Determining web design/maintenance fee?

A

Andy Asberry

I designed a web page for a 6000 member non-profit livestock
association. I have maintained the site for 6 years at no cost.
Admittedly, it is not a competitive area but the site consistently
ranks #1 on Google out of 178,000.

It has progressed to the point where I'm spending 20 to 40 hours per
month to research information, maintain membership rolls, receive
classified ads, write articles, etc.

I don't think it could be done by someone with no knowledge of
livestock and the people in the industry. I have fielded almost 500
e-mails for information in the last year. If I resign, I fear the site
would wither and become just another "here is our address and phone
number" page.

Lately, I've gotten a little thin skinned by the demands of some of
the members. "Why haven't I had any results from my classified ad?"
Uh, maybe it is because your e-mail was hotmail and now it is yahoo? I
admit I feel unappreciated. But maybe those wounds could be salved
with a little cash.

I'm far from a newbie but just as far from an expert. what would be a
fair fee to charge for something such as this?
 
J

John Prescott

My thoughts entirely.
I've been doing something very similar for a number of years with a
very well known and respected international car club. I continue to
do it because I once wrote the inhouse membership and car database for
which I charged a reasonable amount. Members and club now think that
they have got a God given right to call on me at any time and are
horrified if I say I'll charge for my time.

I designed a web page for a 6000 member non-profit livestock
association. I have maintained the site for 6 years at no cost.
Admittedly, it is not a competitive area but the site consistently
ranks #1 on Google out of 178,000.

It has progressed to the point where I'm spending 20 to 40 hours per
month to research information, maintain membership rolls, receive
classified ads, write articles, etc.

I don't think it could be done by someone with no knowledge of
livestock and the people in the industry. I have fielded almost 500
e-mails for information in the last year. If I resign, I fear the site
would wither and become just another "here is our address and phone
number" page.

Lately, I've gotten a little thin skinned by the demands of some of
the members. "Why haven't I had any results from my classified ad?"
Uh, maybe it is because your e-mail was hotmail and now it is yahoo? I
admit I feel unappreciated. But maybe those wounds could be salved
with a little cash.

I'm far from a newbie but just as far from an expert. what would be a
fair fee to charge for something such as this?
Click to expand...

Regards, John Prescott

Paymaster Systems Ltd,
Moorlands House, Oldfield Road, Bromley, Kent. BR1 2LE
TEL: 020 8467 6107 FAX: 020 8467 6121
e-mail: [email protected] website <http://www.oursite.co.uk>
 
M

Murray

You are absolutely within rights to ask for money. If they don't want to
pay, then walk away. They'll pay you, or they'll pay someone else.
 
A

Andy Asberry

You are absolutely within rights to ask for money. If they don't want to
pay, then walk away. They'll pay you, or they'll pay someone else.
Click to expand...

OK, I'm convinced. But how much?
 
T

Tom Pepper Willett

What is *your* time, knowledge and experience worth?

--
===
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Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
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| On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 07:27:05 -0500, "Murray"
|
| >You are absolutely within rights to ask for money. If they don't want to
| >pay, then walk away. They'll pay you, or they'll pay someone else.
|
| OK, I'm convinced. But how much?
 
B

brookend_ratty

I thik you should charge a minimum of £200 per day (which is about an IT
free-lance public sector trainer rate) and a plausible £1000 a day which is a
professional designer rate. To have designed that website from nothing
would have cost them c£20,000 I'd guess.
 
W

Windsun

If it is a maintenance only site where you spend maybe 30 hours a month at
it I would not go less than 30 hours x minimum wage. Now, that is a lot
less than what a full time web designer would charge, but from what I
understand, this is also somewhat related to your "real" work - so kind of a
semi-charity case.

And to some extent the idea of charging a fee is not just for the money, but
as a wake up call to the whiners.

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