Freelance Web Design question

[SnoringFrog]

Does anyone here have experience with freelance web design and know what fair rates are? I'm starting to get into it myself but have no clue what I should be charging...

[Cap'n Nick]

$25 per hour is a pretty good "standard" rate. When you're just starting out, though, it's best to build your client base by offering discounts or freebies. Once you have a good pile of sites to show off you can work up to that and beyond.

[SnoringFrog]

What about on working on a charge by page basis? I can't really give my client an estimate based off an hourly rate since I couldn't even begin to ballpark how long it would take me.

[Cap'n Nick]

A quick web search suggests the bargain basement starts at $199 a page. This blog article puts reasonable rates at around $1,500 for a completed site. I've seen similar figures in other resources.

If you don't know how long it will typically take you to make a site, it'd be a good idea to do a few dozen mock-ups so you can have a better idea of your workflow. This will give you a better idea of how many projects you can realistically take on and how much you'll have to charge to make it worth your time. Tedious, I know, but they're hardly things you want to discover when clients are on the line.

[SnoringFrog]

Ok, thanks. And yeah, mock-ups do sound like a good idea.

[Cap'n Nick]

Good luck! Let us know if you strike it rich!

[Dante]

I had a hard time even giving webpages away .

(Although I sought out the individuals I wanted to make them for... and if you're not asking for money, people tend to get suspicious... and rightfully so.)

hint: Do not begin your e-mails with:

"I AM A WEALTHY NIGERIAN WEBPAGE DESIGNER LOOKING TO BUILD YOU AN EXCELLENT FREE WEBPAGE! I JUST NEED YOU TO..."

Ect. Ect.

[SnoringFrog]

"I AM A WEALTHY NIGERIAN WEBPAGE DESIGNER LOOKING TO BUILD YOU AN EXCELLENT FREE WEBPAGE! I JUST NEED YOU TO..."

Darn...in that case I might already have screwed myself over, lol.

I've been meaning to PM you about something...but I don't think I ever did and now I don't remember what it was exactly...something about something (haha, cause that helps so much)

[Dante]

Noting this same topic, I may actually be trying to get into this same field this Summer, I've noticed on a lot of sites that there seems to be a high demand for programmers that know SQL and PHP, thus my pure HTML, Java and drawing skills seem a little dated. I could use C#.NET, but unfortunately my other computer is running the pro edition because I'm trying to use it for school, and hence I can't sell any products that I make using that software . (Otherwise I'd jump on the ASP.NET train... this computer doesn't count because I couldn't do anything that intesive on it... its been restricted to internet use only for the time being).

Anyways, if I learn anything I'll send it your way k? (In the meantime all I've learned is that there seems to be a demand for PHP and SQL... but I have to learn these programming languages before I can see if they make it worth it... I've also learned that free-lancers have a bit of hard time in the states because we're forced to compete with places like India where people can live for a lot less so they don't have to charge as much for their services... (which hurts people like us living in the US where all of our prices are inflated).

-Pascal

By the way, perhaps someone knows the answer to this... does anyone know of any smaller clientel (say small business that want a private web page design) but they don't want to pay a lot for a web page, but they don't want every gadget under the sun on their page either? (Just someone who knows how to code and hence build them a working web page). This somehow seems hard to find even though you think it wouldn't be...

[Mithrandir]

By the way, perhaps someone knows the answer to this... does anyone know of any smaller clientel (say small business that want a private web page design) but they don't want to pay a lot for a web page, but they don't want every gadget under the sun on their page either? (Just someone who knows how to code and hence build them a working web page). This somehow seems hard to find even though you think it wouldn't be...

Most of the time, they don't know/think they need it, so they don't go out of their way to look for it. Have you tried placing a notice on Craig's list, letting people know your rates/talents/skills? You might get a hit. As a former consultant, I've found it was tough to line up new jobs - there was always something else going on, or all the leads dried up. Given the current economy, I'm not sure I would enjoy the prospect of returning to consulting. YMMV, I guess.

[shooraijin]

It's kind of a dime a dozen business lately, I would imagine. In my consultant days, I was hired for specific, unusual purposes (in my case, my web skills were secondary; I knew the student information system inside and out, and was hired to interface that). Pure web design has kind of a glut of willing candidates.