barbs75 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hey guys, I am a recently graduated multimedia and computing student in England, where i got a 2:1 calssification overall. I went for a job as a junior assistant web designer, where i was going to be working alongside other designers to help build flash applications for the website. Because i had a more varied range of skills, ie i can programme as well as build flash programs and 3d design using 3ds max etc they offered me a side project that he had in mind, which required me to build a database driven website, with a search engine, customer login and registration system, image uploading and control (changing filesizes etc) email generation with flash animations and high quality design. The price i would have been getting to be an assistant web designer was £300 a week, but now obviously i am doing a WHOLE entire website on my own, what should i be charging?? i am doing the website with php, and mysql for database, whilst i am using html and also CSS for the main designing and developing of the pages. With including flash animations on the pages etc I dont really know what to charge because i dont have any real experience, only of web design at university and then i have done another website before about a year back, which was quite basic html and flash. If you can give me any insight into this, that would be great, i have looked on the web, but there doesnt seem to be a lot of info there, only for very experienced designers or for workers in the U.S!! cheers Craig (barbs75) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It is really hard for anyone to tell you what to charge. There are formulas out there for full-time freelancers that need to figure an hourly rate based on their desired salary/bills/etc. But, in your case, you can't really use this formula to get an hourly rate based on those figures. So, you must really think about the complexity of the job, which sounds fairly complex and also think about your skillset and quality of work. Figure out how long it would realistically take you to complete this. What are you comfortable making in that amount of time? You're definitely looking at a couple grand but to nail an exact figure will have to be your final decision. Remember, pitch them high first, you can always come down and it will help you to feel out the client. If they are already interested in you, don't be afraid to scare them off with a high pitch, just don't go overboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbs75 Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 hey, cheers for your reply! It is so difficult to know what to charge!! I started doing the website last July, when i was getting paid £300 a week. Which wasn't a great deal, as i based myself working 7-8 hours a day, so 35/40 hours a week which is about £7.50 an hour, which isn't a great deal?? But i was prepared to take a cut in pay being as though i am less experienced and still on the learning curve, and it is my first major website, so i was on the understanding with the guy that while he was paying me less, he was getting his work done a lot cheaper?? It was going great until October time when i had to go back to uni for a few months to complete my dissertation and a module to finish my degree. This was all done by about January time, when he said he wanted to start paying me for the work i do, in bulks, so that i could have mroe flexibility to work when i can, whilst doing my uni work and also so i can be more flexible with my work over christmas and stuff. But that doesnt really work for me, where it takes me sometimes a longtime to do the work, where im working on it on my own, i have to research problems myself, which can mean things take a lot longer and also im not that experienced!! Ideally i want to go back to being paid weekly, as i think it suited me better, but i dont want to push too much. But at the moment, there isnt much contact between us, and he hasnt paid that much lately, which is rubbish as i have stuff to pay every month and im always found skint!!! Sorry to tell you the WHOLE story, but i just wanted to explain about the situation, because its quite complicated. While i dont want to push, i think that i have a very heavy workload here, i mean i have designed the logos, the whole website, have to think about security, ecommerce of the site etc which is a lot of research and a lot of work, especially for me on my own!! i dont thin he appreciates how much work and content there is!! I just dont know what to do from now going forward, any thoughts?? Cheers Craig Barbs75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Well, learn now that people will never appreciate the work involved in web development. The best you can do is try to educate them and don't short yourself. It is easier said than done, especially when starting out, but let me tell you that you can work in a fast food restaurant and probably make $7.50/hr, so you really need to increase your rates. If I charge hourly it is usually between $50-$75/hr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbullmarky Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 £7.50 is about $15 though not great but not terrible either to start with, but there shouldnt be any reason to charge at least £12ph+ to start with and build up from there. generally i dont even consider hourly rates but tend to look at the project as a whole, and make my figures based on the time it would take (including amends, testing, unexpected issues, etc) and what i'd feel comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 sorry, guess I forgot the US dollar isn't worth shit anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbs75 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Cheers for all your help guys!! Well, i have sorted it all out, i have estimated another two months approx. for the completion of the website, which i mentioned to my client, and said that i would be working a 35 hour week and being paid £300 a week. Which he agreed to. I guess normally for free lance work, it is more sensible to charge for the whole project. But because this is my first project since graduating and obviously im still learning and dont have the experience, i dont know how long things are going to take me, and i need frequent money, so per week suits me. I guess i need to work in an evironment first where i can have a wage and pick up some experience and learn, then start to do more freelance when i know how long things take etc So thanks for all your help guys!! cheers Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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