I got a call today from the Superintendant of a local private school (K-12) who asked me if I'd be interested in updating their website and how much I'd charge. The existing site is pretty basic and I'm confident in my ability to do the job... I'll be updating the teacher directory; adding downloadable enrollment forms; taking new photos and uploading them; setting them up to accept tuition payments online; and other minor things. He is also interested in having me be available in the future for updates as needed. Now, I've never outsourced my web design services (that weren't part of an online business directory), and don't know how much to charge? Your input is appreciated!
Confused by the comment on outsourcing? If you are doing it yourself then work out how long it will take you to do each part, add it up, add 10% for contingency and times by your hourly rate. If you are outsourcing then get quotes from your partners and add circa 25% as your profit margin and/ or do as per in house development and minus 20%, which ever is less.
These SitePoint Articles should help you out (or you could just charge $60/hour and multiply that by the time you think it would take to get the job done). http://www.sitepoint.com/article/freelance-pricing-1-set-rate http://www.sitepoint.com/article/pricing-2-quoting-win http://www.sitepoint.com/article/web-work-should-charge http://www.sitepoint.com/article/debt-collection-freelancers (for if the client doesn't pay)
You should charge around $30, that is what i charge, i am a web designer too. I started of with $10 though, but when i got more popular i went up to $30.
Well it depends pretty much on your skills. I know a friend who charges US$900 for 5 pages site - basic html. Flash usually a little pricier.
do you mean 10k-30k ? or would you do all that for $30? your quote depends on how serious your client takes you and how serious you take your company, for example you mentioned you would be taking photo's, imagine how much the photography company charges for an hourly rate for school photos. IMO, i can imagine someone doing it for free or some big time web firm doing the project for 10K+ really it all depends just make it worth your time and money, not matter what make it fun and an enjoyable experience!
I think he meant $30. Charge $20 an hour if you're worried about scaring them away over charging and make an estimate from that. If you're confident in your abilities and you don't NEED the job, $30-$40 AN HOUR (NOT FOR THE WHOLE THING, which some people here do, and the quality shows)
In my experience as a web designer, I've found that the market value almost always goes up for local clients. In other words - Any online customers I get, they are usually looking for competitive rates, which is fine, because I will honor these rates, and sometimes beat them. On the other hand, local small-businesses who dont know alot about hunting for a designer/developer online will usually go to the yellow pages, local listings or word of mouth and request a sit down/quote or both. I've seen some outrageous quotes from other local companies, sometimes even retainers! In your situation, you are looking at a state-funded budget, so the Superintendant probably has a hefty amount of money he is working with. If I were you, I would splurge and tack a little extra on a project like this. Alot of times I see local web design companies who turn down clients if they arent willing to spend $1500+
It varies, really. If I'm developing a flat HTML site with no content management of any sort including the graphic design I charge $1,000 and it will be done within two weeks. I have 6 years experience now. If any server-side programming is involved, the price increases.
Mike, if you really think that's a good price, it's not (at least not in the US, Canada, Australia or most of Europe). It's barely above minimum wage in most parts of the US - if you're going to be making that kind of money each day as your active income, you might as well step away from the keyboard and get a McJob, because you'll be making the same amount of money each day after taxes are factored in. Now change that to "per hour" and then you'll be talking.
Dan - It may be a good learning experience for me here. I saw your comment in other thread too. Looks like you have a lot of outsourcing experience. Can you please share with me more. How much do you really charge for a static site that has about 10 - 20 pages? My currently full time job ends up around $58 per hour in addition to all the normal benefits (medical, dental, life, 401k....etc) I have. If I work as an independent contractor, how much do I need to charge in order to break even with my full time job. Of course, there are other competitive factors. I can't compete with others who only charge $20 - $30 per hour out there. If that would be the case, I'd rather keep my full time job. Any comment would be much appreciated.
Ok, you're making (i'll give you a $2 raise here) $60/hour at your job (before taxes), plus you have benefits as well. Aside from your state and federal income taxes, DOUBLE all the taxes that are taken out of your paycheck (since your employer pays half of what's taken out in total, with you paying the other half). Then shop around for insurance to see how much it would cost you to purchase the same level of insurance that your employer is providing (even if it does come out of your regular paycheck). Add the two together to figure out how much "gross" income you'd have to make (before taxes). Don't forget to tack on a 20-25% profit margin either (you'll be going into business to make money, not a living) either. After that, go to the IRS Web site and figure out how much will be taken out in income taxes to compensate for your "extra income". Subtract the number you get from your existing income tax, and ADD it to your total. Then re-check the tax brackets and see if you don't have to take out significantly more. Once that's done, talk to an accountant to see what you can claim as tax deductions each year (business expenses). And no, I don't have a lot of "outsourcing" experience. I'm just a freelancer starting from scratch (well, I was almost two years ago).