Small company or freelancer?

It's no secret that CVW Web Design is a vehicle for me, Clive Walker, to sell my freelance web design and development services. Yet, I have deliberately kept this website's tone of voice, and the design/branding, as that of a small company because, well, I am a small company. I run the business and I do most of the website design and development work myself but everything is done through a Ltd company's accounts.

Sometimes, I outsource work to other freelancers and I buy services from other companies but I'm not employing anyone on a full-time basis so perhaps I should have designed the website around me as a freelancer. I don't know the answer to that. However, when I started (way back in 2002) I wanted to persuade people that I could take on website projects for their company and I always assumed that would be easier if CVW Web Design as a company was the main vehicle for that. I didn't think about it too deeply but I never considered using my freelancer skills and, for example, pictures of me as the main design focus of the website - or as the brand for the company.

I know that people have different opinions on this and some people say that a freelancer is misleading people if their website is a small company website. Perhaps it gives the impression that there is more than one of you. Well, that's easily rectified when you talk with people of course.

I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer here. Nowadays, I think I can attract work whether the focus of this website is small company or freelancer. Maybe, I'll change things around when I redesign the site and use the freelancer approach. Has anyone done both? Let me know because I'd be interested to get your thoughts.

Update February 2014: Read about my decision and what I've done about it in Changing Things Up Round Here.