2

I was wondering if someone could advise me on pricing for a website design.

I'm redesigning a blog/travel site for an individual. The site is about 8 pages plus some modules, etc. I'm also redesigning their logo. I've already spent about a week doing it, maybe 3 hours per day and I'm still not halfway finished (kind of a perfectionist). I plan to charge for the project itself, rather than hourly. According to the advise I've already received, I should be charging anywhere between $1000 and $1500. I'm just curious what other people thought.

My main concern is overcharging for a site that I will not be coding. I am doing ONLY the graphics and basically the product I'm delivering with be a wireframe layout and all the custom graphic files (vectors, etc.) and the person I'm designing it for will do all the CMS stuff himself. Again, I'm doing NO CODING whatsoever.

So, that said, what should I be charging? I'm also including unlimited design revisions up to two months after initial completion. Any ideas? Another thing to mention is that I'm a student and it's my first paid job (but he doesn't know that). Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have!

4 Answers 4

6

1) Yes, your price range is fine. You have a lot of pages plus a logo. However...

2) Why don't you have a contract? The contract should spell out exactly what you are doing, exactly what the client is going to receive, who owns what copyrights, and exactly what you are charging, particularly if it's a per-project fee and not hourly.

3) DO NOT OFFER UNLIMITED REVISIONS EVER.

Not for a month, a week, a day, an hour. When you have a plumber come to your house to fix the toilet, does he say "I'll come back and tighten the washers in the sink and fix the leaky hose, for free, as long as you call back within a month"? Of course not. He charges for the work he does. More work is more pay. Don't ever give away your services for free, which is exactly what "unlimited revisions" means.

Being paid on retainer is different; that's a flat fee for a specific period of time, during which the client can give you as much or as little work as they like, but you are getting paid regardless.

You offer a specific number of rounds of revisions (I like three) in the contract. Rounds of revisions after that get paid for on an hourly basis. They can revise for years, but you're getting paid for your labor.

1
  • +1 for the bold on unlimited revisions, that cannot be stressed enough. I think price range is highly debatable though.
    – curious
    Mar 25, 2014 at 5:25
1

I can't directly state whether your price range is appropriate or not. A mom-and-pop operation has different needs than a Fortune 500 corporation. What's adequate pricing for someone with 5 years experience may be woefully low for someone with 10 years experience. In addition, no one here really knows your overhead and expenses.

In the end all pricing comes down to hourly rates. Sure, you may not expose the actual hourly rate to your client, but you should be using that to calculate your fees.

Check out THIS THREAD and DA01's answer. It's a good one. Figure out your hourly rate. Figure out how much time you anticipate the project taking (then add at least 2 hours for unexpected items) and you've got your project fees.

For many services hourly rates can vary. One rate for simple mockups, one rate for coding HTML/CSS, one rate for server-side scripting, etc. So really, you should be able to figure out pretty close what to charge on your own.

And Lauren is absolutely correct when posting "do not offer unlimited revisions". Clients will see that and, oh, how they will take advantage of it. After all.. isn't adding an entirely new page to the site just a "revision" to the site? If you do not impose limits, they will never impose them on their own.

6
  • I think Peter gave us adequate information: he's a student so his experience and overhead are non-issues right now; the site is 8 pages so it's probably not a Fortune 500. The unlimited revisions (which no pro would ever do) will certainly give him more experience ;) Jul 26, 2012 at 17:01
  • There are MANY levels of students, all with varying proficiency. And there are MANY Fortune 500 companies that build "feeder" sites and content. Your assumptions are just that - assumptions. I simply chose to not make any assumptions.
    – Scott
    Jul 26, 2012 at 21:36
  • Really? You're still not sure if a Fortune 500 company may have hired a first time freelancer / student to do a multimillion dollar site? Good point, I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Jul 27, 2012 at 15:58
  • 2
    Am I the only one around here who is asked to defend answers so rigorously? No one said "multimillion dollar site" except you. And "Fortune 500" was an example. You don't need to be so litteral. Sheesh.
    – Scott
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:09
  • Forgive my hyperbole. In forums as in conversations, one human to another, we fill in the gaps. It's what makes us special. The gaps in this question were pretty easy to fill in. That's why I explicitly stated my heuristic leaps. Jul 27, 2012 at 16:14
1

Okay, quick reality check.

It's good to keep market price in mind. I wouldn't do a logo for any less than $600 and I might do a comps-only site project for as little as $650. But that's quick and dirty, no revision pricing, and I've been doing this a long time.

You're new to this and you probably need the work, experience, and portfolio padding more than anything. Your price is certainly fair but, always be willing to fill a gap in your day by negotiating a little. When you have more clients/projects than you need, then you can negotiate tougher ;)

0

As a designer and programmer I say this is a legit pricing (as a student).

I had some customers who got their first website from me and they were shocked about the price. In that case you just have to send them to an agency and they will gladly take your offer ;)

But back to your question, you can kinda calculate the price. I for example charge 30€/hour (I guess you can charge the same in $). Taking the time you spent it´s 30€ x 21hours (7 days with 3 hours/day) and saying that you´re halfway done it´s 630€ x 2 = 1260€. Offering unlimited revisions afterwards is a nice offer, not sure how I would charge that but I think you can easily climp up to 1500$ if not more.

I think in my current agency someone would pay several thousand dollars or euros so you should be fine with that.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.