You have everything you need, right?

• Photoshop (or Gimp), check.
• Sources for stock images, check.
• Design elements such as Photoshop brushes and vectors, check.
• WordPress itself, check.

That’s everything, right? Well, maybe not completely. There are a few things that freelance WordPress designers need but never think about until situations crop up, and these problems usually surface over and over again before they are finally dealt with consistently. Here are some of those issues, with suggested ways to handle them.

Problem #1: Client Training and Support

Teaching clients how to use their new WordPress-based site and supporting them every time they have a question about WordPress is at best a time-suck, and at worst, an excruciating grind. Many designers are not prepared for the customer service side of things, and may not have the best “bedside manner” when dealing with client training.

Consider the following scenario. You’ve given your client a once-over of the WordPress dashboard, yet every other day, you get a call from the client that goes something like this.

“Joe, I don’t remember how to stick a picture of my dog on the right side of the stuff I want to say today. How do I do that again?”

You say something like like:

“Nick, remember what I showed you a couple of days ago? How you click on the toolbar icon to upload an image, and …

If you only have one client, that level of support might not be a big issue, but if you have several clients – or hope to find time to market yourself and obtain more – you need to minimize that kind of interaction as much as possible, while still giving your clients everything they need to succeed with their new site. Some questions are ones that only you can answer, but in most situations, many of the questions could be better handled by written or visual documentation. If you have the time and patience, you could create documentation and videos that answer all the most common questions that might arise. Of course, that kind of documentation takes a lot of time (and some talent), and would have to be revised every time WordPress makes major changes, which happens pretty frequently. The better option is to make use of what someone else has already done, especially if it is high quality and always updated to reflect the current WordPress version.

Of course, you could use my Beginner’s Guide to Blogging with WordPress, but that’s only the tip of the training iceberg, so you’ll probably want to use something more comprehensive. You should check out the WordPress User Manual Plugin because it covers pretty much everything needed to train your clients. It has over 35 high quality video tutorials that teach your clients how to use the site you developed for them using WordPress. It is installed just like a normal WordPress plugin, and once installed, the plugin creates a “Manual” menu item in the WordPress dashboard that lets your clients get their questions answered without having to contact you.

It will answer all those questions such as “How do I upload pictures?”, How do I add a page to my site?”, and “What do all those toolbar buttons do?” In addition to the videos, the plugin also includes a Word and PDF manual with screenshots.

One thing that is really cool is that you can brand the plugin and manuals with your own logo, as though you created it yourself. In addition, you can even add your own videos to the plugin! This makes it ideal for those projects that you created custom functionality for, that needs a little more explanation than the average WordPress user needs.

Of course, the plugin videos and manual get updated with each new stable release of WordPress, so you know your clients will always have instructions that match the current version of WordPress. That saves a ton of time and headache because WordPress changes the way the back end works pretty frequently.

Probably the best feature: You get a developer’s license, which lets you install the plugin on as many of your client sites as you want.

Most new freelance designers will never think about how much time and effort is involved in after-design training and support. After the third or fourth client that knows nothing about using WordPress, though, the advantage of something like this becomes blindingly obvious.

Problem #2 – Proposals, Contracts, Forms, Checklists, etc.

A new freelancer quickly realizes that he or she needs to find some sample forms to handle the business side of projects. Contracts, proposals, disclosure agreements, invoices, etc. all become a necessity, and no one generally has those things just lying around when they are just starting out. Finding free ones on the web is a major source of frustration, and while some freebies can be found – eventually – in the end, it’s a lot easier to just pony up a few bucks for a nice set of templates.

There are probably tons of web design business documents available for purchase. A quick search will let you find whatever you’re looking for. I like this particular web design document pack because it’s a set of ready-made templates that enable you to just fill in the blanks and be done with it, but I’m sure there are plenty of other choices available as well. I happen to like the types of documents included in this one, though, so I’ll list them here, and you can compare to others you find, and determine which is best for your situation.

Work Request Order Form – Defines and clarifies each ADDITIONAL task requested of you outside of the original agreement. This lets you handle scope creep in a way that’s fair.

Credit Card Authorization – Lets your client give you the credit card info needed to purchase items on her behalf such as domain name registrations, hosting, etc.

Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement – Gives your client the reassurance needed that the information they give you will not be disclosed to the competition.

Web Design Proposal – The document most requested and most difficult to deal with… It lets you present a proposal to a prospective client showing the project overview, recommendations, benefits, functional specs, technical specs, information architecture, etc. and details the project with regard to both cost and timeframe expectations.

Lite Proposal – Same as above but a lighter version that’s great for smaller projects.

Web Development Contract – Once you land the client thanks to a great proposal, you need a contract that covers code ownership, payment terms and conditions, change requests, scope creep, expenses, liability, cancellations, etc.

Technical Specifications – This is a good place to log all that important information such as site usernames and passwords, domain and hosting account information, etc.

Invoice – This invoice template includes your business details, accepted payment methods, payment terms, due date, itemized list of work accomplished and hours billed, and total of outstanding and paid items.

Project Handover Form – When the project is complete, and it is time to “hand over the site to client”, this document allows the client to sign off on the completion, take ownership of and responsibility for the new design, and gives you proof that you’ve satisfied the project requirements, in case anything is disputed in the future.

Problem #3 – Tracking The Time Spent on Projects

Just like you can find tons of contract documents online, you can also find tons of time tracking apps online as well. No matter what you use, you should use something other than the clock in your taskbar to keep track of the time you spend on client sites, especially if you charge by the hour. I like the free Paymo Time Tracker that lets you create tasks, start/stop time spent on a task, mark tasks when completed, and send out invoices based on the time spent. As I mentioned, it’s free for most freelancer’s needs, and it includes options that allow you to download a Windows or Mac desktop timer widget, use a browser-based web timer, or even use a mobile app timer. It also lets you connect the invoicing to your PayPal account so your clients can just click a Pay via Paypal button on the invoice that will take them right to Paypal to pay, and after paying, the invoice will automatically be marked as paid in Paymo.

Those are three problems most new freelance WordPress designers encounter, that they never considered having to deal with before they started their freelance career. If you’ve been wishing you had a way to train your clients, track your time, or handle the paperwork involved, one of these three tips might solve your problem.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: freelance, resources, web designers, WordPress, WordPress Designer
This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this in your news aggregator/reader or on DazzlinDonna, then the site you are looking at is probably infringing upon my copyright.

(Side note: Please note that whenever I refer to one of those kinds of jobs as a “real job”, I do so only because that’s what people who always criticized my decision to work from home would call them. “Why don’t you get a real job?”, they always asked. So I use that term in a sarcastic manner mainly as a jab at them).

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that we have the luxury of building up our new business on a part-time basis. Sometimes, people just haven’t gotten around to starting their business while they had a “real job” and now they are faced with the fact that they no longer have that “real job” because they were laid off in the current downsizing trend. Now is the time that each of you – faced with looming bills that you can’t pay – desperately needs to find work!

At this point, you probably need steady income that you can depend upon – even if it’s a cut in pay from your previous job. Of course, you’ll do all the normal things any jobhunter does – scour the Help Wanted ads in your local paper and search the big job boards like Monster.com. When looking for a traditional “real job”, I’d also recommend searching Indeed which enables traditional job board searches across multiple boards. Indeed gives access to millions of job opportunities from thousands of web sites. It includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages.

While you are searching for one of those “real jobs”, however, you can also be making side money right now. Now is the perfect time to start doing some freelance work from home. This freelance work probably won’t pay all your bills right away, but when you’re desperate, ANY income is a good thing. In addition, by doing freelance work, you’ll begin to gain confidence and experience as you learn how to make money all on your own, using your own skills, initiative, talents, and perseverance. That will make for a very nice transition to having your own full-time business later on.

If you haven’t been laid off yet, yay! In that case, use these references just to dip your toe in the water, or make some side money. Side money can be great for buying those “extras” you don’t normally get a chance to purchase, but side money can be even better as a savings fund – a “just in case” fund…Just in case you ever DO get laid off.

In any case, whether you desperately need cash now or not, the following resources are a great way to get started earning some extra cash, honing some new business skills, and leading the way towards an independent future for yourself. This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good representative cross-section of resources. Frankly a long list is simply overwhelming. I’d prefer a short list to begin with. You can always search for more if you need to.

Blogger Job Boards
ProBlogger Job Board – Jobs for Bloggers
Blogger Jobs

Freelance Jobs
Elance
FreelanceMom
FreelanceSwitch
GetAFreelancer
Guru
iFreelance
oDesk
RentACoder
Craigslist

Personally, I prefer to work on my own web sites now, rather than freelance my time out to others, but freelancing was the perfect entry into the world of working from home for me. By freelancing, I was able to secure income that I needed badly after I’d been laid off a few years ago. In addition, I learned what types of work I liked, and what types I didn’t. We all have more than one talent. You can try different types of freelance work, based on your own variety of skills. You’ll find some more rewarding than others, both monetarily and emotionally.

Some people love freelancing and continue with it full-time as their new business. If you discover that you love it too, then great! If so, then I’d recommend visiting Freelanceswitch.com. It’s a great resource for folks who want to be full-time freelancers. But even if you decide that freelancing isn’t what you really want to base your business on, it is still a good idea to dip your toes in the freelancing waters so that you can earn some side income and flex your independence muscles. I encourage you to try it. It could make a difference in your life.

© Donna for DazzlinDonna, 2008. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: freelance, Job Boards, online, ProBlogger Job Board
This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this in your news aggregator/reader or on DazzlinDonna, then the site you are looking at is probably infringing upon my copyright.