So I've got all the hardware, I can use Photoshop and Illustrator to an advanced level, I'm getting up to scratch with standards & usability and soon I'll be putting sites together.

 

I'm not ready for freelance yet, but when I am what do I need in the way of contracts? How difficult is writing a contract and what needs to go in there?

 

Do people charge by page or hourly rate?

 

Is using a flat fee with 'client gets 3 wireframes, picks one to be developed, and then 2 rounds of revisions. Revisions thereafter billed at hourly rate' a good way to charge?

 

Sorry for the random post, but just thinking about it makes my head spin!

 

I'd be greatful for any help I can get... the sooner I can escape my full time job and be my own boss, the better

 

- Roo

There's no hard and fast rules - once you've done a couple of projects you'll find your own way of working.

 

What works for me, might not work for you! Just decide what you want to offer, then offer it with confidence and you'll client will take it.

 

There's no hard and fast rules - once you've done a couple of projects you'll find your own way of working.

 

What works for me, might not work for you! Just decide what you want to offer, then offer it with confidence and you'll client will take it.

 

 

Hi Ben, thanks for the reply!

 

What I'm concious of is selling myself short, getting ripped off or cancelled on by a client.

I've done some stuff for people before and I've never used a contract. With one client, I made the mistake of charging a flat fee when the 'project' scope wasn't outlined in a contract from the start. The result was that the client kept asking for more and more and wanted me to populate the site with every product they sold, when it started off as a simple online brochure. I got fed up and it ended with us both losing interest. Not good!

 

If anyone can see what I'm getting at I'd appreciate the input

 

- Roo

My contract is 6 pages long..but that's including a front-cover, contact details page, a page to sign and then the actual details which are about 3 and a half pages.

 

I think it's too long personally, but it covers everything I want/need it too and I've tried to bring it down in size. It's a chopped up version of quite a few contract I found online.. one of the best is here:

 

http://www.mediasurgery.co.uk/articles/200...pment-document/

Ask for part payment as the project goes along. One initially or maybe 20%, then when the design is done, another 30%, then when you're done coding the page you claim the last 50% BEFORE you hand the site over to the client.

.. claim the last 50% BEFORE you hand the site over to the client.

 

That's the important part - doing that also gives your client a kick in the bum to push payment over quicker. If you've 'released' the site - there is no pushing factor to pay.

I've usually set up a live dupe on my own server the client can try out. That way he/she can see that the site works before they pay the final sum.

Some good replies here! Cheers all, got plenty to get cracking on

It's also good to have some sort of cancellation policy, whether it's a non-refundable deposit or "Client or Contractor has 7 days to cancel this agreement..." (which is the legal requirement for Distance Selling but not in-person sales, provided they invited you to their establishment). I also recommend including a disclaimer about how legal fees or debt collection fees can be tacked onto the bill, as well as statutory interest for late payments (I think the courts allow for 7%, IIRC).

 

Finally, this was discussed elsewhere on the forum but it's good to have a "Client is responsible for obtaining copyrights and permissions"-type line. Soooo many clients "borrow" images and text from other sources so make sure they're the ones held responsible if someone comes after you/the site!

My contract is 6 pages long..but that's including a front-cover, contact details page, a page to sign and then the actual details which are about 3 and a half pages.

 

I think it's too long personally, but it covers everything I want/need it too and I've tried to bring it down in size. It's a chopped up version of quite a few contract I found online.. one of the best is here:

 

http://www.mediasurgery.co.uk/articles/200...pment-document/

 

This is great thank you it makes my life so much easier, a pre layed out contract.

 

As for how much to charge, i generally give a quote as to how much i think its going to be based on the information and details they provide, i also include that the price could change depending on how much work and time is involved, for instance, in your case the customer wanted to keep adding more stuff and it was taking up time, id definately start charging extra for the work on top. For this extra you could definately charge an hourly rate, but you could also do a base rate. O yeah another thing i take into the price is how much coding i have to do, since im not a coding guru it takes time for me to code (but i get it done) so that comes into play and is much more pricey then the design aspect.

It's also good to have some sort of cancellation policy, whether it's a non-refundable deposit or "Client or Contractor has 7 days to cancel this agreement..." (which is the legal requirement for Distance Selling but not in-person sales, provided they invited you to their establishment).

 

AFAIK The distance selling regulation don't apply if the sale is Business to Business. DSR only apply to business to consumers sales.

Ahhhhh... hadn't thought of that!