New to freelancing? 26 best freelance websites to get you started
The freelance economy is rapidly expanding, with more people quitting their day jobs to pursue a freelance career. In 2021, 31.4% of the world's total workforce were freelancers. This number has increased even further this year. Another report asserts that by 2027 over 50% of the workforce in the United States will be freelancers. The reason is simple; people love to work on their terms and with a lot of flexibility.
But getting started as a freelancer is not a walk in the park. Freelancing could be overwhelming at the start as you may be confused about where to enlist for the best returns on your services. To help, we came up with this article on the best freelance websites for beginners to help you find the most suitable platforms to enlist your freelancing services and earn money online quickly.
Notwithstanding your niche or profession, this article covers the best freelance websites for beginners across various niches. We also list the niche-specific platforms that cater to people in certain professions or domains.
Best freelance websites for multiple niches
Here are the best freelance websites for beginners to render various types of freelancing services.
Fiverr
Fiverr is a family name and arguably one of the best freelancing sites for beginners when it comes to offering all manner of freelancing services on the web. It is arguably the most popular freelancing website for beginners and the best for people who can accept $5 starting prices for their gigs. As a beginner, you might want to start here and progress to other platforms later, as the site has gig options for almost all categories of services/jobs.
Freelancer
Freelancer is a great place to enroll and offer freelancing services. However, unlike other freelancing platforms, this site charges a membership fee. For a start, though, you get eight free slots before you're asked to enroll in the paid membership plan. Getting jobs on Freelancer.com is through bidding for an offer and submitting proposals. If the client accepts your submission, you get the spot, do the job, and get paid. Anyone with any skill can enroll on Freelancer.com.
Guru
If you're looking for a platform to build your portfolio and get traction faster in freelancing, you should give Guru a head start. This is because, besides the simplicity and ease of use, there is the potential to get many jobs within a short time. One thing to note is that the site charges between 5% and 9% commission per job you complete. It is a general freelancing platform. Hence irrespective of your area of expertise, you can enlist on Guru.com and be assured of getting hired as soon as possible.
HubstaffTalent
HubstaffTalent is perfect for people who wish to work full-time under a flexible working/payment structure, that is, to get paid by the hour or a lump sum at once. It is the platform for people who offer or need mainly administrative roles like receptionist, sales representatives, manager, Personal Relations (PR) services, Virtual Assistant (VA) services, etc. While creating your account on HubstaffTalent.com, you will indicate when you are [or will likely be] available to do tasks, and you'll be notified via email when there is an offer for you.
PeoplePerHour (PPH)
PeoplePerHour (PPH) is one of the freelancing websites for freelance beginners targeting jobs in the UK, although applicants from across the world are accepted. This implies that you should understand and be able to communicate to the British audience. Other than that, you are welcome to enlist your services on the platform and get paid by the hour.
Toptal
Toptal is best for experts in their field because to get a job on Toptal.com. Applicants are screened to validate their qualifications for a position. The platform embraces applications from virtually all industries. It is the go-to place for several hiring agencies and companies worldwide. So, whatever niche you belong to, you can apply to freelance on Total.com and rest assured of getting good jobs regularly. So, if you are looking for the best freelancing sites for beginners with wide niche options, you should consider Total.com.
Upstack
Upstack is one of the freelancing websites for beginners, primarily for people with expertise in the tech industry and tech-related fields. This is arguably the home to tech development-related jobs. Most hirers on Upstack.com are top-tier companies and high-net-worth individuals who offer projects that last for six months with an average hourly rate of at least $60. This implies that as a freelancer on Upstack.com, you rest assured of steady income, thus cutting the chase for jobs now and then.
Upwork
Upwork is a general "all-niches" freelancing website that accepts freelancers worldwide. To enroll, visit Upwork.com, create an account for free, list whatever service you do, form a working relationship with your client, and keep making money off the platform. Note, however, that at the start, Upwork.com will charge you a 30% commission for services you render to clients, but this charge gets smaller as your tenure elongates on the platform. Perhaps what makes Upwork.com one of the best freelancing sites for beginners is its user-friendliness, popularity, and freelance job offers.
Best freelancing websites for specific niches
The first section of the article discusses eight of the most popular freelancing websites for freelance newbies. There are many niche-specific freelancing websites, including ones for SEO, UI/UX, marketing, testing, and writing. The best freelancing websites for beginners are listed below, grouped by specialty/area of expertise.
Freelancing websites for search engine optimization (SEO) services
SEOclerks and Konker are primarily freelancing platforms for offering SEO-related services like backlink building, blog/website traffic generation, On-page SEO, keywords, etc. If you have competency in these areas, you can enroll on SEOclerks.com and offer your services. Whereas SEOclerks.com is peculiar for offering mostly online freelancing services, Konker.com allows you to offer online and offline freelancing services.
Freelancing websites for designs services
If you're a graphic designer or into UI/UX designs, four great platforms to offer core graphic design services are 99designs, EnvatoStudio, Dribbble, and Coroflot. The core design gigs are website design, visual design, UI/UX design, brand design, product design, logo design, landing page design, web app design, and illustrative arts design. You bid for a job or submit a proposal to get a job on these freelance websites.
Freelancing websites for visual and sound production
Four great freelancing websites designated for video production and sound-related services or gigs are ProductionHUB, Stage32, Mandy, and Assemble.
If you are knowledgeable in directing, sound production, creative videography, motion graphics, editorials, motion artistry, etc., these are the best platforms you should consider enlisting as a freelancer.
Freelancing websites for writing services
BloggingPro, ProBlogger, Due, FreelanceWriting, and AllFreelanceWriting are some of the top sites to provide freelance writing services for a reasonable fee. Entry into these sites is free and open to all countries. You can offer various writing services on these sites like book writing, article writing, research writing, content editing, copywriting, technical writing, and story writing. You can either do general writing or niche down and write about specific niches based on the requirement of each site.
Freelancing websites for software testing services
Do you know that you can get paid to test products?
Testbirds is among the freelancing websites for beginners that connect you with clients who pay you to test software like websites and apps and make comprehensive reports of your test. If you deport a bug in the software, you get extra pay.
UserFeel allows you to make money by testing products in multiple languages to help the client understand/detect how different users perceive the product when offered in different countries.
Getting started as a freelancer
Signing up for a freelance platform and expecting rapid growth is not enough. In reality, each platform has many freelancers competing for jobs, making it a very competitive market. To differentiate yourself and attract more clients, you must learn to manage your business and clients, not just deliver good work. Many new freelancers make the mistake of concentrating solely on service delivery while neglecting business and client management. Both are critical because failing to manage your business and clients correctly can lead to missed deadlines, lost clients, and income. Managing your freelance business and clients does not necessitate hiring a manager or taking a management course. All you need is a clever tool to help you automate the business process while concentrating on service delivery. Workee is one such tool that many freelancers and professionals can use to achieve this.
Workee is a comprehensive business management solution for freelancers and independent professionals. The Workee platform makes it simple to connect with clients and manage the business by providing essential features. Here are some of Workee's most useful features for freelancers;
Booking and scheduling: enables clients to schedule meetings with you and book you anytime and from anywhere. You can also send reminders to remind your clients of meetings and sessions with just a click.
Financial management tool: This program offers an automated financial management service to help businesses run more efficiently. Billing, invoicing, and taxes are all managed using the financial management tool.
Free website builder: The Workee program enables you to have a website with a unique URL. Promoting your freelance business and reaching out to more people with a personal website becomes easy. The interesting part is that you get your website ready for use in less than 5 minutes without the need for any technicalities.
Communication tool: Workee allows you to send messages and make video calls to promote communications and good business relationships with your clients.
Conclusion
Aside from those listed here, many beginner-friendly freelancing websites are available. Freelancing websites are generally categorized based on the target audience, ease of use, flexibility, payment structure, etc. Workee experts have included all-inclusive niche platforms and niche-specific sites to make this article comprehensive. So, no matter what your freelance specialty is, one of these freelance websites will pique your interest. Best wishes on your freelance journey!
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