ok there we go.. new beta design.. check it out!

i do complete webpages, with flash even.. for about 300-500 dollars.. thats cheap compared to a company that i saw who designs themfor 3500 at least!

atomix@dork.com

http://www.liquid2k.com/atomix

 

Not to rag on you, but it's bit of a turn off going to a site which is effectively just a collection of "Under Construction" signs.

Get some cool interactivity happening so that people who do go to your site actually see what you do.



Maybe make that email link (BTW the @ symbol doesn't work, I guess because I don't have that font) a mailto: link. Or better still, a form with fields and check boxes to coach the user to enter the info you want, which submits the info to a CGI which then emails it to you.

If you want to see the sort of thing we do have a look at Adimex.

Best of luck.

[Edited by AusS2000 on 03-04-2001 at 05:34 AM]

 

Oh, and on price, don't short sell yourself. People who are looking for the 'cheapest' are by definition cheap people. But they will cost you a fortune in support and changes and hand holding.

I once had a client (from my other business) ask me for a quote on a website using our intelligent support system. It's effectively an expert system that matches a support enquiry to a db of previous support enquiries and returns close matches. If there is no match or the list of possibles is not applicable theuser submits and enquiry, it is handled manually, and this call is added to the support db. University of Sydney use it and it saves then more than 70% of support calls.

I quoted the company (a huge telecommunications company) about $6K for the system. The client was surprised it was so much told me they had to get 3 quotes from other companies. The responses came in at $25K to $55K. The client then asked me what they would be missing if they'd gone with my quote (a night on my yatch, a ride in my Porsche, 'coz I don't have them).

I ended up not getting the job.

 

how much is reasonable for webdesign?

i don't really know i'm just a 16 year old thats pretty good with computers and looking for extra money..

hey could you mail me and we could chat or somethin?

k bye

 

The great thing about being 16 is that you don't have too many financial responsibilities (unless you got a loan for your S ) so you can spend some time getting things in place. Once you have a proven track record and some skills you should be able to charge $60-$70 per hour (Perhaps one of our US cyber friends can comment more accurately on this). We charge $AUD120 per hour which is cheap by local standards. Especially when you consider that many hours actually cost 3 hours due to consulting with clients, testing new ideas etc.

So here's what you do. Find someone who wants a site and do it for them for free (or a small fee). The site needs to be for you as much as for them. It needs to show what you can do, and how you can help clients.

One point here. Flash is, well, flashy, but that's about it. Most of the people you are trying to sell to want to sell their product or service. They want the audience to say 'Let's buy", rather than 'WOW,.... why?'

Once you've got a site up that meets these goals you promote it to boards like this and other prospective clients. Those people see it, and want something similar, so they contact you.

You say you are 16 and this may be a hindrance. But the web is an anonymous place. How does a prospective client know how old you are? Well SHIFT key avoidance is one way. Using lowercase for your correspondence shows you were born in the last two or so decades. It's way cool amongst your peers, but they probably aren't your prospective clients. The other clue is the price. No real business can do a custom website for $500.

I really don't mean any of this to be derogatory. I really would like to help. And as this is way off topic, you should probably email me. It's in my profile.

BTW, if anyone else reads this and has an alternate opinion I would be most interested to read it. I'm not really an authority on any of this.

 

At one stage here we had this $500 web site thing going on as a whole bunch of folk had picked up something like Front Page or similar and decided they were web 'designers'. I think it has since fizzled out. I'm finding that I'm now starting to get clients that are dissatisfied with the results of 'cheap' designers. Cheapest is not always best to the client. Most clients don't mind paying more for good service. As AusS2000 said look out for the cheapskates. In the long run they are not usually worth it.

If you want to survive learn how to provide businesses with the tools they need to make their web ventures a success. E-commerce capability and database driven sites being two that come immediately to mind.


[Edited by Muz on 03-04-2001 at 05:21 AM]

 

I have to agree that most users (i do intranet work, mostly database-based support systems of various kinds) are in the long very un-interested in graphical design. What's really important is function: go for easy-to-use intuitive navigation and useful tools that help people with their daily chores. Keep the design business-like, clean on the border of boring, and stay away from anything that moves or blinks (this is perhaps not quite as true for Internet sites that should grab your attention some more). And remember that the average user is not computer-literate, if they have to search for a navigation link or button in different places on different pages they will not find it and give up quickly. Boring, huh?

 

thanks guys