Your website is often the first real impression a potential client gets of your business.
For freelancers, it is not about having a flashy site or endless pages. It is about clarity, trust and making it easy for the right people to work with you.
When you think about it, your website should answer the questions potential clients have before they need to ask them. It should make them want to work with you, make them imagine the difference you can make to them and/or their company.
Here are some practical tips to help you focus on what really matters.
Be clear about who you help and how
One of the biggest mistakes people make on their website is trying to sound impressive instead of being genuinely useful. It is very tempting to use big, clever sounding words and vague statements in the hope of looking more professional, credible or experienced, but this often has the opposite effect.
When visitors land on your site, they are usually scanning quickly and looking for simple signs that you understand their world and their problems. If your wording feels fluffy, generic or unclear, they will struggle to see how you can actually help them. You should get specific about who you help, what you do and the real outcomes you create.
Spell out:
- Who you work with
- What problems you solve
- What outcomes clients can expect
A visitor should know within a few seconds whether they are in the right place.
Show your face and tell your story
People buy from people, especially in a freelance world where trust is everything. A professional photo and a short, human “about” section can make a huge difference to how quickly someone feels comfortable with you.
When visitors can see your face and understand a little bit about the person behind the business, it helps them relax and feel like they are dealing with a real human, not just a brand or a sales page.
You don’t need your full life story, but you do need:
- A friendly, professional photo that reflects how you want to show up professionally
- A short journey into why you do what you do, and what led you to this kind of work
- A touch of personality that makes you feel approachable, relatable and real
This kind of openness builds trust faster, creates a sense of connection, and makes you far more memorable than a list of qualifications ever could.
Make your services easy to understand
If someone has to work too hard to understand what you offer, there’s the potential they’ll just go and look for someone who explains things more clearly. Just think about when you’re browsing a website, how long to you spend searching for the information before moving on?
People aren’t looking for complicated language or clever wordplay, they are looking for reassurance that you can solve their problem. When your services are explained simply and clearly, it removes friction and makes it much easier for someone to imagine working with you.
Use simple language and focus on:
- Clear service names that tell people exactly what you do
- What is included, so there are no surprises later
- Who it is for, so the right people feel seen and understood
- The result they will get, so they can picture the impact of working with you
You don’t need to show prices if that does not fit your business model, but you do need clarity. Clear always beats clever when it comes to winning trust and enquiries.
Add proof that goes beyond buzzwords
Clients want reassurance that you can actually deliver on what you promise, especially when they are trusting an external consultant with their time, money and reputation. No matter how good your wording is, people will always look for proof that you can actually do what they need you to do.
This is where social proof becomes so powerful. It builds credibility faster than any salesy spiel because it shows the impact you’ve had for previous clients.
Useful things to include:
- Short testimonials that highlight specific benefits or results
- Client logos where appropriate, to give instant visual credibility
- Case studies that show the before, during and after, so people can see the journey
- Blog posts that demonstrate your thinking, experience and expertise
- Numbers where they make sense, such as time saved, revenue protected or results achieved
Real stories help potential clients see themselves in the outcome and feel more confident about taking the next step.
Make it easy to take the next step
Your website should guide people, not leave them guessing. When someone decides they want to work with you, they should be able to take action quickly and without friction. That means being clear about what to do next, making it easy to contact you, and keeping everything simple and up to date so nothing feels broken or neglected.
Think about:
- Clear calls to action such as booking a discovery call, downloading a guide or sending an enquiry
- An obvious way to contact you, including a clear contact page, a simple form, your email address and links to relevant social platforms
- Regularly reviewing your site to refresh testimonials, update services, check links and remove anything that no longer reflects your work
Trust grows when your website feels easy to use, easy to understand and clearly looked after. A simple, current website will always outperform a complex one that looks forgotten.
You don’t need to be perfect
Above all things, your website doesn’t need to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be clever, flashy or packed with every possible bell and whistle. It just needs to be clear, honest and helpful.
Your website isn’t a one-time project, it’s something that will grow and change as your business grows and changes. You will refine it. You will improve it. You will spot things you want to tweak. That’s all part of the process.
The most important thing is that your website works for you, not that it looks impressive to everyone else. Start where you are, use what you have, ask people for feedback, and keep making it better as you go.
