Build Your Freelancer Brand Easily on WordPress
Photo credit: ManageWP Blog.
WordPress offers one of the best CMS (content management system) solutions for freelancer websites. You can use a WordPress site to establish your unique brand, and it offers plenty of customization options that you can employ even if you don’t know anything about coding or graphic design.
Consider Premium Themes
You can find thousands of free WordPress themes on the platform’s official website, but premium themes offer more functionality. Many come with drag-and-drop editors that allow you to switch up your site’s format without touching a line of code.
Some of the most popular WordPress premium theme builders include Thesis, Genesis, and Elegant Themes, each of which offers an affordable membership option and lets you customize your site without any coding. However, if you decide to go with a free theme, consider learning a few coding skills so you can make the site your own.
Populate Your Pages With Unique Content
Once you select a theme, start creating content. You’ll want to promote your freelancing services as well as provide samples of your work. For instance, if you’re a freelance writer, link to content you’ve written on other websites. Alternatively, post snippets of your work so customers will know what to expect.
If you’re a freelancer in the visual arts, you can create an image gallery to display samples. Your portfolio serves to entice potential customers to hire you, so make it as unique and professional as possible. There are a variety of free gallery plugins that offer enhanced functionality when compared to WordPress’s built-in galleries.
Communicate With Your Audience
WordPress is a highly effective tool for building freelancer websites because of its potential for interactivity. You can add comment boxes to each of your posts and pages so people can leave feedback.
You might also use plugins to connect your WordPress site to your social media accounts and other online platforms. For instance, adding “share” buttons to each of your posts will encourage visitors to spread the word about your content via social media, email, and other vehicles.
Celebrate Your Passion
Use your WordPress site to celebrate your professional passions. If you’re a freelance food blogger, use your WordPress site to host photographs and recipes. A freelance graphic designer might post reviews of graphic software or walk visitors through the process used to design a logo.
Photographs, videos, and other imagery can help offset text-heavy websites. If you can break up the content with visual elements, you’ll engage your visitors faster and provide more engagement.
Keep the Site Lean
Resist the urge to download every plugin you encounter on WordPress’s website. You only need the bare minimum to keep your site functioning, and if you download too many, you’ll slow your page load times, which might turn off visitors.
The same goes for an overflow of special fonts, high-resolution photos, and graphics-dense backgrounds. Minimalist design is very much in fashion right now, so embrace simplicity to keep your site lean.
Your website is your most powerful marketing tool as a freelancer. If you’re anxious to build your brand, WordPress offers a simple but effective solution.
