A question for web developers: How do you handle this?

Anyone else feel like clients massively underestimate the time that goes into website development?

I keep running into situations where a client wants a custom website, mobile optimization, speed optimization, SEO setup, contact forms, analytics, security, and revisions... but expects it all to be done in a couple of days for a very small budget.

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely simple projects out there. But a lot of people seem to think building a professional website is just dragging and dropping a few elements and hitting publish.

How do you guys handle this?

Do you educate the client upfront, increase your prices, or just avoid these types of projects altogether?

Curious to hear how other web developers deal with it.

The market isn't broken, your pipeline is.

Most clients don't care about your deployment pipeline, your sleepless nights, the stack you used or how hard you worked. They care about outcomes.

No one's out there looking to distribute free money.

If they're looking for a fast, cheap output to validate an idea, they'll require a quick setup from you - even a rehashing of an already existing template will get the job done for them. And let's be honest, that is what works in 99% of the cases. In validation stages, budgets are often low.

Then there are clients who need bespoke work, custom features, deep SEO architecture. These people are generally aware of the cost associated with them. And are willing to pay the price.

Low budget clients exist everywhere. In every industry. People who want the moon, for a fraction of the cost.

We have a polished lead pipeline and we routinely get enquiries that read "I want a site similar to LinkedIn but for xxx industry. My budget is $200". In usual BAU, we normally don't even respond to such leads. Or send them a boilerplate - "We don't think we're a good fit for you".

And let's be honest, there's some college kid somewhere with a cheap claude subscription who is willing to do this for free or cheap with zero clue on security, layout, UI or the first idea of what the code he's shipping does.

It's not your job to educate a businessman. It's not your job to explain the minutae. If you're stuck in a sandbox, stop blaming the client. Either find a way to automate things and make the low turnaround profitable. Or change your positioning the market to attract clients who actually need and can afford your skillset.

Clear communication upfront solves a lot of this. I started outlining exactly what’s included (design, SEO, speed, revisions, timeline, etc.) before taking a project, and it filters out unrealistic clients fast.

I also agree that not every project needs a fully custom build. Some clients only need a quick MVP, while others need a long-term business website. Matching the solution to the budget is the real key.

Sachin2001 said:

Anyone else feel like clients massively underestimate the time that goes into website development?

I keep running into situations where a client wants a custom website, mobile optimization, speed optimization, SEO setup, contact forms, analytics, security, and revisions... but expects it all to be done in a couple of days for a very small budget.

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely simple projects out there. But a lot of people seem to think building a professional website is just dragging and dropping a few elements and hitting publish.

How do you guys handle this?

Do you educate the client upfront, increase your prices, or just avoid these types of projects altogether?

Curious to hear how other web developers deal with it.

Click to expand...

I think a lot of clients aren't trying to be unreasonable. They simply don't see all the work happening behind the scenes. To them, a website is what they see on the screen. They don't think about planning, testing, responsiveness, performance, security, integrations, revisions, and all the little details that make a site work properly.

What helped me most was getting very specific with proposals. Instead of quoting "a website," I break down exactly what's included and how long each part takes. Once clients see the scope, expectations tend to become much more realistic.

I've also learned that saying no is sometimes the right answer. If someone wants a premium website on a tiny budget and isn't willing to adjust either the budget or the requirements, it's usually better to walk away than spend weeks dealing with unrealistic expectations.

To be completely honest. Yes, it used to take a long time. It does not have to anymore. Clients want an end result that they are satisfied with. Whether you spent 2 hours or 20 days that is really dependent on how you optimize your own SOP for web-dev in today's world.

trying to educate cheap clients is a losing battle... if they only have a couple hundred bucks they arent going to magically find thousands more just because you explained how hard database security is.

i stopped doing bespoke builds for low budgets years ago. now i just use a pre-built stack with my own custom starter template that has seo, speed, and security already baked in. takes maybe half a day to tweak and launch. if they want actual custom dev, the price starts at 5k and they get a detailed scope. if they cant afford that, i just tell them we arent a fit and move on. you cant save everyone and you definitely cant feed yourself on "education" calls.

I try to set expectations before the project starts. Once I break the work into individual tasks and explain what's actually involved, most reasonable clients understand why it takes time. The ones who still expect everything in two days for a tiny budget usually aren't the clients I want anyway.

@Voxlane is right about the pre-built stack, but another option is pivoting these low budget guys into a monthly subscription model. Just throw up a clean pre-made template in a couple hours, host it on your own server, and charge them $99 a month for maintenance and hosting with a minimum contract. They get their site cheap, and you get recurring revenue for doing basically nothing after week one. trying to explain database security or mobile optimization to a local business owner is just a waste of breath... either they pay the upfront fee for custom dev or they get the template.