As one of two designers in a small ad agency, I split my time between designing for print, and web design.

My boss made the comment yesterday, that we ("I") need to produce at least 5-6 web sites per month, or we may need to go up on the price.

On web site design, I am a one man team. I meet with the potential client, create a proposal, sketch out the site plan, do all my own graphics, etc., and upload the site to our VPS server.

I was wondering how long does it take (on the average) for most of you to design a static site (no flash or database stuff), maybe a simple feedback form, from 7 - 10 pages? If you could also give an average of what you might charge for that - that would be great. Currently, we are charging anywhere from $1,500.00 to $2,100.00 for a static site up to 10 pages (does not include hosting).

Any advice you could give me would be appreciated!

$1500-$2100? Wow. I really need to raise my prices.

At $2000 a go, surely two or three websites a month is enough, given that you also charge for hosting.

A good quality static site of around 10-15 pages can take me anywhere from two days, to two weeks. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to design work and can rubbish four, five or six different completed projects before I'm happy.

But I only charge £235 ($450 approx.) for a 10-page website, with an additional fee for every 5 pages over that.

I think your boss needs to go back to College. He needs to learn Business and ethics all over again.

Producing 5 - 6 websites per month is no mean feat for a big design company with 5+ designers.

Also the quality of the sites you make will decrease significantly.

Originally Posted by Twitch

I think your boss needs to go back to College. He needs to learn Business and ethics all over again.

Producing 5 - 6 websites per month is no mean feat for a big design company with 5+ designers.

Also the quality of the sites you make will decrease significantly.

LOL! Thanks, everybody . . . So twitch - what is common ground for a one-man show - 2 sites a month at the afore mentioned prices? Am I in the ballpark on pricing?

This really helps folks -thanks. . . advice is freely received here . . .

There are a lot of companies who charge massive amounts to create a website, and I'm often left wondering just what drives them to do it. When it comes down to it, unless we're getting really complicated, it is the design and not the programming which makes a website. Obviously neat and precise CSS and HTML is great, but it's not the be all and end all. If you've got a good eye and a talent with a mouse, you're pretty much set as regard being able to charge a decent amount.

Personally, I think you're far better off setting realistic prices against a variety of design packages, and keeping yourself open to take on any amount of work (in terms of size, rather than the number of projects). Some projects will require far more effort than others, and cost is then negotiable, but I reckon it's a good idea to find out what other designers of a similar skill level are charging, and then go a little bit under.

In a professional sense, I would have thought three websites per month is the maximum you should be considering, as a one man team. To do any more, and keep up a high standard (in terms of asthetics and functionality), would be torture. It would come to a point where you'd either burn out, or have to reduce the quality of your work so much, that nobody will touch you with a barge pole.

So, I'd go and tell your boss where to go, as five or six projects a month is ludicrous. All he is seeing is 'the money', and hasn't really thought about things logically. I've studied Business and Accounting at degree level, but it doesn't take Richard Branson to realise he's taking advantage.

Originally Posted by LGR

There are a lot of companies who charge massive amounts to create a website, and I'm often left wondering just what drives them to do it. When it comes down to it, unless we're getting really complicated, it is the design and not the programming which makes a website. Obviously neat and precise CSS and HTML is great, but it's not the be all and end all. If you've got a good eye and a talent with a mouse, you're pretty much set as regard being able to charge a decent amount.

Personally, I think you're far better off setting realistic prices against a variety of design packages, and keeping yourself open to take on any amount of work (in terms of size, rather than the number of projects). Some projects will require far more effort than others, and cost is then negotiable, but I reckon it's a good idea to find out what other designers of a similar skill level are charging, and then go a little bit under.

In a professional sense, I would have thought three websites per month is the maximum you should be considering, as a one man team. To do any more, and keep up a high standard (in terms of asthetics and functionality), would be torture. It would come to a point where you'd either burn out, or have to reduce the quality of your work so much, that nobody will touch you with a barge pole.

So, I'd go and tell your boss where to go, as five or six projects a month is ludicrous. All he is seeing is 'the money', and hasn't really thought about things logically. I've studied Business and Accounting at degree level, but it doesn't take Richard Branson to realise he's taking advantage.

LGR, in our case I guess its the overhead. Small agency in a high rent district in the Charlotte, NC area. 10-15 employees.

I've posted this same topic on several different webmaster forums and most say that as far as prices go, I'm in the middle. . . .for what its worth. Most agree however that 5-6 sites a month is out of line - especially for one designer.

I'm with you - I'll take as much time as necessary to produce a quality site (being realistic of course), and let the chips fall where they may. I think 2 good sites a month is about my limit as far as skill and expertise.

2-3 sites a month at that price would be where I'm leaning, especially for one designer. Any more than that I would have to agree with the rest that the quality will diminish in the end and never mind you possibly buring out after a while.

Good luck convincing your boss.

---
Louie - http://www.360persona.com

Thanks everyone - your opinions really help. Now, for that meeting with the boss . . . . .

It depends if you are adapting a template or doing a total scratch build of a site.
I could build a nice site in a few hours using one of my previous designs as a template and it would look pretty unique.
However, if I was going for something totally unique which needed to work in a totally new way then it would probably take 2 or 3 times longer.

Obviously meeting time etc has to be factored in. $2000 sounds like quite a bit for a static site, but if the quality is there then fair enough.

Really you need to break it down to an hourly rate. If you charge $1000 and spend 40 hours on it then you have a rate of $25 an hour which is reasonable. However, if you charge $2000 and only spend 20 hours you get a rate of $100 hour which could be seen as overcharging.