or Bitbucket.

  • Make extra money with an affiliate program like Bluehost or WPEngine.