have a phone convo to establish the scope of the project then email them at the start a CLEAR outline ( mind map) of the website for approval, then quote based on the return email.
cost? whats your time worth? how quick do you work? whats your knowledge worth? if you want to send PM me the brief then i will tell you what i would charge. are you country or city as that makes a HUGE difference, just like th ecost of traditional media country people don't spend as much as city businesses.
hosting is extra, domain rego is extra, website is a flat fee per version.
i do payment plans, 3rd to start, 3rd on design approval by client, 3rd on completion OF MY WORK, if the client drags it out getting info to me then thats their issue not mine, i've done the setup so pay me is my rule.
never offer more then 3 designs, people want solutions not choices.
call this VERSION ONE, make sure they know that the quote is for the scope agreed on, if they come to you later ( which they will ) and say "ohhhh we also want this...." then you can be free to quote on that extension.
if the extension is a MAJOR change i say " lets complete version one and then we can look at version two, but how about we just get started online "
then you can quote again for V2, i'm currently working on a project that is in version 4 and is only 12 months old......... but its online and making them money instead of waiting for all the extensions.
first make sure you only speak to ONE person, do not deal with 2 or 3, MAKE them fight it out and then only talk to the ONE.
stand your ground on this and if someone else rings or emails you then send it straight back with " please get "tim" to email me the requirement.
get them to send you a list of URL's they like and don;t like describing WHY for both, get them to send you there top 3 competitors websites, not to copy but to give you an idea of the marketplace.
get their logo, ask them what colours they like, send them here:
http://www.december.com/html/spec/color1.html and get them to pick the HEX code, this way they can never say " that colour looks different on tom's computer as its a HEX code so THAT IS THAT.
spend some time working on your system, look at how you complete your own sites and write down the order of things you do and need.
i use outlook 2003, YES 2003, i create a new folder for each client and create a "rule" that sends any email from them into the folder for easy reference later as i am always wotking on many projects.
ONE subject ONE email, i tell them i want a million emails NOT 1 email with a million subjects as some instructions take time whereas some can be done in minutes.
when a page/instruction is complete reply to that email "done" with a link to it and a "please check"
generally i have loadssssssssssss of short emails going back and forth but its all written for later viewing.
avoid the phone, get them to write instructions otherwise they may change their mind and you get stuck with the redo's
if its being done in wordpress for self management by the client then most likely they want training, do not say you will train them, set parameters eg " you will get 5 x 1 hour training sessions in the first 6 months after the completion date ( if they don't use them they loose them )
what happens is you train them then 12 months later they haven't done anything and have forgotten, so charge again.
use
http://www.lipsum.com/ and istockphoto.com to map out the design.
build on an IP so you can show them when you are ready eg:
http://177.343.32.12/~thewebsite
thats all i have time for right now, hope it helps.
tim
