You allow me to put a screenshot of the design
on this page; ($5 extra if you don't)
You could reword that clause so your clients feel they're getting something valuable for their $5.
Please note that I post all designs to my public
portfolio and this website. If you need the design
to stay secret, it only costs $5 more
Or you could invert your pricing. So you start off as "designfor20bucks" and offer a $5 discount if you can add the image to your public portfolio and post it on the site. People generally feel better about getting a deal than getting hit with extra costs unexpectedly.
I don't think the $5 makes a huge difference: and this way, the designer has more chance that people will allow him to post the design into his portfolio.
I'm pretty sure he is not doing it for the money, but rather to get some experience and build up his portfolio.
Hitchhiker: Think about it. You walk into a design store, you see designfor15bucks.com sittin' there, there's designfor14bucks.com right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?
Ted: I would go for the 14.
Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. designfor14bucks.com. And we guarantee just as good a design as the designfor15bucks.com folk.
Ted: You guarantee it? That's - how do you do that?
Hitchhiker: If you're not happy with the first 14 bucks of design, we're gonna send you the extra dollar of design free. You see? That's it. That's our motto. That's where we're comin' from. That's from "A" to "B".
Ted: That's right. That's - that's good. That's good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with designfor13bucks.com. Then you're in trouble, huh?
No no, not 13. I said 14. Nobody's coming up with 13. Who makes a web design in 13 minutes?
14's the key number here. Think about it. 14 days in a fortnight. 14 - the atomic number of silicon. 14 stations of the cross. 14, man, that's the number.
but on the web, there is no street on which to see sites next to each other.
I knew a jewellery company once which had two sites. One was all red and gold and stars and flashing things, the other was all purple and white and curvy things. The items on the purple posh looking one were 15% more expensive. Same products on each - heck, it was the same database, product description and images on each site!
Point is, this is the internet, you can do that kind of thing.
Assuming it takes you at least 1-2 hours per design (and even with mad photoshop skillz it's unlikely it'd be much shorter than that), you're probably better off getting an office job somewhere, or even maybe a burger-flipping job. Given all the additional expenses of running your own business, this is probably not a viable business model (i.e. you will lose money on the whole).
The only way this would be justified is if you use this as a source of clients to up-sell more expensive work to.
I don't know where this guy comes from. But, USD15/hour is a very high rate in many countries. Or, he is just trying to build up his portfolio and get his name out there.
This seems like a very good approach to attract people attention.
I like the idea, and I believe you have a market, but your prices are too low. More importantly it won't scale with inflation. In 10 years, that $15 will be worth around $10 but you will have all SEO links pointing to a domain that is most likely in need of change (You are stuck with a particular price with the domain name you have now).
$15 is way too low. I don't know where you are located, but you need to do some market research to figure out what you want to make per hour, how long the average project will take you, how many projects you can do a week, and what your overhead is per week (to figure overhead per project). Once you have those numbers, you will have a better price point.
Also, keep have a plan for what you want to do if there is more demand than you can support. Do you hire others? If so, will others work for that price and if so, how much do you need to make to pay them appropriately?
I hope above all you do not find my post discouraging. Instead, I hope you continue on with what you are doing, tweaking it to make is sustainable for as long as you wish to do it!
Although given that this seems to be run as an experiment, so far it seems to be rather successful. Granted, in the long term it might not be sustainable, but for the short term it can provide a number of benefits. First of all the designer will be getting lots of practice and making a number of contacts while building up a good portfolio of examples. Also the low price makes it a low risk for anyone trying it out, so it is the type of experiment they can be tried with little cost and quickly.
I would find it interesting to see what the designer ends up doing as a result of this experiment.
Instead of penalising the customer($5) for not listing their design, offer it as a discount for listing their site. So, base cost $20, but with listing only $15!
You should only do one a day, and if someone wants to jump the line they can big higher than $15!!!
I'm going to put the Launch conference www.launch.is/conference and ThisWeekIn.com up for $50 each right now. $100 is no risk... if you have one good idea in each design it would be worth it.
One variation would be to charge $15 per iteration. The first one might take you 2 hours, but each additional iteration might only take 15 minutes, in which case it becomes more economical.
Then you're possibly incentivized to do subpar work the first time around to ensure a second round. On the other hand, if you push that too far it will make for a bad reputation. Also, if there is enough new work coming in then it's probably better to spend the time with new clients (with the aim in mind to up-sell later).
Thats why i quit making colorful pictures for "blind" people with small pockets long time ago.
Time (effort spend) to return (money) equation is terrible.
Its shameful that todays perception on web design is PSD layered file.
Web design is a process of communication of an idea/marketing concept to a consumer.
Web design is UX thinking.
Than:
Web design is UI doing.
Than:
Web design is a illustration.
I don't see how the Client will perceive this low price PSD oriented service with less expectations.
The price is so low that its not serious, it's a joke.
Advice:
Make some sassy layouts, put them online in portfolio section. Than put up your price per hour.
Give a client full service, feedback, comments on their ideas, professional advice etc.
But:
Value in web design is not in pictures. It is in successful conceptualization of your professional view on clients problems.
Years ago i stop offering cool pictures, and start learning more about technology in front-end (html.css.js), UX, marketing, communication with customer and now i perceive the web design process as a whole of many valuable parts.
If you are in desperate position, do some freelancing or get a routine job and invest in your self in your spare time:))
I'm wondering, as I'm not making any money (devoting time to a startup idea) right now, if anyone would be interested in a similar service for the markup?
I'm really quite good and would charge $15/page. I can offer impressive turn around times and even CMS(WordPress) integration for an additional flat-fee($250?).
A service already exists for this -- http://psd2html.com . Not trying to dissuade you from doing it yourself, but you should take a look at them (I've used them in the past -- it's about $100-200 for basic pages, and was totally worth it as it saved me a few hours of work).
Would you be cutting it up onto a 'backbone' of our choosing (like 960.gs or blueprint) ? (Obviously this will depend on the overall design, but hopefully the idea is clear).
I just started a new blog and wanted a nice design for it. $15 is definitely a good price, if it's a decent design. (Note that I said 'decent' and not 'outstanding'. I know what design is really worth.)
But without some samples, it feels like I'm just throwing away $15.
For $15 you can test the waters. How much do you make in an hour? How long will it take you to design your own web site? In other words, is it worth the $15 gamble to see if someone can come up with something to blow you away?
Somebody could offer it sans HTML/CSS, charge $150 and still stay busy IMO. My basic mate's rates fee for that sort of job is $1000-1500 for a PSD.
That said, $15-20 is comfortably in that "If it doesn't work out, who cares" bracket. The problem will be that for many people, time is far more crucial than the cost. If I need a turnaround of 3-4 days, and the queue is 7+ days, it won't matter if it's $15 or 15 cents.
Intermediate level front-end web developers are costly due to high demand and the work is arguably more difficult. I agree the $150 might be great for someone offshore though.
In any case I like the idea behind the $15 blind design since designers tend to suffer from "I like it but..." with indefinite tweaks and last minute changes. I wouldn't be surprised if customers end up going through several iterations...which would still be inexpensive in this case.
You know... most of the comments in response have been negative. Some have said the $5 charge for keeping the design off the portfolio is phrased wrong. Some have said the price is too low. Some have criticized the site design, but you know what? In about an hour, this guy got more customers than he could even deal with.
He now has a collection of email addresses he can send an announcement to when he launches a "real" web design company. He has a bunch of examples he can show of real customers using his designs. He has the experience of actually having someone pay him for his work. Heck, he even got over 200 HN karma out of the deal.
Nice! Do you want to tell us something about your background? I'm thinking a lot of people will see this as absurd, but if you're not spending too long on each individual design, $10-15 and hour is great money for a student or hobbyist, especially since you're developing a marketable skill at the same time.
Also, the #1 recommendation here is gonna be to put something up under "latest designs", even if you haven't had any clients yet. The first customer is the hardest, and you can help that along by putting a few coins in the proverbial hat yourself. (Although I realize the site itself is an example of your design :)
Or you could spend $3 by going to a local internet cafe (or Kinkos or whatever) and downloading the free 30-day trial vesion (Assuming they don't already have a copy there)
Great concept, love the branding, and love the marketing built into the concept. Not a lot of fluff on the page, just the necessities. And once you get busier and have a portfolio, you can start charging more, more, and more until you're getting a good return on your time.
Helluva business model, love the thought that went into it. If there's anyway I can help, let me know. Tweeting commencing right....meow!
[+] [-] Sukotto|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bajsejohannes|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TamDenholm|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tibix|15 years ago|reply
I'm pretty sure he is not doing it for the money, but rather to get some experience and build up his portfolio.
[+] [-] khangtoh|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hoop|15 years ago|reply
Ted: I would go for the 14.
Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. designfor14bucks.com. And we guarantee just as good a design as the designfor15bucks.com folk.
Ted: You guarantee it? That's - how do you do that?
Hitchhiker: If you're not happy with the first 14 bucks of design, we're gonna send you the extra dollar of design free. You see? That's it. That's our motto. That's where we're comin' from. That's from "A" to "B".
Ted: That's right. That's - that's good. That's good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with designfor13bucks.com. Then you're in trouble, huh?
[+] [-] Legion|15 years ago|reply
14's the key number here. Think about it. 14 days in a fortnight. 14 - the atomic number of silicon. 14 stations of the cross. 14, man, that's the number.
[+] [-] user24|15 years ago|reply
I knew a jewellery company once which had two sites. One was all red and gold and stars and flashing things, the other was all purple and white and curvy things. The items on the purple posh looking one were 15% more expensive. Same products on each - heck, it was the same database, product description and images on each site!
Point is, this is the internet, you can do that kind of thing.
[+] [-] nhangen|15 years ago|reply
To be honest, if I see:
Design for $15
or
Design for $50
I'm choosing 50 because I'm hoping that he has fewer clients, values himself more, and isn't going to give me crappy design.
[+] [-] swombat|15 years ago|reply
The only way this would be justified is if you use this as a source of clients to up-sell more expensive work to.
[+] [-] siong1987|15 years ago|reply
This seems like a very good approach to attract people attention.
[+] [-] tlrobinson|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jacquesm|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DavidBishop|15 years ago|reply
$15 is way too low. I don't know where you are located, but you need to do some market research to figure out what you want to make per hour, how long the average project will take you, how many projects you can do a week, and what your overhead is per week (to figure overhead per project). Once you have those numbers, you will have a better price point.
Also, keep have a plan for what you want to do if there is more demand than you can support. Do you hire others? If so, will others work for that price and if so, how much do you need to make to pay them appropriately?
I hope above all you do not find my post discouraging. Instead, I hope you continue on with what you are doing, tweaking it to make is sustainable for as long as you wish to do it!
[+] [-] steveklabnik|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rgoddard|15 years ago|reply
I would find it interesting to see what the designer ends up doing as a result of this experiment.
[+] [-] revorad|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jasonmcalacanis|15 years ago|reply
You should only do one a day, and if someone wants to jump the line they can big higher than $15!!!
I'm going to put the Launch conference www.launch.is/conference and ThisWeekIn.com up for $50 each right now. $100 is no risk... if you have one good idea in each design it would be worth it.
i love this idea!
[+] [-] tlrobinson|15 years ago|reply
One variation would be to charge $15 per iteration. The first one might take you 2 hours, but each additional iteration might only take 15 minutes, in which case it becomes more economical.
[+] [-] LiveTheDream|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lhorie|15 years ago|reply
- the linked images have blue borders around them, look ugly
- you could put a couple of samples up if a design costs just $15 worth of your time
- I hope you don't live in North America or Europe, otherwise, you're undercharging.
[+] [-] NxguiGui|15 years ago|reply
I don't see how the Client will perceive this low price PSD oriented service with less expectations. The price is so low that its not serious, it's a joke.
Advice:
Make some sassy layouts, put them online in portfolio section. Than put up your price per hour. Give a client full service, feedback, comments on their ideas, professional advice etc.
But: Value in web design is not in pictures. It is in successful conceptualization of your professional view on clients problems.
Years ago i stop offering cool pictures, and start learning more about technology in front-end (html.css.js), UX, marketing, communication with customer and now i perceive the web design process as a whole of many valuable parts.
If you are in desperate position, do some freelancing or get a routine job and invest in your self in your spare time:))
[+] [-] Staydecent|15 years ago|reply
I'm really quite good and would charge $15/page. I can offer impressive turn around times and even CMS(WordPress) integration for an additional flat-fee($250?).
[+] [-] corin_|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jordanlev|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mdda|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wccrawford|15 years ago|reply
But without some samples, it feels like I'm just throwing away $15.
[+] [-] calloc|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] acangiano|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] prawn|15 years ago|reply
That said, $15-20 is comfortably in that "If it doesn't work out, who cares" bracket. The problem will be that for many people, time is far more crucial than the cost. If I need a turnaround of 3-4 days, and the queue is 7+ days, it won't matter if it's $15 or 15 cents.
[+] [-] zabraxias|15 years ago|reply
In any case I like the idea behind the $15 blind design since designers tend to suffer from "I like it but..." with indefinite tweaks and last minute changes. I wouldn't be surprised if customers end up going through several iterations...which would still be inexpensive in this case.
[+] [-] greyhat|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jeffclark|15 years ago|reply
Related: http://www.google.com/a
[+] [-] snorkel|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jlees|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DanielStraight|15 years ago|reply
He now has a collection of email addresses he can send an announcement to when he launches a "real" web design company. He has a bunch of examples he can show of real customers using his designs. He has the experience of actually having someone pay him for his work. Heck, he even got over 200 HN karma out of the deal.
How can this be a bad thing?
[+] [-] bee|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] malte|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] slig|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joshfinnie|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Cushman|15 years ago|reply
Also, the #1 recommendation here is gonna be to put something up under "latest designs", even if you haven't had any clients yet. The first customer is the hardest, and you can help that along by putting a few coins in the proverbial hat yourself. (Although I realize the site itself is an example of your design :)
[+] [-] coffeeaddicted|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] loboman|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lhorie|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rgoddard|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oogali|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] seanMeverett|15 years ago|reply
Helluva business model, love the thought that went into it. If there's anyway I can help, let me know. Tweeting commencing right....meow!
[+] [-] RyanMcGreal|15 years ago|reply