If you’re a freelance writer, your focus has probably been on signing up to freelance websites for jobs so you have money coming in.
But one of the most overlooked aspects of being a successful freelance writer is having your own freelance writer website.
If you’re unsure of how to go about it, this guide, with freelance writer website examples, will help you to create your own site in no time at all.
Benefits of Having Your Own Freelance Writer Website
Having your own freelance writer website allows you to have a professional online presence, which can help you attract more clients and establish yourself as a credible and reliable writer.
It allows you to showcase your portfolio and highlight your best work to potential clients, which could enable you to get more writing work.
Having your own freelance writer website means you can exert control over your brand and messaging, which helps you build a community of loyal readers and clients.
You could even expand your brand, offering value-added services and products like e-books and online courses. This could lead to more avenues of revenue in addition to your freelance content writing services.
Finally, you can leverage your freelance writer website to increase your online search visibility and reach on search engines, making it easier for new clients to find you.
There’s no downside to creating your own freelance writer website, so let’s dive in to learn how to do it.
What Should a Freelance Writer’s Website Look Like? (With Examples)
As with any project, you have to be able to know what you’re aiming for in order to get there. The best way to approach creating your own freelance writer website is to look at examples that other freelance writers have already created.
Here are some freelance writer website examples, with a brief summary of why they stand out to inspire you.
Choices Regarding Your Own Freelance Writer Website
When you choose to make your own freelance writer website, you have a few options.
1. Use a Freelance Writer Portfolio Platform
There are numerous freelance writing portfolio platforms that allow freelance writers to showcase their work online.
Some of them are paid platforms, but many of them are free of charge. They each offer a range of features ranging from promotion to enabling communication between prospective clients and the writer.
Here is a list of some of the more popular freelance writing portfolio platforms:
2. Build Your Own Freelance Writer Website From Scratch
Since the dawn of website builder software, it’s easier than ever to create beautiful WordPress sites. If you know your way around WordPress, you can turn any theme into a freelance writer portfolio site.
However, there’s no need to go to all that trouble, since there are numerous pre-made themes specifically designed for creatives who want to have their own portfolio sites.
Once you have chosen your theme, all you need to do is simply fill in the stock content with your personalized content to make it your own. The benefit of using a template to create your own freelance writer website is that the design part is already done for you.
And, since the design is one of the biggest hurdles to creating a beautiful website, you can’t go wrong with using a pre-designed template.
Here are some pre-designed freelance writer website examples to consider:
Freelance Writer Website Example #1:
In this example, the writer’s image is front and center, giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your professional appearance—and approach—to your writing work.
Available through the Elementor Kits Library, this template has all the pages you need to create a comprehensive writer portfolio site you can be proud of, including an area for your C.V., your experience, a cover letter, and more.
Freelance Writer Website Example #2:
Also available through the Elementor Kits Library, this template has a lot of white space and a clean design.
There’s plenty of room to highlight your best writing work, as well as to talk about your experience and why a client should hire you over other freelance writers.
Freelance Writer Website Example #3:
If you prefer a darker theme with what might be considered more “masculine” elements, you might like this example portfolio theme, available from Envato Elements.
It comes packed with everything a writer needs to make a big impact, including three creative post formats in addition to text, which are audio, video, and gallery.
Freelance Writer Website Example #4:
If you are a visual person you may like to have a visually stunning theme to highlight your writing work.
This theme, also available through Envato Elements, offers 13 different home page choices so you can make exactly the right impression that you want.
Although the sample shows it being used as a photography site, you can easily replace the stock content to showcase your best writing work.
6 Tips to Maintain Your Freelance Writer Website
Once you’ve created your freelance writer website, you need to turn your attention to maintaining it.
This includes:
- Keeping your content updated
Regularly update your website with new content to make sure that your best work is always front and center
- Optimizing for SEO
Make sure that your website is optimized for search engines so that potential clients can easily find you. This includes using relevant keywords, meta tags, and alt tags.
- Monitoring your website’s performance
Use analytics tools to track your website’s traffic, bounce rate, and other metrics to identify areas for improvement and to understand what’s working well and what isn’t.
- Keeping your website secure
Ensure that your website is protected against hackers and other online threats. Update software and plugins as needed.
- Networking and promoting your website
Share your website on social media and other platforms to increase visibility and drive traffic. Join online communities and forums to connect with other writers and potential clients.
- Keeping design updated
Regularly freshen up design elements of the website, like images, layout, and typography, to keep it visually appealing and relevant.
When you take time from your writing to create your own freelance writer website, you get value from it that continues over the years.
Follow the tips in this guide to get started. Speaking of writing, why not take a minute now to sign up for a free trial at WriterAccess, one of the largest freelance writers’ marketplace!
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