For a freelance web designer, determining the value of your time can be quite a challenging task, and it can take some time to understand the cost of various projects. There may be tasks that, despite the low pay, take up a chunk of your time making them worthwhile, while other projects will pay well but can take over your life. So when venturing into the world of freelance web design or development, it’s important to find the right proportions. Granted, what you can convince your customers to pay you will determine the cost, but there are a few factors that can help you hit your target rate. To help you understand freelance designer rates, here are some tips to keep in mind:
What is the customer really asking for
First, figure out what components and features customers want. There is definitely a cost difference between starting a personal blog and building a website for a large company. A major challenge for freelancers is finding ways to deal with project size changes. Therefore, you should consider the following.
How high is the customer’s request
You may have demanding clients, some deliver projects and only answer your questions, while others micromanage things during the project. When charging, you should take into account the second type of customer. However, you should also keep the following in mind.
your skill level
It is important that you are honest about your level of experience in different types of projects. Your expertise may not meet the client’s needs and your level of delivery may not be the same as other designers, otherwise you may need more time and research to complete the job. One thing to note is that experienced designers can deliver faster while the money paid to beginners goes towards learning. Therefore, you should consider the following options.
hourly rate
Designers typically earn about $40 an hour on the low end and about $75 on the high end (although that figure can be as high as $100 per hour or more), averaging $59 per hour.
However, there’s little you can’t take in on an hourly charge. So if there’s a new skill to be learned, you can just subtract the learning time, while at other times it makes more sense to charge a flat fee for the item. If you make a mistake, you cannot charge for the lost time. If the customer keeps changing his or her requirements, it is reasonable to charge for lost time. If the mistake is your fault, or the customer isn’t happy with the work, it’s best not to charge the customer, but do some extra work to deliver, or offer a discount. Here only your instincts and your relationship with the customer matter.
Designers can also charge variable hourly rates based on the type of job they perform (designing, coding, etc.). The advantage of hourly billing is that billing handling is easier and allows customers to take on more tasks without any complexity and easily satisfy without multiple adjustments. However, sometimes the client feels uncomfortable as the time spent approaches. So in this case your options are as follows.
Charge per item
Your rate may depend on the standard package, which includes a certain number of vacancies that you always offer. Typically, freelance web developers and designers charge based on the time it takes to complete a project (usually an hourly rate), based on their past experience and/or what the market will bear. If an hourly or project-based approach isn’t working for you, here are some things to consider.
Billing per page
While this is a rare form of payment, there are still some freelance web designers and developers who calculate their fees this way. This would be fine for designers creating relatively simple marketing-style websites, although designers and developers should also consider this fee model.
