I look at it like this.

If they like you site/portfolio and they hire you they will like you end product.

If they are serious about hiring you they shouldn't mind paying 10%-20% deposit.

I personally have 2 sites. 1 i don't take a deposit. other i look for all the money upfront!

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If I work for a client, who is regular and gives me work always, I do not take any deposit.

If I meet someone new, I ask them to open a project in Odesk or Freelancer.

Whatever it is, I do the development on my server ALWAYS, so that they do not get the work for free.

Never started to do anything before getting the 50% upfront.
(Long time returning customers are treated differently)

Always get a deposit up front - if you don't start now, you'll start the first time you get burned by a client.

I base mine on the workload and cost, creating milestones in the project that correspond with payments. That way, if a client bails out or takes a long time in getting draft approvals or info to you, you're not stuck playing lender, and you've been paid for your time and effort.

If it's a quick job and inexpensive, then 50% is fine.

Similar to Charlie I always ask for 50% up front, 25% on first delivery and final payment when the customer is 100% satisfied. If the estimate is higher than $2500 then I break payments into milestones but still ask for at least 25% up front.

Aloha,
Fred

It depends upon what you are charging. If all I am doing is dropping some theme on a Wordpress site and they take it from there, that is cheap and it is always paid in advance.

For more complex site design, though, you should always have a deposit and a development contract so they don't waste your time.

So there it is. Thanks guys I will start to ask for a deposit in future.And I agree and think using milestones would be a good thing for larger projects.