An important part of managing your projects in Project Catalog is making sure your project can only be purchased when you have time for more work.
For example, you don’t want to disappoint clients by allowing them to buy your project, then have to tell them you aren’t available to follow through. Or worse, take on a job knowing you won’t have the time to give it your best.
There’s a few settings to consider to make sure you’re in control of your schedule and only get orders when you want them.
How visibility works with your projects in Project Catalog
On your project dashboard, you’ll see a toggle switch to change the visibility between “on” and “off” for each project.
When switched on, your project will be purchasable in Project Catalog.
When switched off, your project will not be listed in Project Catalog. If clients have a link saved to your project, they can still view the project but the option to purchase the project will be grayed out. Instead, they’ll see this message: “You cannot purchase this project at this time.”
Keep in mind your project isn’t deleted when you toggle off the visibility –– it will be there waiting when you can take on more work and are ready to turn it on again. You can turn any project’s visibility off-and-on as often as you’d like. That way you can always control your workflow and avoid project cancellations.
Change your project’s visibility
- Go to your profile and choose “Manage Projects” to see your project dashboard
- To the right of your project’s name you’ll see a green toggle button under “Visible”
- Move the toggle to either make the project visible or hide it from appearing in Project Catalog
Important: Setting your projects as visible does not impact whether your Upwork profile is visible or change your other availability settings. If you’d like your profile to be private, learn more here. If you’d like to update your availability on your profile, see here.
Pro Tips: Manage your project’s visibility
- Getting too busy? Update the number of simultaneous orders that you can take on, per project. That way you don’t get more work than you want right now, and you can always update later. To update the maximum number of orders you can take for a project at any one time, go to your Upwork profile > Select Manage Projects > Locate project you wish to edit > Select Edit Project > Then choose Stage 6.
- Need to take some time off? Temporarily hide your project from Project Catalog by turning off its visibility. You can turn it on again whenever you are ready for new work. If you aren’t open to new work at all, including non-Project Catalog projects, it’s smart to update your availability settings on your Upwork profile too.
FAQs
If I turn off visibility for one of my projects, will the others be available still?
Yes, when you use the toggle to turn off a project’s visibility it only impacts that project. Any others will be available to purchase unless you turn off their visibility too.
I turned off my project’s visibility because I don’t want new work right now. But I can still see my project on my Upwork profile. Why?
When you use the toggle to hide your project in Project Catalog, it will still appear on your Upwork profile but the button to purchase it will be grayed out and inactive. If you want to remove the project from being listed on your profile, you can hide it by:
- Going to your profile
- Scrolling down to “Your Project Catalog”
- Moving the toggle button (which is to the right of “View Project”)
- You’ll then be asked to confirm that you want to “Hide Project.” Remember taking this step alone only removes the project from your profile. Your project will still appear in Project Catalog and can be purchased unless you have hidden it from the catalog too (see Change your project’s visibility steps above.)
I’m busy and don’t want any new Project Catalog orders at this time. If I turn off the visibility of my project, does it impact any current work I’m doing?
No, turning off the visibility of a project does not affect any current orders. It just prevents clients from buying your project until you are ready for new orders.
Is there a maximum number of times I can use the toggle to turn a project’s visibility on and off?
No, you can change the visibility as often as you like and we encourage you to do so if you are getting too busy. It’s a great way to control your workflow and avoid project cancellations.
Does turning a project’s visibility on and off impact where my project ranks in search results?
No, this doesn’t change where your project appears in search results for a client browsing Project Catalog anytime that you have your project toggled on.
When my project is first reviewed and approved, does Upwork automatically make it visible to purchase or do I need to set it as visible?
Once your project is approved by us, it is visible and can be purchased.
If my Upwork profile is set to private, can clients still buy my project in Project Catalog?
Yes. It’s important to remember that your profile settings do not impact whether your projects in Project Catalog can be purchased. If you are busy and do not want any new work on Upwork, it’s wise to both set your profile to private and turn the visibility of your Project Catalog projects off. Note: Clients who are browsing Project Catalog can’t view your Upwork profile if you have your profile set to private.
