| 주제 내 페이지: [1 2 3] > | Is it worth having a personal website? 스레드 게시자: Ilona van Leeuwen
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Hello fellow translators,
In your opinion, what is the importance of having a website as a freelance translator? I'm considering whether I should invest my time (and money) in creating a website, or if I should keep focussing on approaching clients directly for translation jobs. What's your take on this?
| | | | | Waste of time and money | Oct 9, 2020 |
Ilona van Leeuwen wrote:
Hello fellow translators,
In your opinion, what is the importance of having a website as a freelance translator? I'm considering whether I should invest my time (and money) in creating a website, or if I should keep focussing on approaching clients directly for translation jobs. What's your take on this?
I once had a personal website. It took months to organise and cost me a fortune. AFAIK nobody ever visited it except the friends I told about it. The thing about a website is that you have to keep renewing it, adding new material, etc. As you probably know yourself, a website that never changes is a website you may visit once, and never again.
| | | | | Yes, absolutely | Oct 9, 2020 |
It doesn't have to contain all that much material.
You're not concerned about revisits or being up to date. A prospective customer will visit once and never again. It's just a calling card with a CV, showing that you run a business independently of Proz or other sites.
If you're able to use Trados you're able to set up a website in 1-2 days. A free Wordpress template should cover the needs.
| | | | | It requires work and looks old quickly | Oct 9, 2020 |
I see that some personal websites look funny and outdated: they're are never updated, the design looks old, they don't work well on some devices/screens, the copyright notice at the bottom of the page says 2005... It takes time and resources to keep a website up-to-date and professional looking. This is why I don't get mine at the moment, I'm afraid I would neglect it and it will make me look like I'm out of business in a couple of years. Probably I'm missing out.
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The only way to make a website work for you is to sit down and map out a strategy of how you are going to manage it, and make it the centre of all your activity as a destination that attracts people to come back on a daily basis with new information, new features, etc. Somewhere that people will see as an essential place to visit every day where they know they will find something fresh and interesting every time they come back. A serious investment of time and money is required- on an ongoing b... See more The only way to make a website work for you is to sit down and map out a strategy of how you are going to manage it, and make it the centre of all your activity as a destination that attracts people to come back on a daily basis with new information, new features, etc. Somewhere that people will see as an essential place to visit every day where they know they will find something fresh and interesting every time they come back. A serious investment of time and money is required- on an ongoing basis - every day. If you haven't got the time yourself then you'll need a webmaster/webmistress to look after it for you. That's another cost you'll need to factor in.
PS Oh, and I forgot: it will need to have separate versions in all the languages you translate to/from. You know -with those little national flags at the top right of every page, that click you through to the same page in another language. I get tired just thinking about this....
[Edited at 2020-10-09 09:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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For me it’s a place where interested direct clients and agencies can go to get more detailed information about my portfolio with examples of my translations and testimonials from previous clients. It’s just another marketing tool…
| | | | | A matter of personal preference | Oct 9, 2020 |
The saying, "every little helps", is very true here, as it likely will help exposure.
However, as others mention, aspects such as maintenance, the requirement for quality SEO, and various others, not to mention the rise of professional social networks and online profiles mean an average website is probably less effective than in the past.
In the case of the number of weak websites out there, not only lacking sufficient content but also visually or technically poor/from ... See more The saying, "every little helps", is very true here, as it likely will help exposure.
However, as others mention, aspects such as maintenance, the requirement for quality SEO, and various others, not to mention the rise of professional social networks and online profiles mean an average website is probably less effective than in the past.
In the case of the number of weak websites out there, not only lacking sufficient content but also visually or technically poor/from the 90s, for several reasons active profiles/pages elsewhere may actually be more effective.
It's best to weigh up the situation for you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | In my opinion, YES | Oct 9, 2020 |
I get a huge amount of work through my website. Some clients find it by Googling (for example) 'Spanish translator London'. Others are directed there from other web directories (ITI, CIOL) or by direct referrals from colleagues and other clients. They can read about me, see some examples of the work I do, and just get a general feel for who I am. Why wouldn't you have one? Don't you look up the websites of restaurants you visit? Lawyers whose services you need to use? Hotels you want to stay in?... See more I get a huge amount of work through my website. Some clients find it by Googling (for example) 'Spanish translator London'. Others are directed there from other web directories (ITI, CIOL) or by direct referrals from colleagues and other clients. They can read about me, see some examples of the work I do, and just get a general feel for who I am. Why wouldn't you have one? Don't you look up the websites of restaurants you visit? Lawyers whose services you need to use? Hotels you want to stay in?
I agree it takes a bit of work, especially initially. I update my site every now and then (currently gathering everything together to add another project to my portfolio). A couple of years ago I had my designer make quite a few changes to adapt the site to multiple browsers and devices, but generally speaking it looks after itself. ▲ Collapse
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Rebecca Hendry wrote:
I get a huge amount of work through my website. Some clients find it by Googling (for example) 'Spanish translator London'. Others are directed there from other web directories (ITI, CIOL) or by direct referrals from colleagues and other clients. They can read about me, see some examples of the work I do, and just get a general feel for who I am. Why wouldn't you have one? Don't you look up the websites of restaurants you visit? Lawyers whose services you need to use? Hotels you want to stay in?
I agree it takes a bit of work, especially initially. I update my site every now and then (currently gathering everything together to add another project to my portfolio). A couple of years ago I had my designer make quite a few changes to adapt the site to multiple browsers and devices, but generally speaking it looks after itself.
I'm interested. How did you find a designer and how much do you pay her/him? Does s/he do all the HTML stuff, keywords etc., and look after the hosting?
[Edited at 2020-10-09 13:15 GMT]
| | | | | Probably not worth the effort | Oct 9, 2020 |
I had one as long the free hosting at Proz worked. Now it is out of service. But I hardly ever got any work through it, clients know Proz and come here for a search. I pay also a yearly fee for a German site for translators, managed by Frank Truu. Most of my jobs come from German speaking countries, at least the well paid ones, and I don't bother with offers from east of the German border.
20 years ago I did a lot of html stuff, but modern technology is out of my scope. So I probably will ... See more I had one as long the free hosting at Proz worked. Now it is out of service. But I hardly ever got any work through it, clients know Proz and come here for a search. I pay also a yearly fee for a German site for translators, managed by Frank Truu. Most of my jobs come from German speaking countries, at least the well paid ones, and I don't bother with offers from east of the German border.
20 years ago I did a lot of html stuff, but modern technology is out of my scope. So I probably will not set up any new site. ▲ Collapse
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Thank you all for you replies, your opinons are much appreciated. For the short term, I will probably focus on my profile here at Proz as wel as my Linkedin page. For the long term, I believe a personal website is worth the effort, but probably not what I should be focussing on right now. It is interesting to see how some of you have very conflicting ideas about this though!
| | | | | Local freelancer | Oct 13, 2020 |
Tom in London wrote:
Rebecca Hendry wrote:
I get a huge amount of work through my website. Some clients find it by Googling (for example) 'Spanish translator London'. Others are directed there from other web directories (ITI, CIOL) or by direct referrals from colleagues and other clients. They can read about me, see some examples of the work I do, and just get a general feel for who I am. Why wouldn't you have one? Don't you look up the websites of restaurants you visit? Lawyers whose services you need to use? Hotels you want to stay in?
I agree it takes a bit of work, especially initially. I update my site every now and then (currently gathering everything together to add another project to my portfolio). A couple of years ago I had my designer make quite a few changes to adapt the site to multiple browsers and devices, but generally speaking it looks after itself.
I'm interested. How did you find a designer and how much do you pay her/him? Does s/he do all the HTML stuff, keywords etc., and look after the hosting? [Edited at 2020-10-09 13:15 GMT]
I looked for a freelance graphic/web designer based where I lived at the time (Edinburgh). We met in person to discuss what I was looking for, but it could be done remotely too. I did get some quotations from big web design companies but they were for thousands of pounds and to be honest I didn't really like the cut of their jib. I can't remember the exact cost but it was more like 600 pounds. I pay an hourly rate for any changes to the site now.
The designer took care of key words, yes, but I already had a hosting package elsewhere so she didn't do anything about that. I am about to move hosting packages though and she will sort that all out for me too. It's really worth paying a professional as it saves a lot of my time and avoids a lot of stress!
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Ilona van Leeuwen wrote:
Hello fellow translators,
In your opinion, what is the importance of having a website as a freelance translator? I'm considering whether I should invest my time (and money) in creating a website, or if I should keep focussing on approaching clients directly for translation jobs. What's your take on this?
I think that it also depends on who you want to target. If you are targeting direct clients - companies or private individuals, then I would say yes it's more important to have one. It acts as a reference and provides reassurance I think.
If you are mainly aiming for agency clients, then perhaps Proz and Linkedin will work just as well? along with direct approaches to the agencies.
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Rebecca Hendry wrote:
Tom in London wrote:
Rebecca Hendry wrote:
I get a huge amount of work through my website. Some clients find it by Googling (for example) 'Spanish translator London'. Others are directed there from other web directories (ITI, CIOL) or by direct referrals from colleagues and other clients. They can read about me, see some examples of the work I do, and just get a general feel for who I am. Why wouldn't you have one? Don't you look up the websites of restaurants you visit? Lawyers whose services you need to use? Hotels you want to stay in?
I agree it takes a bit of work, especially initially. I update my site every now and then (currently gathering everything together to add another project to my portfolio). A couple of years ago I had my designer make quite a few changes to adapt the site to multiple browsers and devices, but generally speaking it looks after itself.
I'm interested. How did you find a designer and how much do you pay her/him? Does s/he do all the HTML stuff, keywords etc., and look after the hosting? [Edited at 2020-10-09 13:15 GMT]
I looked for a freelance graphic/web designer based where I lived at the time (Edinburgh). We met in person to discuss what I was looking for, but it could be done remotely too. I did get some quotations from big web design companies but they were for thousands of pounds and to be honest I didn't really like the cut of their jib. I can't remember the exact cost but it was more like 600 pounds. I pay an hourly rate for any changes to the site now.
The designer took care of key words, yes, but I already had a hosting package elsewhere so she didn't do anything about that. I am about to move hosting packages though and she will sort that all out for me too. It's really worth paying a professional as it saves a lot of my time and avoids a lot of stress!
Hmmm- as I was saying - a lot of work and added costs:
- looking for a freelance graphic/web designer/webmaster
- meeting them in person
- also meeting them remotely
- explaining what is required
- preparing all the material to be included on the website
- getting quotes from others
- refining the final design before going live
- preparing periodic updates to the site
- negotiating these updates with the webmaster
- requesting the webmaster to deal with hosting issues
- getting a native Italian speaker to check/correct my Italian version of the whole thing
- getting the webmaster to make sure you can click through every page from one language to the other (and doing that every time I change something)
- getting the webmaster to make sure none of the links are dead
plus all the time and costs associated with the above
Hmmmm... I don't really think I want to embark on all that (again) - but thanks anyway for the info.
[Edited at 2020-10-13 14:10 GMT]
| | | | | Each to their own, but in my experience it was an important investment | Oct 13, 2020 |
Tom in London wrote:
Hmmm- as I was saying - a lot of work and added costs:
- looking for a freelance graphic/web designer/webmaster
- meeting them in person
- also meeting them remotely
- explaining what is required
- preparing all the material to be included on the website
- getting quotes from others
- refining the final design before going live
- preparing periodic updates to the site
- negotiating these updates with the webmaster
- requesting the webmaster to deal with hosting issues
plus all the time and costs associated with the above
Hmmmm... I don't really think I want to embark on all that (again) - but thanks anyway for the info.
[Edited at 2020-10-13 08:00 GMT]
Each to their own. It was a good investment in my business, just as becoming a Qualified Member of the ITI was. That took time, effort and money too. I think telling newcomers that websites are a waste of time and money is perhaps a bit misleading. If you're just starting out now, a professional website will go a long way.
| | | | | 주제 내 페이지: [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Is it worth having a personal website? | CafeTran Espresso |
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