Web design, better yet, web design and development is something that occurs at a particular stage in the life of a business, especially in this modern era. Since the advent of the internet, it has become possible for virtually every type of business to advertise their goods and services to a larger audience by establishing an online presence through the creation of a website. This trend has paved the way for web designers to bring in big profits from a constant stream of jobs that requires website designs, and creating a WordPress based website is one of the most popular choices among web designers. Yada-yada-yada…
However, there is a seemingly challenging problem facing web designers, and that problem revolves around price. Today, most web designers are confused and their concern makes up the bulk of frequently ask questions such as “how much should web designers charge for WordPress web design?” “Should website designers charge a higher price for WordPress web design?” Some people feel that since it isn’t web design and development “from scratch” and you’re “just using a template,” it shouldn’t cost that much at all. There are some articles that would argue to the contrary. One of the issues is that some people who don’t know anything about web design feel entitled to only pay a couple hundred of dollars, if that. This is where providing a quote to a potential client can get a little irritating, especially if it’s the entitled client mentioned above.
Pricing: A Dilemma For Web Designers
Pricing practices have always been an issue not just for new WordPress web designers but also for established and experienced WordPress gurus. Pricing has always been an issue for graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and really any creative professional in general. Some web designers are quick to point out that charging higher prices for a web design project is likely going to result in project losses for the web designer due to the fact that there are so many professionals (if we’re to refer to them as that) engaged in the business of web designing, and would be glad to do the clients’ bidding at half the price you’re suggesting. And come to think of it; how many clients are willing to pay twice the amount for a WordPress design that they would otherwise get cheap somewhere else?
On the other hand, there is the group that believes that web designers should charge higher prices for WordPress web design services. A higher price tag places much value on the work that is to be done. Once again some other schools of thought believe that using value-based pricing is the best, but this too, has its challenges, especially for WordPress web designers who are just starting out. But, as one earns by necessity, using a cost-based pricing method becomes more valuable for WordPress web designers over time. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned instances, it is highly suggested that web designers charge higher for WordPress web design based on the following reasons.
Without further adieu, let’s answer this question, “why should web designers charge a higher price for WordPress web design?”
Experience Is Worth More
Web designing is a highly professional job, and as you get better at producing greater value consistently, your technical and business acumen increases. All of these embolden your knowledge and experience as a WordPress designer, which will ultimately give your client the business results they need. Considering that you have the potentials of developing a technical solution that is perfectly and functionally correct, it is only right that you charge higher for the work you do as a way of underscoring the value you bring.
Let’s look at what you have invested a lot of your time and energy into learning in order to acquire the knowledge necessary to build a website in the first place:
1) Knowing where to go to purchase the domain name
2) Knowing where to go for hosting
3) Understanding how to point your new domain to your new host
4) Using the cPanel, or whatever you use at your new host to set up your new account, your new email, and your new FTP privileges
5) Understanding what WordPress is and having the knowledge to go grab it, unzip it, and FTP it to your new domain on your new host
6) Setting up your new MySQL database
7) Configuring your new WordPress installation to connect to the new MySQL database on your new hosting package
8) Knowing about all of these fancy new terminologies and what the hell they mean
Honesty Is The Best Policy
As a web designer, deciding to charge higher for WordPress web design conveys a sense of honesty. This is one thing a lot of web designers out there have never considered. Be real with yourself when it comes to knowing how much your time and energy is worth. A lot of inexperienced web development and designing agencies/companies get clients onboard through low-bids, only to hit them with the usual but insincere tactics of “…for the new problem we just discovered…” as a way of boosting the price they charged earlier.
Another thing that some inexperienced web designers do is to adjust their pricing based on what they believe the client is willing to pay, as against what it will actually cost to do the job. At first, this may look advantageous since you feel you’re getting a great job, but many clients are wise enough to see the danger in this. They know that once you have run through the entire project, and still have a lot of work left to be done, the likelihood that you will become less committed to the completing the job is very high. Also, there is the tendency that you will be rushing through most of the work left—creating room for sloppy mistakes and poor work turnover. But when you place a higher price on the work you do, it does not only reaffirm confidence within the client regarding what you do but also shows how honest and committed you will become in performing your obligation. You also look more professional and it is more likely that the client will interpret that you are providing value.
The Complexity Of The Website
Designing a WordPress based website requires a lot of inputs. For instance, if you are a “coder” and creating a new website with heavy-duty CSS and HTML styling, including plugins, you will need to undertake lots of efforts such as strategy, branding, creating content, design, programming, and SEO. Since most WordPress web design requires such strategies and factors, it is necessary to charge a higher price for the experience put in to do the work. Creating a new website is always more complex, and time-consuming than working on an existing one.
Pricing a web design project in the correct order is one of the most important factors that help in building websites. A higher price will easily mitigate the pitfalls of a complex web design—saving you the pain, frustration, and wasted efforts.
So let’s get into the complexity, shall we?
1) You went to the domain and it say’s “Hello World.” But that’s not what the business is about! So now you have to come up with content too? Damn son (I see why that is a separate charge altogether – content writer, anyone?)
2) You need to write content. Get Tylenol for the headache you get knowing you will be spending a lot of time and money at Starbucks thinking about what to write. The English classes from high school and college should help to serve a purpose at this point. Speaking of college, how much did college cost? How many student loans did you take out to afford such a thing?
3) You might not be skilled enough to write your own web copy so you will be outsourcing that to a local (or not so local) copywriter for about $2,500 or more. Maybe less, if you’re lucky.
4) You get to the website and you don’t like the header of the free WordPress theme/template so you need to design your own. You know what this means? It means you have to open up Photoshop. That same Photoshop that you had to pay for (unless you got a torrent – don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone). Since you did the right thing and paid for it, it was most likely somewhere around $120 per year or maybe somewhere around a total of $700 (depending on when and where you purchased it). Oh yeah, we can’t forget all of those upgrades. Yes, you have to pay for those too.
5) You might not be skilled enough to design your own header, so you will most likely be outsourcing that work to a highly skilled graphic designer. Assuming you go to a professional and not your little brother or sister or weird cousin who likes to do art, you will be paying a nice few stacks of money to get the header and possibly any other graphic design work that needs to be done.
Time Is Of The Essence
All WordPress web designers spend a lot of time in creating a website. The time you might spend designing a website may sometimes take you about two weeks or less, depending on the complexity of the takes given. When you add or consider the time it will take in installing plugins, setting up the site, getting website requirements, contracts and technical specs, road mapping sessions, organizing pre-existing branding materials for the client to fill, managing the project from end-to-end, securing the site with firewall, a CDN and other best security measures. Mailing list, and API integration of social media and post-project client education, is some other factors that need to be performed. All of these take time and much dedication to accomplish such goals, and the only way to make a positive return on your efforts and the time spent is to charge a higher fee for the design and development work.
Final Thought
Pricing your WordPress design may appear difficult in the beginning stages, especially if you’re still unsure about the entire process and how clients view pricing. A higher price may look ridiculous on the surface, but as long as you remain firm in your decision, clients will interpret it as an honest and credible means of certifying your experience and quality of work. Just hope that it isn’t a potential client who thinks in the triple digits (hundreds) instead of the quadruple digits (thousands). With everything talked about in this post, it should be extremely apparent why web designers should stop with real lowball prices that border on nonsensical and always charge high for WordPress web design and development.
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