How much should you charge for a website?

This question does not have an easy answer.  After all, each website we design is different.  All clients have different needs and wants.  Websites can take different lengths of time to build.  We all have different amounts of money we need to make to live on.  I do remember when I first started my business that I didn’t have a clue what to charge!  A mentor of mine reminded me that I had paid for school to get my certification, I had experience in the corporate world and over time, I would build experience as a web designer that would be very valuable.    I took his advice to heart and here’s how my pricing has evolved over the last 16 years:

• 2000-2002 – $0.  I’m in school and building a portfolio.  Everything I do is for free for community organizations and schools.
• 2002– I start my business charge $35 an hour.   I build a full website for $350 based on hourly. Still volunteering. Not hard to have an increase over zero.
• 2004– I raise my rates to $45 an hour.  I routinely build a website for $500 based on hourly. Still volunteering. Income gradually grows.
• 2006– I raise my rates to $55 an hour.  I’m now charging $600 for a basic website based on hourly. Still volunteering.  My income is stagnant from 2007-2009.
• 2010– I join BNI and everyone tells me I’m not charging enough – I rate my rates to $85 an hour.   I’m charging $800-$1200 per website based on hourly. Still volunteering. Income jumps.
• 2012– I decided that $95 an hour is where I should be.  Now, I’m not doing a new website for less than $1000- $1500 based on hourly. Still volunteering. Income increases.
• 2014– I briefly charge $115 an hour but I never feel comfortable with it.   Still charging hourly, $1200-$2000. I go back to $95 an hour and switch my estimating for the website to packages, not hourly.  Maintenance is still hourly. Still volunteering. Income increases.
• 2015– I launch my care plan business.  This changes everything for me for the better.  I opt to roll out slowly to make sure I can manage it all. Maintenance is still hourly. Still volunteering. Still charging hourly for new builds, $1200-$2400.  Big income increase.
• 2016– Packages start at $1200 and go to $3600, care plan offers care continue to be rolled out. The basic plan that doesn’t offer all features of ManageWP. Maintenance is still hourly. Still volunteering.
• 2017– Packages start at $1500  and go to $5000, more care plans are sold. Maintenance is still hourly.  Still volunteering.  Income increases.
• 2018– Packages start at $2100 and go to $8000, start to offer more reporting and 1/2 hour to 1 hour of maintenance in care plan offerings. Most maintenance is still hourly. Still volunteering.  Income increasing.

Okay, this might seem incredibly slow to you.  Sometimes I feel like I’m still not charging enough.   But doing this gradually has worked well for me.  During this process, I have left clients exactly where they were in the beginning.  Why do that?  I want the people that have been with me the longest to feel appreciated. If they wanted a new website after packages were introduced, they were charged the full package price.  However, they still kept their low maintenance rate.  I have plenty of new clients coming in at all times to balance that out.

Figuring out what to charge has many considerations:

• What do you need to make to live on?
• What is your level of experience?
• What do your competitors charge?  From agencies to other solopreneurs, research your competition.

Other things to consider:

• Ask yourself how you can build a subscription service.  This changed my life.
• Time yourself with all your work.  Figure out how much time it really takes to build a site and not just in design hours.  Include research, meetings, calls…
• As a mentor what they think.  One of the most powerful events for me was having colleagues in BNI tell me I was undervaluing myself.  I was able to later give a new web designer in BNI the same advice and pay it forward.
• If you need to finish ten websites a month to make it, you aren’t charging enough.   I try to keep that between 3-5. After all, you will have maintenance requests to deal with.
• Have your skills increased?  Did you invest in training? Make sure you factor that in.
• Never stop volunteering.  Giving is a powerful tool in the universe.

What I’m planning to get in place by 2019:

• As things have evolved for me, I’m looking at changing my 1/3 due at contract signing and 2/3 due after launch to a 1/4, 1/4, 1/4, 1/4 payment schedule based on milestones.  Both WP Elevation and Profitable Project Plan training in the last year have emphasized variations of incremental payments.
• Package rate increases.
• More offerings in my care plan.
• Enrolling in more SEO training.

Whether you are just starting out or have been designing websites for a while, my best advice is to regularly review your pricing.  You are in complete control of your own destiny and knowing your value can go a long way.  You also need to do your homework and listen to your gut. If you price too low and don’t believe in yourself, it will work against you. If you price too high and don’t believe in yourself, that will also work against you!  You need to feel comfortable and confident in selling your services.

And, always remember, be open to change. Cha-Ching!

RESOURCES:  Forbes – A 5-Step Guide To Setting Your Freelance Rates Perfectly