
Ask HN: WordPress Custom Page Hourly Rate? - hanniabu
I am a junior developer starting freelance and have a client that wants only one of his pages to have a custom layout.<p>I always hear about how undercutting rates on sites like Elance hurt the developers so I want to make sure I&#x27;m charging market rates.<p>How much should I charge for to make this custom page(landing page style, no extra widgets or sidebars or anything crazy)? I live in the greater NY area.<p>EDIT: Spelling
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beejhuff
Generally there are two approaches:

1) Hourly (most common) - determine what the standard rate is per hour for
this kind of work in your area, then charge that, making an allowance (read:
discount) for your level of skill. This may or may not be done using a "fixed
price" estimate, meaning you will charge for X number of hours no matter how
long it actually takes you. I'm not in your area, but my guess is that the
fair market value of these services is probably in the $75-$150 range,
depending on your level of expertise.

2) Value - determine the fair market value of the final output to the client
and base your rate upon that estimate. This is more difficult and prone to be
influenced by factors you may not be aware of (ie, if this person's relative
implemented the site for free, they may attach an unreasonable expectation of
value to the proposed change).

As I have progressed in my freelancing career I have found that one of the
first set questions I always ask after having the client explain a request to
me are:

1\. What is your budget. Making them start off the conversation about cost
helps set expectations and allows me to immediately reject the request if
their expectations are out of line with both the fair market value and my
other active projects.

2\. What is your timetable. When a client needs a request done quickly and I
have to reschedule already planned work to acommodate their request, I charge
a premium for a rush job. This is analogous to the way such requests are
handled in other media segments like print, video, and audio production.

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hanniabu
I really like your last 2 points. I also think having them start off the money
conversation so you don't undercut yourself by thinking they may not take you
if you charge too much. The last point is also great as it enables them the
option to possibly earn you more money.

Thanks for commenting beejhuff

