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Howdy all you SS geniuses!

Im just starting to dig into some freelance design work. Nothing big or fancy but I've done several Squarespace sites for friends and charged very little but I've had several people ask me to build them a site but I am a bit overwhelmed. Would you mind if a I asked you a few questions about how you do your design/squarespace? I know you must be busy but I have found the best and most humble way to learn anything is by asking questions :)

First, if you have a squarespace client how do you typically charge? Per page, content, design hours? What about followup work? Do you charge for that by the hour? Do you have them take care of setting up a Squarespace account in terms of the monthly fee?

Second, what if someone doesnt want to use SS, what publishing platform do you use instead? Do most other platforms call for a monthly or yearly charge? I ask this because I have a client who does not wish to pay for SS because all she needs is a home page and contact page. What kind of publisher would you use for something like that?

Thirdly, is there anyone I could email for additional questions?

I would appreciate any feedback you might be able to share. Thank you for your time!

Katie

Hello

You can always email me using email@stuarthobday.com if you need to ask more questions. I regularly use Squarespace for clients projects. We never charge per hour as clients can feel 'ripped off' by that method. All our work is per project. We use Squarespace, Wordpress, Sweetcron, Tumblr, Cargo, as well as custom HTML, XHTML, PHP sites etc.

Follow up work is again, per piece and not per hour. Some clients are on a monthly retainer enabling us to forge a close relationship with them and ensuring that when they need stuff doing it gets done within 12 hours.

I always allow clients to manage all aspects of their Squarespace account. I know I could make money from using the SQSP developers function, but I don't see that as a fair option. Clients have put their trust in us to design the best site we can within their budget and we like to remain upfront with them. All our clients pay for their own SQSP accounts thus allowing them total control over their site. After all, it is theirs, not mine. We are just realising their project for them.

Feel free to drop me a line to discuss further - hope I helped. I'm sure others will contribute too.

Stu

Thank you so much Stu! That is indeed very helpful! I just shot you an email with a couple additional questions.

K

Katie,

How can I reach you. I could use some help on my website.

Hi Katie,

I thought i'd throw in my $2.50, since i'm starting out doing freelance work just like you are. I'm at the tail end of doing my second squarespace site for a client in Kentucky, and I quoted them overall for the project. I'm in total agreement with Stuart, charging hourly for the entire project is a balancing act between not ripping off your client, and making sure you don't feel ripped off if the scope of the project starts creeping. Hourly charging is best kept for smaller content management/website updates. The only thing aside from that I charge an hourly rate for is doing a website analysis and consulting. Generally if i'm doing a site, i'll figure on $75-100 per page. With both the sites i've done, my clients have already signed up for a SQSP account, but I'm also familiar with using Wordpress and can help them set up on my separate hosting account.

Hey Katie

Good question, I am a currently an unemployed Graphic Designer who just set up a blog site through squarespace last week. I was thinking of doing the same thing you are to provide some income until I land something. I don't feel confident enough with the software yet to start saying I can charge someone for it but I think I will eventually.

Is there a place where designers can discuss problems and ideas with each here other than this forum? This may seem like a newb question but I've only been here a week and I've spent most of that designing and blogging.

Thanks for the overview of what you have done Stuart and Stephen, it was very helpful