Hi,

I am currently a student and so making websites seams like a great way to earn some money. I have a knowledge of how to make websites and get them up and running for myself. I have, however, been asked by several friends if I could build them a website. This seams like a different matter because I dont want to be tied down to editting these sites in the future after I have finished making them.

I am using Microsoft Fronpage and have used 123-reg.co.uk for hosting.

I have a few questions and would appreciate if they could be answered;

• Firstly I need to know how much to charge per hour, I have no idea!
• Secondly, how do I buy hosting and domains in the clients name. Do I have to buy the hosting with my card and details and then they pay me each year? I would prefer to be able to build the website and then hand everything over, including the hosting/ domain accounts and have all of the payment in their name from that point.
• The last thing is when I have finished the website and given it to the client, are there any easy systems for them to do basic edits like changing some text or adding an image in so that they dont have to come back to me?

Thank you in advanced for any help you give,


Tom.

Originally Posted by tom.w3

Hi,

I am currently a student and so making websites seams like a great way to earn some money. I have a knowledge of how to make websites and get them up and running for myself. I have, however, been asked by several friends if I could build them a website. This seams like a different matter because I dont want to be tied down to editting these sites in the future after I have finished making them.

I am using Microsoft Fronpage and have used 123-reg.co.uk for hosting.

I have a few questions and would appreciate if they could be answered;

• Firstly I need to know how much to charge per hour, I have no idea!
• Secondly, how do I buy hosting and domains in the clients name. Do I have to buy the hosting with my card and details and then they pay me each year? I would prefer to be able to build the website and then hand everything over, including the hosting/ domain accounts and have all of the payment in their name from that point.
• The last thing is when I have finished the website and given it to the client, are there any easy systems for them to do basic edits like changing some text or adding an image in so that they dont have to come back to me?

Thank you in advanced for any help you give,


Tom.

IMHO, FrontPage isn't good choice for pro web designing.

1. Charge per hour - only when you're enough skilled in designing and know exactly how much of your time is needed for certain tasks.

3. CMS

Ok, thanks for that. So what software/ CMS system would you use? Also would you charge a flat fee for the site?

Just Google-it and search for "cms". You can choose , PHP or ASP based CMS applications.

• Firstly I need to know how much to charge per hour, I have no idea!

Impossible for us to answer this question. How much is your time worth to you? How long will it take to do the website? If you want £30 an hour, and you think it will take about 100 hours to create the site, can your friends honestly afford to pay you £3000? If not, then dont bother doing the site. Dont waste your time just to give them a cheap price. Its not worth the hassle, even if you think you need the money.

• Secondly, how do I buy hosting and domains in the clients name. Do I have to buy the hosting with my card and details and then they pay me each year? I would prefer to be able to build the website and then hand everything over, including the hosting/ domain accounts and have all of the payment in their name from that point.

If you plan on making quite a few websites for clients you should look into opening a Reseller account with someone like 34sp.com. You buy webspace in bulk and are allowed to buy 10 domain names throughout the year. When you get a client you allocate them space and register the domain for them ~ you add a markup and keep charging them to renew every year.

• The last thing is when I have finished the website and given it to the client, are there any easy systems for them to do basic edits like changing some text or adding an image in so that they dont have to come back to me?

Personally I would avoid CMS but it depends on what the website is for. If it is just a personal site look into the smaller CMS software like Wordpress blogs etc

Yes, Fornt is good but there are some more good !! serach for them.

Thanks for the post.