need advice for starting a freelance web development business

I think some of the Business courses might help

I will take a quick stab at your questions. I do agree with Alexander Davison on the Business courses which talk extensibly on the points you are asking about.

1. The one you can afford, don't go spending hundreds of dollars for something you are trying out. Also, remember you get what you pay for.

2. You should not base your price based on others, you need to evaluate what you bring to the table.

3. You can't (read this article: https://codeable.io/how-do-i-get-on-the-first-page-of-google/)

4. Use static content, stay away from user input and use only approved plugins/themes.

I wish you success but just like any other business, keep in mind that you are starting and the sky is the limit :).

1. Check out Pantheon

2. This is a dense question. Average price is one thing. Are we talking hourly? A package deal? Where do you live? Have you researched the market to see what other freelancers charge? What does "fully operate" include? Answer a handful of those questions and you'll be closer to a number.

3. I disagree with the semantics of the poster above. You can get on the front page, but it takes a lot of work, and it's a long, granular process. At a foundational level, your site needs to have really stellar content. Google has shifted in recent years from wagging their finger at keyword stuffing to almost outright calling it blackhat. They're pushing hard for content publishers to actually publish good content. And that means a couple of things for you. You could start a blog and write some great posts on current issues/trends in web development, specifically geared towards potential clients. That's a great way to generate content. But the next step is ensuring Google can see that content. Once you have things like meta tags for page titles and what-not set up correctly, head over to Google Webmasters and set up an account. This will allow Google to crawl your website. But even after that, you'll need to work pretty hard to gather backlinks to your site. Google SEO tips and read all that you can.

4. Make sure any plugins you use are legit. And make sure passwords are rock solid, not just your dog's name. And make sure you inform clients about such things if they'll have access to CMS tools.