So I hope this is an ok question, but I am just starting to build freelance websites, and I was wondering about pricing. The sites I'll be building will probably be anywhere from 5 to 20 pages and include perhaps a form page and/or video. Any ideas on what is a valid starting point?

Also, I build mainly using XHTML and CSS, with minimal Javascript to keep the sites clean and usable.

It depending how many pages and what kind of functionality that you are using.

the modern website should not be charged per page, but for overall layout, usability and manageability. The normal price for a website built by me starts at €900,-, to give you a ball park. But there are 1000's of webdesigners that build a site for a tenth of that price, and 1000's of designers that won't even get started for that money... It's such a fractured market.

Thanks for the response, I build my sites to be as user friendly and able to be worked on by fellow designers as possible and was thinking of starting at around $2000 for a 5-10 page site, but don't want to be too out of range.

It really depends on your skill level, honestly. I've seen some people charge 1000 bucks for something that looked like a 1st year college student with front page. Compare yourself and your skill level to others, and base your price accordingly. Really though unless you're totally terrible, you don't want to get less than $500. My rates are a good bit above that, but that's only because I've got around 7 years experience with a good number of sites around my belt

Thanks atomaweapon, would it be wrong to show you a site i recently built for the company i work for, and ask what you would charge for a similar site. I created it entirely myself, but is my first website which is why i'm unsure as of what to charge...

yeah post it and let us check it out

Thanks atomaweapon, would it be wrong to show you a site i recently built for the company i work for, and ask what you would charge for a similar site. I created it entirely myself, but is my first website which is why i'm unsure as of what to charge...
You can post that in Other Reviews ;)

It all depends on the complexity of the project (static, dynamic, languages used, database setup, etc). When our team typically designs a site it takes 4-10 business days to complete. We tend to target dynamic types of sites that have a full backend to administer and draw reports from. I would say on on average our clients spend 3-4,000 dollars. Then we charge a flat hourly maintenance fee for any additional work beyond the initial scope of the site.

And also, it's not just about complexity of functionality, it's also about the effort and quality of the work as well. I give my clients this example sometimes to illustrate. "You can have a Nissan Sentra, or a Mercedes Benz! Both are vehicles and have many of the same functions. But one is of much higher quality than the other!" It's the same with websites. So your price really depends on your expertise level and also on the time and detail of work you plan on giving your customers.

If you only need some static webpages, using Microsoft Words to design, cheap and good looking.

If you have transactions or information collection, you might need a professinal to help you. Usually, this kind of small project, companies charge by hours.

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It depends on the amount of time spend on design,
If the complicity is less you can get it done for $$.

Functionality - How many pages - Graphics and so on
You'd better to care about them and then decide the kind of the price.