ExpressionEngine CMS
Open, Free, Amazing

Thread

This is an archived forum and the content is probably no longer relevant, but is provided here for posterity.

The active forums are here.

How much do you charge for an EE web site?

September 02, 2008 1:50am

Subscribe [12]
  • #1 / Sep 02, 2008 1:50am

    kriz

    231 posts

    Greetings all,

    I need an idea of how much, so I can start with a base price range.

    Ive got a few clients in mind. They require a web site for their company. They dont need to do e-commerce online. Just a simple web site with a few pages that tells its audience who they are, what they do, the services they offer, a product listing etc.

    For general web sites like this, how much do you charge?

    Please quote if project-based and / or by the hour.

  • #2 / Sep 02, 2008 2:42am

    Ingmar

    29245 posts

    kriz, you will find that designers and developers are notoriously hesitant to talk about their rates, for a bunch of professional and legal reasons. This thread has some good infos and links.

  • #3 / Sep 02, 2008 9:18am

    Simon Cox

    405 posts

    Spot on Ingmar!

    Kriz - how much are you thinking of charging?

  • #4 / Sep 02, 2008 9:53am

    28Bytes

    192 posts

    It’s a learning process, that is for sure.

  • #5 / Sep 02, 2008 10:10am

    Jack McDade

    425 posts

    Somewhere between [edit] and [edited]. 😝
    That being said, my one piece of advice is to not undersell yourself. If you need to do a site on the cheap to get the experience under your belt, do it, but make sure you learn everything you can and make sure to charge more next time.

    You get what you pay for, and by undercharging you are cultivating an image of low quality. Just make sure your work is good and you’ll do well.

  • #6 / Sep 02, 2008 10:23am

    John Fuller

    779 posts

    Personally, I think the hardest part is figuring out how much time the site is going to take.

    As to how much you should charge, that question is unanswerable here for a number of reasons. 

    You have to figure out how much your time is worth.  How much do I have to pay you before you are willing to take time away from whatever else you could be doing and do web development for me?

    Though we can’t answer your question, here is a survey of hourly rates from Freelanceswitch.

    Even better, here you will find a calculator which will help you figure out what your hourly rates should be based on the factors you should consider.

  • #7 / Sep 02, 2008 10:23am

    Sean C. Smith

    3818 posts

    That being said, my one piece of advice is to not undersell yourself. If you need to do a site on the cheap to get the experience under your belt, do it, but make sure you learn everything you can and make sure to charge more next time.

    I did this with my first client and I what I learned was that I should’ve asked for more. He’s been very uncommunicative, 3 weeks between emails (multiple times) and a little picky.

    I sent an email this morning stating that i wouldn’t be able to continue his project until November due to his communication problems and all of a sudden he is now able to respond in less than 12 hours wondering why it’s going to take so long.

    Would’ve been finished his site by July 30th if he’d been communicating properly since the beginning.

  • #8 / Sep 02, 2008 10:31am

    Jack McDade

    425 posts

    Yup, that’s the most common client relationship. Ever. Make sure to detail out schedules in your contracts (you DO have a contract, right?) with milestones for client deliveries. Don’t make hard dates, but rather have your items be based on receiving the required info/feedback.

    Example: Design Phase: 2 weeks. Client Feedback. Build Phase: 4 weeks from feedback.

    Hope that helps!

  • #9 / Sep 02, 2008 10:31pm

    kriz

    231 posts

    Spot on Ingmar!

    Kriz - how much are you thinking of charging?

    Im thinking of charging $### - $### USD

    Since no one would like to give an actual number, is it appropriate to give out a range? For example:

    General website (no ecommerce): $###-####
    Intermediate website (could be with ecommerce, forum, etc): $###-####

    Advanced website (social networking website, forum, ecommerce): $###-####

    The above is JUST an example.

  • #10 / Sep 02, 2008 10:37pm

    kriz

    231 posts

    Just went through some of the articles mentioned. In particular, read through http://freelanceswitch.com/general/3700-freelancers-surveyed-the-results-are-here/

    The average hourly rate for a web designer is $XX USD?? Assuming the web designer would have to work for 9 hours a day. In one day he/she would make 9 * XX = $??. Isnt that too much? This means in one week 5 * XX = $XXXX. I reckon that may be way too much… Please correct me if otherwise

  • #11 / Sep 02, 2008 11:36pm

    Sean C. Smith

    3818 posts

    Remember as a freelancer your not on salary, get no paid vacation, have no benefits and have to pay all your own overhead.

    No freelancer is going to be able to code 9 hours a day every single day - there’s other parts of the business that need running.

  • #12 / Sep 02, 2008 11:38pm

    Jack McDade

    425 posts

    Yeah kriz, u gotta charge more than that. PM me if you want to know what i charge. For corporate stuff i bill out over $###/hr, but personal is different.

  • #13 / Sep 03, 2008 12:31am

    Lisa Wess

    20502 posts

    All numbers have been edited out.  You are free to discuss how you come to a number, why you may come to a number, under what circumstances that number may change - but you may not discuss actual numbers.  This is to protect this forum from any difficulties.

    Thanks for understanding.

  • #14 / Sep 03, 2008 9:39am

    28Bytes

    192 posts

    Hey Kriz that was low, you don’t want to undersell yourself. You could have a month where you have no work at all, so you have to take that into consideration.

  • #15 / Sep 03, 2008 11:02am

    LucPestille

    146 posts

    There’s a good rate calculator over at Freelance Switch that might be of some use: http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

ExpressionEngine News!

#eecms, #events, #releases