UK designers - how much to charge & other questions 1

[Julianne]

I've been given the task of creating a site but haven't yet been given any specific details about what the company wants. I could do with some help with fees and what the client should be providing versus what I should be doing so I'll look like I know what I'm talking about when I meet them!

Do I charge on a "per hour" or "per page" basis?

What would be a fair average to charge for regular HTML pages and how much for PHP pages? I realise that every job is different, but I'm looking for a ballpark figure to give me an idea for where to start from.

I've asked them to supply me with their logo but are web designers generally expected to create all the graphic elements for a site within the general cost? If not, how are graphics charged for?

How many different designs should I come up with for the client to choose from? Presumably the time I spend on them is included in the final invoice?

Is it my responsibility to arrange hosting/domain names?

Many thanks for any assistance you can give me!

Visit my ice hockey site at:

http://www.leevalleylions.co.uk

 

[viol8ion]

I cannot help with fees for design, since I am from the USA. My rates are generally $100/hour for design. For website design, I charge by the hour, but inform the customer that a general rule of thumb is one page = one hour.

Customers are usually expected to provide their own logos, web designers provide generic graphics. These graphics can be purchased from stock photo companies, so make sure that you include these costs into your price structure.

If the customer wants you to design a logo, that should be done under separate contract.

My contracts specify that the customer has the responsibility to register domain names and to provide for hosting space. For an additional fee, I will act as their agent and provide these services, but I make sure they understand that I cannot guarantee uptime or performance of a 3rd party host, and that I am simply acting as their agent.

http://wuli.com/web_design/contract.shtml

here is my basic contract, it is generic, so feel free to steal from it!


When in doubt, deny all terms and defnitions.

http://www.wuli.com

 

[1200Bandit]

I worked in the Docklands, London, For Nato. I was under contract with UniSys. I was paid 50,000 Pounds for 6 months of work. We put in looooooonnnng hours. Sometimes it was better to sleep on a couch in the office than comute home to Nags Head (6 miles = 1.5hrs).
Our British collegues were paid a fraction of that! It seems that wages/willing to pay -vs- the cost of living (1400 rent, 200 utilities, 200 for a parking space @home, 800 road tax, auto+home insurance 400, gas-WOW!, food), were way out of wack there.
Our colleges came in hungover in the morning, got 1/2 lit @ lunch, and @ 4:30 did it again! They slowed us down a lot.
There were 6 of us Americans there, They wanted to re-up our contracts, and we said no. The offered to relocate us to Brussels, we took it. We did six months there, 1 year in Paris, and 3 years in Geneve. Our respective collegues were paid very well , and the cost of living was cheaper.

I would charge them as much as possible (see the thread discussing the what to charge below, and change the $ sign for the pound sign, don't give them any exchange rate), and find a position on the continent.

Thats my opinion, and I paid for it!

As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[cian]

We can't tell you what to charge as it's illegal but this thread might help:

thread253-696737


Personally I would offer a project cost based on:
- number of hours it will take * cost per hour
- any server side scripting required
- any graphic design required
- profit
- maintenance

What you charge per hour should be based on your skill level. It varies across the board from 30-60 dollars per hour, even up to 100 viol8ion has stated

Ask for details before you quote them, and in your quotation say it is based on specific details as disclosed. Changing these details will need a new quotation.
And make a design agreement!






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[Duplicity]

I'm from the UK.

While these aren't necessarily my prices, for static pages you could do worse than start at around £35 per page (not including dedicated graphics design).

Dynamic PHP/MySQL sites start at £800 to £1000 (very simple data driven site) and costs go up from there.

Graphics design is charged on an hourly basis. £35 - £55 per hour is the lower end and £100+ per hour is where you need to know your oats and your client knows that you know, otherwise you get a bad rep and you'll never shake it.

Hosting is charged as an entitiy in its own right.

Most of the designers I know of in the UK charge on a per project basis, not per hour.

I suggest you consider drawing up a list of requirements for you and your prospective client(s). Take a look at some of the web hosting firms for ideas on what to ask, but make sure at the end of your dialog that both you and your client have a firm idea of what the output will be and, if possible, get them to sign a document of agreement to that effect.

Do they want registration with the major search engines ?

Do they want a static or dynamic site ?

Do they altready have a site and are you redesigning or are you starting from scratch ?

Do they already have a corporate identity ? (in which case this should make your graphics design a litle easier and also influence the site design and layout). If not, are they expecting a business logo and identity to be created or is the site to rely on colour schemes and supporting graphics to get their message over ?

Backup responsibility. This is a big issue. You should make sure that your client knows that database backup is their responsibility, not yours. Some hosts offer this service but you should never rely entirely on this. Where data is concerned, make damned sure you have your t's crossed and i's dotted.

Privacy policies and data protection. You should get up to speed on the Data Protection Act and privacy policies. Any company that accepts personal details (client registration, form processing where names and addresses are used etc,.) should be registered to do so and you should make certain that a registration page has a link to a good privacy policy.

I like to upload the site as I develop it to a test domain and involve the client at all major stages of design. They see it unfold and can think about changes along the way which, despite our wishes to the contrary, are often inevitable. Small changes are built into the project for free. Large design or layout alterations are charged for (refer back to your signed document of agreement).

If you need more ask, but the above is a general overview based on small to medium site designers who operate at a different level to web application developers and programmers.

Hope this helps.

 

[Julianne]

Thanks everyone, you've given me a good idea of how to get started on this thing and have been very helpful.

Ice hockey nostalgia at:

http://www.leevalleylions.co.uk