Thread

Sorry if this topic has been posted before, but I’m curious to know people’s thoughts on this.

In the past (meaning before I discovered EE), I made a good chunk of my profit updating and maintaining websites I developed for my clients either through a monthly charge or by hourly rate.

Now that I use and promote EE to my clients, I’ve found my after development services are needed much less than before,(which was the selling point), but I’ve not increased the total amount of the development cost much because I don’t want my clients to be scared by the price.

So my question is, are developers charging a much higher rate for the development of an EE site with no after cost? or do they split the cost by adding a little more to the initial development then charging a monthly fee?

Hope this makes sense and I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

IMHO you can’t charge based on what EE isn’t.

I charge based on what it costs to develop the site - plain and simple.  No post-launch maintenance requirements is a selling point / competitive advantage over other folks still building static websites.

Figure you’re going to be developing more sites (since you will be maintaining fewer) and you should come out OK.

That’s one of the issues with giving a customer a CMS to play with - they no longer need you after the site has been finished! As Boying said, it’s a case of finding more sites to develop. However, there are still ways to create recurring income from these sort of customers…

1. Offer web hosting + domains - providing hosting services for your clients will give a you a regular income, hosting alone won’t pay all your bills but can be enough to get you out of the do do’s when you’re broke!

2. Offer your services to update their sites while they’re on holiday. Also some clients start off by updating their own sites but often grow bored of it or their circumstances change and they need someone to do it. Make sure your door is always open - web store owners often reach this stage.

3. Charge for technical support - probably only small amounts but it adds up

4. Offer annual site overhauls, all sites could do with freshening up from time to time

5. If you did a good job ask the client for a testimionial to put on your design site - can help attract new custom

6. Search Engine Optimisation - a bit of a grey area but if you are up to speed with SEO you could offer it as a service

7. Some people will argue that designers should charge “a bit extra” for a user maintained site. That’s up to you but one to consider

8. Make sure you offer services that customers *might* want to bolt on to their sites at any point. I’m thinking things like shopping carts, chat rooms….

9. Offer services like image and video processing and optimising - users still try to upload 10mb bitmap files for their images and wonder why their sites take ages to load…

That’s one of the issues with giving a customer a CMS to play with - they no longer need you after the site has been finished!

Not strictly true, in my experience. There’s still the occasional update, maintenance work, redesign, general support… It’s true, they don’t need you for content updates, but I for one never liked that part anyway. I will not do static HTML based websites, period.

As Boyink said, charge for your time and effort, and not what might come down the line or not.

Interesting topic 😊

I always clearly differentiate between development and ongoing maintenance.  I try to design a site so it’s possible for the owner to easily update / add content. However, I’m clear if they want a design change, it costs extra. 

The nice thing about EE is the extra features; image gallery, forums, wiki, etc… all of these are things clients might want as extra features.

The model I follow is to try and agree a scope for the site and then issue a fixed price quote based on that scope. If there is further work during the life of the project you should charge for it.

Re maintenance I have three rates with it being more expensive to do it more quickly. I find it makes clients think about what they really need a bit more and means I get compensated if I have to put myself out to do something very quickly.

I don’t want to do content entry either - Boring!

Re maintenance I have three rates with it being more expensive to do it more quickly. I find it makes clients think about what they really need a bit more and means I get compensated if I have to put myself out to do something very quickly.

Hmmm that’s an interesting way of charging, I use an hourly rate or fixed rate (if it’s a known quantity), first come first served. You may have inspired me 😊

I don’t mind content entry too much, sometimes it’s nice to have times when you don’t have to think too much!

I hate content and maintenance.I hate it so much the second site I did in 1996 was database generated (similar to MT) using FilemakerPro.  EE has been a blessing.
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What I do find is EE allows you to do so much more and most clients aren’t ready to do it all right up front. When developing the plan, I always have various phases that add other features (blog, forum, galleries) or just new sections (faq, link list, etc.). So, it can keep one busy for a fairly lengthy period with nice breaks in between.

to add a non designers viewpoint… sorry to intrude… but well…. I’m more likely to trust and go with a designer who just charges me outright for the services they have provided.

If I find out you have been trying to fleece me because I’m not paying you for updates and maintenance on my site every week that I do not need.  Well.  No matter how much I like your design you can sit on a sharp object an spin.

If I like your work and you are trust worthy then I’m more likely to come back as a customer and pay for the updates (I will want them) and the additions (trust me every time I think there is nothing else… well there is always something new.)

Trust me if I, or someone like me, could have done the work myself, without paying a fortune I would have.  If I pay for someone to design a site.  It is more than likely that I’m going to keep paying for changes to the design or additions.

Thanks to everyone for such helpful comments, especially bluedreamer!

I struggled with the last two websites I created with EE (which were also my first to use EE) because I got excited at EE’s potential and developed galleries, forums, and about 7 different weblogs without charging any extra for my time. Charging for each feature/section I create will make my proposal much easier to price out and explain to the client.

I also love the suggestions of how to drive income after the site is developed for services requested and I think I might try Shape Shed’s idea on charging based on completion time. Don’t we all just LOVE the clients who email changes then call an hour later asking why they’re not done? I guess web designers don’t have a life.

Thanks again everyone!

If I find out you have been trying to fleece me because I’m not paying you for updates and maintenance on my site every week that I do not need.  Well.  No matter how much I like your design you can sit on a sharp object an spin.

I totally agree, unfortunately some people are just too dishonest and will always lose out in the end. As a freelancer my repeat customers are very valuable as they help put food on my table! If I started diddling them I’d lose my living - simple.

I try treat my clients with respect, always charge fairly, and go the extra mile to keep them happy. All this has it’s rewards with client recommendations!

Thanks to everyone for such helpful comments, especially bluedreamer!

I struggled with the last two websites I created with EE (which were also my first to use EE) because I got excited at EE’s potential and developed galleries, forums, and about 7 different weblogs without charging any extra for my time. Charging for each feature/section I create will make my proposal much easier to price out and explain to the client.

No problem, I’m glad we could all offer some inspiration 😊

Getting your charging right can take a while, I think many designers (including myself) have undercharged for jobs, especially in the beginning, but you soon learn!