Facing Challenges as a Freelance Web Developer: Struggling with Modern Website Building

As an independent web developer with over five years of experience, I often find myself questioning whether I’ve truly hit the mark in my craft. Despite creating numerous client websites—mainly marketing and informational pages—there remains a persistent sense that I could be doing better. Does anyone else sometimes feel overwhelmed or tempted to throw in the towel?

The landscape of modern web development is increasingly complex. Juggling the demands of freelancing—managing multiple projects, staying updated with evolving tools, and handling client expectations—can make the process feel like a constant uphill battle.

Key Challenges I’ve Encountered

• Cloud and SaaS Costs: I experimented with Sanity for content management, which worked smoothly until client needs scaled up. Additional usage led to unexpected charges. Initially, I tried a straightforward pricing model for hosting, but as expenses grew, I had to inform clients about increased fees—something I’d prefer to avoid.

• Self-Hosting and Tooling: I’ve explored Payload CMS combined with static site generators like Astro, aiming to sidestep SaaS pricing. After weeks of troubleshooting deployment issues on platforms like DigitalOcean, I finally achieved a working setup on multiple domains. However, front-end development unveiled new hurdles—optimizing image delivery without a CDN, rendering complex content safely, managing data fetching without a local API—and these have taken a toll on my sanity.

• Rapidly Evolving Ecosystem: The tools evolve swiftly. I started with Gatsby, then transitioned to Next.js, which now feels overly complex with caching intricacies. Currently, I’m experimenting with Astro, which I genuinely like, but I worry about constantly jumping between frameworks and losing focus.

• Hosting and Deployment: Platforms like Vercel and Netlify are convenient but tricky for client billing, especially when explaining the separation between hosting and content services. DigitalOcean offers more control but demands server management knowledge—something I’m reluctant to delve into fully due to time constraints.

Reflections on the Journey

Despite having solid front-end skills, navigating this environment as a freelancer often feels like walking a tightrope. The uncertainties around costs, tooling, deployment, and keeping current leave me second-guessing my approach and business model.

I’d love to connect with others facing the same struggles—building websites for clients while managing the ever-changing technical landscape. How do you handle these challenges? Have you