I've started a web designing 'company'...any Tips?

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Fern9do

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So after being approached by a couple of people who asked me to design websites for them i desided to start a web design company. Well it's not really a company yet, just me doing freelance work.

Just wanted to ask some of you guys who have been doing this for some time now if you have any advice for a rookie like me:)?
Heres my site that i finished on Sunday.
http://sawebdesigning.co.za/

I know theres like a million web designers out there but i figured what do i have to lose by giving it a shot.
 
Do you have a VAT number? If you do have one, you'll get higher paying jobs.
Are you going to actively market yourself (yellowpages, banner ads, etc)?
Who is hosting your website? It seems a bit reluctant to load, but maybe it is just our line at work.
The site looks nice and clean and one can easily see how to navigate.
Wordpress is also a good start. Maybe get some experience in Drupal and/or Joomla? This will give you a lot of flexibility.
 
I dont hav a vat number yet nod. I first want to complete these two or three freelance jobs so i can use it in my portfolio.
The site is hosted by texo(Thanks guys!). Not sure about loading issues because theres no banners or google analytics so it should load fast. But i have the same problem at work so i think its because theres so many people using the internet.
Do you need to start a cc to get a vat number?
 
I dont plan on marketing it yet. Iv got a banner on my football site and using word of mouth but thats about it. Plan on doing more joomla than wordpres sites but it will depend on what the clients needs are. Such a pain working with wordpress because everything is set up for blogs.
My prices seem reasonable?
 
I think you have to register your business in order to get a vat number.
 
Um, not all of us are veterans yet. I started mine about 3 months back...

Your home page takes a while to load because of all the JS and CSS (8 files?!) that needs to come down initially. 8 seconds from here - and I'm on a 2MB line to Germany. Could be quicker (here I am giving advice to my noob competition! :o)...
 
Raithlin said:
Um, not all of us are veterans yet. I started mine about 3 months back...

Your home page takes a while to load because of all the JS and CSS (8 files?!) that needs to come down initially. 8 seconds from here - and I'm on a 2MB line to Germany. Could be quicker (here I am giving advice to my noob competition! :o)...
Click to expand...

lol.Much appreciated:D

I'll see if i can fix that tonight.
So do you have a vat number and all that stuff raithlin?
 
That's cool! Your site looks very professional i must say.
I'm at the stage where im doing it more as a hobby. maybe i'll even do some sites for free because one of the people who aproached me already changed their minds. And i only charged her R800!
 
Thanks!

You'll get that quite often. Don't let it get you down, and don't drop your prices either. You don't want those customers, trust me.
 
Good luck Fern9do - your approach is a good one of doing it as a hobby - sometimes its best to start a business like this and let it naturally grow.

Well done dude.
 
Register a CC.

IMO, don't worry about VAT - the threshold is quite high now. You just need to make a note on your invoices that VAT is not claimed. It's an administrative mission to claim, and as a service-based entity you don't have as much to claim. But yes, a VAT number does make you look a bit bigger.
 
Thanks boodles, just tying to escape the 9 to 5 job:)

I was thinking thinga...would it be better if i registered a cc for say something like an Online Media Publication(or something like that)?
That way i cold use the Online Media Publication cc for both my sites, instead of registering 1 cc for the football site and one for the web designing.
Just an idea though i dont know if that is even allowed!
 
// EDIT: Definitely see to the loading time.

You might want to have a Portfolio section - I know it will take time to build one, but it can really induce a sense of confidence to prospective clients.

You can also leave it until you have your first client and then ask permission to have a screen shot of his design there.
 
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Yes, Fern9do register a CC with a nice broad name (this can be a challenge because the name needs to be really unique for it to go through the Company Registrar). That way you can then use it for both your companies, which keeps the admin down when you need to do your tax return.

You can always "trade as". So for instance you can be "XYZ cc trading as SA Web Designing". This is done a lot - even by big companies so it's not unprofessional. For instance look at a till slip from Makro - "Masstores trading as Makro". Again, you just need to make a note of this on your invoices, but it can be quite small.

Registering a CC is really a good idea though, I highly recommend it. You can also "trade as" on your own name (a sole proprietorship), but then you don't get the separation of the business and the personal. There are also some liability perks to a CC, and it should benefit you for tax.
 
ok. advice much appreciated guys. I will look into getting a cc asap.

Is there some way i can test the loading time of the site ravenservers, just to compare how bad it really is. I dont really have thst much time during the week to fiddle with the design.

btw your site is amazing thinga!!!I think i'll spend the next five minutes exploring it:)
 
thanks Fern9do!

Download the web developer toolbar for Firefox and there's a Speed Report on there - though that helps you more to test the speed of your items (pictures, code, etc.) than the speed of your service. The Web Developer toolbar is awesome!
 
Is there some way i can test the loading time of the site ravenservers, just to compare how bad it really is.
Click to expand...

You can go home and try it from there if you have internet access or you can try from an internet cafe.

If multiple people report it being so, I don't see why it would need to be "tested" though (unless you make changes). People will expect your site to load efficiently.
 
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RavenServers said:
You can go home and try it from there if you have internet access or you can try from an internet cafe.

If multiple people report it being so, I don't see why it would need to be "tested" though (unless you make changes). People will expect your site to load efficiently.
Click to expand...

I did that now and i must say it was a bit slow but not critical(slow enough to make me close the browser) imo. But i will try and fix it. It seems to be a general problem with wordpress 2.6 http://wordpress.org/support/topic/196295
so maybe i will re design the site with joomla. But that will have to wait til the weekend unfortunately.
 
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