Factors to Consider when Evaluating the Price to Charge for Website Design

Becoming a professional web designer is not an easy task. There are many hurdles you must overcome along the way. Some of the most common challenges are the constant changes in the technological world and changes in customers' expectations. You must keep yourself up to date with the latest technologies and trends concerning web design industry. The situation is also complicated by the fact that there are numerous web designers in the market today, some who offer very low prices.

One of the most challenging questions to answer is website design pricing. Since many websites are unique and each has its own requirements, it is impossible to set any true standard price. There are many factors that you should consider before reaching on a figure to charge. Some of the most common factors to bear in mind are:

i) Total cost of the website

When designing a website, there are costs involved. The costs may be in terms of hours spent on design, payment to third parties to do some of the work on your behalf like graphic design, traveling costs in some cases where you have to research for or collect materials e.t.c. Make sure that all your costs are included in your price.

ii) Your mark up cost

You must put up your mark up cost on the total cost of the website. This is usually the amount of money that you will charge over and above the total cost of web site design. It is usually your profit on the job done. You should have your mark up cost in terms of percentage; say 10 percent of total cost of website design. You should try to be fair not to overstate your mark up lest you loose business to low priced competitors. The friendlier your price, the more chances are for having more work and repeat customers.

iii) Size of the website

You must be aware of the size of the website you are expected to deliver. Some people or firms will expect you to deliver small websites in terms of number of pages while others will expect a big website with full load of information. If possible, you should have a basic price for which you charge basic websites. You should also set up a price below which you cannot take the job in question.

iv) Scope of the website

You should know the scope of the work you are supposed to do. Some may expect you to create dynamic websites that are database driven while others will want you to incorporate a content management system on their website. You might be expected to only make the website interface, do back end programming, design graphics, generate content, search engine submission or a combination of some of them.

v) After sales services

A very important factor to bear in mind when pricing website design is after sales services. How much long-term maintenance is required? The longer the period, the lesser the cost you should charge when deciding on your Website Design Pricing.

vi) Delivery time frame

Some customers expect you to deliver the work within a very short and limited time frame. Website design pricing for such work should be slightly higher as compared to the work that you do and deliver at your own pace. Be sure that you can deliver within the stipulated time frame before accepting any work. Never take on a project you do not have the resources or time to complete within the stipulated time frame.

vii) Your experience

When pricing a website, an important factor to bear in mind is your experience. How many years of experience do you have in handling that kind of work? The more you are experienced, the more you charge. If you are a newcomer, you may charge slightly lower than others. This will give you a chance to showcase your expertise. But be wary lest your offer very low prices which might be used to judge you harshly like labeling you as incompetent or making customers think of your services as of low quality hence the low prices.