Posting Prices

Do you post your design pricing structure or fees on your Web site or print them in your marketing materials? Jennifer Krynin at About.com Web Design/HTML posted some interesting points of view -- pro and con -- and the comments add additional thoughts to the subject. Jennifer makes a good case for posting prices. See Posting prices - more thoughts as well as her earlier poll with more discussion. But is it right for you?

What price do you post -- an hourly rate, a project rate, or both? Either way it might not reflect the true cost of whatever project the client has in mind. They may have it in their head that a brochure won't take more than a few hours when in reality it could take two or three times that much. You're still going to have to spend time with the potential client going over the project in detail to get a truer estimate of what that specific project will cost. Do you post prices on a Web site or print up a price sheet of some kind for clients? If so, how is it working out for you? If not, why not? Comments are closed over on Jenn's blog entry so sound off below with your opinion, random thoughts, or questions about posting your prices.

Setting Prices for Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing

• How Much Should I Charge for Doing Desktop Publishing - Pricing your desktop publishing or graphic design services involves determining how much your time and talent is worth to you and how much it is worth to your potential clients.
• We Aren't Born Knowing What to Charge - advice on hitting a moving target (includes links to some of the same articles linked to here).
• Setting an Hourly Rate for Desktop Publishing - Even if you don't want to charge by the hour, it's a number you need to know for calculating project pricing.
• Setting a Flat Fee and Estimating Desktop Publishing Projects - Here's the basic formula to use.
• How to Set a Price for Web Design Work - Questions to ask yourself and your client and general guidelines.
• Pricing Newsletter Design Services - You need to know what tasks are involved.
• Getting Paid - Lots of questions to ask, things to do, and points to ponder in order to insure you get paid whatever your price is.

In the comments, feel free to post your own opinions on pricing, especially the issue of posting prices on your Web site or providing a price list for your design services. Share your experiences, good or bad.

^{Updated March 2011}