Flexible Solutions

Effectively Pricing the Project

Spend the time to write down your requirements

Well-written requirements or RFP is going to prevent dancing around price and get you talking about your project. It doesn't have to be overly detailed. If you simply don't know, for a fee we will research and write the requirements for you. This can be a great way to put your relationship to the test and better-set internal expectations of cost and scope.

Tell us about your budget

Tell us what you are willing to spend, paint the ideal scenario. Often this will allow us to decide which approach and technology would be best suited for your project.

Hourly rates are good for everyone

A lot of clients want to pay by the project. Per project rates are hard to estimate when you are still addressing scope, so expect that we will pad estimates quite a bit if you need to go this route. When comparing multiple vendors' look at their hourly rates and what you are going to get for that rate. When done right, charging by the hour keeps everyone happy - and is definitely the best way to go.

Retainers can make a difference

A lot of clients don't even think of putting vendors on retainer, but if you have a "big idea" and don't know the scope and need help, putting a vendor on retainer is a great way to create a temporary brain trust. This option can be useful for maintenance of existing sites, or support for existing internal or external clients.

We Prefer

We almost exclusively charge on an hourly basis. Over our careers in the web we've seen requirements invariably shift, and often for good reason, to produce a better, more people-centered end product. We believe that the pricing structure should be flexible to reach that for every project, but also put some checks and balances in there to prevent overages in our original estimates. Regardless of billing per project or per hour, we believe that any project is a partnership between client and vendor. In order to mutually achieve a goal we must work together every step of the way. Communicating expectations of scope and cost is always crucial. Per project estimates are available, but not preferred. Depending on the scope and size of project, special rates and or considerations can be made. This can be done on a case by case basis.