Why I charge a lot for a website

Googling “web design price” returns so many price variations it would drive anyone — especially a newbie freelance web designer/developer — up the wall.  It’s not funny.  You’ll see prices like “$299 for a 4-6 page website,” $350 a homepage & $75/page,” etc.

This is cheap, but usually they’re also ugly because these websites use already-made, boilerplate templates, which, in the end, makes the website just like the 50,000 others already out there.

Designing and developing a website takes a lot of time and effort, especially if the person working on it has his/her reputation on the line.  Being a believer of “you get what you pay for,” I believe this also applies to web design/development.  You can either buy a Toyota Corolla (cheap and like everbody else’s car) or get a Ferrari (expensive but unique).

A passionate and good designer/developer would employ the following (at the least):

  • Best practices
  • Standards-compliance
  • Use optimal CSS/XHTML structure and adaptation
  • Compose professional-looking graphics
  • Create a clean, unique, and striking feel of the website
  • Be so detail-oriented as to having OCD (e.g. looks at pixel spacing)

I’m writing this blog not to preach or rant, but to share my experience and explain why I charge $1,500 and up to design/develop a website.  I’ll say it again, it comes down to “you get what you pay for.”  Heck, I put in a lot of time and effort, not to mention the time I’m losing from spending time with my family, to create that quality website.

Red face and bloodshot eyes when drinking alcohol

I’m Filipino-American and feel cursed…when it comes to drinking alcohol.  After a bottle of beer, my face turns red and my eyes are bloodshot.  Since I can remember I’ve always been like this, and to tell you the truth, I feel embarrassed when it happens.  This is why I like hanging out in dark places so people won’t notice.  Good thing is I’m not the only who experiences this.  There’s actually a name for it…it’s called the Asian Flush.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to read the article, Asian Flush: Asians and Alcohol, to get a better understanding why it happens and how to deal with it.  Sorry, there’s nothing you can really do to get rid of it.  If anything, accept it and move on.  That’s what I’ll try to do.