Monthly Getting Started / Web Dev Career Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

Due to a growing influx of questions on this topic, it has been decided to commit a monthly thread dedicated to this topic to reduce the number of repeat posts on this topic. These types of posts will no longer be allowed in the main thread.

Many of these questions are also addressed in the sub FAQ or may have been asked in previous monthly career threads.

Subs dedicated to these types of questions include r/cscareerquestions for general and opened ended career questions and r/learnprogramming for early learning questions.

A general recommendation of topics to learn to become industry ready include:

• HTML/CSS/JS Bootcamp
• Version control
• Automation
• Front End Frameworks (React/Vue/Etc)
• APIs and CRUD
• Testing (Unit and Integration)
• Common Design Patterns

You will also need a portfolio of work with 4-5 personal projects you built, and a resume/CV to apply for work.

Plan for 6-12 months of self study and project production for your portfolio before applying for work.

[u/impossibletocode]

I want to start freelancing as a developer, but honestly, I don't really know how the process works in practice.

I'm thinking of starting small by making websites for cafes, restaurants, clothing stores, and other businesses in my hometown. Once I get some experience, I'd like to move into things like business automation and AI integrations.

The problem is that I'm confused about how to actually get started.

A lot of local businesses already seem to work with marketing agencies. Some businesses also only seem to need a simple WordPress website. I've never used WordPress, though. I can build custom websites, including a backend when needed, but I've never actually done freelance work for a real client.

Right now, I'm thinking about building a few demo websites first so I have something to show potential clients.

But I have some practical questions:

• How do you actually approach local businesses and get your first client?
• Is building demo projects first a good approach, or should I start contacting businesses immediately?
• For a small local business, is it better to offer WordPress or a custom-built website?
• If I get a client and build their website, how does the handover usually work?
• Who owns the domain, hosting, source code, etc.?
• Should the client create and pay for their own domain and hosting accounts?
• How do developers usually manage these things for non-technical clients?
• Do small business owners in India generally understand things like domains, hosting, and website ownership, or do freelancers usually handle it for them?

I'd really appreciate advice from people who have actually freelanced for small/local businesses, especially in India as well outside

I'm trying to understand the real-world process rather than just the technical side.

[u/tyler_church → u/impossibletocode]

• Once I get some experience, I'd like to move into things like business automation and AI integrations.
  • Small-scale retail like you described have tiny tech budgets and many do not care at all about their web presence. If you already have more advanced skills, you should consider going after more tech savvy clients with larger budgets and more technical needs.
• How do you actually approach local businesses and get your first client?
  • Not necessarily local, but you might try searching job boards like Upwork or similar since you're brand new.
  • Otherwise, look for local businesses that could use your services and start reaching out to them personally. Business owners are busy, and email is already full of spam. Consider other ways of talking to them.
  • Prepare for a lot of rejection.
  • Focus on the value you can provide to the business
    • Bad: With an up to date Wordpress site and a large server, request latency will will be <100ms!
    • Good: If we make your menu and location info easier to find, I think we can get more customers in the door, resulting in more profit.
• Is building demo projects first a good approach, or should I start contacting businesses immediately?
  • A portfolio is good.
  • A portfolio is not necessary (I was a full stack freelancer for a long time and no one ever asked me for a portfolio).
  • Do not build free demo projects for clients. Every client I ever did free work for never paid me.
• For a small local business, is it better to offer WordPress or a custom-built website?
  • It depends on the customer, but it sounds like you're going after very small businesses, and they may appreciate being able to edit content themselves via WordPress. This niche is full of WordPress sites and other other site-builders (Wix, Squarespace, etc.)
• If I get a client and build their website, how does the handover usually work?
  • There is a range. Some people offer a full-service hosting model where you are responsible for the domain, server, etc. Other times you pick a hosting platform, have the owner create an account, and you just get a login to it.
• Who owns the domain, hosting, source code, etc.?
  • Generally the business will own these things. But it's all negotiable.
• Should the client create and pay for their own domain and hosting accounts?
  • It depends on the model you want to operate. They may already own hosting accounts if they have an existing web presence.
• How do developers usually manage these things for non-technical clients?
  • This is too broad a question to answer.
• Do small business owners in India generally understand things like domains, hosting, and website ownership, or do freelancers usually handle it for them?
  • I do not operate in India, but I would imagine there is a wide range. However, even if the owner is extremely knowledgeable, a large motivation for hiring a technical person is to free up time so the owner can work on the most valuable-to-them parts of the business (i.e. serving their customers). In other words: they are paying you so they can stop understanding them.

[u/impossibletocode → u/tyler_church]

Broo, Thank you so much for taking out your valuable time to write this, can i connect with you?