3 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
3 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How to Charge for Websites

by truly_gifted
2 replies
Is it better to charge the full fee upfront or put business owners on a monthly plan? All of the big whig business models follow a monthly billing plan for the lifetime of the customer.

Maybe it's less threatening to the client to be billed monthly since the amount isn't so huge. But, when you look at the actual cost, they pay more for the monthly billing. So which do you think is best?
#charge #websites
  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    I have a friend who does large sites, $25,000 a whack. He went to a rental model. 10% to start, 10% go live (basically $5,000 to get rolling). Then he charges 2% a month forever. In 40 months he hits his break even. Most of his sites are with well established companies and he expects at least five years out of the deal or more. So he's up about $10,000 at five years.

    Now, it does get better. He charges for every bit of extra work at $100 an hour. He'll bill out at least an extra $2,000 a year for maintenance work.

    So, if you can do the lease system you'll make far more in the long term. Now in his case the sites are very custom so he can't roll them over. But he owns them and has total control.

    If you can do so, the rental thing is great. You are in control so if they don't pay they don't get their site. If you are paid a fixed fee then they will always bother you and expect work for free.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3792349].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author truly_gifted
    I get what you're saying and that's perfectly understandable. It eliminates the unnecessary headaches while making sure that your bottom line is secure.

    So, let me ask you this. Does he offer a buyout option? You know, in case a client got tired of paying monthly, they could just pay a one-time fee and go. Of course, they'd probably have to pay more if they ever wanted him to touch the site again, but you get my point.
    Signature
    Is your offline business picking up, but the work of building websites got you down?
    For just $100, I will build and customize a full 5 page Wordpress website for your clients.

    SPECIAL OFFER FIRST 5 WARRIORS - BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3792375].message }}

Trending Topics