Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to work with a wide range of clients and within a wide range of industries. When I was starting out, I didn’t really have an understanding of what was possible career wise or client wise. All I knew was that you get clients and build their website. After talking with a fellow designer a few years ago, my mind opened up to potential clients I never knew were even an option. So in case you are anything like me when I started, I thought I’d share the 2 types of clients you can have a web designer / developer (or both).
Traditional One-on-One Clients
One on one clients are what you may first think of when you think client work. You book with a person or business that needs a website and you work with them to make that happen. Now, you can either do just the web design or just the development or do both. That totally depends on your skills, what you offer and what you enjoy doing. These will typically be one and done clients or potentially be on retainer for additional work or maintenance on a regular basis. And if you do a good job, they will hopefully come back needed a refresh in a few years.
The great thing about one-on-one clients is that you are in control of that project. You have the ability to put it in your portfolio, site credit goes to you, share on social, etc. (whatever you have permission for of course). You also project manage, speak with the client and do all the work.
White Label Clients
White label clients are what I had never heard of until a few years ago. Essentially, you will work under (or with) another design agency or freelancer and do the design or development of the website. However, ‘site credit’ won’t be attributed to you or your business, rather the agency or freelancer you worked with. Now, with white label, there’s a wide range of possibilities of what can happen or what you’re allowed to share within a project. Most of this will be based on the agency or freelancer you’re working with. Some may mention you as part of their ‘team’ and you may have minor client contact, while others will require an NDA, no client contact or anything.
The great thing about white label clients is there’s potential of continuous clients (without having to do additional marketing), less or no project management, less or no client contact, and you get to collaborate with people you hopefully enjoy working with.
For the past few years, I’ve worked with both types of clients and it’s been really great for business. Personally, I enjoy having a mix of client types and it keeps my days interesting. It also allows me to build relationships with other designers & developers, have multiple sources for clients and do work that I enjoy. Whether you want a mix or want to focus on one type of client, that’s totally up to you – at least now you have an idea of what’s possible out there.
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