As a web designer, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is determining how much your time, energy, and expertise are worth. Pricing is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and finding the right balance that reflects your value while remaining competitive can be a challenge. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to reevaluate your pricing strategy, understanding the factors that influence pricing and establishing a pricing model is essential for the success and sustainability of your web design business. 

Where to start

A quick search will show that there’s a ton of variation in what designers charge for a website (and any related services). Depending on the designer’s experience and the client’s needs, web design projects can look quite different when compared side by side. The following can help you decide where your service offering falls on the pricing spectrum.

Hourly or flat rate 

There are two main approaches to pricing web design services. Charging by the hour offers more flexibility, ensuring you get paid for the time you actually put into a project. It is an ideal pricing model for projects with evolving scopes or frequent changes. If you go this route, incorporate other elements of your work into the rate, like the cost of your workspace, stock photos, and even electricity (more on this later). 

Charging a flat rate can be more predictable, as price is agreed upon upfront. It also lets you factor in all of your costs and decide how much profit you want to earn for each project. This is a good way to set your clients’ expectations ahead of time. Flat rates are ideal for well-defined projects with a clear scope, minimizing the risk of unanticipated expenses. Some designers and agencies package their services for a flat rate, including a certain number of pages, limited period of support, and a specific number of revisions in the cost. The benefit here is avoiding scope creep, or the progressive addition of work that wasn’t originally part of the project brief. Anything beyond the initially agreed upon scope of work can earn you an additional fee.

Regardless of whether you choose to charge by the hour or by the project, you’ll want to have a sense of how long it takes you to do your work and what your time is worth. 

Competitor pricing  

While it shouldn’t be the only factor you consider when defining your pricing, it can be helpful to know what other web professionals are charging for similar work. Potential clients are likely to shop around, so you should try doing your own research to understand where your offering falls in their set of considerations. If your prices are a little higher, make sure you’re confident in explaining why your work is more valuable. If you’re charging less, it may be time to reevaluate your pricing strategy.

Skill level

Assessing your own skill level can be tricky, but perceived skill level significantly impacts how much you charge for your work. Consider how many years of direct experience you have in web design, as well as the depth and breadth of your design, technical, and content management skills. Take a critical eye to the websites you’ve already built and ask yourself how they stack up to what your competitors are creating.

If you’re open to constructive feedback, try sharing your work with fellow designers, such as in the Circle Forum, to get input from your peers. You can even send a survey at the end of each project to gauge your clients’ opinions about the quality of your work. Gather information from every source you can and use it to identify areas for improvement. 

Know your costs

You can’t identify your profits until you know what it costs to do your work. Understanding your expenses is key to setting an effective and profitable strategy. Where do you do your work? Do you use any third-party services for stock photography or project management? Keep a record of every work-related cost, so you can account for all expenses when deciding how much to charge for your work. 

Outsourcing work

If your client expects logos and copywriting for their new website, you may find yourself leaning on other specialists to support the project. If you outsource any part of the website-building process, factor those costs into what you charge. As your business grows, you may consider hiring full-time employees, increasing your capacity but also adding salary and benefits costs–all of which should be reflected in your pricing.

Workspace

Whether you work at home, in a shared workspace, or a private office, effective workspaces have a cost to them. Estimate the number of projects you’ll do over the year, and factor any workspace costs into your price estimates.

Equipment and software

The cost of laptops, monitors, printers, and any other equipment you use all comes out of your own pocket as an entrepreneur. Consider the costs of maintaining (and eventually replacing) these items in your prices. Plan to save enough to replace your equipment regularly so you can stay as productive as possible. Nothing puts a dent in your profits and a hurdle in your workflow like a dead computer.

Other software or service costs to consider include:

• Design tools and software

• Project management software

• Invoicing software or services

• Antivirus software

• Time-tracking software 

• A desk

• A chair

• External hard drive for backups

• Cell phone

Marketing yourself

It’s important to invest time and resources into marketing your business. This can help you build and maintain a steady flow of work. You can use Squarespace’s built-in marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) tools to increase your site’s visibility to search engines.

When to stray

Part of knowing your costs is also understanding what the minimum fee you’re willing to accept is for your services. You can think of this as the wholesale price. In cost-plus pricing, this is where you’d add a profit margin to decide on the final retail price for your products or services. Once you’ve defined these baselines, you can decide when and how far to stray from your standard pricing to win a project.

Add-ons

As your skills and knowledge broaden, you can enhance your service offering and charge more for heartier features or optional add-ons. Some designers and agencies charge more for the following:

• Custom domain setup (which is free for Squarespace sites on an annual plan)

• Acuity Scheduling setup

• Website’s information architecture planning

• Handoff training for your client

• Support or updates after the site is finished

• Marketing services

• Copywriting

• Email Campaigns setup

• Brand strategy

• SEO support

• Custom code

• Product integrations

• Logo creation

The bottom line

Get a contract

Regardless of how and what you charge, get your terms in writing. A contract can help you set clear expectations and ensure that no surprises come up in the process. Include topics like price, timeline, revision terms, and payment process (both for your services and the Squarespace subscription).

Invest in yourself

A business is only as good as the people running it. You should continually reinvest in yourself and your growth. The stronger you are in skills like design, communication, and marketing, the more value you’ll add for your clients. Attend in-person or online webinars to continue honing your craft.

Pro tip: Circle members have exclusive access to events and webinars and opportunities to develop their skills and learn how to run an effective web design business.

Revisit often

Defining your pricing strategy isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it task. Don’t worry too much about getting it wrong the first time. Learn as you go and iterate as you grow.

Want more?

Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional web designers, developers, digital entrepreneurs, and creatives. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.