Pricing [for web development]

[Nomad]

I have a small question I figured a few others here could help me on. I've been contacted to redesign a website:

http://kerrytownconcerthouse.com/

They are moving hosts and want a full redesign and also are looking for a new logo in the process. It wouldn't be administrative, I'd simply design the website and hand it off to them with no strings attached for constant updates.

Web development is not my specialty. I run my own website (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hallockm/) but have not had much experience otherwise. That said, I am interested in expanding my online portfolio, but I'm unsure what I should quote.

I have a great deal of graphic design experience, but limited online experience. For logo design alone I would typically charge somewhere between $200-$400, so certainly the design needs to take that into consideration, but what are other pricing recommendations for a web development project of this nature?

I was thinking I would quote them separately for the website and logo, and what a combined price would be with both included.

Thanks for any help.

[Lincoln]

First, precisely define what's going to be a part of the site. You really need to get them to explicitly say what elements need to be on the site, and get it in writing. How many pages / styles that you'll need will be relevant to your pricing, and it's superbad news when they start throwing a bunch of "oh could we..." in as you're trying to wrap things up. The price you quote should be explicitly based on exactly what they want.

I would start at $1,000 for a complete redesign, and work upward depending on complexity. If it requires more than a simple CMS like Wordpress (i.e. a bunch of custom forms and embedded photo gallery) I'd add another $1,000 right off the bat. Think about how much of your life this is going to eat and make sure you bill enough to make it worth your while through the end. Also, consider what costs (like iStockphoto credits) you might want to pass onto them.

Are you going to be in charge of moving them to the new domain? Are they technically competent enough to deal with registrars and hosting? I'd tack a few hundred dollars on if you're going to be responsible for that as well.

I'll PM you about a recent job to give you a better idea.


//edit: It may be good to talk to them about what budget they're on. It doesn't help anyone if your and their ideas of pricing are totally disparate. You could make them a $500 site or a $5,000 site. It depends on what they want, much as if you were the architect for their house. When I read about other dev's experiences, it seems like the more experience they get the more upfront they are with budget talk, because a miscommunication on that can scuttle a project worse than anything else.

Step through this RFP form: http://rfp.airbagindustries.com/

[Snarkasm]

Having done similar work in other fields, I fully agree with Linc - it's of the utmost importance to draft up a design document, agree on it fully, and base the pricing on that; then make sure they know anything extra on that means the price has to be renegotiated.

Unfortunately, I can't help with any web-specific pricing, but be sure you flesh out every piece of the design before you code or price anything.