Learn the three types of webpages every freelance business website needs and what webpages designers and developers need to attract new clients.
When you first get started freelancing, all you need is a basic website; a place someone can go to make sure you’re really who you say you are.
Then, as you complete projects and gain experience, you’ll need to enhance your website to showcase your work, highlight your experience, and help people get to know, like, and trust you so they feel confident hiring you. Eventually, as you build your brand and establish a solid reputation for quality work, you’ll need a robust project inquiry form to segment inbound leads.
When creating your freelance website and writing the copy for everything from your services page and home page to your contact page and privacy policy, you may wonder, “What pages do I need to include on my website?” While that depends on the type of brand and business you have, for freelance designers and developers, it’s pretty straightforward.
There are three types of pages designers and developers need on their website:
- Money Pages
- Education Pages
- Administrative Pages
Money Pages
A website’s money pages are the pages dedicated to moving a prospective client or customer through the website’s core sales funnel. For designers and developers these are the pages that help people find out if:
- You offer the services they need and can solve their problem
- They like your work and methodology
- They trust you to deliver on your promises
The money pages typically end with a persuasive call to action and include sales pages and your home page, portfolio, services page(s), about page, testimonials page, and project inquiry page.
- The Home Page is a mini snapshot of your entire website. It tells a compact, concise version of your story on just one page with the goal of capturing a visitor’s attention and enticing them to click into your site and stay longer.
- The Portfolio is where you show off your work, demonstrate your capabilities, and share client success stories. Your portfolio isn’t an archive of every project you have ever completed. It’s a highlight reel of your best work that also represents the work you want to do in the future.
- The Services Page is where you communicate how you help people, what problems you solve, who you work with, and what you do. It’s where you share what’s possible: the results your clients see and the impact of those results.
- The About Page is where you get to tell the story of your business and share your origin story. It’s where people will go to get to know you and connect with you. It’s where they’ll look to find your qualifications, work history, and experience, as well as how you’re different from anyone else they’re considering.
- The Testimonials Page is all about your clients and what they have to say about working with you. This page features feedback and quotes from real clients. This page becomes a critical piece of the sales process when the testimonials move beyond “Jen is amazing” to tell a story of where the client was at the start of the project and where they are now that’s it’s complete. Testimonials, when paired with photos or video, provide undeniable social proof that builds trust and signals to clients that you walk your talk.
- The Project Inquiry Page is not your general contact page. It’s a page created specifically for people who are interested in hiring you and are ready to take the next step. The project inquiry form is longer and more complex than a basic contact form because it’s gathering the information you need to evaluate the quality of a lead and determine the right response.
Education Pages
A website’s education pages are dedicated to building your reputation, positioning you as an authority in your niche, establishing expertise in your industry, and expanding your digital footprint so you can get found more often by potential clients.
Education pages:
- Highlight your experience and expertise
- Showcase your success and the success of your clients
- Provide useful, helpful, valuable tips and information
- Invite people to take the next step or become part of your community
The education pages typically include your blog and all blog posts, company news and announcements, and landing pages for free email marketing list-building offers like webinars, virtual summits, checklists, tips sheets, email newsletters, a free video series, or some other type of free resource.
When adding things like pop-ups, ads, or email opt-in offers, I typically only add these to education pages. I don’t add them to money pages because I don’t want to distract prospective clients from moving through the sales funnel to conversion with a free offer.
Administrative Pages
A website’s administrative pages are the pages dedicated to legal compliance, copyright, and basic business information that people need to be able to easily access but doesn’t belong in the primary header navigation menu. For designers and developers, these pages typically include:
- The Contact Page is a catch-all page for people who want to contact you for reasons other than hiring you. A website contact page contains your contact information, a contact form, and invitations to connect on social media and stay in touch.
- The Privacy Policy Page that is required by law and required to include full contact information including a mailing address.
- The Terms Of Use Page that outlines the rules for people who visit your website.
- The Disclaimer Page that covers your bases for required disclosures, like those related to paid partnerships, advertising, and affiliate relationships.
Other common yet optional administrative pages include:
- An FAQ Page where you can not only answer the most commonly asked questions prospective clients have, but the questions you wish they would ask.
- A Recommendations Page where you can list all of the tools, plugins, courses, and resources you use, believe in, and recommend.
- A Client Login Page that gives clients access to a client portal or private membership area for their project.
Creating A Successful freelance Website
As you can see, building a website for a web design business or web development business isn’t terribly complicated, especially when you break it down into money pages, education pages, and administrative pages.
It gets even easier when you consider that only the money pages and administrative pages are required to launch your website.
To get started, you don’t have to have a blog. You don’t have to create a variety of sales and landing pages. You don’t have to have a portfolio. You don’t have to actively build an email list, have an email opt-in, or do email marketing. The beauty of working with software like WordPress or Squarespace means your freelance website can evolve and grow with you as you evolve and grow, and all of that stuff can come later if it works for you.
In the meantime, get your money pages built out, prepare your administrative pages because they’re required by law, and launch that sucker so you can get some clients, gain expertise, define your ideal client, and work on improving your portfolio.
