Costs of a web designer?

[friendofdorothy]

I'm applying for funding for a new website for a tiny charity, and need some rough costs for a proposed budget. The deadline is really soon so I have no time to get proper estimates. We can apply for upto £10,000
All help with some really vague figures welcome.

I don't want to say too much that will identify me so I will delete some of this soon.

This would be a website for an activist campaign about an important social issue involving < deleted >

I'm not asking any of you to be my web designer or pitch for the work yet.

Many many thanks.

 

[Petcha]

Just use Squarespace - most people do these days. You can do it all yourself.

Website Builder — Create a Website in Minutes — Squarespace

Create a customizable website or online store with an all-in-one solution from Squarespace. Choose a website template and start your free trial today.

www.squarespace.com

You can make it for free then pay once you're ready to get rid of their branding if you want to.

I just lost my job so have free time if you need help on there but it's pretty easy.

 

[Petcha]

I volunteer for this charity and someone else who volunteers there who knows nothing about web design created this in squarespace pretty easily

Mudchute Park and Farm

www.mudchute.org

 

[friendofdorothy]

Just use Squarespace - most people do these days. You can do it all yourself.

NO! No nooooooooooo any sentence that begins 'Just.. ' is bound to suggest something difficult, time consuming or downright impossible.

As I said i want to pay someone professional who will dedicate time to doing it well. There is funding available and I'm applying for it.

Never mind.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I volunteer for this charity and someone else who volunteers there who knows nothing about web design created this in squarespace pretty easily

How nice you have volunteers with time and skill.

 

[Petcha]

NO! No nooooooooooo any sentence that begins 'Just.. ' is bound to suggest something difficult, time consuming or downright impossible.

As I said i want to pay someone professional who will dedicate time to doing it well. There is funding available and I'm applying for it.

Never mind.

Web designers use Squarespace (including me). These platforms have totally changed the industry. Designers aren't using Dreamweaver anymore or whatever it is you were thinking!

 

[Petcha]

But hey if you wanna pay someone then I'm free. People don't build websites from scratch anymore, very rarely anyway.

 

[friendofdorothy]

But hey if you wanna pay someone then I'm free. People don't build websites from scratch anymore, very rarely anyway.

Yes and how much would you charge? I don't know what dreamweaver is and don't care what software is used. I just need a functional website.

 

[Petcha]

Yes and how much would you charge? I don't care what software is used.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not pitching for it - but 10k seems quite excessive for what I assume is a fairly simple site. Hard to quote until a proper brief though.

 

[Red Cat]

I've just started using Squarespace and it seems excellent and largely intuitive.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I've just deleted the detailed brief.

Don't need a quote just a rough idea eg £1000ish? £5000 ish ? then £? per year for updating

 

[Petcha]

A designer wouldn't really be able to quote until they see some kind of structure of the site - ie, how many pages, what assets are required. In terms of updates, you'll be able to do all that yourself on squarespace once it's set up. honestly, it's dead simple.

I'd recommend you create a basic site structure in Powerpoint with each page and the draft content you'd like on there, then a designer would quote. Maybe 1-2k, but would entirely depend on what you want on there.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I'd recommend you create a basic site structure in Powerpoint with each page and the draft content you'd like on there, then a designer would quote. Maybe 1-2k, but would entirely depend on what you want on there.

That cheap?

 

[Silas Loom]

Worth getting the designer to write an absolutely idiot-proof guide to updating the site, as well, covering every possible change, and including screen shots.

You may well need to get a professional to help you when Squarespace or whatever inevitably updates all its settings or starts charging for essential functionality, but the dedicated layperson’s manual should keep the activists going without any awkwardness about whether ongoing support from the designer is chargeable.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Has anyone here in the universe, in their job commissioned anyone to produce a proffessional, multi page, information based website? Involving linking to other resources and getting permissions to use research and media articles. Together with some writing, and videoing some content? and making sure it's accessible?

I just need a rough guessitimate for a funding application, which I need to submit this week.

I'm not into DIY. I'm busy campaigning and trying to change the adult care system and have zero interest in mucking about with any of the tech stuff myself. We have no staff to do any support, admin or updating.

 

[Silas Loom]

Has anyone here in the universe, in their job commissioned anyone to produce a proffessional, multi page, information based website? Involving linking to other resources and getting permissions to use research and media articles. Together with some writing, and videoing some content? and making sure it's accessible?

I just need a rough guessitimate for a funding application, which I need to submit this week.

I'm not into DIY. I'm busy campaigning and trying to change the adult care system and have zero interest in mucking about with any of the tech stuff myself. We have no staff to do any support, admin or updating.

Yes. Thrice.

And the cost is very much down to the number of pages, as Petcha has already explained. Especially if you want writing and stuff done as well, which is way out of design scope.

Websites should never be built under the assumption that they are going to be completely static - especially in a field that changes quickly.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Worth getting the designer to write an absolutely idiot-proof guide to updating the site, as well, covering every possible change, and including screen shots.

You may well need to get a professional to help you when Squarespace or whatever inevitably updates all its settings or starts charging for essential functionality, but the idiot’s manual should keep the activists going without any awkwardness about whether ongoing support from the designer is chargeable.

We don't have an internal Comms person, or any staff. I need a proffessional tho help with all of it.

Any idea of costs? Daily rates?

 

[friendofdorothy]

Yes. Thrice.

And the cost is very much down to the number of pages, as Petcha has already explained.

How much a page?

 

[Silas Loom]

How much a page?

Say £400-£1000+ get out of bed price for a designer, covering the briefing process and maybe getting a logo out of them too, then 60% of that for a page which requires lots of templating and new work, then 10% of that for a page which requires only minor work.

Then £150-£300 per thousand words for writing copy, which is definitely not a skill most designers have.

Then however much all the AV stuff costs - an extra grand maybe?

I know you don’t have other resources but chasing for permissions really sounds like an activist job. I’d expect a designer to know how to find royalty free pics where needed.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Thanks Silas Loom that is helpful

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Just use Squarespace - most people do these days. You can do it all yourself.

Website Builder — Create a Website in Minutes — Squarespace

Create a customizable website or online store with an all-in-one solution from Squarespace. Choose a website template and start your free trial today.

www.squarespace.com

You can make it for free then pay once you're ready to get rid of their branding if you want to.

I just lost my job so have free time if you need help on there but it's pretty easy.

Not everybody has an eye for design either. I'm pretty sure I could teach myself to use squarespace easily enough

But you really wouldn't want anything I produced.

 

[Silas Loom]

Thanks Silas Loom that is helpful

It’s very much a ballpark, and my experiences of commissioning websites come from 2005, 2012 and 2015, so are out of step with cost of living increases, but on the other hand web design is increasingly a commodity skill so maybe there hasn’t been too much inflation.

Actual web designers may disagree with me violently!

 

[friendofdorothy]

So if I say £5000 for the web design
£2000 for writing, proofreading and £1000 for creating video
£500 for admin support / checking permissions etc.

Then how much do you have to pay a year to have it on the internet. I don't know what that is called or who you have to pay but I presume it's not free

 

[friendofdorothy]

Not everybody has an eye for design either. I'm pretty sure I could teach myself to use squarespace easily enough

But you really wouldn't want anything I produced.

Yes I've had a few people wanting to volunteer such services. I can see from their dress sense they have no sense of style. They also look blank when I ask would it be accessible to people with visual impairments.

I used to be a graphic designer before the internet. I may know if things look good and legible but I have no idea how to start with a website.

 

[Silas Loom]

So if I say £5000 for the web design
£2000 for writing, proofreading and £1000 for creating video
£500 for admin support / checking permissions etc.

Then how much do you have to pay a year to have it on the internet. I don't know what that is called or who you have to pay but I presume it's not free

Hosting for an HTML or wordpress site will be trivial, £30-£60 a year depending on who ends up buying the firm you started with, and how much they increase the price by when you’re not looking. And depending on how many email accounts you get with that, as it’s silly to buy hosting and email separately. So budget for as many years as you are allowed to on the grant application!

Squarespace is about £200 a year depending on on whether you can get away with saying it’s a personal site or whether the business rate of £24/month applies. And then of course you wouldn’t blend that with email or domain registration services.

You should also budget another 60-80% of the get out of bed base rate for the manual I mentioned above!

 

[UnderOpenSky]

So if I say £5000 for the web design
£2000 for writing, proofreading and £1000 for creating video
£500 for admin support / checking permissions etc.

Then how much do you have to pay a year to have it on the internet. I don't know what that is called or who you have to pay but I presume it's not free

It's called hosting. Again price will vary depending on how much content you have and how much it's viewed.

 

[friendofdorothy]

It’s very much a ballpark, and my experiences of commissioning websites come from 2005, 2012 and 2015, so are out of step with cost of living increases, but on the other hand web design is increasingly a commodity skill so maybe there hasn’t been too much inflation.

Actual web designers may disagree with me violently!

I was hoping a few web designers might hang out here. Maybe they are all busy

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Hosting for an HTLM site will be trivial, £30-£60 a year depending on who ends up buying the firm you started with, and how much they increase the price by when you’re not looking. And depending on how many email accounts you get with that, as it’s silly to buy hosting and email separately. So budget for as many years as you are allowed to on the grant application!

Squarespace is about £200 a year depending on on whether you can get away with saying it’s a personal site or whether the business rate of £24/month applies.

I'll respectfully disagree with this. I'd 100 percent keep email and hosting separate. But ask ITs opinion.

 

[Silas Loom]

I was hoping a few web designers might hang out here. Maybe they are all busy

No, they are nocturnal, or at best crepuscular. You just have to adapt and work around that.

 

[Silas Loom]

I'll respectfully disagree with this. I'd 100 percent keep email and hosting separate. But ask ITs opinion.

No respect needed - but I think it’s the cheapest option for a tiny group of activists or a one man band. Any organisation that has any FTEs on payroll should definitely do as you suggest, by far the most sensible option in terms of security and lower costs at scale.