4 Things Every Freelancer Needs to Have on Their Website Make sure your site has all the elements to drive revenue for your growing business.

Whether it's your side hustle or you've decided to freelance full time … congratulations! As you get into business for yourself, you might be sifting through an overwhelming number of details. Among them: What should I include on my website?

It's a valuable question to consider. As a freelancer, your website represents your brand and highlights your work. Whether your services are conducted online or in-person, your website helps you stand out from the competition and serves as a gateway for attracting new customers.

For your website to be successful at driving business, it needs to include several fundamental elements. When creating a Squarespace website for your freelance business, make sure it accomplishes the following things.

1. Communicate your expertise.

Maybe you're a writer, designer, developer, or an accountant. Regardless of your industry, as a freelancer you have a special skillset that individuals and companies find valuable. Your website needs to clearly communicate that expertise. If someone visits your website but doesn't immediately understand what service you provide, they're likely to keep searching for someone else.

When using an intuitive website builder like Squarespace, for example, you can choose from a variety of customizable templates that provide the perfect starting point to highlight your skills. Once you've selected a template and have begun adding design elements, be sure to clearly state on your home page who you are, what you do, and what problems you help solve.

To expand on your expertise, consider building an About Me page linked to from your home page. This is where you can dive deeper into your background, your passions, and your goals.

2. Visually showcase your work.

If your homepage was successful in attracting interest from a potential customer, they'll likely want to see examples of your work. That's where a portfolio page comes in. This is where you will showcase your work and accomplishments for everyone to see. You might include examples of your published writing, original photos, illustrations, artwork, or designs.

Using Squarespace, your portfolio page can display content in a variety of unique layouts. For instance, you can highlight multiple projects as a grid of thumbnail images, allowing people to see numerous projects at once. Once someone clicks on a thumbnail, they can see examples of your work as a grid, slideshow, etc. Squarespace's templates make it easy to design a portfolio page that best matches your work.

3. Use your website to build your marketing list.

It's one thing to build a beautiful website that attracts visitors. It's something else altogether when your website can collect leads that eventually convert into paying customers.

To get started, you'll want to create an email marketing list. This can include people you know, former clients as well as current customers. With Squarespace, you can add contacts manually or add an entire list of contacts by importing a .csv list. These are people to whom you'll send your digital marketing offers and other information.

You'll want to grow your list with people who are interested in your services. One of the best ways to do this is to add a Newsletter Block to your site. Often best located on the footer, the Newsletter Block allows your site visitors to subscribe to your email marketing. Squarespace also makes it simple to add a customizable promotional pop-up that appears when visitors land on your site that encourages them to opt into your newsletter communications.

4. Make it easy for customers to hire you.

As a freelancer, your website should serve as a funnel for driving business. So, why not make it as easy as possible for customers to not only contact you but also immediately book your services?

You can use Squarespace's Scheduling tool. It integrates with your calendar, allowing customers to know when you're available so they can go ahead and schedule an appointment or time for your services. Within the dashboard, you can pre-set appointment types (one-client services, classes, etc.), duration, and prices.

Because the scheduling tool syncs with your calendar, there's no risk of double booking. Squarespace will send you a notification whenever someone books an appointment. It's a convenient tool for your customers and saves you time fielding calls and juggling schedules.

Click here to start your free trial with Squarespace and create the perfect website for your business! When you're ready to subscribe, be sure to use the offer code "ENTREPRENEUR" to get 10% off your first purchase.