I sit here. Coffee cold. Laptop warm. Typing code. Debugging life.
That’s me. A freelance website developer. Or sometimes a freelance website designer. Sometimes a freelance front end developer.
It’s a mess. Beautiful mess.
How It Began
Years back. I hated my job. Boring cubicle. Bad coffee. Loud boss.
Googled freelance website developer.
Didn’t know much. But wanted out.
Quit job. Burnt bridges. Bought domain.
First gig? Disaster.
Promised five pages. Delivered seven. Didn’t charge more. Client ghosted. No money.
Felt dumb. But hey, I was a freelance website developer now.
Wearing All Hats
Truth is, a freelance website developer gotta wear hats.
You code? Good.
You design? Better.
You front end? Perfect.
A freelance website designer who codes? Gold.
A freelance front end developer who designs? Win.
No boss to tell you. Just you and your google tab open 24/7.
Why Even Do This?
Freedom. Only reason I stick.
I wake up. I sleep. When I want.
Be a freelance website developer at 3am. Or nap at 2pm.
Clients everywhere. US, UK, some guy in Bali who paid in crypto.
The freelance website designer in me loves picking colors at dawn.
The freelance front end developer in me loves fixing bugs at midnight.
Sounds cool right? Is. But not always.
Dark Side Of Freelancing
Nobody tells you.
No boss means no help. No paycheck means chase your own.
Clients vanish. They do.
They say “Bro, pay you next week.” They don’t.
A freelance website developer cries in the shower sometimes.
So does a freelance website designer who picks wrong clients.
Did a gig for free once. Because I was dumb.
Never again.
Lessons From Scars
Rule 1 – Contracts. Always.
A freelance website developer needs paper. Or pdf. Or something that says pay me or else.
Rule 2 – Deposit upfront.
Half now. Half later. Or no half later.
Rule 3 – Rest. Sleep matters.
A burnt out freelance website designer picks Comic Sans.
A tired freelance front end developer forgets semi colons.
Good Tools Save You
Code editor. Good one.
Design software. Clean.
Browser extensions. Life savers.
A good freelance website developer knows shortcuts.
A smart freelance website designer steals inspo.
A sharp freelance front end developer learns new trick every week. Or dies
Finding The Clients
Biggest nightmare. Biggest thrill.
Nobody comes knocking. You knock doors. Cold email. Upwork. Behance. Insta.
I DM’d hundred people once. Got two replies. One became my biggest client.
The freelance website developer in me says spam them all.
The freelance website designer in me says look pretty while you spam.
Cheap Clients
Avoid them.
They say “Make me Google for $5”.
Run.
A cheap client breaks you.
A good client feeds you.
The freelance website developer in me says double my rates every year.
It works. Good clients pay good.
Dream Projects
One time. Designed for a surf school.
Wrote the code on a beach. Sand in keyboard. Sunburnt. Didn’t care.
Felt alive.
A freelance website designer can dream anywhere.
A freelance front end developer can deploy from a hammock.
Branding Yourself
No brand. No gigs.
Have a site. Clean. Fast.
Make it say “I’m your next freelance website developer”.
Put your face. Your words. Your mess.
Show them you code. You design. You front end like a wizard.
LinkedIn. Dribbble. Twitter rants. Be seen.
Worst Day
Lost all files once.
Client angry.
Told him sorry. Fixed it in two days. Didn’t sleep.
Still paid me double.
That’s the thing.
A freelance website developer fails. But never stops.
What I Love
No boss.
No dress code.
No clock in clock out.
Just work.
I am my own problem. My own solution.
A freelance website designer who hates ugly.
A freelance front end developer who loves clean.
A freelance website developer who never wants to retire.
Advice? Here.
Want to do this?
Good.
Be ready to fail.
Be ready to chase.
Be ready to learn.
Every day. New trend. New tool. New headache.
But freedom is sweet.
Worth the risk.Ending Lines
So here I am.
Laptop warm. Coffee cold again.
One more site done. One more invoice sent.
Still a freelance website developer.
Still a freelance website designer.
Still a freelance front end developer.
Still free.
Tk Turners. That’s me. That’s you maybe. Next time someone ask what do you do?
You say it loud.
I’m a freelance website developer.
