pearsonified.com — "How can you charge THAT? My nephew will make my web page for fifty dollars!" Chris Pearson writes about this sticky, frustrating issue that every web designer faces. "Everybody wants a killer design, especially after seeing one that they lust over. Problem is, nobody wants to pay for it."
Oct 23, 2006 View in Crawl 4
jeffgtrOct 23, 2006
I will give a potential client an estimate of the completed project, but I emphasize it will go over budget if they are not engaged from the beginning, because if they aren't it will be inevitable that I will have to go back and redo elements which will be at an hourly rate. I also use ActiveColab which is sort of like basecamp and make that as my primary source of communication with them, just to get them used to using simple project management. It always costs more if they want me to redo a Frontpage site or one that is poorly coded. I do everything in css now and standards compliant. There run into qoutes that are lower than mine often and when I look at the competitors sites they are all tables and gobbly gook code. The hardest part is explaining to the potential client that making a site that is somewhat future proof, works in a variety of different browsers, takes longer and therefore costs more.The thing that has helped more than anything is developing a good reputation. Virtually all of my business is word of mouth so there is an element of trust going in, and knowing when to say no to a project.
azulusOct 23, 2006
A lot of people make a steady income off their blog. It's back to the question of "will a unique design make more money and pay itself off?" If you're making a business out of a blog you want it to stand out visually and not be just another blog. $1500 isn't too much to ask for that.
anagogeOct 24, 2006
...Um, what if they pick correct and fast?Then you're screwed. :-pA good job takes more time than a bad one.
anagogeOct 24, 2006
Great advice. Worth much more than $0.02.
anagogeOct 24, 2006
Let's have a look at these $300/10 page projects of yours. I'm curious to see how you may have developed your style over the past ten years. It's always interesting to view the work of fellow designers.Also, I have a question. What if you're a complete guru at coding/designing and you can do the job in an hour and you've said that you charge $35 per hour for your services? Doesn't that mean you only get $35? I'm just curious at what point would you consider going from hourly to flat fee?
differentOct 24, 2006
The problem is eveyone is used to services like MySpace and Xange and websites that put a lot of hard labor in to make it easy for the users - everyone wants it that easy....Somehow is just always has to be easy (for them), dynamic, templates powered by server-side scripting languages.....
kevincannonOct 26, 2006
It does indeed sound like he was dealing with bad designers. Though it makes sense, he wasn't paying an awful lot of money so at that price point it can be very hit and miss. You can bet if he doubled his budget he would be able to deal with more established people and wouldn't have that kind of trouble.
twocentsOct 27, 2006
Design is subjective, you can't put a definitive 'price' on it. Some advertising companies would charge tens of thousands of dollars for similar work.It's good to see someone have the balls to discuss their pricing.
citenNov 8, 2006
Dude, perhaps the reason you're getting such bad experiences has to do with you and not your designer. If you are working with different people and getting the same results -- you gotta evaluate your behavior, take responsibility don't blame your designer for bad communication or misinterpreted expectations.
citenNov 8, 2006
perhaps he's just mentally slow and it really does take him that long to integrate someone elses template into a blog
Closed AccountFeb 5, 2007
@Jack 000You are right, I did take this OSWD, and yes, the credit came off. I will give snop his credit - it is his work, and that is only good form.I work for the Department of Defense creating Java applications for the Defense Finance and Accounting Services. Web development like what I have at www.imova.com is something I do on the side. I didn't have a website with my work for years, and needed something quick. I liked snope's work, and as he has permitted the world to do, use his design. It is not good form to remove his name, you are correct, and so credit will be given.I had to design the website while I was on vacation in the Caribbean. You think that I would spend time working on something like that from scratch while my friends are playing on the beach?To someone who develops websites full time, yes, I commend you for using DIV tags, clean design. But someone who is trying to make a few bucks over working 40+ hours a week, I use Dreamweaver & Photoshop. My clients are happy, because I do the work that they want, and don't really have the time to turn everything out into good clean design, which, agreed, I should be doing... if I had the time.Jack000, if I can make the money where the client is happy about the price and the design, then that is my prerogative. You really should focus on your own developments and quit looking for thorns. I thought this feed is about how much you should charge - when did it tun into "is Brian not a good web developer??"geeze man... I'm not perfect.
Closed AccountApr 1, 2007
Look this site for web design <a class="user" href="http://www.design-sites.net">http://www.design-sites.net</a> design how are you?
tech3nineMar 5, 2009
Yes.. web designers have had these experiences with web design clients. So, the big point is... Right Client. <a class="user" href="http://www.squidoo.com/website-design-hosting">http://www.squidoo.com/website-design-hosting</a><a class="user" href="http://www.annexworld.com/web-design-development.html">http://www.annexworld.com/web-design-development.h ...</a>
csprestonNov 24, 2011
This is such a great topic. I actually put together my own blog posting on it:
http://www.customsoftwarebypreston.com/web-design-costs