I learned to do web design pretty much the same way Adam Savage learned to be a special effects artist — I just jumped in. When you’re learning something new, failure is unavoidable. But failure is necessary. It’s the mistakes that make you better at what you do. They refine you, provide you with wisdom, and, as Adam Savage put it, strengthen your intuition.

There are limits to what a person can accomplish given a particular set of boundaries. As a freelancer, it’s up to you to test those boundaries, and at times fail, so that you develop a greater understanding of yourself, and therefore know what you need to get the job done for your clients.

Sure, legit. But more often than not, you’ll be getting a template. It will probably be fairly clean looking, reasonable to manage, but it’ll still be a template. Many other people may have a site that looks similar, if not exactly, like your own. Your ability to leave a memorable impression goes out the door with your visitor.

That’s the reason some template sites allow you to purchase the exclusive rights to a template — for a price. What you get then, is template that you’ve had absolutely no input on, and that you can only hope will do, act, and feel like you want it in the long run.

Here’s a solution: Hip Web Design makes custom web sites. No one will have one like it. It will be yours, with your own vibe, with the ability to manage the content your own and still have it do, act, and feel exactly how you want it.

“Legit?” you might still be asking? Quite.

I’m a freelance designer, which means I only work on a handful of projects at a time. You get personal, one-on-one service that no corporate firm can offer you and at a price that is competitive.

So don’t be tempted by templates. In the long run, it isn’t worth it. You’ll grow tired of it. It’ll quickly become out dated. Your visitors won’t be wowed into coming back.

If you’re going to spend money on a website, you might as well do something that will get you noticed.

Clients and prospective web designers always ask me, “Where do you get your business?” To be honest, it seems to just fall into my lap, but there’s a reason for this.

I never thought that when I made my first post on craigslist I’d be able to sustain business off that site alone — and trust me, I still can’t. But that one job I actually got (that I did for super cheap) eventually lead the client to tell a friend. And then they told their friend and so on and so forth.

The truth of the matter is, everyone needs a website, whether they know it now or not. And for all those people who do have websites, they’re going to need new ones. Better ones. Cooler ones. More efficient ones.

My advice is this: Start building a portfolio. Do a friend or family member’s website. Do a co-workers website. Do your boss’ website. Keep your fee low to start so that when you’re done they think, “Wow, that wasn’t so expensive, and now I’ve got a website!” It’s only a matter of time before they show it off to their friend or co-worker and then you’ve got them asking, “Who’d you hire? I’ve been thinking about getting a website myself.”

Over time, you’ll build a solid portfolio and you can start to justify a more well-deserved fee. Bite the bullet to start and in time you’ll gain the materials you need to bag the gigs with the budget you want.

Like any freelance job, some of the hardest competition is at the start. Push through, work late hours, and turn out portfolio worthy work and in time, the clients will start coming to you.