As a freelance web designer, i have very little overhead. In comparison to a full fledged agency, i have no staff or large office space to run. So i can be nimble and adjust to changing workload in a cost effective way. And I’m happy to pass on any savings to my clients.

In general, I charge in two ways. For bigger jobs i write a quote with a fixed price. For small or recurring jobs, i offer to work on an hourly rate.

My hourly rate is $120

A business website generally ranges from $1000 – 3000
An e-commerce website generally ranges from $2000 – $4000

After the initial meeting, i will send you a quote within three days (bigger quotes may take longer). In the quote i outline a more detailed time frame.

But in general, a standard business website can be completed within 2-4 weeks after the quote is accepted. Optional ongoing support is available.

An e-commerce website will generally take 4-8 weeks to set up, and will often be followed up with ongoing support.

Most of my clients work very close with me in the process. You can reach me at any time to clarify questions. I keep you in the loop and involve you at several stages of the process. I give feedback where is see an issue, and ask for preferences where i see opportunities for you.

Generally i ask for your input at the following stages. But if you want to be more involved you are welcome at any time:

1. Initial meeting: You tell me about your plans and i may offer several options on the spot.
2. Mock-up and page map: I create a static mock-up design and a page map of the websites and you give me your feedback before the website is build.
3. Website development: You get access to the website before it is published to give feedback.

In my experience as a web designer, i found the following points important to clarify when talking to a web designer:

• Where is the website hosted? Do i get access to the hosting account? Are there any lock in contracts?
• Where is the domain name registered? Is it registered under my name and can i easily transfer it to another provider if i decide to, or are the any costs or lock in contracts?
• Is there any ongoing cost for the website? Any cancellation fees?
• What is the web designers hourly rate or monthly fees for any ongoing support?
• How much experience does the web designer have with the system that will be used (WordPress, Shopify, etc)? Any examples of their work. Any testimonials of previous or current clients?
• How easy is it to contact the web designer? Call unannounced and see how quickly you get in touch. In an emergency you may need to get in touch quickly to solve an error on the website. What are the modes of contact? Email, mobile, SMS, WhatsApp? How long is the response time?

I think we can answer this question by looking at the amount of business websites on the internet. Having your own website is still enormously relevant, even against the ongoing raise of social media.

As a business you want to catch the customers wherever they are. For some businesses this is predominately on the web, for others it is in social media platforms.

This is why it important to figure out the demographics of your customers first. I offer a consultation and planning service where we pinpoint where most of your potential audience can be found.

For a small business it may make more sense to spend resources on a simple website and then focus more on building a social media presence. This depends also on your personality. Do you want to be active on social media on a regular basis? Or pay someone to do it for you? If not, then you can instead spend more resources on a website with some good SEO support.

For an e-commerce business, the online shop would be the core of the business. You can use third party services like Amazon and eBay to sell your products, which incurs selling fees (about a third of your sale price). You can use hosted platforms like Shopify, where you pay a monthly fee (from $40/month*) to keep the shop online. Or you can get a web designer to set you up with a self-hosted online shop.The initial cost for the setup is higher than a hosted service (like Shopify), but apart from the hosting cost and domain registration ($100-150/ year), there is no fixed ongoing cost. And you have absolute flexibility in regards to design and functionality. Plus you have full control over your data.