I am thinking about starting my own little web designing business on the side, and am completely lost...do not know what to charge...do not know where to start... blaaah...

Last weekend I have began my attempts in working on my web site, which I will post here once it is completed, and I am looking for any advice that can help me out.
What web hosts would you recommend, pricing...I am going to be aiming towards a small market...

Eeek...help!

Dont know any thing about web designing. But Good Luck on your new adventure

Vepl

Thanks Vepl, I will surely need it!

It's something I've been kicking around for a while, and decided to finally dig my heels in and go for it.

I do web dev on the side, and teach it for a living

Off the top of my head....

Make friends with people who are skilled in the areas you're either less skilled in or don't enjoy as much. For example, I'm primarily a programmer, so I have a graphic designer friend I can turn to when a design concept is over my head. I have a friend in marketing who can give me statistics on market demographics and things like that, for planning web site features. Other areas to make friends in - writing and proofreading, for clients who don't provide their own text/copy - server and database administration, for managing your development server and helping with web hosting, domain name registration, DNS configuration, etc - an accountant, for making sure you do your taxes correctly.

I would suggest becoming a reseller for a web hosting company as well, so that you can offer a one-stop-shop for your customers. Personally, I recommend Wild West Domains (the reseller arm of Go Daddy) - http://www.wildwestdomains.com - For $99/year, you get a fully turnkey web site that you can use to sell domain names, hosting, site building wizards, copyright packages, search engine submission tools, and more. Plus, you will then qualify to get wholesale pricing on your own personal purchases.

Look into the rules for acquiring a business checking account and DBA ("doing business as" - so you can register your company name) license in your county. It makes it easier to do your taxes properly if you keep business financial transactions separate from personal ones. You may even want to consider talking to a lawyer and incorporating your company (though I just work under a DBA license from my county, out of my home). Generally, there's some fee to pay (it was $5 in my county, but $65 in the county next door to mine), and then you have to run a newspaper ad for 3 weeks announcing your intention to do business from your residential location under your assumed business name.

As for what to charge... it really depends what you're doing. Assuming you will be doing completely customized and unique web sites (no Front Page templates or any other pre-fab junk), I recommend anywhere from $35-55 an hour for static sites (ie. XHTML, CSS, JavaScript). $55-$85/hour for web applications (database, server-side programming such as PHP or ASP .NET) or Ruby on Rails, Cold Fusion, etc.

The way I price my services is to sit down with the client and complete a needs analysis. Then, figure out how long I plan to work on the project (include time for 3 rounds of changes when your client chooses a logo and a web design layout). Then, multiply the hours you think you'll work times your hourly rate (plus any web hosting or domain name fees, etc). Quote that price to the client. If the project stays within its original specifications but I go over that time, I eat the cost. If I end up under the time, yay for me. If the client needs changes to the site that weren't originally part of the contract, work up a new quote for those changes and add a change order to the existing contract (ie. charge more!)

Clients generally don't like an open-ended "per hour" kind of thing. I don't tell my clients my hourly rate. I give them a solid quote, and that's the price - but I use my own hourly rate to figure out that quote.

Also, check into the laws in your state as to whether you have to charge sales tax. Web design is still a gray area. Some states want the service charged, other don't. (It depends on whether your state considers it a service, or if they consider a web site to be a tangible product that requires taxation). If you should be charging sales tax and you don't, you could end up with a big debt on your hands.

That's all I can think of right now!

Hope that helps!

And don't do ANY work for free!

I mess around with web design as a hobby and a friend of mine asked me to help him with a small web site he wanted. Like an idiot I agreed. Now here we are a year later, and probably 100 hours of my time!! He has become a leech. (the site looks horrid but he likes it.)

I don't care if it is your mother...no freebies!!

Sometimes I work for food

Good Luck hun, hope it all goes well for you

Thank you everyone, great advice! Kitiara I am printing out your post lol!! Lots of help!

See...I am going to be making web sites for race car drivers at our local track, and I will be doing one for free...well he is going to be covering my costs, domain registration and hosting etc... for exchange of a decal of my logo on his race car. This is to get me started. And of course I am doing the "hubby's" racing site for free... But other than that, no freebies!

Always give out business cards!

Plus

http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artist...e=UTF8&s=books

...its for graphic design in general, but it has a web graphics included. I use it as a base then I ajust my pricing based on my skill and economy!

Good luck! =D

Good luck, Petra! I don't think it's a freebie to do a site in exchange for some advertising on the race car You're just accepting something other than cash for payment. Sounds like a good exchange to me!

Forgot to mention a good book (atlas607's post reminded me!)

I have a book called "How to Start a Home Based Web Design Business." It's in its 3rd edition now (most recent edition is brand new - I don't even have it yet. I've got the 1st and 2nd editions). Very helpful!
http://www.amazon.com/How-Start-Home...e=UTF8&s=books