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"How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

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Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#71

Post by felipemnoa »

bradleyland wrote: post #21

I know it's trite, but when people ask me, "How much would you charge me to build a website?" I always reply with something pithy like, "Between $100 and $100,000." What's more interesting are the responses. It's almost like a litmus test for who I'd actually want to work with. A person that I might actually want to work with will laugh and acknowledge that the question was ridiculously vague. A person that I don't w…

The client is just trying to figure out your rate. Just like the rate of a plumber, repairmen, etc. etc.

When you call a plumber and tell him that your hot water doesn't work and how much it will cost the tipical response is "my rate is x but I will give you an estimate once I examine the problem". Why can't web designers use a similar answer. Is that so hard?

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#72

Post by geuis »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #63
geuis wrote: post #50

I really take issue with this: "All prices are for design only, i.e. they don’t include any sort of coding (no HTML, no CSS, no Javascript, no PHP, etc.)". I'm sorry, but a design is only a tiny, tiny fraction of a website. Usually it's the most minor and inconsequential part. I've lost count of how many clients thought their apparently simple designs can built for a toothpick and olive. Coding the HTML, CSS, javascr…

It's a little much to say design is the "least" important part of a site. Good design can instill potential users/customers with confidence, ease the sign-up or purchasing process, and give the site a personality.

I've yet to see where a design that's shiny and pretty is more important than a site that is plain yet fast and functional. I'll add an addendum that usability is more important than pretty. The combination of both is, unfortunately, rare.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#73

Post by felipemnoa »

rhizome wrote: post #55
csomar wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree. For the client, this might seem not serious. How do you know the clients that you want to work for? Get to know him. As simple as that. What's his business? can he afford your rates? Is he ready to pay that rate or does he see the value of your work? And then ask for details. Give a reasonable estimate. Alert them that your hourly rate is $xxx and beyond the details specified in the estimate you'll cha…

For the client, this might seem not serious. Sure, but it's also important to point out that "How much is a website?" is not a serious question. The GP's answer might seem silly, but it brings into relief that you're dealing with a "how much is a car?" or "how long is a piece of string?" situation, and is merely a door-opener on par with the more-businesslike "well, it depends..." and comes down to personal style.

>>"How much is a website?" is not a serious question

I think is a very valid question. And a valid response is "my rate is X and will give you an estimate once I understand better what you want to build".

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#74

Post by littlegiantcap »

bradleyland wrote: post #21

I know it's trite, but when people ask me, "How much would you charge me to build a website?" I always reply with something pithy like, "Between $100 and $100,000." What's more interesting are the responses. It's almost like a litmus test for who I'd actually want to work with. A person that I might actually want to work with will laugh and acknowledge that the question was ridiculously vague. A person that I don't w…

If I was shopping for a freelancer and someone said something like that I would choose not to work with them. I don't mean any sort of disrespect. It's just occasionally we have to contract out for things, and when people make comments to me like that I immediately scratch them off the list. Replying sarcastically instead of politely asking clarifying questions back just scares off potential business.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#75

Post by dotBen »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #64
wetbrain wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think part of it is the cynicism that develops from bad clients. Some people don't understand that the designer is a professional. Designers just draw all day, and love what they do, so why would I pay big bucks for a website? After all, my nephew does computers and I can have him make a website for cheap. There's also the "Of course we want you to have creative control. We just want to be able to tell you how it l…

That's understandable to a certain extent, but there is no need for anyone to be rude about it. Someone wants a Facebook clone for $500? Simply respond "it's a huge amount of work and I won't be able to do it for that." If they press, explain why. It's one thing to be cynical; it's something else entirely to show that cynicism to a potential client. Hell, this isn't limited to the tech world: my wife trains horses an…

If they press, explain why.

No, as a business person you just walk away. They're clearly not a prospect (ie, in the market to buy your services) because they've indicated a budget that is degrees of magnitude to yours.

One of the wonderful traits of being a geek is the desire to explain and the desire to engage in debate. Digg/Reddit/HN are built on it. An important trait of a successful business person is to zero in on potential customers and cut losses quickly on leads that are going no-where.

Your time is money - which is also why many successful startup folks drift out of HN and other communities once they become successful entrepreneurs.

The same traits can also impact on client work once you get into the project. If you're a geek + business person, these are important skills to learn.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#76

Post by eropple »

felipemnoa wrote: post #71
bradleyland wrote: post #21

I know it's trite, but when people ask me, "How much would you charge me to build a website?" I always reply with something pithy like, "Between $100 and $100,000." What's more interesting are the responses. It's almost like a litmus test for who I'd actually want to work with. A person that I might actually want to work with will laugh and acknowledge that the question was ridiculously vague. A person that I don't w…

The client is just trying to figure out your rate. Just like the rate of a plumber, repairmen, etc. etc. When you call a plumber and tell him that your hot water doesn't work and how much it will cost the tipical response is "my rate is x but I will give you an estimate once I examine the problem". Why can't web designers use a similar answer. Is that so hard?

Because (and this is "formerly" for me, I'm out of this work), I didn't have a rate. The price that I would quote is a mixture of what the project's scope is, how interesting it is to me personally, and how much of a pain in the ass I forecasted the client to be, or knew to be from prior experience.

For a number of my clients, I couldn't come within 50% of an actual quote until I sat down over coffee and talked over exactly what they wanted.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#77

Post by kellishaver »

bphogan wrote: post #24

So, if it's not coding, not even HTML coding, then this isn't about websites. It's how much do you charge for a PSD file. In my experience that's a pretty useless metric. Converting a PSD to HTML can be trivial if you just use an export tool, or it can be incredibly time-intensive if you do it by hand and turn it into something dynamic. I haven't had a straight-up "Design me a website" contract in years - it's always…

I'm working on a simple static site right now, but it's the first one I've done in a long time.

I'm also doing some work for another client that's just delivering PSD files... which, again, is not something I have done in probably a couple of years.

Unless you're working as part of a larger team and you each have specific tasks, most people want at least design+front-end development.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#78

Post by rhizome »

felipemnoa wrote: post #73
rhizome wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the client, this might seem not serious. Sure, but it's also important to point out that "How much is a website?" is not a serious question. The GP's answer might seem silly, but it brings into relief that you're dealing with a "how much is a car?" or "how long is a piece of string?" situation, and is merely a door-opener on par with the more-businesslike "well, it depends..." and comes down to personal style.

>>"How much is a website?" is not a serious question I think is a very valid question. And a valid response is "my rate is X and will give you an estimate once I understand better what you want to build".

Your rate speaks to the cost of your time, not to the price of a completed site.

Do you know what I ask? "How do you usually price these things?"

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#79

Post by sambeau »

mtogo wrote: post #33
sambeau wrote: post #26

When freelancing I tend to work a simple system. £250: An update to content - an evening or two's work. £500: A tiny static site with some original design. I then slide upwards for jobs I don't want and down for people I like. I've never gone above £5000 for a 'homer'. I also have a mate-rates scale that appears below this: Free: Family. Charities I like. Updates + tiny static. Bottle of Wine: As above but close fami…

Whoa dude, $392.10 for you to just change content on a site ? Set up a CMS and let the client change it themselves.

I've had little success with CMSs. People find them too complicated and I end up either holding their hand, fixing their mistakes or just doing the update. For free.

How much do you value your evenings at? £250 would be 1-2 evenings. One evening and it seems like reasonably easy money. Two evenings and suddenly its not quite so generous. Surely any technical person can charge $50 an hour? My day job charges me out at $1000 a day. I have also found that when it is an amount less than that I tend to resent the fact that I've had to give up an evening.

Stand up for yourself. Charge an amount that makes you happy.

Re: "How much does a website cost?" – a survey of web designers

#80

Post by sambeau »

xorglorb wrote: post #49
mtogo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa dude, $392.10 for you to just change content on a site ? Set up a CMS and let the client change it themselves.

A CMS brings in additional complexity of updates and security breaches, which can cost much more than a $400 update fee a few times a year.

Exactly. Some of these sites are hosted on my own server. After having numerous PHP sites hacked (and my machine wiped twice) static html is the only thing I trust these days.
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