General Discussions

**Gilligan** · 03-05-2008, 06:06 PM

I'm a young coder, extremely young for a coder in fact. But I would site to start designing websites for money early so I have more experience later on.

How would I find someone to design for, and what are reasonable prices to charge?

**vangogh** · 03-05-2008, 06:33 PM

Finding someone to design for and figuring out what to charge are both tricky questions.

Having a portfolio and people to recommend you helps when finding new clients. You might try designing a few sites for free at first just to build a portfolio. If you have any friends looking for a site or you find a charitable organization in need of a site.

Both will add to your portfolio and both can lead to recommendations.

Another idea is to design some free templates for people. Free helps attract people to your site and if your designs start gaining popularity you can simply add that you offer custom design work as well.

Speaking of sites do you have one for yourself? That should be your first design if you don't have one yet. Most people are going to want to see your site before they let you design theirs.

In the beginning the key is to have some sites you can show off. It doesn't have to be a lot, but you should have some examples of your work. Even if you have to design them for free it's going to be worth it later. You won't have to do a lot of free sites

You can also look in sites like Craig's List. I find people there aren't willing to pay that much and most are going to try to get you to work for free, but it can be a good way to get started.

As far as how much to charge that gets easier after you've done a few sites. What I do is set an hourly rate for myself and estimate how long something will take to complete and simply multiply. I'll usually add 10% or 20% to how long I think something will take, since everything takes longer than I think.

You get better at estimating the time by keeping track of how long things take you to do. That won't help with your first site, but it will help with your 3rd.

Rates are dependent on your experience, the demand for your services, and the going rate in your area. Look at the sites of other web designers and try to find their rates. Not everyone will show rates, but some will. Ideally you want to find others who seem to have a similar experience to yourself. You don't have to charge the same rate, but it can give you a good starting point.

Both how much and where to find clients does get easier in time. In the beginning you have to wing it a little. The best advice I can give about how much to charge is to keep track of your time. Really look at how long each different task takes you. The more you understand how much time you've spent the more you'll know what to charge for the next job.

With finding clients that too comes in time. It won't be easy at first so take some jobs even if they might not pay you what you deserve for the work. It's important to get a few sites into your portfolio.

**Gilligan** · 01:38 PM

thanks, that helped a lot. I'm in the middle of making my site. craig's list, is that this ?

**vangogh** · 03-06-2008, 06:40 PM

Yep, that's Craigs List. When I first started I found a couple of clients through the site. In fact one eventually led me to one of my current clients.

My experience was that most people looking for sites didn't want to pay what the site was worth and were more often looking for free work. However when you're first starting out it's probably more important to get some sites under your belt and not worry as much about the money.

You also mentioned being extremely young for a coder so I'm guessing I have more expenses than you do. What I think might not be enough money to make a job worthwhile you may think is pretty good pay.

**Gilligan** · 03-07-2008, 03:01 AM

That's most probably true, I will look for some free work. But how much would you charge for html and css work alone, aka design. Thanks again

**ADAM Web Design** · 03-07-2008, 03:21 AM

"It varies". If a client will give me more work and I don't have to hustle for it, I might cut him or her a break (e.g. ad agencies, things like that). It also depends on the complexity of what they're asking. Some stuff takes longer (e.g. Flash).

My suggestion to you would be to start with small, local businesses and come up with a unique way to market those businesses online. Rather than say "I can do this for you cheap"...show them the idea. You'd be surprised how often that works...if you've put in the thinking.

Start local, though...particularly if you're in a small town. Everybody dies famous in a small town.

**davemies** · 03-07-2008, 05:20 AM

you might like to build a few freebies for clubs or local bands that you know - they're usually very grateful, but beware - it can take a lot more time then you or they imagine, and scope creep happens all to easily. what's scope creep? where you say i'll do a,b,c, and even d, but then they say hey, how about doing e,f,g too? surely that can't be too hard...

**Gilligan** · 03-07-2008, 11:16 AM

thanks guys

**vangogh** · 03-07-2008, 07:42 PM

I'll echo what Adam said about setting a price. It really does vary for so many reasons. I might do the same thing where I'll give someone a break on the price if I think it's going to into a long term relationship. On the other hand some people approach me and I get a sense they're going to want everything done twice in which case my estimate is going to be much higher.

It also depends on the specific requirements of the job. A page that is all text is quicker to build than one that needs a lot of formatting.

I'm guessing that you're still a few years from this money paying your rent and other bills, in which case I wouldn't worry too much about the money. Don't tell people you're cheap or you'll find in a few years everyone who calls you is calling because they hear your cheap. But don't stress over how much it should cost.

You'll probably end up doing a few sites where you should have charged more and you'll probably lose a few sites because your initial bid was too high. It's part of the learning curve.

After you do even one or two sites you'll start to get a sense of how long it takes you to do certain things and you'll be much more able to estimate.

It will get easier to know what to charge. In the beginning it's more important to get a few sites done and learn.

**energetic** · 03-07-2008, 10:04 PM

try to go to freelance website such as getacoder , etc
u will find a job

**Gilligan** · 03-08-2008, 05:45 AM

Thanks, are there any other sites like this.

**fastreplies** · 03-08-2008, 12:34 PM

The best way to add face to your name is to sponsor charities events, walkathons etc. in exchange for small poster over ’event registration desk’ or even ‘ sponsored by …’ announcement on a local radio not to mention interactions with all your potential clients

fastreplies

**LightBred** · 03-08-2008, 02:11 PM

surfing help wanted ads will help, do some free work first, then move on to better things. You will literally HAVE to get paypal or some form of payment method if you haven't already.

**Gilligan** · 03-08-2008, 05:10 PM

got one pretty much lined up.

**fastreplies** · 03-08-2008, 06:20 PM

Good for you but you are dropping a link and this is no-no.
Please read the rules

fastreplies

**Gilligan** · 03-08-2008, 07:54 PM

Sorry, didn't mean it like that.

Can someone tell me if the content on the site is okay in that it gives enough information to a client and would attract them

**vangogh** · 03-09-2008, 12:19 AM

No worries about the link. I think it's perfectly fine given the topic of the thread.

I think you're site is off to a good start. One thing I noticed you doing a few times is telling people what you can't do. If you can't do something just don't mention it at all. For example on the about page you show ASP and say you haven't learned it yet. List the things you can do, but don't point out the things you can't.

**Gilligan** · 03-09-2008, 07:54 AM

I was thinking about that, thanks