Question: What Should I Charge?
Answer:
"What should I charge" is one of the most common questions that I get, but unfortunately, I don't have a straight answer. Determining pricing is a lot more than just learning what other people charge and then charging the same. In fact, if you did that and your clients found out, you and the other people you talked to could be sued. That is called price collusion and (at least in the United States) is illegal.
How I Determine My Prices
- First I look at how busy I am. If I'm really busy I'm more likely to charge a higher price than if I need the work.
- Then I look at how interesting the job is. Depending upon how desperate for work I am, I might not even take on a job that looked boring to me. The more interesting the job is to me, the less I'll tend to charge.
- I also look at what skills are required. If there is some special feature that I don't have the skills to accomplish I'll have to outsource that, and I want to make sure my fee covers that outsourcing cost.
- Once I've determined those interests of mine, I go to the client and find out what their interests are. Some people only care about price, but others want to discuss skills and talents as well as what possibilities there are for their sites. I try not to discuss numbers in the first interview.
- Once I know their interests, I write up three proposals that detail what I will do for them, and how much it will cost. I write a "lowball" - the minimum bid with minimal functionality. A "highball" - a quote with the most bells and whistles. And something in between.
- I take those proposals to the customer and we talk about the offers. Usually in the second interview we modify one of the proposals I've made and come up with a fair price together.
- Then I write up a contract and we get started on the project.
I've written two articles that might help you get started figuring out what is a fair fee for you to charge for your work:
How to Set a Price for Web Design Work
Pricing Web Projects
