how to get projects for webdev portfolio

as the title says I need real work for my portfolios, websites I developed (from scratch would be best.

I tried volunteer websites, most wouldn't let you sign up without a portfolio. those that did had (wait for it) 10 bids per project, I'm talking about free work here. even that's oversaturated amazing.

I have been learning web development(front and backend) and programming for years, had some work experience and repeat clients, but nothing stable or full income. I want to get into it seriously (freelance career-wise).

what is your opinion? what is the best thing I can do to make things move?

If you are determined to do a free project you can try BHW's freebie and giveaway section. Make sure to carefully read the rules first though.

If you truly have years of experience I would try to find a paid (low paid probably) job by reaching out to potential clients online. You can make social media profiles and try to find a gig in groups/pages of that topic too.
Sites like fiverr and upwork are hard to get into from scratch, I would try to avoid those.
When you've gathered a respectable portfolio you can apply for remote web dev positions in companies in any country, anywhere in the world. You just gotta find the right people to point you where to look.
I recommend just networking with people, from my experience it's 10 times more potent than just blindly applying for jobs and getting rejected or ignored.

There's always the BHW marketplace too. And the HAF section is constantly bombarded with people looking for devs, you just need a jr. VIP upgrade to apply there though.

In conclusion - serious customers are constant recurring work. You don't need a lot of traffic and marketing if you've got those. If you are working with people who come and go that's gonna take a lot more time to build up into a career.

Or even faster. Make sites for yourself. Use those as your portfolio.

Even faster than that get one of those bundles that have a whole bunch of niche sites. Screenshot those as your portfolio. If you want to seem more original swap out the logos or pictures.

PaintedBlack

I agree, with everything you say, you know what you're talking about, unlike all the bullshit advice articles and bullshit videos floating around.

sites like fiverr and upwork, work on reviews(and keywords), if you have 50 5 star reviews you will get more sales then someone with none or few (actually 1 5 star review is way better then nothing). on fiverr, you will rank higher on the search results. on upwork an average client gets 60+ offers each undercutting the others price. who will you choose? someone with a 100 5 star jobs? or someone with 20, its like monopoly, if you signed up when it started you get the most sales, the same on udemy and skilshere (unless you already have a huge client list and can convince them to buy from you on these platforms).

a beginner with no experience bearly has a chance.

"When you've gathered a respectable portfolio you can apply for remote web dev positions in companies in any country"

again correct once you reach a "critical mass" and have social proof and you are "proven" you will get jobs easier. rather then be one of the armies of kids dreaming to leave the rat race via webdev, graphic design etc. most of them useless.

connections are way better than cold calls.

repeat clients are the lifeblood of a business, living on one time jobs is unsustainable.

while I don't have much job experience I did learn programming properly with a tutor and courses books and everything I could get my hands on, I have plugins on WordPress plugin dir, I have 5 courses on programming on skillshare and udemy, I was a java tutor for two years. and 60 git repos.

I want practical experience and I want it now, the years are going by and I don't make a dim anyway. finding volunteer work is hard, its a joke people are competing to work for free.

I will consider black hat world markets.

MaestroDelWeb

possible but I will need to make them look very convincing, it's easier if there's a real business/company behind these.
if someone is willing to put in a good word for me (for social proof) I will make him a website for free

I'm not offering anything here I know there are rules, I just want more experienced people opinion on what I shod do.

1. Go to upwork
2. Start with basic task first like installing wordpress, theme, offer cheaper price than your competitor
3. focus on collecting reviews and rating first by completing any simple task
4. once you get over >50 ratings, positive reviews, 100% rate.. you can start searching for big project and make $10k-$30k easily(based on my previous conversation with freelance that know)

There are lots of multi million company, or people on upwork searching for freelance with good portfolio rating.
Because most people nowadays prefer to use upwork rather than straight from agency site, cause they feels more safe and more confident(based on other user reviews)

The point is, your upwork portfolio, reputation, = money making machine

Example:

Upwork is great, if you're willing to do anything it takes, for as long as it takes, to rise above the army of slave labor.

With the credentials you described above, your portfolio should be full of your own work. Maybe niche down a bit, web development is a giant field.
Figure out what kind of sites you want to make for people, and make them for yourself. What do you want people to pay you to build? ecom sites? affiliate sites? Make your own.

Work both ends of the field and then stop worrying about people hiring you.