Ok, I need to get an idea and I have heard that it is illegal to compete with competitors however not sure how to find my answers either.

I have done a search on google for about a 30 mile radius for web companies. I found around 10 companies that focus in web design, 5 that are general it and computer repair type sites and about 10-20 that are no good and possibly not even a company.

Out of those 40 or so website companies. The 10 were ok to designed well however comparing my skills to those companies I am at the top skill wise which surprised me.

I need to know what I should charge. I am currently designing websites on forums etc and craigslist. People on craigslist contact me saying that I wont offer quality as it is so cheap and I am charging $400-$600 on the average, that is cheap? So what do companies charge for the professional established companies and what do they charge per additional page?

I am looking for a good average here. I have read site point article on what to charge but looking for actual cross the board pricing so I dont under price or overprice.

My logic:
Web Design "photoshop, fireworks, illustrator, etc" $100-$200
1st page $100
each additional page $50.

So if I were to do a good quality 5 page site it would be $500, I am seeing threads and craigslist posts saying that they paid over $800-$1k for a 5 page site and need help on how to use it im like? The company charged that much and did not offer that? lol

Please advise, my company is in the start up process of an actual established business and I am getting health insurance as well. So I will be the real deal.

Thanks!

I believe most companies (maybe even some freelancers) charge depending on the type and size of the company requesting services. For example, I worked for a company who charged a home builder $45,000 for a website but charged a boomer baby club 1/4 of that for their website (even though they had identical bells & whistles).

You're not going to get a flat end-all answer to your question. It also depends on where you're located. I wouldn't charge a company in PA the same I would a company in CA because they are on completely different cost of living scales.

I am in Arizona "East Valley about 10-20 mins from Phoenix.

I just did a bigger search and there is a lot more companies than the 40 I saw. On google that is.

$45k? Even 4k I thought was a lot.

Thanks

There are many companies that get away with charging outrageous prices. Some people think my prices are high, but compared to many companies, I'm a bargain. Many freelancers, once they have improved their skills, continue to undervalue themselves, because they don't realize what the market is like.

Remember, that many companies won't blink twice at several thousand dollars, if they believe that you are able to deliver. Companies routinely spend thousands of dollars at a time marketing and building a brand. Compared to other marketing expenses, building a website can be done with relative table-scraps. This is why web-design companies are able to get away with charging outrageous amounts. They have stacked portfolios and it is well documented that they will be able to deliver. Whether they will actually do a better job than me and some of my buddies, is another matter altogether. I like to think not.

Ok, my main question has still not really been answered.

GoDaddy per year $500 "sites are well crap"
Heritage Web Solutions $200 "some sites are ok others are horrible however those are cookie cutter sites"

I use Magento Commerce and design with it well and others are charing from $5k i am like? Is my $1k price to low?

I am 18 so I dont pay living expenses however I have been designing for the web since having education 4 years and non education about 6 years.

I want to get ideas on website pricing. I am so tempted to use one of my older companies and ask big firms to do it and see the price.

lol

If you've never run a business before, and don't have a lot of living expenses, I think you should start small. Charge $12-15 per hour or so, so you can get a better feeling for exactly how long it takes for you to handle stuff. Learn how to do customer service and build relations with people.

Don't worry about GoDaddy or Heritage. Most of the people you will work for will never have considered going with them. They aren't your competitors. Your competition is likely the brick and mortar web-design shops with lots of overhead, good looking portfolios, but products that aren't as good as they should be.

Distinguish yourself by pointing out that you are a start up who is looking to get established by offering lower than normal rates. Yes, the rates you are talking about are fairly low. I think even $800-$1k is pretty low; if you have a decent porfolio to back yourself up with, you will pull jobs many times larger than that.

"you will pull jobs many times larger than that." Really!

Nice!

"I have heard that it is illegal to compete with competitors"

I don't think that is entirely true. I think, by definition, you are competing with your competitors. That's what makes them your competitors?

I think what he means is that you can't go into a competitors "store" and take down all their prices and then go back to your "store" and price match or drop your prices lower then theirs from that reconnaissance pricing mission. I seem to remember hearing something like that in relation to retail/product sales years ago...But the memory's a bit fuzzy...

Triplemoon has it correct however it is more like..

contacting a design firm for their pricing and charging less for yours.

Not sure if this is legal however it probably isn't, I am going to craigslist designers who dont run a business and comparing skills and pricing.

I talked with a firm who I ran into at Barnes and Noble in the web development section we had a drink at the cafe and talked. A point he said which I have always wondered is...

Start at what you think is fair that you think you will get a lot of clients from, capitalize on it and slowly raise prices.

I know this works for retail however was unsure about web design.

You have to be real careful about "going rates". A lot of real crap companies are charging the "going rate" and you get real crap.

And the going rate for site design and some other things changes on a daily basis, with the huge influx of people who can do the work.

I think that's cheap for a quality 5 page site, if its an original design purposely built to the customers brief and not some template that's just been rehashed. You get what you pay for and although a £500 site may seem a bargain, when you scratch the surface you may find that its not quite built as well you initially thought.

Never undersell yourself. It ruins it for everyone else as well as you when you sell to low.

I charge $500 starting for full development, which for me is a company looking to have a website to working site. I do the hosting, set up, domain, design, etc. I have higher prices depending on the complexity of what they want.

Biggest thing I think is who your past clientel is. Think about it. Design speaking, many of the major sites you see are just as easy for me or you to design. Yet I am struggling to find clients at $500. This is because I have a small clientel. The person who did something that most of us can probably do, probably had numerous large companies as past clientel and had the right connections.

I would get what you can get, and do a great job. You are 18, the money will come. Your prices will go up as you develop your reputation and skills sets. If you demand $1000. because "others are charging twice that much", and the prospect walks, then what good did it do. Don't worry so much about the other people's pricing. Not yet, anyway. Develop your portfolio. Take what you can get and work your butt off. Money will come if you stick it out.

Did you know that Rush Limbaugh (for what it's worth) gave his radio program to the networks and their affiliates FREE OF CHARGE for the first year. He developed a following, and now he can basically charge whatever he wants.
Whether you like the guy or not, that's pretty good marketing.

Thanks.

I have been a web designer for a long time over 3 years since school started and about 6 years if you count doing it before an education and actually learning.

The thing is, I am getting clients and a lot. I have also been told more than once that I am undercharging and my self dont agree seeing big companies rates. However quality is a lot different as well mine is designed well and has validated coding.

Also, a problem I am experiencing is clients dont want their website in my portfolio yet they are happy with the website, is there a way to avoid this so I can share websites I have developed?

Design and programming languages expirenced in...

HTML
XHTML
CSS
Javascript

basic understanding
php
ajax
jquery
actionscript
dhtml "use to be really good however has been so long since last used"

Thanks