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53 Replies Last post: Mar 10, 2009 5:01 PM by davidicus

Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum?

Aug 22, 2007 10:35 AM

WhiteBrow 21 posts since
Jul 21, 2007

I need to put up a simple website for our business. Each day, I get customers calling in and asking do you have a website? And the answer is no - not yet. I don't have the time or the skillset to design a website, so was thinking of hiring someone to do it. I've never worked with a web designer before so I'd like guidance on the standard pay structure - do web designers work for a fixed price for the job or is it by the hour? Any thoughts on the pros/cons of either pay structure? Again, I am just looking for a few pages with images to establish a web presence.

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BDS INC 131 posts since
Jul 20, 2007

1. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Aug 22, 2007 2:31 PM

WhiteBrow - if your needs are simple - I'd say a lump some. You should set a budget and negotiate from there. If you are looking for a few pages, no E-commerce, not big Flash design, then a few hundred bucks should get you a fairly decent web site.

If you are looking for a freelance that does good work - cheap, let me know. I know someone good.

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score81 76 posts since
Aug 6, 2007

2. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Aug 22, 2007 3:27 PM

Remember three different services makes one web site. You have to be aware of all three before bringing web site up and running. They are as follows:

1. Web Name: You have to select name for your site( for example ??????.com or net etc.) and then has to make sure it is available and then register the name for yearly or 2, 3, 5, 10 year payment. You have to keep record of where you register the name and at exact time renew it. You can easily forget to renew and some body can take it.

2. Web Hosting Company: This is the company where your web site will be placed so all people can access it, by inputting the web address. They charge monthly/quaterly/yearly etc. You can find different companies with different rates. Please check the web and compare values before contracting them to host your web site.

3. Web Designer: These are companies or consultants who writes and design web pages for you. If you are looking for 2-3 pages web site I will suggest get a local consultant from High school or Community college and ask him to write 2 - 3 pages web site for you. He will like to know if it is Window base or Linux base site that you need to make sure before you order web hosting. It will cost you minimum and pay as lump sum.
Things to remember:
1. What software he used to write the web pages.
2. Get the copy of the web page for your record and future use.
3. Ask him if future changes are required, what will it cost?
4. Have his address, email address and telephone in your record.
5. Make him responsible for uploading the web pages to the web hosting site.
6. Make him responsible for working website up to your satisfaction, before payment will be done.

I hope it helps you to decide what need to be done.

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DustinSteller 14 posts since
Aug 8, 2007

3. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Aug 23, 2007 11:52 AM

Short answer...Most designers will be a lump sum.

Long answer...We like to meet with our customers (face-to-face or over the phone), to get an understanding of what it is you do, what your needs are, where you want to grow, who your target audience is, what your likes/dislikes are, discuss your budget and the scope of the project, etc...We prepare our quotes with a site outline from that meeting.

For websites, my design firm prepares a quote with an outline of the site and an agreement. Then after the client
accepts it, signs the agreement and pays the 50% payment, we begin work
immediately upon receiving the first payment and the necessary assets to work with such as logos, contact information, photography, copywriting, etc.

We design the initial page comps, either wireframe or full designs (depending o nthe scope of the project), then upon approval, we begin the programming and testing. Delivery, for an average site, takes place in two-three weeks with a normal workflow and approval process.

Final payment is made before the site goes live. Then a final test is made of the live site to make sure all is working.

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WhiteBrow 21 posts since
Jul 21, 2007

4. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Aug 28, 2007 1:47 PM

in response to: DustinSteller

Thanks. It's helpful to have a web designer weigh in. It sounds like lump sum is the norm and best way to go. Also, based on the community's feedback, it sounds like I need to clearly document my requirements upfront so that there are no misunderstandings on deliverables.

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Swimmer 2 posts since
Aug 16, 2007

5. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Sep 11, 2007 9:40 PM

in response to: score81

Thanks for the info on web design. We want to eventually have a web page, but we are waiting until we are more familiar with the everyday running of the store.

Swimmer

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MCG_Studio 1 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

6. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 11:46 AM

Whitebrow and Swimmer - good to hear you are interested in developing websites. I would strongly suggest anyone that has their own company to at least have a standard brochure website for their customers. The brochure website is nicknamed that because it is all the information you would find in a 2 - 3 page brochure about your company. All that's really needed is a basic welcome page that introduces your company, an "about us" page that goes into more detail about your services and what you can offer, and another page that allows the user to contact you via phone or email.

As far as paying for the project most firms will go with a lump sum as that is starting to become the trend more and more now. And please keep in mind that you get what you pay for. The internet has come a long way and so has the public's expectations as far as presenting yourself online. For some clients, this will be the first impresion they have about you and your company. I suggest you avoid the family member or community college student as someone poorly suggested and hire a professional.

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skeebee 4 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

7. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 12:08 PM

I will just chime in and mention a few more details:

1. Depending upon the size and functonality of your site you can use free web hosting sites and simply pay someone to design it.

2. Some web hosting companies offer site design tools that are easy to use for a basic website and are also free.

Of course if you want shopping carts, flash, javascript, forms, etc, then you will need to pay a designer and you will need to pay for hosting it as well. DO YOUR RESEARCH ON WEB HOSTING COMPANIES and I would suggest that you pay month to month at first (for web hosting). Also register your domain name with a different company than the one you are using to host your site. If case you dont like them, it will be easier to switch hosting companies.

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WebdesignGirl 1 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

8. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 12:21 PM

in response to: skeebee

Domain ownership is a tricky business. Several of my customers get letters and emails from companies purporting to be their domain registration company and getting them to renew. An innocent admin person thinks she is on top of things by signing the slip and renewing the domain for another year or two only to find later that she signed something to switch their agreement from their existing company to the new one, who send the letter. The best way to keep on top of all the people trying to poach your business is to save all the information from your reservation (preferably PDF the confirmation page or email) and set a calendar reminder 2 months before the domain expires so you get it renewed in time. That way you can ignore any requests you get from companies or individuals who more than likely don't have your best interests at heart. And always do it yourself, that way you own it, and not your hosting company so you can change hosting companies whenever you want to.

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MarketingMan 1 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

9. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 12:26 PM

Hi, I manage the Direct Marketing Association for Southern Cal, Northern Cal, Arizona and Nevada. There are a couple ways to go depending on your business and your businesses needs.

The most common way to pay for a website is by the page. The price will vary based on complexity. If you pay by the hour it will cost you around $60 to $100 an hour but it is very hard to manage the cost. Especially if you don't clearly define in advance exactly what you want each page to look like and how it is to function.

If your business is common there are a lot of standard sites that you can purchase that come with a lot of specialized functionality that is already designed for your business. That is a much cheaper way to go. If you need more information you can call the DMAsc office at 818-541-1152. I hope this helps.

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sumfun1 6 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

10. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 12:42 PM

If you need any advice on designers, or ideas please don't hesitate to ask. I currently have 4 of my own websites as 80% of my business is online. I also have designed a few websites and turnkey sites. There are so many different options out there and you need to think about down the road as well on things you would like to have on your website or things you think you might need.

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SEO-Expert 11 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

11. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 12:57 PM

The lumpsum should be the model that you should look for. Make sure that you have clearly identified your needs in a website. You have to be crystal clear in defining the scope of work to request for quote. I have got clients who told us strange stories where they were charged for small changes when they did not put basic things in requirements.

make sure YOU own your domain name and not the company who designs the site for you. If possible try to host on your own using Dodaddy or other services. This allows you to switch web developer easily in future if needed.

Create list of things that you need in your site:

Flash banner
Side menus & their sub menus
SEO friendly design with meta tags
Logo design
Contact us form
shopping cart

Create the list of functionailities that you need in your site.

Thanks,
Bob

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Biz Online 71 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

12. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 1:08 PM

Hi WhiteBrow,
Lump sum is my recommendation.
Get someone who knows DESIGN and search engine optimization, so the on-page SEO is done while the site is being built. This will save you time and money. Also, start now on who you work with locally to ask them to link to your new website when it is done. Be sure and use "anchor text", or your site keywords, as links, not just your website name coming from your local business partners. Done correctly, you will not have to do any submissions to the search engines, as they will find you!
Best of luck!
Cliff

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hightech 8 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

13. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 3:27 PM

We do web site designing and more for your company. You can send me the details and I will send you customize pages for you to see before you purchase. Usually it goes by project basis. Don't go by hourly it will cost you more. And we can work with your budget.

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Transform_MD 1 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

14. Re: Website design - do I pay by the hour or lump sum? Oct 10, 2007 8:21 PM

Find a really good and creative designer who will tailor to your specific needs. Ask for a proposal for time and materials, scope and hard delivery dates, and pay them in a lump sum. Hourly payment is dangerous becuase you can find yourself dealing with "scope creep" and escalating costs for the project with nothing to tangibly show. Time is money!

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