I would like to know how much a professional web developer can charge for various jobs. For example, what's the average rate for the following? Header graphic Logo On-site SEO Complete XHTML/CSS web site Complete database/PHP web site Obviously, the charge will depend on the scale and complexity of the job. All I want is a general idea.
this is the hardest questions since you will find logos or any type of graphics from 5$ to even 100$+ it all comes to you how much you think your logo deserves to be selled. For starters as im starting in getting done my portfolio i do banners for 20$ logos from 20 to 40$ depending of difficulty a complete website designed and coded 100$. now those are my prices you may find cheaper and even expensive it all comes to the designer!
You do banners for $20, headers for $20-$40, and complete web sites for $100? So, you charge the most for graphics?
when u dont have a complete portfolio and for starters till you get some customers is better than nothing now each one has its own point of view. Now this prices are just for now till i get more customers and be recognized. ull be amazed to see users here offering logs for 6$ and even websites for 60$
Many factors can alter your price point. I've been designing and developing sites for 10 years now and projects tend to reflect 2 main points. 1 = clients budget and 2 = do you need work?.... Your market will also determine your price. For example, I'm in New York and ordinarily I'd never touch a logo or header for less than $100 but in today's market I'm competing with overseas companies / individuals that, after the exchange rate, $20 works for them. So, I'm doing small sites for $150 - $300 that a year ago I was doing for $1000 - $1500 in order to stay busy. Although I am doing 2x the volume to make it up. But the point is, there is no straight answer to your question. - Right now my formula is this. Weekly Goal = XXXX (The amount I need to make each week) Divided by amount of days I work each week = 6 ( usually I work seven but I should take a day off ) Add 15% to that daily number Then divide by the number of jobs I can do in a day. So let's say I do nothing but headers and logos. I know I can turn out a header or logo within an hour. If I'm going to 10 of them a day my formula goes like this. Weekly Goal / 6 + 15% / 10 = $xx Make sense. Well that formula has worked for me for the last few years and hasn't let me down.... All in all it comes down to what you feel you are worth and stick to it. DP isn't going to make you top dollar, that's for sure.... But it is good for building your portfolio or filling dead time to make some extra cash as well as watching for web trends. Just watching what's selling in sites for sale and what's being asked for in the for hire sections can help you stay on top of the current webmaster trends. Hope this helps a little....
I've had a decade of experience in this business, and frankly, there is no average; it's all over the map. I'd recommend that you don't think that way. However, unlike many others that "sniff, sniff" to see what the budget a client might have before proposing an RFQ, I belive in standard pricing, so yeah, we do have standard pricing for things like logo design, web UI creatives, and XHTML/CSS. However, the pricing there is based on provider factors more than "what's the average", or anything like that. Frankly, we put together an excellent team, and the our cost is what our cost is -- and as any savy marketer would tell you, "you're not charging enough untill you've gone to far." I'm not quite that agro myself, but I do know what we're worth and what our demographic will pay. Things like SEO should not have the same formula of standardized pricing, IMHO, as every site is different; one should tailor an SEO plan individually for each client and cost it accordingly. "Complete database/PHP web site" -- that really doesn't make any sense. The costing issues here have to do with time to develope rather than platform. That is, what is the site supposed to do, what will the database be, lots of other functionality issues, including admin vs. end-user. This sort of thing simply CAN NOT be relegated to a menu/cost item. That being said, there are some PHP/MySQL or ASP.NET/MS SQL applications that your could run rather "out of the box" with, such as various shopping carts, CMS, Blog, and forum applications. And if you are going to get into supporting applications, I'd serously recommend to you that you look into hosting your clients' applications. Obviously, you're just starting out and have little experience yet, and therefore might think hosting would be beyond you, but it's really not. There are many good ways to step into that market, and it will also provide you rather "residual" income which you'll need to smooth your cash flow and get beyond working contract to contract.