When making a freelance writing website, knowing what to include can overwhelm beginners. And while you might think you need a masterpiece, the reality is that a simple site with a few pages will be more than good enough.

In this article, you’ll discover several things you should include in your freelance writing website—divided between the essentials and nice-to-haves.

Which Platform Should You Use for Your Freelance Writing Website?

WordPress.com, Squarespace, and Wix are three popular website-building platforms for freelance writers. WordPress.org is also a common choice but is for more advanced users.

WordPress.com allows users more capability options, with various themes and more control over search engine optimization (SEO) for each webpage.

Squarespace is friendly for beginner website builders; the platform looks after SEO for you, and creating pages is easy.

Wix also makes creating web pages easy, but it’s worth noting that you can’t transfer Wix content between templates.

The choice is ultimately yours. Try a few out and see which one works the best for you.

The Essentials

The following items are things you’ll absolutely want to include on your website. They can make a huge impact when it comes to landing new clients.

1. A Professional Web Domain Address

If you’re serious about freelance writing and want clients to take you seriously, getting a professional web domain is a good idea. You don’t need to think of a creative or witty business name; your own name will work just fine.

You’ve got plenty of choices for buying a web domain. Squarespace and WordPress.com both offer you a free domain for one year with some of their plans, after which you’ll need to pay an annual fee.

Alternatively, you can use a hosting service. Bluehost and GoDaddy are both common options.

2. A Static Homepage

On your freelance writing website’s homepage, you should talk about how you can help potential clients. Talk about your specialty writing areas and the results your services will get for them.

If you don’t have much experience, don’t worry. The value you provide might be as simple as freeing up some extra time for them to focus on other business areas.

On your homepage, you should also include a picture of yourself. Whether it’s a clickthrough to your services page or contact form, a call-to-action is also a wise addition.

When writing the copy for your homepage, keep it as short as possible.

3. An About Page

While clients want to know about the results you can provide for them, they also want to work with a person.

On your About page, you can get a little more creative. Talk about your journey to becoming a freelancer, why you chose to start writing, and the problems you’ve overcome.

You can also share some facts about yourself, and plenty of personal pictures too.

4. Contact Details

Once you’ve wowed potential clients, you’ll want to make it easy for them to get in touch with you. Adding a Contact page to your website is the simplest way to do this.

On your Contact page, you can include a simple form for users to fill out. Adding links to your social media profiles is another way to help others reach you, and can also be useful for growing your online presence.

If you don’t include a contact form, you should add your email address.

You can also add a map showing where your office is, and include your mobile number if you want. But don’t feel pressured to include either of these if you’d rather not have people knowing where you live or work.

5. Testimonials

When you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, convincing others to invest in your services can be difficult. The best way to sell yourself is through social proof from others.

Think back to people who have been impressed with your work in the past. Former bosses, colleagues, and university lecturers are good places to start when asking for short testimonials.

When including them on your website, you can either add them to a separate page or onto your homepage. Don’t worry about getting lengthy paragraphs; a short quote will work just fine.

6. A Writing Portfolio

When pitching to clients and searching for jobs, having a few samples of your writing on hand is essential. Beyond proving that you’re good at what you do, having samples will also save you time creating pieces when others ask.

Like testimonials, you can choose to add your writing portfolio to a separate page or on your homepage.

If you’ve never written for another company before, create your own portfolio pieces. Think of a topic you know well, do your research, and get typing.

Nice-to-Haves

Besides the essentials, you might want to add a range of things as your freelance writing business grows.

Below is a list of nice-to-haves that you can add once you’ve nailed the basics and gained a little more experience and confidence.

7. A Blog Section

Blogging is a great way to increase your SEO ranking and demonstrate your authority on a particular topic.

Every blog post you publish is also a portfolio piece. Therefore, you’ll simultaneously increase the number of writing samples you can show to others.

When picking a blogging niche, feel free to talk about whatever you want. You can discuss trending industry topics, your experiences as a freelancer, or something completely different.

If you feel like adding a blog section on your site will make it less cohesive, consider setting up a profile on a platform like Medium instead.

8. Logos for Current and Past Clients

Once you’ve got some big-name clients under your belt, adding their logos to your website can be useful for convincing others to hire you.

If you have already worked for a reputable company as an employee, adding their logo(s) to your website is also a good idea.

Before including any company logos on your website, remember to ask. Although many businesses will have no objections, some might not want you to.

Although it’s by no means essential for freelance writers, having a company logo can make you look more professional.

Making a logo doesn’t take long; you can use free software like Canva if you aren’t a professional graphic designer. Alternatively, you can hire a graphic designer or ask a friend.

10. Your Rates

Once you have a solid portfolio and you’ve also built some expertise in a particular area, you’ll want to filter out the clients you work with.

One easy way to limit the people who work with you is by adding how much you charge onto your website. This will eliminate those awkward “we can’t afford you” conversations and raise the quality of projects you get.

Remember, though, that you’re not tied to your rates forever. If you’re still getting more work than you can handle, raise them further. Similarly, if your work has slowed down, don’t feel ashamed at lowering them.

11. A Newsletter Sign-Up

As your freelance writing business grows, you might find that others interested in your content will start coming to your website and following you online.

To keep your audience informed and engaged, consider starting a newsletter. Create a simple widget on your website where they can opt into your updates.

Attract New Clients With Your Freelance Writing Website

Many new freelance writers spend too much time worrying about the microscopic details. As a result, they never get started.

Your website only needs the basics, to begin with. Clients want to know how you can help them, a little about you, and that you’re a good writer. And of course, they also want a way to get in touch with you quickly.

Start with the essentials and slowly build out from there. And remember: you can change your site’s content later if you don’t like it.