What To Charge for Web Design and Advertising

[etangins]

I have been designing websites for a couple of years but would still consider myself a relative novice although I am learning a lot. I have a couple of clients interested in web design. I was wondering might be the best way to charge for web design and how much? Should I charge an hourly rate or by project?

I also have some interest in advertising on my site. Could you send me some info on what to charge for advertising and the best type. Would it be per click, purchase, or just a monthly rate and is there a program or technique I could use to keep track of per click advertising.

I'd be open to any suggestions or articles you could post.

 

[chrishirst]

Work out how long it will take, multiply that by how much you think your time is worth the add 50% because your time estimate will be about half of what it will actually take.

Could you send me some info on what to charge for advertising and the best type. Would it be per click, purchase, or just a monthly rate and is there a program or technique I could use to keep track of per click advertising.

The answer to that is:
Twice as long as it is from one end to the middle.

 

[etangins]

Work out how long it will take, multiply that by how much you think your time is worth the add 50% because your time estimate will be about half of what it will actually take.

So your saying to evaluate it based on an hourly rate (my time's worth) but charge a flat rate. I've heard though that charging flat rates means a lot of people will continually force you to make changes to the site after it has been completed. Should I have some sort of extra charge if people decide they want me to make changes, with the exception of a reasonable minimum.

The answer to that is:
Twice as long as it is from one end to the middle.

I'm a small website. I got 100,000 pageviews in six months (35,000) visitors. These would be gyms and companies that would be interested in advertising. I'm just looking for the simplest but most profitable way of advertising. My website is www.ninjawarrior.info.

 

[chrishirst]

I've heard though that charging flat rates means a lot of people will continually force you to make changes to the site after it has been completed.

Only if you are dumb enough NOT to have a real contract detailing what you will and won't do for the price.
People cannot 'force' you to make changes, they might try pulling a fast one and withold payment because you "said you would", but if you have a signed contract, that is your evidence to the contray. And of course you got 50% upfront as a deposit / interim payment which was your original guesstimate.

If the client wants additional changes you say "Sure, that will be XXX extra thank you very much.

I really don't understand this idea in the web design/development world, that the designer/developer is supposed to fund the client's project, or work for nothing for several weeks/months.

In the real world clients pay deposits, make interim payments, material costs on an ongoing basis and they expect that to be the case, why should 'online' contracting be any different?

 

[etangins]

What about advertising?

 

[chrishirst]

With 100K impressions in six months??



Forget it!
If and when your website URLs are getting 100,000 impressions per week, every week at the very minimum, it might be more attractive to potential advertisers.

Who in their right mind is going to pay for the off chance of getting one or two visitors per month from an unknown website in what is a fairly competetive market place.

Sorry if that 'bursts any bubbles' for you, but when considering selling advertising space, you have to be realistic about your 'projects' and their value to others.

Websites are like children, compared to everyone elses's, your kids are the best in the World.

 

[etangins]

I have gotten several peoples interest in advertising. If they want to advertise, I can't just say no my site isn't good for advertising. The topics they want to advertise pertain exactly to what my site is about and I get a lot of interest in them daily from emails. Forgetting whether it is best for me to advertise or not, what would be the best and simplest way to advertise.

 

[chrishirst]

and I get a lot of interest in them daily from emails

Yeah, I get a lot of those ...... ..... mostly for domain names I own without so much as a parking page!

If they start off with ....

Dear Webamster,

I visited you webiste and found it to be good match for [insert MFA splog URL] and am interested in purchasing text link advertising on it.

(or similar)

Just bin them, because it's just a 'bait and switch' link exchange tactic that will result in your site pages linking to some spammy "weight loss" or a "buy H.G.H. here cheap" type of junk site and you will be left trying to clean up the mess at some later date.

If they contact you .... it's a scam.

 

[etangins]

No, I'm talking about people who have gyms (with their own websites and companies) that I have spoken with over the phone and email and soon in person about advertising. I'm looking for the best and simplest way to advertise on a site like mine. Can you help me out?

 

[Phreaddee]

I'm with Chris, I'd forget the advertising.

most people are turned off by ads at the best of time, if your trying to improve your site traffic, don't harm it with stupid silly ads.

 

[etangins]

1) I need some way to monetize the site

2) These are not just random ads. You'll see my site is features several gyms of the sport (pinnacle parkour, movement lab). These are ads for those types of gyms. The ads would be highly relevant to the content on my site therefore. I would almost put it as content itself, but content which I would be looking to profit from. Most of the people that come to my site come to find gyms or blueprints so they would benefit from the ads. What I'm looking for is the best type of advertising (i.e. is it pay per click (and how would I keep track); commision off of referrals; a monthly rate; or other).

 

[chrishirst]

So now we have got the full information we might be able to provide realistic answers.

For that scenario, using the real world magazine publishing method of "column inches" on a fixed term, fixed price makes the most sense.

 

[etangins]

My only concern with that is coming up with a fair and accurate price. It seems the easiest in that there is no need to track referrals, but since it's my first advertisement, I don't really know what my conversion rates would be and I'm a little unsure of a fair price.

 

[chrishirst]

Only you can decide that and it is a business decision that is basically the same for all types of business that sell a product.

unit_selling_price = (cost_to_produce / how_many_you_are_going_to_sell) + profit_markup

In the case of website advertising, the cost to produce is what it costs to run your site for any given period of time.

 

[RDB]

It depends what YOU think YOU are worth. Do you have a niche market? Do you have a specialised skill set? It also depends on your work ethic as people seem to struggle with this so do as Chris says and work out a time and cost then double it.