Bharathan
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Experience

12 years, 100+ websites: lessons from freelancing.

From a junior designer role in Chennai to remote work for London and Kuwait agencies, here’s what twelve years of building websites has taught me, and what I’d tell any business before they hire a developer.

Bharathan.P
Bharathan.PFreelance WordPress developer & SEO specialist
Published 8 min read
12 years, 100+ websites: lessons from freelancing
Key takeaways
  • Clarity beats cleverness on almost every website.
  • Most delays come from content, not code.
  • Ownership of accounts should never be an afterthought.
  • The best projects have one decision-maker and a written scope.

How I got here

I graduated in IT from Velammal Engineering College in 2014 and started as a junior website designer at LocSea, a Google Premier Partner in Chennai. From there I worked remotely for K3K Network, a London-headquartered studio, then as a WordPress developer at Way to Win Software.

Since then I have worked with Webslogix and Go Digital International in Kuwait, led digital marketing for Prasanth Dewatering across India and Dubai, handled SEO and support development for Pier 7 Aviation and WordPress and SEO for Sky One Aviation in Dubai, handled SEO and web development for Mio & Law Firm in Dubai, and trained developers at SRM Institute and MSME government programmes, with freelance projects running alongside all of it.

Seven lessons from 100+ websites

  1. 01 Say what you do in the first lineVisitors decide in seconds. Clever headlines lose them.
  2. 02 Content is the real bottleneckMost delayed launches are waiting for text and photos, not code.
  3. 03 Speed is a featureA fast, simple site beats a beautiful slow one.
  4. 04 Own everythingDomain, hosting and analytics must be in the client’s name.
  5. 05 One decision-makerProjects with five approvers take five times as long.
  6. 06 Write the scope downMost disagreements disappear when the scope is written.
  7. 07 Build for search from day oneFixing structure after launch costs more than doing it right.

What I’d tell any business hiring a developer

  • Know the one action you want visitors to take.
  • Prepare your content early.
  • Ask to see live sites, not screenshots.
  • Get a fixed quote and pay by milestone.

The best client relationships I’ve had lasted years, because the first project was scoped clearly.

Frequently asked questions

Since 2014, twelve years across agency, remote and freelance roles in Chennai, London-based and Kuwait-based teams, and Dubai.

Not preparing content early and not being clear about the one action visitors should take.

Yes. I always keep time for freelance web development and SEO projects.

Service businesses, industrial companies, law firms, retailers and agencies across India, Kuwait and the UAE.

Bharathan.P
Written by Bharathan.P Chennai-based freelance WordPress developer and SEO & AEO specialist, building for the web since 2014, with teams in London and Kuwait and clients across India and the Gulf.