Freelance Platforms

How To Choose The Right Freelance Platforms For Developers

We live in a world of technology, and there are several avenues for people to explore opportunities. The freelancing world has also increased in several ways because the internet is full of websites and platforms offering similar business services. The freelance platforms are equipped with a mix of professionals from different industries. This gives the hiring companies an excellent opportunity to engage the deserving candidate for their respective project. With the help of freelance platforms, users can connect for their requirements. The requirement is mutual. The hiring companies need experts and vice-versa. Such platforms allow the users to register their respective profiles and then indulge in the desired search. The search can be seen from both angles, i.e., experts looking for companies and organizations looking for professionals. The websites offering such services is like a marketplace where both the parties meet and take the step further. The freelance platform services are available for free, and the paid format allows the users to enjoy better benefits and enhanced features. Outsourcing services have become a common phenomenon that has also become quite popular in recent years.

You have stepped into the right page both if you are a skilled professional and a business owner. Becoming a member of top freelance platforms will help people belonging to both these categories. You will love the idea of becoming a member of these websites even if you are a fan of work from home jobs. Most job roles freelancers take up require them to work from their own space. Employers will not need to offer workstations and workspaces to these professionals. This will allow businesses to save a significant amount of money and pay the freelancers what they deserve.

What Are Freelance Platforms?

Freelance platforms are meeting places for companies that are not looking to offer permanent employment and independent professionals. Businesses can use these platforms for sourcing contingent workers to complete projects or take up job roles. Freelancers, on the other hand, use the platforms for creating profiles, sharing work portfolios, and communicating with their potential employers.

Many professionals use the top freelance websites as their only source of income. If you can gain a good reputation on these platforms you will be easily earning hefty amounts doing what you love. Some use websites for generating passive income. These are people who have a day job but also take up freelance projects when they are free.

Features of Freelance Platforms

The section below will talk about key features of the best freelance websites.

Record and Rating System

The record system of freelance websites will make your work history available on your profile. This will allow buyers looking for professionals with similar experience and qualifications as yours find you without much effort.

Most of these hubs also have rating systems. The rating system gives buyers the chance to rate the freelancers’ performances. This allows future buyers to perform a closer assessment of a freelancer’s quality before hiring them.

These systems are extremely common in video editors, graphic designers, and web developers freelance platforms. Some top freelance sites that even allow freelancers to rate buyers. If you are working on one such site, don’t forget to check the buyer’s rating before taking up a new project.

Testimonials

Testimonials and ratings are more or less the same things. The only difference lies in the fact that through testimonials freelancers and buyers can express their experience working with each other in words. You will find this feature in most freelance platforms for content writers. Testimonials speak well about the experience, reliability, and quality of freelancers. In buyer's case, they tell how prompt they are with payments, how cordial they are, etc.

Commission

You should join freelance websites that charge some form of commission from freelancers. Your chances of getting quality projects will be much higher on those sites. Buyers, however, shouldn’t worry about paying anything additional to the website. That’s because typically the commission is a percentage of the freelancer's total earnings from a particular project.

Transparent Payment Policy

You should never work on a freelance website that doesn’t have a transparent payment policy. The payment policy should state when and how freelancers can withdraw money. It should also explain what a freelancer must do if a buyer chooses to dupe him or her. However, most top freelance platforms ensure that freelancers get on-time payments once they complete projects meeting all the client's criteria.

Submission of projects

The platform's front-end should have a form ready to be filled by the companies to submit project requirements. The employer should have checklists where they can fill in the project description, the project's name, budget, and time-frame. Likewise, the professionals also get a chance to fill their credentials in the form. A vivid profile serves as a strong tool for professionals to project their strengths. The freelancers can also upload their profile to convince the hiring companies to hire them.

Well-designed Payment Gateways

When the payment page is properly organized and planned with full security of transactions, users can trust the payment gateways and access repeated services from the platform. PayPal is an example of a universally accepted payment gateway that is popular in every country. Likewise, several other payment gateways are user-friendly, and hence the users can avail of the services with a free mind.

Diverse Premium Plans

The freelance writing platforms or of any other service have designed various payment packages for users. The website is liable to collect a commission fee from the users. The fee can be charged as per the project for the freelancers and the hiring companies. The users are advised to avail the freelance platforms after indulging in the platforms' online research and then getting registered in the most desirable ones.

Fully Responsive Site

Responsive websites can unexpectedly garner traffic. There are several devices available for the users to log on to the websites. Hence, they can use any screen size for availing of the website services. So the web designers have to design websites that are easily accessible on multiple devices irrespective of the screen size. If the website is not fully operational, then the users will not find it user-friendly. Upwork is an amazing platform that is being highly used by the users for freelancing requirements. The site is a popular website, populated with amazing features to impress the users.

Project Bids

This is the most crucial and USP of the freelance platforms. The projects are big, and the fees for the same are also high. Hence, the employer has to select the most deserving candidate. So the platforms allow the employers to allow the freelancers to bid for the project. The project owners can also invite freelancers to bid for the projects. The employer can select the most appropriate bid. The bid value is also mentioned on the websites, and the freelancers can bid accordingly. This is an excellent feature as the bidding allows the users to bid as per their experience and skills for the specific industry and project. Freeeup freelance platform is one such platform that is easy to access, and the users are content with the features and services offered by the same.

No Coding Skills Required

The users can easily avail themselves of the websites' services because there is no rocket science involved in using the site. The user doesn't require any coding or technical excellence to avail of such services. The users can easily fill the project requirement form and then register with the respective site to avail themselves of the services. Every freelancer has a great platform to showcase their talent without any technical expertise. Hence, the opportunity should be availed as the best avenues open, and the professionals can put their efforts to the best use.

SEO-friendly Site

Every website desires to feature in the top-ranking pages of the search engine pads like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Thus the website owners build a site that is easy to access and can gain the traffic easily. This will help the site to feature in the search engine result pages or SERP. LinkedIn is one of the most popular freelancing websites where users can connect easily. The job postings on the site are very popular, and the users can connect with the employers to offer services. The profiles in the platform attract the attention of the users.

Types of Freelance Platforms

You can categorize freelance platforms based on the kind of services they deal with. Some websites deal with a particular service. For example, 99designs deals only with design services. Writer Access, on the other hand, is a freelance platform that works only with content strategists and freelance writers. Then, you will also find sites that offer opportunities to service providers belonging to multiple categories.

Benefits of Freelance Platforms

• Freelance platforms will help you to maintain a perfect work-life balance without compromising on your earning. As a freelancer, you will be able to do as much work as you want but at your convenience. You will be the one deciding on your working hours.
• Businesses should look to use freelance platforms for hiring professionals as that will allow them to make per project payments. They will not need to pay a fixed monthly remuneration irrespective of the volume of work an employee completes during the given month.
• There are indeed several other ways of getting freelance jobs. You can join a particular company as a freelancer. You can also become a regular visitor to freelance forums and freelance groups on social media platforms.
• While working for a specific employer will eliminate the freedom a freelancer deserves, getting jobs through forums and groups will not guarantee payments. So, it is always a good idea to join freelance platforms.

Subscription Charges

There was a time when freelancers used to fall prey to offers like “register with just dollar five and earn in thousands.” However, these days, most of us know that such offers are creations of scammers. None of the top freelance platforms operating currently will charge you anything to open a basic account. However, some of them have premium packages, opting for which will allow you to enjoy certain advantages.

Freelancer Platform Support Team

If you are working on a reputable freelance website, it will surely have a dedicated support team to help you at every step. You can contact them for managing payment issues, complaining about buyers/freelancers, and more. The support team will get back to you with effective solutions promptly.

Conclusion - Should I Prefer Freelance Platforms For Work?

The answer would be “Yes.” Considering the huge scope, Fiverr freelance platform can offer you to utilize your skills and earn money, the decision would be a profitable one. If you do a good job, you will never run out of work. Business owners/employers will also find the decision significantly profitable as they will save a lot of money. However, for that, they will not need to compromise with the quality of work they receive.