hi I've been learning PHP and other web programming languages since last year.I've done 3 projects for my client till now.That's what he's been paying me for my work:- 1.) An institute management system.(PHP+MySQL):- A portal where institute owners can list their institute(small+big) and upload form and other details.Students can search institutes on various parameters and download form + indulge in online conversation. Amount Paid :- $170 2.) A property management system(PHP+MySQL):- Similar to property sites that are common these days with a property comparison feature. Amount Paid :- $100 3.) A script in PHP to search for a keyword in google, and then return URL of "Contact Us" pages of specified number of websites. Amount paid :- $80 I just want to know if the amount he's paying me is justified.I you had to make similar projects, how much would you have charged ? I'm asking this because he always asks me to make a bid on the project, and these were the prices i told him and he accepted.I have a fear if i'm bidding too low...
You were underpaid for those products.. But if they were your starting projects, dont mind even if you were underpaid. Because at this point you need to build a reputation as coder, and a client base. My normal charge is $15/hour.. But I code really fast and follow the strict work ethics so it doesn't sting the clients.
when its my rookie days as a programmer i try to study and study, i really dont mind the money, ofcourse i was also underpaid to my freelance projects. I only think that as long as i have a laptop / pc with internet connection with me, and a pack of cigarette im fine, and will code and even study more. anyways thats off topic. a simple cms / framework customization i would charge minimum of 20k pesos, in dollars i think its 350 - 400 dollars, but i give a support for 1 month after deployment. nothing major ofcourse in the support. for enterprise project that i would charge my monthly salary. sometimes i get some of my collegeues to help. if youre a starter, try to study and do the projects, research on techniques and current technologies, money comes second.
My rates are around 12USD/hour for quick proj and as low as 8 per hour on long term projects. It all depends on the project/client/timeline. Sometimes it's ok to earn a bit less but gain visibility enough to gather a lot of extra work so it's not earning less. It's an investment. If you're living at home with your parents feel confident to make some mistakes. To worst it can happen is to waste time. And even that is subjective. You're learning and making yourself portfolio and code samples. Oh! that's another advice. keep a personal code sample database. Things that was hard to find a solution. weird algorithms and such. keep them for future consult. have fun!
What would be an appropriate going rate for a PHP-scripted site with eCommerce similar to eBay? The reason I am asking is because I am looking to find a web designer to code the above mentioned project but have no clue what the ballpark figure for something of that sort would be around. With all the expected potential traffic, how much would data servers cost per month? Obviously I'd start out small and increase capacity from there, but I just want to have a rough overhead cost before the project kicks-off. If any of you PHP coders could give me a guesstimate off the top of your head, it'd be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
It's simply impossible to make such budget. It depend on what you have in mind. If you're planning on building a clone, keep your money and buy some web veteran and brainstorm a new idea. If you have something different in mind, remember that it's almost impossible for a single person create something like ebay in usefull time. you need a team. and a senior may cost you something like 2,5k and up per month. you can outsource it to places like india and it would be cheaper. it's a choice, I would not advise it. But it's up to you. so you're always looking at 10k+ just for the guys behind the keyboards. servers come cheap compared to that. 500 or 600 / month and it's a great server. there are cheaper solutions and more expensive. again, it depend on what you have in mind
Well, to put things in perspective I have an idea that could possibly revolutionize the way we do business online. With that being said, I am not planning on making a clone site as I already have a pre-drafted custom layout that I intend to have the coder(s) design. And as far as capital is concerned, I actually have a couple investors already that are willing to put up to $50,000 capital but we are also in the midst of looking to find angel investors and/or venture capitalists to back up the project if worst comes to worst. From what I've read on the initial start-up of a social networking site such as Facebook, their greatest concern was the cost of servers as well as other overhead costs that led them to seek additional funding from venture capitalists. Since I plan to do a one-shot deal, I want to be sure that I have enough financial support in our war funds before we engage in this enormous project. Btw, thanks for the input darkowl, I really appreciate it. If there are any other PHP coders that could offer a hint of advice, feel free to throw your suggestions this way.
Yea, I've heard a lot of stories about them and how they take a significant chunk when it comes down to profit sharing. Hopefully we wouldn't end up having to rely on them for financial support, but judging by our forecast for overhead costs, I'm afraid it won't be long before our war funds run dry and we would have to rely on external support. Aside from these two sources of capital, I haven't heard of any other means of gaining investment capital but I'd be happy to hear if there are any other sources as well. Speaking of which, I'm actually curious if anyone on DP has ever dealt with angel investors or venture capitalists for that matter and have any experience they're willing to share? That would definitely be an advantage on our end if we could hear some real-life stories which would better equip us when (and if) the time comes when we need to have a little chat with them.
Wow... $8 to $12 an hour??? that's really cheap. That's close to McDonald's wage hehe. Try going on craigslist. You might be able to get around $800-1k for small projects. CMS and customization speed things up. And also if you do fully custom work, you can try qcudo.com or other similar code generating framework. Once you get a small code base going, future projects are pretty easy.
Dennis, craigslist is always complicated because I'm not located in the US and the validation is a nightmare
My story is also the same... I charged little amounts like you. But, after some experience i developed some clear terms. You can use $/hour system if you can calculate the total time of work. Otherwise negotiate with a higher fixed price. Good Luck.
$8-$12 surprises you? There are many coders from India-Pakistan that charge as low as $5/hour.. When I give my $15/hour quote to clients, some of them tell me that I'm too expensive for their budget. Now that's shocking. But what can you do....