Website Thread poster: Ahmad Abdrabbou
|
|---|
Hi,
Is it necessary for a freelancer to have a website in order to get established in the market, or a good CV can do the job? Thanks
| | | |
No, it is not necessary to have a website, but it probably wouldn't hurt either (if it is done well). The same applies to having a CV (IMHO), whereby there are some rather good arguments for not having one (will we hear from Aniello?).
Good luck!
| | | | Ines Burrell 
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:04
Member (2004)
English to Latvian
+ ...
A good CV and a good Proz profile will be enought. If you find time and means to design a website, it will come handy, however it is not imperative to have one. Quite a lot of established translators who have plenty of work do not have a website. Or you can have one and still be short of work. It all depends on you, what you do with the opportunities you create.
Regards,
Burrell
| | | | | It can be very useful | Dec 7, 2005 |
Ahmad_Suliman wrote:
Hi,
Is it necessary for a freelancer to have a website in order to get established in the market, or a good CV can do the job? Thanks
In my opinion, for a web site to be useful it is above all necessary to achieve a reasonably good search engine ranking (Google and Yahoo, in particular). If it is cannot be found within the first 2 or 3 pages (someone says the first page only), the chances to be seen are significantly smaller. For example, when some years ago my site used to appear in the first two pages (good times those ones, and it was completely free!) I was contacted by both new agencies and direct clients for whom I am still working. Now it is a different story and I know that I have to do something to regain my position. Crowded as it is now, reaching a good position on the Internet has become more and more difficult, unless you decide to invest adequately (in time as well).
Paying options appear to be the best way now to emerge from the crowd.
However you can also use your Web site as a online brochure/CV to direct your clients to when they ask for information about your services, which you can update easily and whenever you want.
Mario Cerutti
http://www.aliseo.com
| | |
|
|
|
Angela Arnone
Local time: 23:04
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
| As you are just getting started | Dec 7, 2005 |
and have signed up with this site, Ahmad (and welcome, BTW), I might suggest you work some on your profile page and try a Platinum membership .... it's on special at the moment ... and with the right key words, some graphics and interesting content, you may find it's a good investment and far more straightforward than setting up a website.
I did buy a domain, but to be honest, since proz platinum membership gave such good results, I never bothered to finish setting up the site as I'm getti... See more and have signed up with this site, Ahmad (and welcome, BTW), I might suggest you work some on your profile page and try a Platinum membership .... it's on special at the moment ... and with the right key words, some graphics and interesting content, you may find it's a good investment and far more straightforward than setting up a website.
I did buy a domain, but to be honest, since proz platinum membership gave such good results, I never bothered to finish setting up the site as I'm getting a lot of feedback here.
Ask a few other Platinums and see what their experience is.
Regards
Angela
Ahmad_Suliman wrote:
Hi,
Is it necessary for a freelancer to have a website in order to get established in the market, or a good CV can do the job? Thanks
[Edited at 2005-12-07 07:50] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Indispensable! | Dec 7, 2005 |
I'm a bit surprised at the responses of my colleagues so far. If you want to be taken seriously as a translator, I think a website is absolutely indispensable, i.e. you can't do without it. It is the ultimate advertising tool. In fact if you have $100 to spend on either Platinum membership or a website, I would definitely choose the website.
(Note: I am certainly not badmouthing Platinum membership. I myself am Platinum and believe it is also very helpful. However, as a beginner, I ... See more I'm a bit surprised at the responses of my colleagues so far. If you want to be taken seriously as a translator, I think a website is absolutely indispensable, i.e. you can't do without it. It is the ultimate advertising tool. In fact if you have $100 to spend on either Platinum membership or a website, I would definitely choose the website.
(Note: I am certainly not badmouthing Platinum membership. I myself am Platinum and believe it is also very helpful. However, as a beginner, I think your return on investment will be much higher with a website).
You could certainly get a domain name and hosting for less than $100 per year. You could invest some time learning html and (at least initially) design the site yourself. A website is especially helpful in acquiring lucrative direct customers.
Overall I would recommend a multi-prong approach: your own domain + website, platinum membership, your own brochure, targeted advertising in select media, etc. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Angela Arnone
Local time: 23:04
Member (2004)
Italian to English
+ ...
| I'm a bit surprised that I need a website to be taken seriously! | Dec 7, 2005 |
Despite having no website to speak of, I've had no trouble being taken seriously, Michele. And I'm not alone.
Perhaps thousands of words translated and published are a reference in themselves, as are a language degree, membership of a professional association and membership of proz.
If Ahmad has the time, cash and energy to spend on a *good* website (and not some of the sorry and embarassing efforts I see around), he could well do that. If he hasn't, a properly prepared and imaginati... See more Despite having no website to speak of, I've had no trouble being taken seriously, Michele. And I'm not alone.
Perhaps thousands of words translated and published are a reference in themselves, as are a language degree, membership of a professional association and membership of proz.
If Ahmad has the time, cash and energy to spend on a *good* website (and not some of the sorry and embarassing efforts I see around), he could well do that. If he hasn't, a properly prepared and imaginative profile page will be very effective, especially if he has Platinum too.
A website is an extra IMHO.
Angela
Michele Johnson wrote:
I'm a bit surprised at the responses of my colleagues so far. If you want to be taken seriously as a translator, I think a website is absolutely indispensable, i.e. you can't do without it. It is the ultimate advertising tool. In fact if you have $100 to spend on either Platinum membership or a website, I would definitely choose the website.
▲ Collapse
| | | | | profile vs website visibility | Dec 7, 2005 |
Angela Arnone wrote:
(...) a properly prepared and imaginative profile page will be very effective, especially if he has Platinum too.
A website is an extra IMHO.
Definitely. As Angela said in her previous post, a profile page with the right keywords and Platinum membership offer much more visibility.
I have had a website for the last few months, nothing fancy but quite attractive, and I just consider it as an extra business-card. In actual fact, 95% of the visits to my website are generated through my profile page link (the rest probably being links from my e-mail signature, or from database information when filling out application forms for agencies).
On the contrary, the visitor feature offered by Platinum membership gives me a good idea of the keywords used in search engines which have led to the page being viewed.
Ciao!
| | |
|
|
|
Mihai Badea (X)
Luxembourg
English to Romanian
+ ...
| No need to choose | Dec 7, 2005 |
Michele Johnson wrote:
In fact if you have $100 to spend on either Platinum membership or a website, I would definitely choose the website.
You could certainly get a domain name and hosting for less than $100 per year. You could invest some time learning html and (at least initially) design the site yourself.
During the current special offer, with $100 you can become a full Platinum member, which entitles you to a Standard Hosting Package and a subdomain of ProZ.com. Alternatively, you can buy your own domain, which would be about $ 10.
As far as I am concerned, I don’t think I have a problem because I don’t have a website yet, but I am aware that, if properly designed, a website can make a good impression on the clients; I hope to be able to make my own site soon.
| | | | | It depends on how you plan to market your services | Dec 15, 2005 |
I agree with Mario that it isn't really worth investing a lot of money in a site if you are not going to ensure that it is well-referenced.
The great thing about your Proz profile is that you get good search-engine results because the site is well-referenced. Most of the traffic to my site is through my profile on Proz.
However, if you plan to market your services through direct mailing, through other non-translation forums, chambers of commerce, non-translator profess... See more I agree with Mario that it isn't really worth investing a lot of money in a site if you are not going to ensure that it is well-referenced.
The great thing about your Proz profile is that you get good search-engine results because the site is well-referenced. Most of the traffic to my site is through my profile on Proz.
However, if you plan to market your services through direct mailing, through other non-translation forums, chambers of commerce, non-translator professional associations, on your business card, online yellow pages, etc., then it can be helpful to have a site to direct potential clients to.
In a business where you rarely meet clients face-to-face, it can also be reassuring to see your "face" on the Web (even though having a site is no guarantee of anything, of course!).
If you are just starting out, you might want to invest elsewhere, like in dictionaries, computer equipment, software, memberships to Proz or other organizations.
If you do decide to go ahead with a site, I would recommend having a professional design it. It doesn't need to be expensive, especially if you keep the structure simple.
Good luck getting started!
Sara
[Edited at 2005-12-15 13:37] ▲ Collapse
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Website | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
