I began my adventure as an at home web designer almost three years ago, and today feel very pleased with the outcome. I started out wanting a website created for my home craft business, and had my husband Ben, a network administrator, show me some simple HTML. I gradually fell in love with the detailed world of web design, creating content, and figuring out what the search engines looked for in a high ranking web site.
Today, I have created several successful websites, many high ranking pages, written several articles, been interviewed, paid for my work, and taught many people how to create high ranking websites. I began without any formal training, and do believe that this field is wide open for anyone truly passionate about learning. It is a wonderful, and legitimate home business opportunity for anyone who has the desire to learn.
I really want to get the word out that a series of small, simple steps can successfully optimize a website, and that ANYONE can learn how to do this, and even charge others a good rate to do so!
I would recommend that anyone interested in this career should be:
- Entrepreneurial in nature
- Patient
- Computer friendly and willing to learn some basic HTML
- A good writer
- A person who enjoys teaching others and communicating
The first step would be to create some websites in the computer for yourself, and practice, practice, practice. I would also recommend subscribing to some free web design newsletters in order to really keep up with what is going on with search engine and programming trends. Once you feel confident in your ability to design even a simple optimized website in a few hours, get a business license and start hitting the streets in your area. Talk to small business owners and find out which ones don't have a website. Explain to them why they do need one, what your abilities are, and how much it will cost.
Don't lie about your limitations or feel bad about charging an hourly rate for your work. Remember that a website you design will usually be less money than a large firm would charge, and that you probably know far more about web design than that business owner does! It may not hurt to locate a graphic designer who would like to do the artwork for the website, as search engine optimized websites are mostly about text, but look nice with some small business logos that match the “theme” of the businesses' other advertising.
About The Author
Copyright 2005 by Alexandra DeBoer. For more information about the author or a career in web design, please visit her website at:
www.webdesignfromhome.com.
book@webdesignfromhome.com
