Making Websites for other people - Question!

VitalityMN · Feb 7, 2015

So I'm looking to do some web design for local businesses but I have one question. Let's say they buy my site, but already have a domain. What would be the best solution for this? Should I give them the Wordpress theme and let them install and figure out how to run it on their own? Or transfer their domain to my hosting?

BasicStuff · Feb 7, 2015

Tell them to edit their dns zone file to point at your server/host. Or if you want more control you can have them just set the domain name servers to your host.

sbndnb · Feb 7, 2015

MY experience if that when they own a domain they often own hosting as well; so you can use a backup app (I personally use backup & clone master - non aff link) to transfer the site you made to a fresh wp install on their server.

If however you are capable of managing a server / hosting account for them you can charge them a monthly/yearly fee for hosting + support and just transfer the domain & web-mail server to your own. However, I feel the need to point out that you have to be certain of your capabilities to get things fixed when they break.

VitalityMN · Feb 7, 2015

sbndnb said:
MY experience if that when they own a domain they often own hosting as well; so you can use a backup app (I personally use backup & clone master - non aff link) to transfer the site you made to a fresh wp install on their server.

If however you are capable of managing a server / hosting account for them you can charge them a monthly/yearly fee for hosting + support and just transfer the domain & web-mail server to your own. However, I feel the need to point out that you have to be certain of your capabilities to get things fixed when they break.

BasicStuff said:
Tell them to edit their dns zone file to point at your server/host. Or if you want more control you can have them just set the domain name servers to your host.

Thank you guys for the suggestions! The Backup App seems very nice.

groundinghess · Feb 7, 2015

Yes, the backup option is the best way to go about it.

rashedhns · Feb 7, 2015

Dude depends on price. If they pays you a lot for your website then change DNS servers.

VitalityMN · Feb 7, 2015

rashedhns said:
Dude depends on price. If they pays you a lot for your website then change DNS servers.

I'm only going to be asking $75-$100 for now. I don't want to be too greedy. I have no job at the moment so even $100 is a BIG help. Once it gets off the ground and I start taking in more clients, I'll increase the price. Then reinvest some of my earnings into other methods.

ChanzGrande · Feb 7, 2015

You must be doing the design work prior to approaching your clients so that you have something to offer up-front. Whereas your price is so cheap, I would offer 1 of two options:

1. They get all files, and install it themselves. (no cost)
2. They create temporary cpanel account for you, and you install the script for a small fee. ($20)

You also can charge them for training if you need to teach them to use wordpress, but for static sites that rarely change you could say I'll update your site any time for a fee(you decide a fair fee).

sbndnb · Feb 7, 2015

No offence, but 100$? Please don't take this the wrong way but either you're not completely sold on your ability to create decent websites or you are doing charity work.

My advice is to keep in mind that (in most places) any income that comes from commercial activity is subject to taxes; so personally this means I have to charge at least $40-50 an hour to get a 'fair' profit. (I'm left with only 49% after taxes). Ofcouse this doesn't mean you have to over charge but at least make sure that:
1. you cover your expenses, being the purchase of plugins / themes / frameworks / electricity
2. if you are planning to sell websites on a regular basis have a chat with an accountant
3. you price your product or service (website, support, hosting) according to (and this is the difficult part) it's value. This being a combination of the value it has for your customer & the effort that has been put in creating the product/result. It's not greedy to expect being paid for your work.

VitalityMN · Feb 7, 2015

davers said:
You must be doing the design work prior to approaching your clients so that you have something to offer up-front. Whereas your price is so cheap, I would offer 1 of two options:

1. They get all files, and install it themselves. (no cost)
2. They create temporary cpanel account for you, and you install the script for a small fee. ($20)

You also can charge them for training if you need to teach them to use wordpress, but for static sites that rarely change you could say I'll update your site any time for a fee(you decide a fair fee).

That's exactly what I'm doing. Creating the site for them up-front. Also, those sound like great options. I'll have to try them out. I thought about just handing it over to them, but it's good to give them a choice from said options.

sbndnb said:
No offence, but 100$? Please don't take this the wrong way but either you're not completely sold on your ability to create decent websites or you are doing charity work.

My advice is to keep in mind that (in most places) any income that comes from commercial activity is subject to taxes; so personally this means I have to charge at least $40-50 an hour to get a 'fair' profit. (I'm left with only 49% after taxes). Ofcouse this doesn't mean you have to over charge but at least make sure that:
1. you cover your expenses, being the purchase of plugins / themes / frameworks / electricity
2. if you are planning to sell websites on a regular basis have a chat with an accountant
3. you price your product or service (website, support, hosting) according to (and this is the difficult part) it's value. This being a combination of the value it has for your customer & the effort that has been put in creating the product/result. It's not greedy to expect being paid for your work.

None taken sir! I've thought about charging $250 but I've never done this before so I thought $100 would be a better number since I've never worked with local businesses before. I figured $75-$100 to them wouldn't really be much so they'd be more likely to buy since I could really use the money. Also, I'm only 19 years old and from Minnesota, United States. I still live with my parents for now so I don't need to pay for much (car insurance, gas, etc.) they don't charge me rent. I haven't filed taxes before so I haven't thought about the actions I would need to take regarding tax information and such.

Heisen · Feb 28, 2015

Hi Vitality MN,

Excuse me for the offtopic, but I can't post in your JV threads, nor can I send you a PM yet. Would you PM me details or some form of contact so we can discuss the amazon method you are working on? I am also looking into amazon right now, so I would be interested in working such a method. Thanks.

Royceee · Feb 28, 2015

Hey OP, when I started creating sites a few years back I also charged peanuts for them.

The truth is that you can charge at least $250 per site, as your closest competitors will probably charge way higher. Remember to push the point across that you're only able to offer them such a price because you don't have to pay rent for an office. This means that your clients are getting their money's worth.

It would also help to take screenshots of their current website while annotating the parts which need to be improved upon, and then sell to them how the website you designed solved those problems.

Star Anise · Feb 28, 2015

You would transfer your theme to their server/hosting. Why would you host their website unless they are paying you every month?

Making Websites for other people - Question!

VitalityMN

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BasicStuff

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sbndnb

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VitalityMN

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groundinghess

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rashedhns

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VitalityMN

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ChanzGrande

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sbndnb

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VitalityMN

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Heisen

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Royceee

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Star Anise

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