How much could I charge for web design & writing?

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Hi all,

I'm looking to move into freelance webdesign. I can code simple-ish CSS and HTML, buy domain names & webspace, submit to search engines, all the basic stuff to throw together a reasonably nice but not super-flashy site.

I'd be aiming at marketing to very small businesses or individuals (eg. writers) who want a web presence but don't have the necessary skills or know-how to make their own site.

I've just finished making a site for free for a charity: Micah Mobile Ministries

I bought the domain name, organised the web hosting, wrote copy for the site based on the charity's publications, designed the page layout (they provided the images), went back and forth making changes based on feedback, etc. I've also said I'll happily do monthly updates.

How much could I reasonably charge for a site like that? I'm obviously not looking to charge the charity ;-) but I want to use the site as the start for a portfolio of pieces. I've got another site lined up to do for free, but after that, I want to consider whether it is viable to make a decent income from this.

From looking at other website design sites, a figure of £300 - £500 ($600 - $1000) for a similar service seems about average. This strikes me as quite high. Does it seem a reasonable figure?

I'd love to hear from anyone with web design & writing experience who could say what they'd charge for something similar.

Thanks!

Ali

[schola]

Yeah $500-$1000 is a reasonable price for an entire set up. If you're new and trying to make a name for yourself, you could go lower of course.

I'm surprised it's that high too. I have no CSS knowledge, no PHP knowledge, and I'm decent with photoshop. Using open source software like Joomla I could set up a pretty sophisticated site in a few hours and get $500 for it.

Most non-tech savvy people don't realize how easy it is to set up a website these days.

[Scumbag]

I paid 800 dollars for a professionally developed site that seems to have more resources and design ability than you.

Starting out..I would charge $100-200 a site..build your portfolio, abilities, and customer base. Then you can start charging higher rates.

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Thanks, Scumbag.

$100-$200 seems a bit on the low side (though this may be because I'm in the UK and the dollar is low against the pound at the moment!)

I'm tentatively thinking of asking:
£149-£199 (about $300-$400) for a 3-5 page custom designed site, including:
- Cost of hosting
- Domain name (.co.uk or .com) for 24 months
- Installation of Google Analytics
- Submission to search engines
- Copywriting/editing to optimise content for the web
- Sourcing images
- (Fairly simple) page design
- Monthly updates for 12 months

Same stuff for just a single page at £99. Five to ten pages, £249-£299.

Does that sound a reasonable price scheme to start out at? I'm aiming at very small businesses (Bed and Breakfasts, pubs, etc) and individuals (particularly writers).

Thanks, all!

Ali

[JimOfferman]

Sounds like you have a reasonable starting point... your clients (or lack thereof) will tell you if this price is right. Good luck!

[Restrikted]

Originally Posted by Ali from The Office Diet

$100-$200 seems a bit on the low side (though this may be because I'm in the UK and the dollar is low against the pound at the moment!)

Zing!!!
I'm in college right now, but if/when I graduate I think I'm going to try to get into the web design business as well. It's surprising how much money people are willing to pay for simple sites. I don't mean to thread jack, but how would a person who doesn't really know anybody even offer free services to build a site? Just go on to forums and ask around, or what?

[TheLifeLessTraveled]

Ali,

Thank you for posting this question! What perfect timing.

I was just thinking about starting a similar business. I don't really code (I can if I have a book for reference), but I can put together a basic website no problem. I was talking with a couple of people this weekend (one very successful and one just starting out) and both were desparate for a website but didn't know how to go about it.

Perhaps I will give it a go after all. Starting this business will empower me to hone and expand my current skills as well as let me to help people by offering a valuable service (basic websites with friendly, personal assistance and coaching).

Thanks!

[1000feet]

Look at contacts around you - maybe someone in your family is related to a small organization that could use a site. Or maybe you've seen sites for local businesses or groups that just don't look good or work well. If you create a design sample and offer to rebuild the full site for them they would probably appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Restrikted

Zing!!!
I'm in college right now, but if/when I graduate I think I'm going to try to get into the web design business as well. It's surprising how much money people are willing to pay for simple sites. I don't mean to thread jack, but how would a person who doesn't really know anybody even offer free services to build a site? Just go on to forums and ask around, or what?

[Louise Gilbert]

You've done your homework, I would now recommend that you go with what you are most comfortable with. What feels right? This is most important. If you don't value the exchange of money with what you are offering, this will show. For example, if I had to explain why I charge for what I offer, I could do so most comfortably and probably go further and explain why it was a good offer. Could you? If not, get yourself to this place by adjusting the figure - the one that comes to mind first is probably the right one.

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Louise - great advice. I think I would feel uncomfortable overcharging for something which I know isn't really worth that, and I would feel awkward charging below-market rates for a professional service.

TheLifeLessTraveled - I have been rather shocked to find out that creating a fairly simple website is akin to magic to many people! I'd urge you to give it a go, even if it means doing some free work to build up a portfolio.

1000feet - very sensible idea, thanks :-) I am indeed doing some (free) work for family-related things, as part of my portfolio. But I will certainly approach family and friends for potential contacts once I start charging!

Best,

Ali

[Brutha]

I don't mean to thread jack, but how would a person who doesn't really know anybody even offer free services to build a site?

Get to know some people. But probably you do have some relatives.

Maybe you are a member of some club. Volenteer to do the website.

[Perfect Sunday]

It might be worth something for you guys the following two sites:

www.GetAFreelancer.com

Rent A Coder: How Software Gets Done -- Home of the worlds' largest number of completed software projects

Both are GREAT for freelancing almost everything...
I was thinking you can use them for the parts you don't know or don't want to know about.

[elisabeth]

There's a danger in offering a cheapo version that is too bare bones, just for the sake of keeping the price low. It might not do what the client hopes it will do, and may not look impressive enough. And so it may not serve you well at all. Your client might even be disappointed.

You seem to offer a lot of services as part of your package. That should be worth a lot more than you're charging. At least charge them extra for the year-long maintenance!

I'd rather put some effort into looking a bit harder for clients who pay at least a semi-fair rate. And be sure to ask everyone for whom you create a site to let you use them as a reference.

Also create a great-looking site for yourself and make that your show-off piece!

And also offer to pay people a commission for referrals ;-)

Good luck.

[Faron]

Start low and as you get the experience, reviews, satisfied customers, slowly up the price. I don't know exactly what the going rate is but I'm sure you could compare prices from 10-20 different companies and come up with a low/average/high estimate.

Best of luck on your new venture,

Faron

[Ali from The Office Diet]

Thanks, Elisabeth, that's a good point about what I'm offering; I may try setting my starting price a little higher and see what the market will bear! I'm working full time at the moment so it's not a problem if I don't get clients straight away.

Faron, great advice, thanks. :-)

Ali

[Dave Kaminski]

Spend 20-30 hours working on your photoshop or other web-photo editing/producing software, as it will add a LOT of power to your productions.

Do you love web design? I regard web development and design as an ART, not so much a profession, as many print media producers do.

[InterfaceLeader]

I'm actually just setting up my own webdesign business in the UK right now, offering a similar service (though I also know PHP and have just added Flash to my skill set) and so far I have charged £10 an hour (that covers the site maintenance and newsletters I send out for one client). The end result was around £130 from one site and around £20-30 a month from an ongoing one (about £200 to set up the initial website).

Both are also retaining me for a second website :3

I've just upped my price to £20 an hour, and I'm going to take out some adverts in specialist magazines - starting with Opticians (there's loads of small businesses that need basic websites).

I also joined a few freelancing sites, including e-lance, so hopefully that will all help me find clients!