I would like to expand a little bit on my first blog post found here.

In the last post I talked a little bit about good designs vs. bad designs, what makes a website stand out and hosting.  Today I am going to talk a little bit about what people worry about the most....pricing.

This can be a very detailed subject, but I am going to try to keep it fairly simple.  Websites depending on how simple or complex can range in price from a few hundred dollars for simple sites to tens of thousands of dollars for extremely complex sites.  Most resorts and outfitters I have done work for tend to average between $500 and $2000, which is still a fairly large spread in pricing.  It all comes down to what you want your site to be.  

Some things to keep in mind when looking for a web designer for outdoor related work should be:

1. Have they done outdoor related stuff before?
2. Is the designer an outdoorsman?  Why someone would hire some kid that lives in their parents basement and hasn't seen the sunshine in years to build thier outdoor related website is beyond me. 
3. How do they handle pricing?  From my experiences in this business, designers that charge a per page rate tend to be amatureish and don't have the site's best interest at heart.  Web designers with any kind of experience should be able to look at what a person wants on their site and give them a set bid.  With either pricing scheme you should always expect to put at least 50% of the quoted price down at the time of ordering, any designer that wants 100% upfront needs to be sent packing.
4. What kind of support does the designer offer their clients after the site is done?  This varies widely from designer to designer, some charge for this service.  The way I have always handled support after the sale is like this: The first 3 months after the site is live any bugs or issues that come up are 100% free, 3-6 months out they are done at 25% of our shop hourly rate, and 6-12 months out they are handled at a 50% shop rate.  After a year all changes and issues are handled at a 100% shop rate.  I think our system is pretty darn fair, cause let's be honest, if you are going to have any issues with your site, they generally are within the first few days of it being live.

Tags: Web Design Internet Advertising

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