Hi Everyone -
I'm putting together my first bid for a website. I have not been in the website development business on my own for 10 years, so much has changed.
I want to get the job, but I don't want to go too low, but I do have to catch up on the industry.
Are there examples of what a bid should look like?
It's a very basic site with 20 pages of text mostly. Phase 2 includes some commerce and embedding video.
Thanks,
Lisa

Hi Lisa,
I'm not sure how you will want to bill out, but here is a formula that I have created that is useful for me.

[I don’t have a lot of “paying” clients yet, but even on my barter deals, I act as if it were an actual cash transaction, so both parties feel like they were compensated equally]

Here is what I have set up so far:

I have set a base hourly rate for myself (mainly for maintenance)
But the hourly amount I chose, it is what I feel my time, expertise, knowledge and creativity is really worth. (I’m not sure if it is too high or too low yet, but I think I am in the ball park)

Anyhow, knowing what you want (deserve) for your hourly base rate is where to start, then:

1) For new site building, I charge a basic flat rate for my over all site design.
2) And $100.00 Per created page - using the site design I’ve have created.
3) Extra charges for the bells and whistle add-ons; such as flash graphics, video editing; photo galleries etc...
4) I don't charge monthly service fees - but that is where my base rate comes in for changes etc... saves them in the long run if they only need changes done once in a while. If they need a monthly rate I can offer a discount then.

Which in the long run, all the above turns out to be much less then my base rate per hour.

Now if you look at your project of a 20 page site, then take an estimated amount of hours you think it will take to complete (be fair to yourself – your time and knowledge is worth something) – then figure out what your worth is for an hourly rate.
(This estimate will be high at first)

If text is easy and pages don’t take too long to build awesome! But if you are stuck having to produce the content, well that will take time- think about clocking in at a job (office) You get paid by the hour? Now turn your hourly rate into a “project” a flat rate- 10% -15% -25% off your total?

- You can then be fair and offer a package deal but now you know what you are worth!

If I am going through a learning curve or have an issue with design, [getting caught up in the industry] I don’t add those hours into my final bill...

Yes we all take less sometimes because money coming in is better than no money –

Just remember when bidding: If you are willing to put your time & energy into a project, don’t cut yourself too short.

I know I have had a couple of clients who have really taken advantage and I have spent way too many hours on their projects without seeing any money for my efforts. A lot of it I chalk up to being my learning curve, and now I have very nice sites for my portfolio. However their freebies are ending soon (they don't know that yet)

Speaking of learning curves: If you know you’ll be learning along the way with that project- then by all means take a little less and get paid while you learn a new skill!

This is just how I am approaching my web site building business right now. I’ll admit, haven’t worked out all the bugs just yet! So if you have a suggestion – I’ll listen.

I would love to hear the formula you come up with for your business. (If you want to see my pricing I have it listed on my site –under “Rates”)

I am debating on taking the list off of there- I’m not sure if listing everything is the way to go yet, as i don’t want to scare off a client because my pricing is not cheap.

But the other side : the client knows up front the costs, for a custom site, and also knows if I give them a project price that they will be saving a lot too.... so more for
me to think about.

I hope this helps you – let me know how it goes.

oh if you want to take a look at the program I use for building sites, PM me and I'll send you a link.

__________________
Rebecca Brackney
Virtual Personal Assistant

Lisa,

There are several threads on here about RFP responses. I distinctly remember Tess putting an example of her format somewhere too. I am sure if you do a search you will find what you need.

__________________
Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

No matter what you are bidding, no matter what service you are providing, always always take the "50,000 ft look" at it. In other words, once you've completed the bid package, look at the bottom line and say "is that reasonable for the client and is that reasonable for me". Look at your competition. If you lose the bid, ask your prospect if they would mind (for your education) telling you why you didn't get the bid. Be prepared for all kinds of responses. You'll get better at it - keep plugging along.

I ran across an article today and thought it might help you: How 20 Designers Charge Their Clients

__________________

Wow, Rebecca, thanks for this great info!

__________________
Lezly Harrison
Laserdog Productions - Code that Doesn't Bite

So glad it is useful for you. I am still learning so much too, and am amazed at all the good info on the forum. It's feels good knowing I've been helpful to someone else.

__________________
Rebecca Brackney
Virtual Personal Assistant

I'm not doing web design, but I found that artile really interesting. Thanks for posting it.

I am finishing up my web design training plan in prep for starting up my VA business and am tackling Joomla first. It does have a significant learning curve but my better half is a software engineer and uses it for his site so I have a good tutor. I'm not anywhere near the pricing stage yet but these types of threads REALLY help me in thinking about pricing and also a head's up on what I'll need to go through to be profitable when I launch. Thanks for the great conversation.

Susan

congrats and good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine!