Comments on: A 'Standard' Website

By: David

David — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 10:44:38 +0000

No you can’t charge for proposals (unfortunately). Presenting a proposal is selling your game plan for their website. If they are considering more than 1 designer, they’ll hire the one with the best ideas or best proposal. I think it’s like that for all service industries although there is the possibility some ppl just want your ideas.

In my day job we are invited to present proposals all the time. Some times these so called ‘potential clients’ don’t end up engaging us after listening to our proposal, but use our ideas anyway. It’s just something we have to live with.

Since I’m in a sharing mood, my process is like this:
1. Receive enquiry
2. I give a ballpark figure e.g. Starts at RMXXX, depending on size of website may be more (Good to have a ‘standard’ scale here).
3. We meet and discuss the client’s needs
4. Present proposal to solve client’s needs.
5. Amend proposal (and price) if necessary.
6. Sign on the dotted line and get to work!

The above is based on my day job’s consultation process a lot. At my company, we don’t have a ‘standard’ pricing too. We charge for scope of work, i.e. charge more for more features.

By: Danny Foo

Danny Foo — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:48:01 +0000

David,
I like your idea of using a ballpark figure then after getting more information then only you place a finalize price in the proposal. One question though, do you charge your clients for the proposal?

By: wantanseller

wantanseller — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 10:35:14 +0000

gahh… we have the same concept of standard website

to be more specific, you’ll also need to include
- Sufficient documentation
- Complete source code and images

i’ll probably throw in some minor php/javascript scripts as well maybe if it’s worth it.

By: David

David — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 09:05:34 +0000

You know, it is so unfortunate to have to present a ‘standard’ fee for a ‘standard’ website. Most of the good designers design custom websites for their clients based on the clients’ individual needs. Since each clients needs are different, the website created is not ‘standard’.

When new clients ask how much I charge I like to say I start at a certain price and will present a final price with my proposal after learning more about their needs. It’s worked so far – no one has forced me to agree on a price before drawing up a proposal. But then again, I don’t have that many clients anyway…

By: Danny Foo

Danny Foo — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 05:02:15 +0000

Well, there isn’t one. Every designer or studio or company have their pricing based on their services.