How to Start as a Freelance Website Designer

Imagine starting your career without waiting for interviews, creating resumes, or sending out hundreds of applications. Imagine starting to earn with just your laptop, a little curiosity, and a skill?

That skill is website designing, and if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken your first step into the freelancing world. WordPress marketing has changed the game so much that people with zero coding knowledge are building websites professionally in weeks.

This blog will show you the exact steps you need to go from no experience to landing your first paid client. No theory. Just what works.

Introduction to Freelancing in Website Designing 

Freelancing in website designing means that you are selling your skill of building websites to businesses for a specific amount of money. If that sounds good to you, then freelancing is the career for you. This work gives you an amazing sense of freedom, flexibility and early financial independence, something almost every recent graduate is yearning for.

Almost every new business today needs a website. It can be a coaching institute, a personal trainer, a café, a photographer, a local store, or anything else. These businesses have the urgent need for a professional website. This is why the WordPress website designer demand is consistent and at all-time high.

“WordPress gave rise to a wave of thousands of freelancers who now make full-time money online, all by using WordPress.com.” – WPBeginner founder Syed Balkhi.

WordPress is beginner-friendly, easily scalable and is a very powerful platform.

What Is WordPress Website Designing? 

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to build a website without the need to program every little thing from scratch. It has pre-built themes, plugins, and page builders like Elementor which allow you to design a website by literally dragging and dropping elements. It is a lot easier than it sounds.

WordPress is mainly of 2 types – WordPress.com and WordPress.org. As a freelancer, you will only be using WordPress.org as that provides you with full control, hosting options, customisation and thousands of plugins and that’s what the professionals use.

“A good WordPress designer only needs a few tools, they need clarity, creativity, and a good problem solving mindset.” – Chris Lema, WordPress industry expert.

WordPress makes it easy to develop that mindset.

Why Choose WordPress for Freelancing in Website Designing?

WordPress is the world’s most widely used platform for creating a website. Over 43% of all websites online are on WordPress, because it is a stable and scalable platform to build a website. WordPress also minimises the learning curve drastically. You are under zero pressure of mastering code. Instead you can focus on designing, layout, UX, content and other things that are actually relevant to the client. With Elementor you can use free and premium themes and easily customize your layouts to build websites which are right from eCommerce stores to simple business websites.

WordPress opens up many job opportunities because digital marketing freelancing in small businesses , startups, other freelancers, coaches, creators all prefer WordPress for their site.

Essential Website Design Skills for Beginners 

As a beginner, you will by no means be a professional designer from day 1. But what you need is strong basics, those will help you create a clean and navigable website layout. These fundamentals are what make your websites professional even as a beginner.

Grasping the website layout structure is the first step. You need to know how to create a well-balanced hero section, how to use a grid layout, what spacing to use and when, what alignment to use and so much more. Colour theory, font pairing and composition also helps you in developing websites that look great. Simple decisions like using 2–3 colours instead of 7 can make a world of a difference in the quality of design you do.

Basic knowledge of SEO, creating responsive design and being able to do good copywriting also adds to the quality of the website you deliver. Optimised images, meaningful headings and ensuring that the website is mobile friendly all make your projects 10x more valuable and the client can see it.

Tools You Need to Start Freelancing in WordPress Website Design

The tools that you use determine your productivity and output as a beginner. You will not need some insane software or heavy systems to build a website. Instead, what you will need is a simple toolkit to make building and delivering websites as a professional faster.

Start with a domain name and a hosting plan from services like Hostinger or Bluehost. They offer one-click WordPress installation for easy setup and beginner support. The next is the page builder, Elementor is the best one available which lets you design a website by simply dragging and dropping elements instead of coding.

Get a lightweight theme like Astra or Kadence to create a fast, beautiful website. Get a few essential plugins for forms, SEO, backups and caching. Finally, you will also need some design tools like Canva or Figma for creating icons, images, banners and layouts which will make your website designs stand out and be more visual.

Understanding WordPress Themes & Plugins 

Themes are what sets up the overall structure, layout and visual style for your WordPress website. As a beginner you want to choose themes that are fast, lightweight and easy to customise. Themes like Astra and Kadence are some examples which are fast yet customisable for a beginner.

Plugins are software add-ons that add additional functionality to your website. As a beginner, you only really need a few essential plugins – one for SEO, one for caching, one for forms and one for security. More plugins than that and your website gets slow and starts to break more.

A smart freelancer who is building websites knows which themes and plugins to use to save time. The right theme means half the design issues are already taken care of. Minimal plugins mean faster builds and more reliable websites.

Step-by-Step WordPress Freelancing Guide for Beginners 

The best way to start WordPress freelancing is not by learning everything in one go, but by learning the right things in the right sequence. Begin with understanding the WordPress dashboard. Learn the locations for pages, posts, plugins, themes, menus and settings. This will make everything else you learn after this much easier.

Build sample websites after that. Practice projects that you can add to your portfolio. These websites don’t need to be live for real clients, even demo websites will show the client you have the skills required. Learn Elementor basics, build layouts, experiment with hero sections and colours.

Move on to learn site optimisation after you have some layouts built. How to speed up a site, how to compress images, how to use SEO plugins. Install essential plugins but keep the number small.

Lastly learn to troubleshoot – clients will value you more for being a problem solver than just a designer.

Elementor Freelancing Tips for New Web Designers 

Elementor is the best thing that happened for a beginner. It helps you build modern websites with a very good visual builder which means you don’t need to touch a single line of code. The visual interface makes you design every little detail from headers to CTA sections quicker while keeping a consistent design.

Learn to use Elementor templates, sections and widgets. Try to learn what makes a homepage look more expensive – clean spacing, minimal colours, strong visuals and strategic use of CTA. Clients will go crazy for your website because it will give the impression of being a premium and uncluttered website.

To take your Elementor freelancing to the next level, you can also offer extra services like building landing pages, redesigning websites or developing Elementor templates. The faster you can deliver, the more you can charge for your services.

Create a Portfolio Website to Start Freelancing 

The most important step towards freelancing is your portfolio website, which is even more important than your resume. Your portfolio is the very first impression the client gets of you. The moment a client lands on a clean, good looking, optimised portfolio, it instils a sense of professionalism and trust.

Put your services, samples of your work, pricing structure, testimonials and a clear contact form. Even if you don’t have real clients as of now, put up your practice projects. Clients care more about your design capability rather than your experience.

Your portfolio website converts better because you can customise the content fully, optimise it for SEO, and build a brand identity around your style.

How to Find Website Designing Clients as a Freelancer

Finding clients is a skill in itself, once you understand where your clients are, it becomes a lot easier. The best way to start is with freelancing platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. It gives beginners exposure and those important early projects.

Local reach out is another thing that is underrated. Businesses near you – the café around the corner, gym, coaching classes, local boutique store all need a website. A simple conversation can turn into a paid project.

Use social media as a business tool. Share your designs, before and after transformations, carousel posts sharing website design tips. These posts not only build trust but will get you inquiries. Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups where people are actively asking for a website designer. And don’t shy away from cold emailing. A well-written, short pitch with the link to your portfolio can do wonders.

Pricing Guide for Freelancing in Website Designing 

Asking for the right price is very important and understanding how to do that is also essential. Don’t charge too low because it will turn you into an amateur and low charges also attract difficult clients.

But also don’t overcharge without having any portfolio because that’s unconvincing. Start with basic pricing: 

• Basic site: ₹5,000–₹12,000 
• Multi-page site: ₹15,000–₹30,000 
• E-commerce site: ₹30,000–₹70,000+ 

Include add-on charges to help you scale up your charges:

• SEO setup 
• Speed optimisation
• Monthly maintenance 
• Content writing 
• Slowly increase your prices as you gain confidence.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make in WordPress Freelancing

The common mistake that most beginners make is installing way too many plugins because they think the more features a website has, the better it is. That’s a lie. The more plugins you have, the slower and more unstable your website becomes.

Installing a bloated theme is another big mistake beginners make. Bad themes bring along a lot of design restrictions and slow down your development. Failing to provide a maintenance plan to the client is another area of a missed opportunity. 90% of the time, a client will need ongoing support and will happily pay monthly subscription fees for it. Poor communication can also lead to major misunderstandings and delays. 

Why Choose Freelancers Academy to Learn Website Designing Using WordPress?

Choose Freelancers Academy to become a confident freelance website designer through practical, industry-focused learning. Their WordPress program is designed for beginners who want hands-on experience and real client-ready skills. You get:

• Real industry-based curriculum
• Practical training with live WordPress projects
• Mentorship from experienced freelancers
• Portfolio-building support
• Placement assistance + client-handling guidance
• Step-by-step freelancing support to start earning quickly

Final Tips to Grow Your Freelancing Website Designing Career

Freelancing success is not overnight but at the same time, it comes much faster than any other 9-5 job. So as long as you are consistent in your hustle, you can get there. Keep learning new tools, new templates, new techniques. Start offering maintenance plans as it gives you a monthly recurring income.

Specialising in niche websites like coaching websites, real estate websites, or eCommerce stores can help you take your pricing way up. Learn basic CSS so that you can customize themes in more ways. Keep on upgrading yourself, as for freelancers, the more you learn, the more you can charge for your services.

SEO knowledge is an important area to constantly upgrade as that will directly scale up the value of your projects. Most importantly, never stop building websites. With every new website you build, you learn something new that you didn’t with the previous.

FAQs

1. How can beginners start freelancing in website designing using WordPress?

Start by learning basic WordPress setup, themes, and plugins through a clear WordPress freelancing guide. Freelancers Academy helps beginners become a confident freelance website designer with hands-on practice.

2. Do I need coding to start WordPress freelancing?

No. WordPress allows beginners to build websites without coding. Freelancers Academy teaches website design skills for beginners so you can work as a freelance website designer easily.

3. Which WordPress themes are best for beginners?

Themes like Astra, Kadence, and GeneratePress work well. Freelancers Academy shows how to choose WordPress themes & plugins that suit real client projects as a freelance website designer.

4. How much can I earn as a WordPress freelance designer?

Beginners usually earn from small projects and grow quickly with experience. Freelancers Academy guides you to position yourself as a skilled freelance website designer clients trust.

5. Is Elementor good for freelancing website design projects?

Yes, Elementor is perfect for beginners. Freelancers Academy teaches smart Elementor freelancing tips to help you build clean, responsive websites as a freelance website designer.

6. How long does it take to learn WordPress designing?

Most beginners become comfortable within 4–8 weeks. Freelancers Academy speeds up learning with structured website design skills for beginners and practical WordPress tasks.

7. Why should I learn website designing from Freelancers Academy?

They offer hands-on training, real projects, and a complete WordPress freelancing guide that prepares you to become a job-ready freelance website designer with portfolio support.