RESULTS: $ estimating--web sites (early)

["Renze, Janet L" <Janet -dot- Renze -at- PSS -dot- BOEING -dot- COM>]

This is a popular concern!! THANKS to everyone who responded!
I received many requests for the results, so here are the notes to date.
Will keep summarizing as comments come in. Will also post what
my client/friend & i decide upon and how the project goes, for what it's
worth.

FIRST--
a big thanks to Tracy Boyington for this lead on the HTML Writers Guild:
>>You didn't find anything on the HWG archives because it is a forbidden
>>topic -- they're concerned about the possibility of being accused of
>>price-setting. BUT, if you'll look on their web pages, they have links
>>to a few sites that do discuss pricing (at least they did a few months
>>ago... things change).

The address she was referring to is
http://www.hwg.org/faqs/priceFAQ.html
[that group also had more questions about pricing than answers!]


OTHER RESPONSES...
-------------------------
going rate for that kind of work in the Twin Cities (MSP) is at
least $40/hr. on contract.  We charge (I don't make of course) $60/hr.
for online help work--I think.  Are you planning on paying Soc.
Security--or are you pocketing this as cash?  Honestly, if I were doing
this for a friend.  I'd probably charge about $15/hr--unless he was in
an established business and could absorb a *real* fee.  I don't think
$20/hr. is out of line.  If you plan on giving it a ten hour
whack--split the difference and give him/her a fixed bid of $175.--if
youdon't do any more of this work--that's hobby income and you can keep
it without paying Uncle Sam!!! (I'm not a lawyer, I know, but that's my
understanding.  If you do any special coding javascript, java, perl . .
.  you have to charge more to meet industry standards.
--------------------------

The HTML Writer's Guild specificaly forbids this question on their
lists, to avoid being accused of price-fixing. I think they are being
paranoid, and I haven't seen any prohibition agains discussing prices on
TechWr-L.

I'd like to see the results you get.

--------------------------
 $50 bucks a page if they supply the text (briefly mention some horribly
complex calculation that works out to $120 per page if you have to
create
new content.

  $120 per .gif animation

  Then you need to charge double if the client's gonna stand over yer
shoulder during the construction process -- get them to pay up front for
the plan and animations; then if they wanna kibbitz about the look and
feel
of the pages while you're creating them, charge them by the hour (double
your day-job rate).

Building web sites for "friends" who can't build their own guarantees
time/cost overruns, strained feelings, squabbling, etc. wihout a firm
contract and doc plan to start with...

I don't know any webmaster who hasn't at some point early in the game
offered to do a web page for a buddy for $40, and ended up spending a
hundred hours on it over the course of six months... and then their
buddies
got  fired 'cos they had to try so hard to get the bosses to pay the
original $40....

<sigh>

Webmastering can be an enjoyable and lucrative profession, as long as
you
do it with strangers <smirk>

---------------------------
     I have a couple of comments which may or may not be helpful.
First,
     when I saw six pages, I thought 24 to 48 hours depending on the
     complexity.Then you said you had 10 hours to do it.   If you are
going
     to spend 10 hours, it is easy.  Quote about $350.  This is a short
     job, and one that is not necessarily leading to anything else.  I
     quote short jobs higher than long term jobs.  The other thing is to
be
     sure you can do what is needed in only 10 hours.  You are leaving
     yourself an hour and 40 minutes per page.  If there is any creative
     designing, you could be shortchanging yourself.  If the job is
simple
     enough (to you) to do it in that time, more power to you.

     Just don't sell yourself short!

---------------------------
*****************************
Janet


Janet L. Renze          Technical Writer
janet -dot- l -dot- renze -at- boeing -dot- com
(425) 234-8662 phone

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