I want to start doing this on the side, but I have no idea at all of what I should charge.

Any suggestions?

Depends on the amount of pages, your experience, amount of css, if its validated code, # of images, flash, ect...

Sites go anywhere from $100 - $10,000+.

When I was 18 I did my first freelance website for $100. That was a small 5 page website and me only knowing about 40% of all HTML/CSS. 19 years old: I upped my price to $200 for a standard 5 page website and did a few, then upped my price to $500 and realized I could actually make money doing this. 20 years old: Got my first web development job for $11 an hour. Quit that job and got a new one for $12 an hour. 21 years old: Got a new job at $15 an hour. That's where I'm at now with being completely self-taught and everything. Hope that helps you understand that you can probably start higher than $100 a site

Thank you for the information guys!

Look at what other website designers in your area charge but remember that a new website designer with no portfolio and not as many technical skills as the long-term pros is likely to have to go for the "affordable" end of the market.

We started by doing websites for a couple of charities (for free) and a couple of friends (for a reduced price) just to get some sites in our portfolio - your portolfio page is likely to be the page that prospective customers look at most frequently. We are now hoping that, if we can get another 1/2 sites in our portfolio, then we can up our prices just slightly.

Good luck.

When I used to freelance I would not do less than $750 but now I am at a company where we start at $1,500. But we are also right next to Chicago.

Your success is very inspiring Darren!

When you were a freelancer, how often did you design websites?

Where did you learn about designing?

How long does it usually take you to finish the first page's design?

How many stages do you go through when designing? What are they?


I would be very grateful if you'd answer those questions for me... They will provide me with some insight from a successful designer.

I was not designing very often when I was freelancing because I was still in school, had after school sports and working part time. I did about 10 websites in a 2 year span with other graphic design projects as well. I always had an interest in graphic design but web design came from playing an online computer game where I created a website for my team. From there I started reading tutorials online and purchased some books. My school did not offer web design until a year later when I was a senior, and even that class was very basic (I pretty much showed people how to do things because the teacher had no clue and was only trying to stay one chapter ahead of us). I then went to college and got 2 AS degrees, one in graphic design and one in web authoring.

I start in photoshop and the design of the homepage usually takes between 2-4 hours. About 2-3 hours of revisions back and forth with the client. Then slicing it and setting up the style sheet is about the same. I slice everything by hand, I have never really liked using image ready or fireworks.

Start with the homepage, get it to a point where the customer is totally satisfied, then move forward with building. Next is the demo for review. Just make sure you get approvals each step of the way because going back and redoing something can be very time consuming and potentially lose money.

Awesome thank you!

When I finish my design can I PM you my link so you can take a look at it?