How to Create a Freelance Website - A Non-Stupid Guide

‍Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through my link. All opinions are my own.

‍If you know you need a new website, I have some advice for you. Start with a minimum viable website, consisting of a single page.

Short or long, it doesn’t matter. Just get up the one page quickly.

Why do I give this same advice so often to my high-ticket coaching clients and members of the private Freelance Cake Community?

Because freelancers and consultants will put off relaunching their websites for months while they overthink everything from the sitemap and page layouts to their positioning and head shot.

Websites are hard precisely because they’re tall sandwiches with layers of decisions and digital stuff, and the various ingredients do slightly different jobs:

• Marketing machine
• Resource library
• Sales letter
• Portfolio
• Blog

Redoing your website starts to feels like cleaning your house before you host a dinner for a cultural icon (obviously, Dolly Parton) at your house. You start to notice in horrifying detail every dusty corner, half-baked design idea, and stain on the couch. Dolly will not be impressed.

A one-page website enables you to lower the stakes.

You don’t try to build Versailles in a day, my friend, knowing that the Baroque opulence can come later. Instead, you start by cleaning up the one-room foyer so you can feel confident welcoming people into it.

Here are 4 reasons why (re)launching a single page first is more strategic:

• Perfect is the enemy of done, and every day you delay launching a good-enough new site is one where your current website affects (negatively?) your positioning, perceived authority, and the number of opportunities you do (or don’t) receive.
• At the risk of contradicting the first point, I’ll add that people are paying less attention than you think. Unless your current site gets a ton of traffic, launching a new one-page website that feels “imperfect” or “incomplete” won’t hurt you—because very few people are visiting the site anyway. Missing a few notes in your wobbly rendition of the National Anthem doesn’t matter much if you’re singing to an empty stadium.
• Potential clients won’t read as much as you think. When was the last time you read reams of web content before taking the first step and reaching out to someone you wanted to hire? Having lots of web pages can only help if potential clients actually read them. Most clients won’t, so it’s better to launch with a single page of pretty-good copy and content and start reaping the benefits of site, however lean, that you actually like.
• Now’s your chance to short-circuit your insecurity. The prospect of launching a new website stirs up all our insecurities about what we feel like we should already understand or know at this point in our careers—for example, best practices of on-page SEO and custom meta data—so we agonize and deliberate and second-guess ourselves. While we ponder human frailty and question our life choices, the website remains unlaunched. The better approach is to launch a site you know is imperfect and iterate over time to improve its quality.

My friend, it’s time to get out of your head and out of your way by reducing the project scope to a single page.Before you start making sawdust fly, take a moment to remember what your website is for.

What’s your website’s primary purpose?

Most of us don’t buy from strangers we don’t trust.

When we hire service providers in particular, we come to the transaction already having picked up some trust somewhere, either by proxy from a friend who recommended the provider, or because we already knew the provider by reputation, or because we read a bunch of testimonials or the odd case study.

Some conversion copywriters can take cold traffic through the paces on a single sales page and convince those presumably skeptical folks to buy, and though I think it’s possible for freelancers to do the same and take the occasional high-state-of-readiness client from cold to sold, using only a website, the majority of cold prospects won’t buy from you (that is, from a stranger) until they talk to you.

Because that’s true, the primary purpose of your website is not to sell but to start a conversation.

For that reason, you don’t need to wait until you have page layouts and content for a robust site map like this:

• Home
• Services (Parent)
• Service (Child)
• Portfolio (Gallery)
• Portfolio (Individual Project)
• Case Study
• Process/Approach/Philosophy/Manifesto
• Blog (Index)
• Blog (Individual Post)
• About
• Contact
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Resources
• Resume
• Dietary Preferences
• When’s this guy going to stop?

People don’t need to see photos of your tuxedo cat to start a conversation, and even going there invites more second-guessing: “Is my personality coming through enough? Maybe too much?” A single page will suffice.

Don’t let non-essentials derail you.

Freelancers get tripped up on the non-essentials all the time. We let an irrelevant question—e.g., “Should I publish my pricing on my website?”—bring the entire process to a halt.

We worry about platform: “Should I use WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Framer, Squarespace, Showit, Grandma’s CMS with Free Doilies? Which one is the best? Aargh?!!!”

Every delay increases the opportunity cost of not having a relatively short and sweet website that can start conversations.

Overindexing on the unimportant means less effort put into the main objective: generating a surplus of project leads

Keep the main thing the main thing: A single strategic page with good-enough content that can start conversations.

1-Page Content Strategy for Your Freelance Website

At this point, you might have realized you lost sight of the main purpose (i.e., launching a good-enough page sooner to start conversations and generate more leads), and you might be thinking, “Fine, Austin, you win, but what do I put on that single strategic page? Ha!”

The rest of this blog post is a breakdown of a content strategy you can use to draft good-enough copy quickly:

• Top (aka, hero)
• Problem
• Agitation (optional)
• Solution + Benefits
• Proof
• Offer
• Proof
• Bio
• Call to Action
• Portfolio
• Footer

Let’s expand each section to clarify what you should include. I’ll also share a specific example.

Top / Hero Section

Write a 1) headline, 2) short value prop and 3) call to action.

For example, here’s what I wrote for a coaching client of mine who was spinning up a podcast production business called Candy Podcasting:‍

Consistently excellent production for your podcast
We’ll make it easy for people to connect with your message and personality, and if you’ve got guests, we’ll make sure they sound great too.
I like the sound of that →

Problem Section

Write a subheader focused on your dream client’s primary pain point, and then take a narrative approach, using second person (“you”) to expand on the pain points and desired outcomes.

Here’s what I wrote for Candy Podcasting:‍

Want cheap podcast editing? You get what you pay for.

You can find podcast production agencies charging $50 or $75 per episode.

That price range is attractive at first:

• Don’t you need to validate the concept first?
• Will the podcast be worth the expense?
• Will the effort eventually pay off?

It’s totally understandable to keep costs low as you wait and see.

Agitation Section

Here you highlight common problems clients make when trying to solve the problem—e.g., hiring a cheap copywriter and regretting it later when what they produce is unusable.

This can be a simple bullet point list or another section of the narrative.

Here’s what I wrote for Candy:‍

The problem is, low-quality audio draws attention to itself. It saves you money now but gets increasingly expensive.

How, you ask? Listeners make snap judgments. If your show’s audio is only so-so, most listeners won’t have a good experience. They won’t come back.

And if potential guests and sponsors don’t like what they hear, you won’t get the yeses you need to keep the show going and growing.

Solution Section

Explain the more value-conscious approach to getting better results much faster, built around your key differentiators, process, and/or the desired outcome. You can also call out 2-3 benefits of working with you based on your differentiators—e.g., a copywriter might talk about “can’t-stop-reading-it, effective copywriting.”)

Here’s what I wrote for Candy:‍

High quality audio sends the right message.

It keeps you and guests front and center. It wins you subscribers, builds relationships, and creates opportunities.

The team at Candy has been producing top-quality audio for tv, film, and advertising for over 25+ years.

High-profile projects for demanding discerning clients have taught us how to pull out the right details, usually within tight timeframes.

Give us a deadline, and we’ll beat it.

Throw us a big curveball, and we’ll knock it out of the park.

Our team is flexible, adaptable, and fun-loving, and we can tap our network of producers and audio engineers to scale production value anytime you like.

Our investments in gear, tech, and streamlined process will make your experience with podcasting stress free and satisfying.

Check out some of the companies we’ve worked with…

Proof Section

You can take proof in several directions, including client logos, testimonials, case studies, strategy breakdowns, and white papers.

For example, Candy decided to use a “brag bar” of client logos for the Candy site.

If you’ve done some speaking, been a guest on podcasts, or have been featured on well-known bogs, you could include those logos.

The easiest thing is to drop up 3-5 of your best client testimonials.

Here’s what the proof section looks like on the FreelanceCake.com homepage:

Offer Section

Explain how you help clients and what a typical engagement is, along with your bold promise.

Here’s what I wrote for Candy:‍

Give us just a few hours, and we’ll help you turn your show into your listeners’ new favorite:

• Comprehensive audio production, from real-time direction and coaching to the delivery of the final .mp3 / .wav files
• Help with finding and choosing sound effects and/or custom music
• Expert editing, mixing, and mastering

‍We deliver in record time and help you avoid podcasting no-no’s:‍

• Hours spent digging through sound libraries for music and sound effects
• Weird sound artifacts and distracting defects that make it hard to enjoy your show
• Disappointing production quality (because you tried to save money and got what you paid for)

Proof Section

Same as above. You can use a testimonial, or several in a split view or slider, or a different kind of proof.

Here’s the testimonial I wrote for Candy because I was one of their clients:

“I’m blown away by the quality and the whole experience. I wasn’t comfortable with podcasting at first, but my confidence has grown. Having a true producer, not just an editor, for the show has set us up for success from the very first episode. The Candy team can pick out things I don’t even notice and coach me. We do the retakes as needed. The final episodes sound polished and amazing. And throughout the process, I get to focus on what I enjoy: making complex freelance concepts easy to understand, telling stories, and having fun. I couldn’t have done it without you all!” –  Austin L. Church, Host, Freelance Cake

Bio Section

Keep this short and focused but don’t be afraid to sprinkle in personality. I generally recommend writing this in the first person (I/my), but if you’ve got a team, then go with third (We/Our).

We chose to drop the bio on the Candy page, so here’s mine instead:‍

I’m a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach. I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum).

I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.

Call to Action

Tell people how to start the conversation with you. Duh.

“Book a 20-minute discovery call” is clear. “Let’s rock n roll” is clever. When it doubt, keep the CTA clear, not clever.

Here’s what I wrote for the Candy site:‍

Do you want your show to be great, not just good enough?

You want first-time listeners to become devoted fans, and we do too. With Candy, you get an end product you are really proud of.

Let’s have a conversation and see if there’s a fit.

Reach out to Jason at jason@candypodcasting.com

Portfolio Section

I debated on whether or not to even include this section in the content strategy because it can become a huge distraction. What should I include? What if I don’t like any of my work samples? What if my new site represents a pivot? Choices!!! Doubts!!!

The easiest thing to do in this section is cut it. The second easiest thing is to cross-link to a portfolio that lives elsewhere (e.g., Notion page, Dropbox folder, or GDoc).

Your clients care less about how your portfolio displays on your website than you think. Make it easy for them to see a handful of work samples if they want to—fewer than you think—and certainly let this optional section stall out your progress.

Here are three ways other freelancers have approached this:

• Candy’s portfolio is the podcasts they produce and their custom music library. Their site will link to both.
• Ian Hatcher-Williams includes a screenshot of each homepage, plus the technologies used, plus the names of any collaborators. Straightforward and confident.
• Erin Balsa at Haus of Bold includes a smattering of bylined pieces, reports, podcasts, conferences, and podcasts.

If you insist on including this section and want help pulling your online portfolio together, download my online portfolio planner for free.

Footer Section

Include contact info, social badges, legal stuff like T&C and Privacy Policy pages, email signup, sitemap, copyright, you name it. The footer is your oyster.

Note: Third-party plugins like Termly for WordPress and iubenda can save you time on making your website compliant with privacy laws.

Now, go do it.

Let’s assume you’re the sort of person who’s actually going to take action because you read this far. Well done, by the way.

Here are resources to accelerate you down the one-page path:

• If you know you’re going to ignore my advice and create a full-fledged website, download my Freelance Website Cheat Sheet. There’s a much deeper how-to post about freelance websites here. The formatting needs to be fixed, and in it, I speak directly to freelance writers. Even so, it’s worth reading because 90% of the recommendations still apply.
• If you’re using WordPress, buy a premium theme. It will make your life so much easier, I promise. I’ve recommended the Divi theme from Elegant Themes (affiliate link) for years. When I had a brand and marketing studio, we used it for our clients’ websites. Divi costs $7.42 per month, or $89 per year. Or, you can do what I did and get a lifetime license for Divi Pro for $297. If you go with DIVI, you’ll find site examples here, and Divi’s documentation here and tutorial here. For those of you who need to pay to pay attention, my friend Josh Hall has a Divi course for $97.
• If you still need inspiration, check out these 29 consultant website examples. I compiled the insights in this Building a Consulting Website Cheat Sheet.
• If you need help with your positioning, read this post.
• You can create a free, one-page site using Notion and Super.so. Or if you 1) have your eye on the Webflow (website builder), and 2) want to pay someone else to build a one-pager for you, reach out to my client, Ezekiel Rochat, at Rocship. Or, you can try Carrd. One of my coaching clients, Eagranie, had this to say: “I am a huge fan of Carrd.co. It's super cheap and includes hosting. I think you can make fancy websites with it, but for the average plebe it is slightly limited in design options, which eliminated distractions for me. I graduated from a landing page to a one-page website and then hacked it to make a "proper" website and it's served me well!

Keep the goal of a 1-page website front and center. Launch something you actually feel good about much sooner because you skewed to simplicity. Build the momentum you want by taking a more incremental approach.

When you’re ready, here are ways I can help you:

1. Free Money. A pricing and money mindset guide for freelance creatives. If you’re unsure about your freelance pricing, this is the book for you.
2. Morning Marketing Habit. This course will help you build an “always be marketing” practice, become less dependent on referrals, and proactively build the business you want with the clients you want. My own morning marketing habit has enabled me to consistently make  6 figures as a freelancer.
3. 1:1 Coaching. Gain clarity, confidence, and momentum in your freelance or consulting business.
4. Business Redesign (Group Coaching). Raise your effective hourly rate, delegate with confidence, and free up 40 hours a month.
5. Clarity Session. It’s hard to read the label when you’re inside the bottle. I've done well over 100 of these 1:1 sessions with founders, solopreneurs, and freelancers who wanted guidance, a second opinion, or help creating a plan.