Hey, I'm new to freelance jobs, so I wanted to ask about how much should I ask for a web page like this? It also has a simple admin panel where you can edit the biography content text.

http://www.authorized.lv/Saa-T/

*comment deleted by droppyale*

arun please be more careful with your replies, he is looking for advice on pricing.

It's a little inappropiate to suggest your services.

I suggest starting by first checking out the competition. You need to price yourself at what you think you are worth but also at the rate that will win you the bid. I am assuming you are primarily working with local clients -- so check out the local competition. If you are working with larger clients that are not necessarily local. You might want to start networking and get your hands on some RFPs and see what the proposals are pricing at.

If you're bidding $10-15/hour all you're doing is undercutting and screwing the people who do this for a living.

RFP = Request for Proposal

Speaking from the US, $20 - $25/hour is a good rate when you are starting out. If you have an impressive portfolio with some high profile clients you should be in the $35/hour to $65/hour range.

However! None of us should worry too much about the guys offering $10-$15/hour services. You dont want those clients; most clients realize you get what you pay for. And sometimes too cheap is not a good thing. The client needs to know there is some value in your service. I know many clients who won't accept bids that are too low.You are not worried about templatemonster.com taking our jobs right? So dont be worried about the $10-$15/hour guys, most of their stuff is from Template Monster anyway.

If you are good, charge what you are worth. If you are a young highschool kid doing this more as a hobby; then charge whatever you can to get the bid, build your portfolio and customer base. Many students do this work for free just to get exposure -- we will never stop that sort of undercutting.

I agree with Spooky! I love to charge per project.

However, most of my clients request an hourly rate before sending me the RFP. So I typically try and eye ball the project and make up a number that I assume will come out to equal what I think the project should pay.

I live in the Midwest US - cost of living here is very reasonable. My rate is $75/hour. I've never had a client balk at the price. Never.

A big part of being a freelance developer, either full or part-time, is having confidence in your abilities. Without confidence, you end up charging $15 an hour. In my opinion, that's an unacceptable rate. You are basically telling your client that you aren't worth anything. The $15 you make in that hour gets divided up so many ways, you end up making nothing.

But I also agree it's important to give a project price or goal price. I generally lay out each project piece by piece, so the client knows how much is going toward each aspect. No surprises that way.

clandestine -- sounds like you are doing everything right. Charge what you need to for now and when you do become more confident, start to charge more and then get to that $75/hour rate. I couldnt make more than $6/hour at our local gym when I was in highschool. You are so far ahead of the crowd now, money shouldnt influence you -- build your skills and portfolio. Some are angry at people for charging too little; I say we should be afaird of the highschool kids that are putting out amazing stuff -- I come across amazing portfolios all the time of kids who can barely drive.

since i am from a third world country, we(freelancers) don't have the luxury to ask for such prices. basically we base our rate per project. 500 dollars per proj. it's no wonder a lot of opportunistic capitalist scum take advantage of our situation...such is life. :p

I'd say $65/hour is a good rate for quality work. I don't like to do hourly projects, I prefer to give project based estimates. I use $65 an hour to come up with an estimated flat rate. If the scope of the project changes along the way, then I make sure the client is aware and I write up an addendum to the original estimate and get the client to sign it. I find this works great for one-offs, but lately I've been trying to setup some retainer clients, where they would purchase a set amount of hours a month. For this I'd be willing to give a discount on my rates.

I'm currently in the same situation Gustavs - I do web and graphic design projects on the side with my brother. Here's my advice: Charge per project and not per hour. Most clients (at least the ones I've worked with) don't want to be charged by the hour and worry about the end bill being a few $100 or $1,000 more than the quote you provided them becuase you decided to "work over" or "add some final touches". You'll probably score more jobs that way!

Some other notes:

*Come up with a "Client Services Agreement" that lays out the terms and guidelines for projects, what happens when things are added, what happens when payments are late, etc. A great one can be found here: http://www.fortymedia.com/special/csa.pdf. You mayalso like to check out: http://www.startingsmall.info - a great min-site from this year's SXSW.

*At the beginning of each project I personally request a 50% deposit and ask that the client sends over a signed copy of the final proposal and of my client services agreement. Once signed, anything added on to the project is billed separately, on it's own timeline and must be approved for addition and cost by the client before officially adding it into the project.

*One other great reason to bill by the project and not by the hour is so you have a solid idea of exactly what you're going to be making for one project or another over a period of time. Want to make $2,000/month on the side next month? Score enough projects that add up to $2,000 that are scheduled for completion within that month.

*Finally, check out other web designs websites and see what they're charging. A lot post price ranges and timelines directly on their websites. Don't be afraid to ask for a premium if you're good enough with design and client relationships. I personally want to be compensated excellently and do excellent client work - so I price and pick projects accordingly. Don't work for clients that don't value the work you do or the prices you charge - they will take advantage of you, delay payments, and treat you like a minimum wage employee. Instead, work only with informed clients that are respectful of your work and your profession.

I hope that helps!

I agree, those who give the lowball numbers of $10-15 looking for a designer are usually the clients which you definitely dont want to work for. They end up trying to squeeze so much out of you for such a little cost, and the work ends up being non-reflective of your abilities.

Blue Flavor published a great article last night about Pricing a Project:

http://www.blueflavor.com/ed/tips_tricks/pricing_a_project.php

Definitely worth checking out

Rule number one:
webwhore != webdesigner