Let me start this post by saying am kind of pissed off at this moment. Why are my pissed?

I was speaking to a prospective client earlier today and when we got the 'money' stage, i gave him an average price; even though he has not decided on what he wants on his website. Then, i got the most annoying thing i have ever heard in my whole career as a web designer- 'websites are not expensive anymore'.

Whats happening in the industry? Are people under-fixing prices? Do we need a regulatory body/association?

it is called open market. you dont need no union to protet you in business. good luck sha. ask for fair price and you get loads of customers dont wait to ask one person for all your profit

Hey Waleab, if i may ask, how do you describe 'fair price'?

here here HC.

Also, IMHO humble opinion, one could equally say, "cars are no longer expensive". I mean, they have been mass produced for years. In your situation, here is what I would have probably done:

I would have asked him to explain himself. Then after that explain to him that he should see the expense as a necessary cost, what it takes to earn his company money in the long-run as he will now be advertising himself to the real world. Also tell him (depending on your level of experience) that there are websites and there are "websites". The art of web development is both a science and an art. It costs money to be a good developer. Finally, if you have a high demand for your services or the guy wants a website done in 24 hours, naturally by law of demand and supply, you have to charge higher. And let's not forget the following: because of those of us charging 10K for a site, it is only natural that clients will expect similar charges, not to mention, he might be using open eye to make you reduce your charges.

One thing's for sure though, there is no need for a union. The lower prices will either make you grit your teeth and stay in there or you leave the game entirely. My perception is that there are too many "webmasters" anyways.

I experienced something similar recently. A family friend in the states had a friend visit them from Nigeria and the visitor wanted a website for her goods in Nigeria. The first thing she said to me was, "I don't want a professional-looking website so go easy on the price". Right there, I knew what I would be dealing with and told her, "sorry but I can't build anything but a professional-looking website because I sign off at the bottom of all my sites and my reputation is on the line with every site that I develop". That pretty much ended that conversation. I mean that's like saying, "I don't want a professional-looking house so go easy on the prices". The builder might give you what you want but you probably don't want to live in such a house.

Conclusion: Let's be proud of our work. I know, given our economic situation, many might have to charge peanuts to afford their next meal. That notwithstanding, we have to stand our ground cos then and only then do we get the respect that we deserve. I personally code probably at the most, 5 sites a year but I rather do that at a high price per site than code 100 sites at 20K each.

yawa-ti-de has spoken.

Got this online:

How to Set a Price for Web Design Work
By Jennifer Kyrnin, About.com

If you're first starting out as a freelance Web Designer, you need to think about how much you're going to charge, and how exactly you'll charge. But before you quote a price, you need to take a few things into consideration.
What is the project?

Before you evaluate any Web design project, you need to determine what it will entail. Some questions to ask include:

-How many pages will need to be created?
-Are there images and/or design that need to be used, or will they be created as part of the project?
-Is there content for the site, or will that be written by the designer?
-Will there be any Flash, multimedia, programming or scripting required?

Depending on the answer to those questions may raise your prices.

When do your clients want the project completed?

The more urgent a project is, the more you can generally charge. But be sure that if you agree to an accelerated schedule, that it's one you can meet.
How much experience do you have?

The more Web design experience you have, the more you can charge, and the more your clients will expect to pay. Keep in mind, however that if you don't have a lot of Flash experience and that's what your clients want, you shouldn't rely on your six years of HTML coding to increase your prices.
How much long-term maintenance is required?

Often, when a Web site is commissioned, the clients have not thought beyond just getting the page up on the site. As a Web designer, you should make sure that your clients have maintenance covered. If they expect you or your company to cover it, you should probably get a separate contract for that aspect of the job.

What is the going rate?

This can often be difficult to determine. The best way is to talk to other designers in your area. Check out the salary and pricing Web sites in the sidebar for more assistance.

How much do you want to make?

The bottom line, after everything else is: how much do you want to make? For example, you might have a project you would love to do, because it would be fun, or interesting or challenging. Your bid might reflect that. On the other hand, you might feel uncomfortable doing a job or would have to do extra work just to complete it, such as if you would have to hire a database programmer to complete the project.

Some General Rules of Thumb

1. Never bid on a project you do not have the resources to complete. If you assume that you'll be able to hire a Perl programmer when you make the bid, chances are you'll be scrambling 2 days before the due date and spend all your fee on a last minute programmer.

2. Get as clear and specific a contract as possible. If the contract is vague, you may find yourself providing more services than you expected.

3. Be careful with pro bono work. There are many good reasons to build Web sites for free, but you should treat your pro bono work as seriously as any other contract. And if you give away your services, your customers might not want to pay after the free period is over, even if they like your quality.

4. Always be honest with your clients. If you say you can meet a deadline, then meet it, and if you can't give them as much warning as you possibly can.

SOURCE: About.com

You people should not under rate na self, because you people de charge low price, that is why most of company and bank taking there website to UK and other foreign company to do for them. whereas we have the power to do it here low price give them that we are an hungry people and our low price give them the kind the courage of quality will are going to produce for them.

I can remember:
a friend of mind When Zain are still called Celtel, The guy is a friend to one of Marketer of Celtel who to my friend about the deal (fifteen minute Video Document of Celtel which will be show on TV Stations) my friend send one of his girl friend(using her as his own marketer) to go and submit the Quotation which reflect Sum of N800,000 Naira. when they make Board meeting the said they will not get what they want from Nigerian (So called TV Commercial Producer) they decide that they will call company in south Africa.

The Celtel Marketer alert my friend, they repackage the deal. The Celtel Marketer to his manager that he has a friend working with MTV Base in UK will talk to him if posible send them his showReal Video which they got when they see it they feet in love with his show real and invite him that is going to cost them to archive there fifteen minute documentary video and him bill them N5,000,000 Naira.

He have worked with MTV Base (as freelance), CNN (as freelance) and most studio in UK before relocate him self to Nigeria. which he used most of his previous work as montage in his showReal.

My Final Point is that will show not try to be under rating ourself. Charge them higher. let them know the value of our knowledge if possible give them so term of language in programming which the will not understand, stop saying that the job will be complete within 24hr, tell them it will require more hand to make it complete to meet up with the deadline. if only you can complete it within 24hr that mean you work should be cheap. they will look that only you will carry N500,000 naira with job you that take 24hr

People who Qute "get a 5page of website" for 20,000, 30,000 + domain and hosting they are fools hungry people they have make them self cheaper before the client



Please dot'nt let us make our self cheap before them.