2 August 2007
Web Design Pricing Advice
enerbrat asked a question on my last post that I thought warranted a new blawg:
How do you determine how much you charge? Hourly or up front/what not. I have a couple deals working around but I have no clue on charging. I mean I know it depends but there’s gotta be some general.. err base price to work off of and to work up from there.
The only time I do per-hour quotes is for maintenance. Ideally I would get them to agree to monthly maintenance costs but usually people don’t think they’ll be updating the site as much as they do.
I really try to price sites based on value not time. Until you get a feel for this, though, the easiest way to do it is to set a goal for how much you want to make per hour, then estimate how long the process is going to take you, and make a quote based on that.
For example, if the client needs a layout that you’re going to do yourself (I always outsource this so I just take my cost and build it in to the quote), say that takes you 3 hours. They want 6 informational pages (1 hour each) and a lead form (2 hours). So right now you have 11 hours of work lined up. How long is it going to take you to get all the information from them, get them to approve it, etc. Maybe another 4 hours? Ok so you’re at 15 hours. Do you have any costs? I usually throw in domain reg for free since it’s so cheap. If you have any setup costs on hosting make sure to factor that in. Now say your goal was to make $80 per hour, 15 hours * $80 is $1200. That can be your price.
The thing is, sometimes that alone can be a hint that you’re undercharging. If you picture quoting that price to your potential client and them going “oh, wow, I was expecting much worse” that is an indicator you should be charging more.
Also keep in mind some people try to negotiate the price down on everything. I would say 4/5 of my clients accept my first offer. Sometimes I hold a couple “bonus features” back to throw in to persuade them. You need to size your potential client up and figure out which type they are. I recently forgot about the negotiator type, and was dealing with someone who is literally a multi 100 millionaire on a pet project for them and they argued with me for an entire Saturday about $1300. Getting the “best deal” is just in some peoples blood. Most small business owners, however, seem to value their time more so they are willing to pay the asking price of someone they feel is going to take good care of them and their interests.
3 Comments currently posted.
enerbrat says:
rmk says:
It’s kinda tough to raise the price on the spot like that. I mentioned that I try to have a few extra features or functionality that the client wouldn’t expect that I don’t mention in my formal proposal. That way when you’re discussing it with them if they seem like they’re opposed to the price you can throw an upgrade or two in for free, or if they seem like they have a lot of budget left you can offer them those upgrades for a price.
anonymous says:
hey i was wondering if you have an email or something where i could ask questions thanks
word man thanks, if someone does say “wow I was expecting more” do you then find a clever way to raise the price or just factor that thought into your next deal with someone.