Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Charging Clients

CANEHDN

CANEHDN

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 12, 2005
855
0
Eagle Mountain, UT
Just curious to see what the going rate that people are charging for websites. Do you charge based off projects only or do you base it off time and hourly rates. Currently I charge $80 an hour for back end and front end development. Then charge $40 for support on the stuff that was written. Just curious to see what others are charging.
 
If I do hourly rate, I also charged about $80 an hour for new stuff, and then support depends on the circumstance. If it's something wrong with code I've written (a bug I missed), it's generally free. If I haven't written it and it needs fixing, or nothing is wrong but the client wants to change something, like resize the layout then I charge between 40 and 80 an hour depending on the extent of the project.

For some clients I offer a per project flat rate, but I might stop doing that since I have run into a few clients that complain that stuff like changing the layout, restructuring the site, or other time consuming jobs should be included in the price even though they have already accepted the final product and these are new modifications. And most of the time it's quicker just to do the changes than hassle with the client.
 
For me it varies, I am usually pretty flexible with charging but I mainly use an hourly rate of $AUD75 as a guide.

Depending on the complexity and skill used on a project I may charge more or less.
 
As to freelance rates, they range from $75 - $150 per hour - anything below this range is not generally considered professional level, anything above not generally fair or commonplace. But large jobs aren't usually freelanced anyway so these rates are for personal, SOHO, medium sized contract jobs for an independent contractor.

-jim
 
Once, I made $35 per hour to develop a site, but I'm only 19 years old.

If it's something wrong with code I've written (a bug I missed), it's generally free.
Click to expand...

If there's something wrong with code you wrote then it had better be free to fix it if you already charged them for that code.
If I hired somebody to write some code and there was a bug and they said "oh you know what, I have to charge you more money to go fix my own bug"... please. i'd hire someone else to fix it and never deal with that person again.
 
Obviously bugs are free to fix. That only makes sense. When I say code that was written, I mean changes after they've agreed to final product. So when you guys charge per hour, do you ask for partial up front or just work until it's done and send them a bill for total hours worked? Or do you estimate the hours to complete the job and bill them for that and any extra time is on your dime or do you bill them for the extra hours?
 
I guess I should have clarified on the bugs I was talking about. If the final product works fine on one system, but then the client decides to move to another host and because of differences in the software (ie.php version, database format) that cause a bug to show up that never existed on the original system, then I sometimes charge. More of an upgrade, than a bug I guess.

I normally estimate the hours it will take to get the job done and bill for that, and then try and work out a deal for hours I go over. Some clients just agree to the normal hourly rate, most agree to a reduced rate, only few have refused to pay anything extra, but oh well.
 
CANEHDN said:
Have any of you had trouble getting the money owed to you? The client refusing to pay for what ever reason?
Click to expand...

Yes I think everyone has had the one client who doesn't want to pay. I did have a client who got me to do a complete brand overhaul, then right at the end pull out of the project and not pay.

Although I did loose money besides the initial deposit I found that about six months ago the company copied all of the work that I did and used it on their site. This included logos, business cards, web site layout, branding, etc, I did take them to court and did win, ironically with them trying to be cheap it cost them 12 times what I quoted them because of copyright infringement and having to pay my legal fees.
 
Hi,
How do you guys go about getting connected with these clients? My wife and I are thinking about starting a webdesign business as she has the design degree and I have the computer degree but we aren't sure of all the best ways to get clients. Of course we are going to finish designing and coding a nice website to show our ability but were wondering if any of you might have any smart ways to get clients.

Sorry to be a bit off topic I can start a new topic if anyone thinks its worthy of a new topic.

Thanks
 
After you setup a web site with prototypes, examples and contact information, optimize it for SEO. Then get some business cards, include the web link, and hand them out. Then look into free or low cost LOCAL advertising just as any small business would look into and work that to the bone. Then start posting your web link on sites that either auction off or allow promotion of your type of business or allow consumers to bid on or seek contracts. The whole time this is going on, don't forget word of mouth to business associates and friends and contacts within your local community.

Stay away from sites that sell contact information, listservs, etc. or promise leads for a fee. They're all scammers. But this is not to say there aren't quality CRM (customer relations management) solutions out there. There are. I think you're in the UK so check out this site for info on UK CRM. The site has tips for promoting an online business in the UK as well.

-jim
 
The way I've received clients is from my job. I meet a lot of people at my job and since our company is considered one of the leading internet marketing companies people feel I would be a good fit for their personal ideas and sites. It's definitely good money but sure does suck your spare time trying to manage all these additional jobs and my main job. My first client was actually the company I left before. After I left they realized what they had and asked me to update their site. I now charge 4x what they paid my hourly.
 
CANEHDN said:
The way I've received clients is from my job. I meet a lot of people at my job and since our company is considered one of the leading internet marketing companies people feel I would be a good fit for their personal ideas and sites. It's definitely good money but sure does suck your spare time trying to manage all these additional jobs and my main job. My first client was actually the company I left before. After I left they realized what they had and asked me to update their site. I now charge 4x what they paid my hourly.
Click to expand...

You have the perfect hook up.

to answer the main question. I charge clients on a per project basis which usually can equal to $75 to $100 an hour depending on what they need. If it's something I really really want to do though, I'll charge a little less to get the business
 
Count on Difficult Clients

I would charge based on the project, but ultimately you'll be estimating the amount of time it will take you to do it and multiplying by your hourly rate.

My best advice is that it always takes longer than you think it will, so give yourselves some wiggle room until you get used to dealing with people. In my 25 years in the graphics industry, I nearly never encountered anyone who understood what went into producing a project.

Also, don't bury yourselves in one big project. Start smaller until you get a feel for the flow of things. It will give you a chance to learn to read people, and you will be able to intuit up front if you meet someone who is not going to be worth your time. There are some people that you just can't charge enough for the amount of time they'll waste. And if you do get stiffed, you won't have hung your future on one client.

Hope these suggestions, although gloomy, will help you avoid pitfalls.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back