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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

#81

Post by eavc »

asto wrote: post #44
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…

I'm new to the freelancing business and that's a great tip!

A more direct, less cheeky version would be to ask what they are picturing for their website and giving them some estimates.

If a car salesman were asked that question, he wouldn't answer it flippantly because he knows that's a little embarrassing to make the customer feel ignorant to that degree. You're invalidating their question, not answering it.

Instead, the car salesman would say, "That depends on the kind of car that fits your needs. What kind of vehicles are you thinking about?"

There's no harm in making the car analogy explicit, but I'd think prospects would be warmer to more helpful and direct responses at first.

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

#82

Post by felipemnoa »

rhizome wrote: post #78
felipemnoa wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>"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?"

>>How do you usually price these things?

You mean, how do you price the total price of a website?

The same way that a mechanic, plumber, electrician, contractor, etc.,etc. estimates the total price of the work to be done. i.e. You estimate the total number of hours you think is going to take you, you multiply it by your hourly rate and finally you add whatever additional expenses you incurred when building the site. i.e. hosting service, license fees,...

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

#83

Post by darksaga »

Building the site is just the start of the process in my eyes. I always give one estimate for the design/development/seo of a site. The importance of keeping the content, SEO and design fresh cannot be undersold to the client. Letting your site anguish for a few years will cost you visitors and business. And today, it happens even faster. A site that sits for more than 6 months is in danger of losing page rank.

For me, the cost isn't in the initial development, it's in the cost of maintaining the site (design/content) and continuing to rank well in the search engines for the life of the site (seo/sem). This also presents the best opportunity to create a long term relationship and an ongoing revenue stream for the developer.

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

#85

Post by rhizome »

felipemnoa wrote: post #82
rhizome wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?"

>>How do you usually price these things? You mean, how do you price the total price of a website? The same way that a mechanic, plumber, electrician, contractor, etc.,etc. estimates the total price of the work to be done. i.e. You estimate the total number of hours you think is going to take you, you multiply it by your hourly rate and finally you add whatever additional expenses you incurred when building the site.…

My point hinges on the difference between open- and closed-ended questions.

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

#86

Post by gallerytungsten »

namityadav wrote: post #47
gallerytungsten wrote: post #22

Whenever someone asks me this question, I ask them, "how much does a car cost?" Well, it depends on the car, they answer. Precisely. So do you want a used Honda, a new Corvette, a BMW, or a Rolls Royce?

But do you think there are many designers who think that they are anything less than a Rolls Royce? (Just like most programmers think that they are much better than average)

Here you are getting into the difference between the quality of the designer and the issue of setting a budget range.

After all, to put it in those terms, you can rent a Rolls Royce for a day - or you can buy one.

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

#87

Post by mikey_p »

I'm really surprised by the responses here. No one is saying that you should smart off to a client, but the quality of an estimate is going to be in response to the quality of the question. "How much is a website?" is about as helpful as phoning a builder and asking "How much does it cost to build a house?"

(I'm also waiting for commenters to rip me to shreds for the analogy, since HN seems to hate analogies, but it's the best way I can describe it)

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

#88

Post by mikey_p »

eavc wrote: post #81
asto wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm new to the freelancing business and that's a great tip!

A more direct, less cheeky version would be to ask what they are picturing for their website and giving them some estimates. If a car salesman were asked that question, he wouldn't answer it flippantly because he knows that's a little embarrassing to make the customer feel ignorant to that degree. You're invalidating their question, not answering it. Instead, the car salesman would say, "That depends on the kind of c…

I fail to see how the original post was "cheeky" if it was a factual correct and accurate answer to the question.

What's a car dealer going to say? They probably won't even give you an upper range, just "This model starts at $34k" or something like that.

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

#89

Post by eavc »

mikey_p wrote: post #88
eavc wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A more direct, less cheeky version would be to ask what they are picturing for their website and giving them some estimates. If a car salesman were asked that question, he wouldn't answer it flippantly because he knows that's a little embarrassing to make the customer feel ignorant to that degree. You're invalidating their question, not answering it. Instead, the car salesman would say, "That depends on the kind of c…

I fail to see how the original post was "cheeky" if it was a factual correct and accurate answer to the question. What's a car dealer going to say? They probably won't even give you an upper range, just "This model starts at $34k" or something like that.

Because answering a question with a question is not straightforward.

And no, I'm talking about a dealer being asked the question in general by a prospect fresh arrived on the lot.

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