How much you charge to design a web site? Should you charge a flat fee or hourly?

Question

I am thinking about getting into web site design for some local clients. The only thing, I'm not sure how much to charge them. What is the going rate? Do you charge a flat fee based on the project or an hourly rate?

Answer 1

Like anything in business, you usually get what you pay for. If you are a novice like the guy above was when he was in college, you probably should keep your cost lower as this will mean as much about experience and attracting business as it will making money for you. If you are more professional and have an impressive portfolio, you can definitely charge more. If this is your first time I'd be in the 30 - 50 per hour range. (Why? Because if you are high and the quality doesn't match, you will not be getting referral business in the future.)

My company Oz2Designs charges a standard rate of $80.00 per hour however it is completely negotiable based on the scale of the project. We have also done flat rate fee's once we get an idea of expectations and approximate work time.

Answer 2

Definately go with an hourly rate, but you may not get any customers unless you can give them a ballpark total. You are new to the business, so maybe start with a flat fee (define what they will get for that - like homepage with 3 linked pages) for say $500. Then charge an hourly rate for changes or further development. Different web characteristics (animation, sound, other web links) are easy or more difficult to do, so be careful. An hourly rate would be about $30/hour.
You should call some places who do web design and ask them for their rates (for comparison).
HTML is difficult at first ~ even if you have a web designer software to help with the language. It is like programming.

Answer 3

Usually it's a flat rate. Going hourly really doesn't work for designing cause it really doesnt take that long..

If you plan on haveing on-going support for the site then you can work out a monthly fee...

I usually charge 200 for standard webs with user logins and a bit more for e-commerce sites..and maintenace fee of about 20 a month.

Answer 4

Regardless of whether you choose to charge an hourly rate or a one set fee for a project, you should put all the fees, and other terms and conditions into a written Consulting Agreement. And how do you address the maintenance issue should the client want updates to the website on a daily basis?

Good luck!

Answer 5

In college, I used to charge small compaies $125/site for a "basic" site. If they wanted more, then I started charging a rate of $20/hour.

Hey, I was in college, and I needed the money. Thats probably too cheap, thats what I charged.

Answer 6

well, being new to the business of designing, I suggest that u charge a flat rate. then when u have the experience, you wouldnt need anybody to tell you how much to charge. It just comes with the experience.
Good luck brother

Answer 7

It all depends on what you want to do, but I suggest charging hourly. $40-50/hr is pretty good for a nice web site. Then, you could charge them a monthly fee for you to keep updating it and whatnot.

Answer 8

Whats worth, nobody has a clue how to value things. I say you just throw a number out there and have fun. See if they say yes or no to it you never know until you try, after that you can work with them it will be more relaxing then guessing and stressing. Good luck, don't think about it so much, to some quoting can pull your emotions don't let it just do it!

Answer 9

Charge $75-$100 per page.

Answer 10

Call a good friend most people know how to do it I habe a question for almost the same thing ,i am sure i can get it done fo free