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Asking for a favor is a big deal and Malt makes it even harder 🫠
I am a senior UX designer who has always worked in-house. I am now exploring the freelance world and registered here (yay, Contra) and on malt.nl
Malt is a very passive platform: you register and then wait for clients to find you 🔍
The one thing that can actually signal credibility 🪪 to potential clients early on is recommendations. Malt knows this and nudges you: "Freelancers with recommendations are approached 8x more often - just click this button."
Very simple, very promising 😃
But we all know that asking for something is a big deal for most people. So it took me a month to get all my powers together 💪🏻 and reach out to former colleagues and ask them to leave reviews.
Thankfully, I got 100% response rate 🧡 Very grateful ☺️
But then Malt surprises us with a flow nobody warned about ⬇️
→ Click the link from the email to leave a review ✅
→ Register on Malt 🧐
→ Complete the full onboarding process 😮
→ You're now registered - and you can't delete your account without also deleting the review ⁉️⁉️⁉️
As the person who asked for this favor, I had to think about the consequences I hadn't anticipated. Some colleagues may not want a Malt account. In some countries and companies, side hustles aren't allowed ❌ - and an employer finding you registered on a freelance platform could be a real problem.
I ended up writing back to everyone I'd asked - giving them a heads up about what the flow actually involved, and leaving it up to them whether they still wanted to proceed 😫
I understand that the policy of verified reviews is the right one, but this current experience feels like abuse of user's personal network. It definitely can be designed better
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What 2 Unpaid Projects Taught Me About Protecting Yourself
I learned these lessons the expensive way. Sharing so you don't have to.
1. Get payment milestones in writing before you start.
Not "we'll figure it out." Not a handshake. A contract with clear milestones, amounts, and deadlines. On-platform, where there's a record.
2. Never deliver 100% before final payment clears.
I delivered a complete project, handed over all credentials, and trusted the client to pay. He didn't. Once everything is in their hands, your leverage is gone.
3. Silence is a red flag, not patience.
When a client goes quiet for weeks after delivery, they're not "busy." They're hoping you'll give up. Set a deadline: if payment doesn't come within 7 days of delivery, escalate immediately.
4. Document everything outside the platform too.
Screenshots of WhatsApp conversations, email confirmations, deployment logs, Git commits. If a dispute happens, your paper trail is your case.
5. Partial delivery is your best protection.
On a multi-milestone project, never build ahead of payment. Finish milestone 1, get paid, then start milestone 2. If the client disappears after milestone 1, you've lost time but not unpaid work.
6. Threats mean you have leverage.
When a client suddenly threatens legal action, bad reviews, and bans instead of just paying, it tells you one thing: they know they owe you and they're trying to scare you into walking away. Don't.
7. Keep your emotions out of your communication.
Every message to support, every email, every response should be factual and professional. The moment you sound emotional, the focus shifts from "client didn't pay" to "freelancer is being difficult."
I'm sharing this because I wish someone had told me before I lost sleep over it. Protect your work. Protect your time. And never feel guilty about expecting to be paid for what you delivered.
@contrahq @sanganakhq
So sorry to hear that, we have has great experinece working with you on mutiple assignments.
The best thing that can happen to a product is understanding its users first.
Especially in mental health.
If you ignore how people actually feel while using your product, you’ll end up designing friction instead of comfort.
Emotional UX is real.
Great design!
Just wrapped a project for a VC-backed startup where we handled the full redesign, from the landing page all the way through the entire application, and closed it at $5K.
Launched the redesign and they crossed 100 users within a day with an 88% customer satisfaction rate, which was a great way to close it out.
Genuinely one of the more fun projects we've worked on recently.
amazing design
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