Why you shouldn't hire a freelancer

[gregdavidson]

If you're thinking about hiring a freelance web designer/coder I would advise you to think again. I probably hired about 20 freelancers on GetAFreelancer.com and had a bad experience with almost all of them. Most of them were showing portfolios that did not match the quality of their work. Some even bailed out on me after they accepted the project. When I finally did find a quality freelancer from Russia, he was nice with the frist couple of project (web template designs) until I finally told him a unique idea I had on the back of mind. I wasn't actually talking with him face-to-face but I could definitely sense a change in his dimeanor. He started on the website but the quality was so poor I decided to discontinue the project. I believe he did this intentionally. I honestly believe this freelancer thought this idea was good enough for him to pursue on his own. The only advice I can give you is to use caution when hiring a freelance web designer. Some freelance web designers are actually teenagers who don't know the standards or what they're doing. Many of them are not good enough to get themselves a job with any professional design firm. Those that are charge about the same as an actual design firm. If you have a really good idea you are taking a risk with a freelancer. How would you feel if you were paid $3000 to make a website, later to find that the person who you made this for earned millions? You could be paying somebody money who has the intentions of stealing your idea. I'm sure there are a lot of good freelancers out there but it's hard to tell the difference between the good and the bad.

[Dan Williamson]

I certainly wouldn't not hire a freelancer, this is just based on your problems with certain freelancers and perhaps a certain site. But was everything really the freelancers fault? There can be many things which went wrong due to both of you.

• Did you both communicate well together, and discuss what needed to be done.
• Did he keep you updated on his progress?

It seems to me that the freelancer got somewhat bored for working with you, on the unique project, this is why when I freelance (something I rarely do) I tend to keep my work interesting and get to know the freelancer or employer before I commit to doing multiple projects.

You should always check that the portfolio work is actually his own, because many designers can be ripped from their hard-work and get them posted on other peoples portfolios, this is why you take a good few-day process to check the freelancer out before hiring his work skills.

In my opinion, it seems to be a necessity to check the following:

1. The freelancers portfolio is actually his own work.
2. The freelancer has sufficient time and motivation and dedication to undertake your task.
3. The freelancer has good communication skills, whether it be by e-mail, phone or even face-to-face.
4. Make sure the freelancer isn't continually bored, if it's a bland project keep him motivated, so he doesn't go down track and therefore mess up your needed work.

Also try to get testimonials from other people, these can be great as you find out if the freelancers quality of work is good enough.

Good luck in the future with other freelancers if you do continue with it.

[riven_kalki]

It seems to me that checking out the credentials of a freelancer is a time-consuming effort. Aside from that how do we make sure a freelancer's given portfolio is his own?

Most companies prefer professional design companies because they know they can rely on their work. I'm not saying freelancers are incapable, there sure are some out there that are really making a mark for themselves.

Some notes to find a good one, if you decide to get a freelancer:

Check out his blog or website. Serious designers wouldn't dream of not making a website to promote themselves and their past designs. The quality of the website and freshness of content is an indication of professionalism and dedication to work.

[Dan Williamson]

Originally Posted by riven_kalki

It seems to me that checking out the credentials of a freelancer is a time-consuming effort.

Checking anyones credentials can be a time consuming effort, one that everyone should take if they want their work done properly, and to their standard. It doesn't matter whether it's a professional design company or a small freelancer.

Plus one can't just consider the credentials and then hire them or ask them to do work for you it's also your part to make sure that you communicate well enough with them and give them a good brief to work with, then you must consider both theirs and your attitude, for I have talked with professional designers who have been stuck-up and believe that they can do little wrong, you can meet people whom you just cannot work with so it's pointless saying checking out the credentials of a freelancer is time-consuming as you can lose valuable time trying to get the work done by a professional or freelancer, this is why you must take the time and correct approach.

[digiweb]

Last time I asked a coder for references he has a coniption rant. He was too young to not take the question personally.

What's the best way to ask for references?

[Dan Williamson]

Originally Posted by CarolineBogart

Last time I asked a coder for references he has a coniption rant. He was too young to not take the question personally.

What's the best way to ask for references?

I ask them straight out, if they cannot provide references, testimonials or a portfolio of their work done and credentials and proof that they have actually done this work then you just don't hire them.

You will find most people that are worth hiring have no problem with this.

[scorpionagency]

Dan, I fully agree with you.. However the design verification can be trying... I have come across several Designers from India that scrape screen shots of assorted sites & place them in Their portfolio. The funniest thing I have seen is when India designers use other designers websites as reference & say it is their website.

I have even seen 3 different India designers from 3 different cities give me the same Portfolio URL & when i confronted them with the fact that someone else showed me the same portfolio, guess what they each said?.... It's theirs & the other one was lying.

It can be Very hard to investigate at times.. The world is becoming more & more crooked with Self proclaimed Guru's.

My Best suggestion to avoid the majority of crooks on the internet would be to pick up your LOCAL phone book, Find a Local designer within a 50 mile radius, & visit him/her for coffee or tea to negotiate the design project.

Even if you go with a local freelancer, at least you can feel a little more comfortable being able to drive down the street a ways & talk to them face to face at the local coffee shop.

(You will find that the local Crooks will NOT agree to meet face to face the majority of the time - they like to hide behind their computers) so the Odd's are in your favor....

Just my Opinion.....

[Dan Williamson]

Originally Posted by scorpionagency

(You will find that the local Crooks will NOT agree to meet face to face the majority of the time - they like to hide behind their computers) so the Odd's are in your favor....

I would have to agree with that statement 100%, although I have never had any experience with face-to-face freelancing it would seem logical as most people don't have the finesse to pull off a scam right in front of you.

Originally Posted by scorpionagency

Dan, I fully agree with you.. However the design verification can be trying... I have come across several Designers from India that scrape screen shots of assorted sites & place them in Their portfolio. The funniest thing I have seen is when India designers use other designers websites as reference & say it is their website.

I have even seen 3 different India designers from 3 different cities give me the same Portfolio URL & when i confronted them with the fact that someone else showed me the same portfolio, guess what they each said?.... It's theirs & the other one was lying.

Indeed, it can be challenging but this is why I tend to spend a long time looking, as I am not the best designer I will sometimes pay someone to do some design work but I will take a while going through and attempting to find their work on other peoples portfolios.

I have found that many designers have the original plans, briefs and even some screenshots or files from when they're are part ways through the project, therefore showing the work-by-work plan in which they get the end result from.

[riven_kalki]

Originally Posted by Dan Williamson

Checking anyones credentials can be a time consuming effort, one that everyone should take if they want their work done properly, and to their standard. It doesn't matter whether it's a professional design company or a small freelancer.

Plus one can't just consider the credentials and then hire them or ask them to do work for you it's also your part to make sure that you communicate well enough with them and give them a good brief to work with, then you must consider both theirs and your attitude, for I have talked with professional designers who have been stuck-up and believe that they can do little wrong, you can meet people whom you just cannot work with so it's pointless saying checking out the credentials of a freelancer is time-consuming as you can lose valuable time trying to get the work done by a professional or freelancer, this is why you must take the time and correct approach.

I totally agree that client-designer rapport is essential in the whole thing. And your point (touche btw) leads me into asking: so its given that a businessman worth his salt will check the creds of the freelancer/professional, what are the effective ways to do this? To make sure?

Of course talking to them is a given. And aside from scouring the 50mile radius for a local designer as scorpionagency suggested, are there any other points that can help a person looking for a design so as to not waste time? Like, as a rule , we should see (am listing the points you mentioned, Dan)

1. The Portfolio
2. Some References
3. Tesimonials from Past Clients
4. Credentials (or does this mean the same as the other three?)
5. Good Communication

Sounds like a good list to me. Any other things that can help guys?

[Print]

[self promoting content removed]
You are better off finding one developer and trying to stick with them, its more trial and error on finding one.

[Dan Williamson]

Originally Posted by Print

If anyone needs a designer you can pm me .
You are better off finding one developer and trying to stick with them, its more trial and error on finding one.

Somewhat rather pointless advertisement....

Originally Posted by riven_kalki

I totally agree that client-designer rapport is essential in the whole thing. And your point (touche btw) leads me into asking: so its given that a businessman worth his salt will check the creds of the freelancer/professional, what are the effective ways to do this? To make sure?

Of course talking to them is a given. And aside from scouring the 50mile radius for a local designer as scorpionagency suggested, are there any other points that can help a person looking for a design so as to not waste time? Like, as a rule , we should see (am listing the points you mentioned, Dan)

1. The Portfolio
2. Some References
3. Tesimonials from Past Clients
4. Credentials (or does this mean the same as the other three?)
5. Good Communication

Sounds like a good list to me. Any other things that can help guys?

To be honest there are many ways, and many better ways than mine to do it, I will ask the designer for his credentials etc, check out his portfolio, and I will ask the designer if the URL's are not on his portfolio what company or person they designed for and then I will perhaps e-mail the company and ask for confirmation.

You can also check the design hotspots throughout the web, although not everyone uses them I have found most of the designers I have worked with have done, I won't name any because there can be designers who don't.

Intuition, this can be your biggest mistake, or your biggest saviour, I go off my heart a lot of the time, sounds something LOTR style but I try to get a feeling for them and judge on what my heart says.

[gregdavidson]

Each time I hired a freelancer I carefully looked over each portfolio and would often interview the freelancer with Yahoo IM or by similar means. Every single time they would tell me exactly what I wanted to hear and showed me a stunning portfolio that was of sites that they probably worked on and failed. The owner probably hired a design firm to fix up their mess but the freelancer thought it was ok to keep the site in their portfolio. I've also heard outrageous lies from freelancers who claim they made websites such as CafePress.com, MySpace.com, and Photobucket.com (never hired them of course). Every single time the freelancers I hired would not deliver quality work no matter how hard I would work with them. The last time I hired a freelancer was for customization of an online auction script. I worked with this guy every single day for TWO MONTHS. I honestly feel he could've had this done in 10 days. The results were moderate and I would've been better off hiring the design firm I initially decided on until the freelancer came along. Don't listen to anybody who tells you that I'm probably hard to work with because I am the easiest and most patient person in the world to work with. My advice to you is to spend 2 or 3 times more and to get the job done RIGHT the first time. Don't waste your time with freelancers who are doing work in a field where they are lacking skills and creativity that often comes naturally. This is often the reason why they're a freelancer.

[digiweb]

I love your premise because it's been my experience exactly.

And then I realize. Hey. Wait. I'm a freelancer.

Hmmmmmm.

[scottdizzle]

As an occasional freelancer.. All I can say is that it can be really frustrating to work with someone that has no direction and constantly needs to redo things. This is all stuff the freelancer has to accept, suck up, and lose time on.

It can be equally as hard to find good people to work for.

This is why I personally would never hire a freelancer. I know how it feels from both angles.. so I've decided the best way is to learn how to do it myself.

[Echo123]

I agree that going local is wise. When dealing with a visual product, you need to be able to meet face to face sometimes. I have a much easier time when I can sit down with a client and they can sketch and show me colors and give me immediate feedback.

[scottdizzle]

I have a much easier time when I can sit down with a client and they can sketch and show me colors and give me immediate feedback.

Me too.. to which many cases they will say.. just be creative! Do whatever! So, I do.. then they critique it all to hell and I think.. well.. gee.. I really wish you would have just told me what you wanted from the get-go cause now I am basically just going to START OVER

p.s. I'd never admit that I made myspace.com.. UGLY

[gregdavidson]

Even working face-to-face really can't help most freelance web designers. I honestly wouldn't want to meet face-to-face with any of the freelancers I've worked with because I would probably end up screaming at them for wasting my time. I would often give a freelancer the simplest description in the world "I want a website that is similar in quality look to this website". What they would often deliver is something that looks like complete garbage and does not even compare to what I showed them. I even had a designer do a screenshot of a website and change around the colors to make it look like he drew the template on photoshop. "Quality" web design can easily be compared to art. I wouldn't go to school to be an artist because I don't have enough natural creativity to be a "good" artist. Many freelance web designers know they don't have the creativity yet they're doing it because they know how much money people are willing to pay for it.

[Echo123]

Good designers are indeed artists as well. Technical skill is important, too, though. I have more artistic skill and less technical skill. I tend to just work with small, local businesses.

Originally Posted by gregdavidson

Even working face-to-face really can't help most freelance web designers. I honestly wouldn't want to meet face-to-face with any of the freelancers I've worked with because I would probably end up screaming at them for wasting my time. I would often give a freelancer the simplest description in the world "I want a website that is similar in quality look to this website". What they would often deliver is something that looks like complete garbage and does not even compare to what I showed them. I even had a designer do a screenshot of a website and change around the colors to make it look like he drew the template on photoshop. "Quality" web design can easily be compared to art. I wouldn't go to school to be an artist because I don't have enough natural creativity to be a "good" artist. Many freelance web designers know they don't have the creativity yet they're doing it because they know how much money people are willing to pay for it.

[scorpionagency]

Originally Posted by gregdavidson

Even working face-to-face really can't help most freelance web designers. I honestly wouldn't want to meet face-to-face with any of the freelancers I've worked with because I would probably end up screaming at them for wasting my time. I would often give a freelancer the simplest description in the world "I want a website that is similar in quality look to this website". What they would often deliver is something that looks like complete garbage and does not even compare to what I showed them. I even had a designer do a screenshot of a website and change around the colors to make it look like he drew the template on phot