Charging for website assistance

Steev

I quit my job a few months ago and moved out of state. A former boss of mine reached out to me at the time I resigned and asked if I'd be willing to help him redesign his small book publishing company's website once I got settled. He said it was badly in need of an update, and when I looked it up, it looked like something designed in 1998.

Fast forward to this month, when I finally feel settled enough to do the work. I have agreed to help him out, but we've come to the moment where we broach the topic of compensation. I have no idea what to charge for the help.

If it helps, here are some tidbits that may be relevant:

• I haven't made a website in a very long time; I know basic HTML, but the last time I created a website was in 2005 or 2006.
• On the other hand, I'd be using an online website builder called Wix, so I really don't need to worry about HTML. I just need to learn how to work with the design tools and realize I'll be constrained to what they have available.
• I am unsure of how long it might take me to do the work. It sounds like he just wants me to add some content for 6 of the books he's selling, and change the colors and layout if I feel it is necessary. My guess is that I'd be able to get it done in a week, but I'd rather overestimate than underestimate. He thinks it'd be best to settle on a quote for the whole job rather than an hourly rate.
• I believe him to be pretty knowledgeable about website design, him previously having been the webmaster for the place I used to work at before he moved up. He just doesn't have much time to work on this website.

I don't even know what to call this sort of help. Website assistant? "Website designer" doesn't seem right since I'm not touching any website code.

What would you charge for this sort of work?

Heartlash

First, determine if the work is to be paid on an hourly basis, or if he'd prefer to get a full project estimate. If the latter, draft a brief scope document that includes EVERYTHING that you anticipate doing in full detail, and have him look at it and sign off. With freelance web work, scope creep is insanely common, so I would recommend the former approach.

If you are able to go with that approach, I would calculate how much you want to charge per hour based on your skill/experience, cost of living, and your knowledge of the client. I am a full time in house web designer/developer by trade, but I have worked freelance in the past. During that phase, I have charged clients anywhere from $25/hr (my rate for friends, small non-profits, etc) to $75/hr (my rate for commercial work with more complexity).

Given that you will be using a WYSISWG editor and do not consider yourself a diehard web developer, you will almost certainly want to err lower. Even so, if you live near a major urban center then $15-$25/hr is not out of the question.

Hope that helps.

Steev

Heartlash wrote: »

First, determine if the work is to be paid on an hourly basis, or if he'd prefer to get a full project estimate. If the latter, draft a brief scope document that includes EVERYTHING that you anticipate doing in full detail, and have him look at it and sign off. With freelance web work, scope creep is insanely common, so I would recommend the former approach.

If you are able to go with that approach, I would calculate how much you want to charge per hour based on your skill/experience, cost of living, and your knowledge of the client. I am a full time in house web designer/developer by trade, but I have worked freelance in the past. During that phase, I have charged clients anywhere from $25/hr (my rate for friends, small non-profits, etc) to $75/hr (my rate for commercial work with more complexity).

Given that you will be using a WYSISWG editor and do not consider yourself a diehard web developer, you will almost certainly want to err lower. Even so, if you live near a major urban center then $15-$25/hr is not out of the question.

Hope that helps.

Much appreciated. It's very helpful. A scope document is a good idea, and I definitely need to figure out how long this will take me.

Rokimiss

I love Wix, I use it myself.
As far as what you should charge, that's a very difficult balance between what is accepted in your area and what the buyer is willing to pay.
I will say MOST buyers (and this is a general statement, meaning to be a general statement) want to pay less than your first offer. SO if you think $1000 is good for this particular site (which I would have NO qualms charging, especially if they give me nothing to really go on ((which happens, often)) AND if they want more in-depth features), charge $1200 and then when they counter for less you can awesomely accept.
Keep in mind that they may also be assuming you are going to be making sure the site STAYS up; be careful, as that is not often your job.

Steev

I think I'm most worried about asking a price that is way higher than he's willing to pay and he completely pulls the offer or something. And yeah, that might be irrational, but I've never actually done any sort of salary negotiation in my life.

I'm not too worried about him thinking I would serve a continuous role for maintenance, but I'll definitely bring that up just in case.

Thanks again for the help. I emailed him the other day to let him know I'm researching what an appropriate fee would be. Hopefully I can get a figure to him by the weekend.

Bubby

I charge $75/h for any web design or videography freelance work, I've had clients ask me to go lower in which case I usually do, but anyone who'd pull out immediately after I ask for $75 probably wanted me to do it for $25-35 which I wouldn't anyway.

I generally always like to set an hourly rate, especially for editing - if the client keeps asking for changes you're stuck, but with an hourly fee it's all on them.