How Much To Charge For Web Design?

I think you have to look at the complexity of the existing site, whether it will just need to be updated or totally redesigned. It is always easier for me to try and figure out ahead of time the amount of work that will be involved and charge the client a flat fee.

 

This is how I work it out. How much you think your time is worth, add electricity and bills you pay(rent etc), the price of the software and computer you are using and add these up and add 10%.

 

It's not just a matter of whether the client is willing to pay what you want (I can understand clients having budgets), but whether or not they'd be willing to negotiate a payment plan if they can't afford your rate in full(assuming you can't be talked down reasonably in price to seal a deal right then and there - for example, would you rather either work out a payment plan, or talk down a $3,800 contract to $3,500 and walk out of the meeting with a cheque or risk walking out with nothing and then finding that the contract was awarded to someone else?).

Thats the first thing I always do. But I'm so good with HTML and CSS (not to mention other areas) that I see most of the code I come across these days as being substandard (even what I wrote a year ago). But I always strive to improve myself and my skills, not to mention my understanding of how and WHY things work the way they do (as well as how they're supposed to).

Add another 10% to that and you'll be more comfortable. NEVER tack on less than 20% profit, unless you're going to aim for something like 18.5%.

 

Good solid advice Dan. Althought i'm still leaning towards what the client will pay. So many times people have had designs for sale at around $100 dollars, said they won't go lower then 80, then turn around and sold for 25.

 

They're advertising in the wrong places then. Either that or the designs aren't as good as the designer thought they were (sad, but can be true at times - even some of my designs have sucked like a carton of rotten eggs before).

Besides, a client that wants to try and lowball me is a client I will not take on. I'd rather have happy clients that pay me on time rather than grumpy or shady clients that try to put off paying me for as long as possible, then fight with me over the money (which is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved).

Besides, business is about two things - building relationships and making money. Too many times though people forget all about the former in their quest for the latter.