Freelancing: website under personal name, or as a business name?

U

UXUI

New Member
Hi everyone.

This seems like a great forum, and I am excited to read more in the upcoming weeks.

I am a final year student in graphic design. The only content i currently have is from student projects (posters, logos, a t-shirt design). I am quite happy to do some personal projects on the side, eg, business card design, brochures and some photo-imagery to increase content though.

I'd like to attract some clients to add to my portfolio, and am quite happy to do things such as bus. cards, brochures, and some simple logos etc. I have several domain-names registered, one of which is a graphic design business name i thought of (eg, www.goodgraphics.com), and the other is my full name (eg, www.michellesmith.com). I have a really good idea of how i want my website to look (simple, with portfolio items on homepage) and CTAs and contact details. The website itself is not the problem, but how i will market myself to potential clients in the short term?

I will probably run ads in the online classifieds, but need them to point to a website for more info.

Am i better off using my personal name website, or the business name website as a link in those ads?

Ultimately, i was thinking to use the personal name website only as a portfolio site to market myself to potential employers (link to online portfolio) and to show i have basic web design skills, and the business name website if and when i go full freelance (or could even use it on the side if i am employed by somebody else).
What would you do if you were me? My thoughts are to get the personal one up ASAP, as I have already commenced work on it, and need to update and upload content. Or, would the business name website be perceived better by potential customers / clients?

Thanks for your help
 
The title is pretty self-explanatory.

Should i use a personal name as a domain name to market myself as a graphic designer, or should i use a business name domain? Difference would be my own personal name vs. a longer and more specific business name and domain name.

Will be pointing classifieds ads to the website, which will showcase my work. In consumer's mind, what would be more effective? Personal domain name as graphic designer, or under a business style name, which would imply it's a business rather than an individual?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Your personal name adds trust. It connects the client with a real person. It also means you can diversify into other areas withour having to change the business name.
 
The problem you have is the same one thousands of other graphic designers have: there is a lot of competition out there. Having a website is a good thing but most of your time will be spent marketing. Adverts can work but so can knocking on doors. Talk to local businesses and other organisations that need work doing. One GD I know does menu boards for pubs and other food outlets. Another gets regular work from the local gym. They got these gigs by walking the streets and talking to people. Talk a look at the freelancer sites (ffiver and people per hour) but competition is fierce.

Stick with michellesmith.com unless you are in the UK where it should be michellesmith.co.uk
 
Using your personal name will make you look small and like you say an individual as opposed to a larger business, depends who you are targeting as customers I think. For me I would always go for a proper business name.
 
I’d go with your own name for now. If you register a business name later then use the business name on another website.
 
My thoughts:
• Go with a business name
• I find using first names in company names sounds amateur. "Michelle Smith Designs" sounds like you could be selling greetings cards at church coffee mornings. If you use your name it needs to be clever. Perhaps play on the fact that your surname is the most common surname in the country? "Another Smith", "Smith & You" or something?
• Avoid names that makes your business sound like one of those sh*t people per hour companies from India (for example Good Graphics).


Please note, I'm sh*t at company names. It took me 3 years of working under various guises to come up with a name I was happy with and then it had to be abandoned when I formed a partnership. That lead to another 100 bad ideas before we hit on Artel Creative and even that proved to be a bit of a double edged sword as Artel is a term used for Soviet ownership of industry. Meaning we get a huge bounce rate due to Russian kids doing their history homework.
 
Thanks for all your replies everyone, i truly appreciate it!

For the record, Michelle Smith isn't my real name (but I love that idea about 'Another Smith'), and 'goodgraphics' was just a quick name off the top of my head as a business name example.

I can see how business names can and should evolve, depending on your goals and disposition at the time.

I think for now, i will use personal name website for marketing to employers only (an online portfolio), and think of an interesting but catchy name to operate under as a freelancer and market to businesses with.
 
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