1955 Design | Websites that Look Good, Work Properly and Search Engines Love
Craigslist Revisited

As I noted in a previous article, I have not had good luck at all looking for project prospects using Craigslist. I have found this to be true even when I have seen what appear to me to be legitimate advertisements for web design services. By legitimate I simply mean that the ads are well thought out, present what appears to be a comprehensive review of the needs of the project, etc.

My Personal Favorite Craiglist Ad

I have a WordPress site and need a form fixed on it using javascript. Should take 5 minutes for someone to fix it.

Late last week I was contacted by a client who needed some help with a WordPress blog that he had installed and customized. He was on a tight time schedule and wanted his new website completed as quickly as possible. To complicate matters just a bit, the client was on a business trip that took him from his home in Quebec to Los Angeles for the week. The client wanted his new Corrugated-Pipe website to be up and running within the week.

In order to complete this project within both the time frame and budget I had to fall back on some previous WordPress themes I had been working on in my spare time. One of those themes was to the liking of the client and we agreed to utilize that theme, with modifications, to complete this project.

It has been my experience that determining what price to charge for web design work is one of the most difficult tasks that any freelance web developer faces.  There are many factors that go into determining value.  Here are my suggestions about how to determine what price to charge for your web design project.

What is Your Experience Level?

What is the value of your experience developing websites?  Is it fair to only charge “by-the-hour” when it has taken you years and years of experience to be able to offer a solution to the problem at hand?  That being said, I think it’s only fair to factor your experience and training into defining a project price.

Is Your Work High Quality?

The quality of your work is subjective, of course.  Step back and try to be objective when determining how good your work product is.  Compare your workt o others in your niche.  Does it stand up to theirs?  Is it superior for some reason?  Or does it fail in comparison.  These are all factors to take into consideration when settling on a price for your project.