By Grace Smith
As a few of you will know on Twitter this week, I received a rather interesting email from a local business who were looking to create a small brochure site. They enquired about my availability and wanted to arrange a time to discuss the project in more detail. All very polite and professional until half way through the email I read this: “I was chatting to a lad who can do it for £40…”

£40….Did I just read that correctly?

As designers we know there will always be the cousin or ‘local lad’ who can build their website for £40 or $50, what surprises me is the fact that perfectly professional and legitimate businesses think this is good value! It’s unfortunate that the power of design is currently so misunderstood and undervalued by many businesses.

Design essentially provides an external ‘face’ for your customers (of your business). So why have a website that is such a poor representation of your business to potential customers?

The cost of web design also applies to logo design, which Jacob has superbly laid out in his article, which also inspired me to write about my recent experience.

• Design Process

How can we qualify that professional, quality web design doesn’t cost £40? Let’s first look at the typical design process, in fact this is the process I typically follow.

Phase 1: Concept and Consultation

We start with a discussion on the scope of the project which provides a solid foundation before we begin. Your project is then defined using the Creative Brief (a Wufoo form which I ask all potential clients to fill in), which is often referred back to during the project. By clearing defining the concept we are able to map out the goals and requirements of the entire project before moving on.

Phase 2: Discovery

Once there is a clear concept for the project, we move into discovery and research. I get to know and understand the exact needs of the project along with research into users needs and goals, target audience or demographic until there is a complete outline. I also build up a thorough picture of the personality and intended style of the website.

Depending on the scale and complexity of the project we may then move into creating a visual sitemap of the project which is essential for organisation of content on larger projects.

Phase 3: Wireframes

I then create sketches of the layout which are turned into wireframes (using the grey-box method) for review and approval before the design process begins.

A wireframe is a basic mockup of the page without any design elements which gives a stragetic view of the positioning of elements within the layout and shows how the content will flow on the page. It is an important step in determining the placement of content, function and navigation. It is used to iron out any problems or missing elements, and will act as the blueprint for the content, design and construction work that comes later.

For a more detailed rundown on this, read the in-depth look at my wireframing process.

Phase 4: Design

Once the wireframes are approved we move onto the design phase. The wireframes are taken and given the design treatment and polished. They are then presented for feedback and iteration as necessary until approved.

Phase 5: Build

I then build the design into working prototypes using CSS and XHTML (all according to accessibility guidelines). These are presented and given feedback on all aspects of the build. This is where incoporating a CMS also takes place (if required). We work together to polish and tweak until the build is finalised and complete.

Phase 6: Testing, Launch & Signoff

Although the project is tested through each stage of the build, this stage involves a complete usability test across all platforms and browsers, checking for cross-platform functionality and appearance. I use a combination of my own testing environment and Browsercam to do a complete check, with the results forwarded onto you for review. We are then ready for launch!

Phase 7: Monitoring and Maintenance

Once the site is launched I will do a thorough link check and monitor the site for 7 days to squash any potential problems that may arise. Once the monitoring period is over I can set up a maintenance plan if desired.

But why follow a process at all? Because this type of process will allow us to:

(a) Get really clear about what the goals of the site are.
(b) Know what the site’s visitors want (after all they’re the ones using it).
(c) Gain an insight into users’ goals and behaviour.
(d) Get a good picture of the personality and style of the design.

Without this, we’re designing ‘blind’, essentially just delivering something pretty with no awareness of your audience, targets or goals, so how do you expect it to be a success?

I think we can all assume that £40 isn’t going to cover all of the above, but does it cover your experience or expertise?

• Knowledge

The story goes that Picasso was sitting in a Paris café when an admirer approached and asked if he would do a quick sketch on a paper napkin. Picasso politely agreed, swiftly executed the work, and handed back the napkin — but not before asking for a rather significant amount of money. The admirer was shocked: “How can you ask for so much? It took you a minute to draw this!” “No”, Picasso replied, “It took me 40 years”.

You weren’t just paying for that drawing, you were paying for the countless hours, days, weeks and years of research, knowledge, experience and talent that it took to create that drawing.

Many of us in the design industry spend countless hours refining our knowledge wherever possible, constantly learning and challenging ourselves to be better in all aspects of both design, development and business. Why? One of the core reasons is so we can provide a better quality of service to our clients.

As Benjamin Southworth points out, that £40 “would price my 10 years professional experience at £4 p.a – which I deem as less than minimum wage?”

• Operating Costs

Freelancing isn’t cost free, there are a wealth of overheads that most of us have to incorporate into our pricing. Some of the more obvious expenses include:

(1) Broadband
(2) Stock photography
(3) Web hosting
(4) Email marketing
(5) Hardware (iMac/Macbook/Printer)
(6) External hard drive(s)
(7) Software (Including Online Apps)
(8) Office Equipment
(9) Fonts
(10) Stationery
(11) Marketing
(12) Insurance
(13) Tax
(14) Travel

Mosts Freelancers are serious about their business, and run a credible professional small business. In doing so there are numerous costs involved which have to be taken into account when costing a project. The reason the local lad can do it so cheap is because he has no overheads because for him, it’s just a hobby.