[MarkyBoy]

Hi,

I've been working as a web designer within an educational establishment for a few years, and am thinking about starting up my own business as a sideline (to see how I get on at first).

I don't have any problem with programming or graphic work, however what I AM struggling with are some of the more fundamental business type things I need to tackle (can't seem to find much on the web about this) so was just wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of any sites or books etc that offer good advice for UK-based web designers on...

1. Hosting - e.g. recommended hosting companies to use to host your customers' websites, and what to look for / be wary of?

2. Contracts etc - how legally binding do you need to make the whole thing when you agree to take on a job for someone?

3. How much to charge?

I'd really be very grateful for any advice or links anyone could suggest.

Many thanks indeed,

Mark.

[Subversive]

Hi, this is my first post here, so 'hello' to start off with.

Did the same thing as what you're planning on doing about a year ago so thought I'd give some advice on what I've learnt myself...

DON'T DO IT!!!

Seeing as you've decided to do it anyway, here goes....

1. Hosting - e.g. recommended hosting companies to use to host your customers' websites, and what to look for / be wary of?

I'd look for a basic reseller account to start off with just to get you going. There's no need to go all out and get yourself a dedicated server because you really don't know what your demand is going to be.
I started off with a company (and still have an account with them now) called http://www.aventurehosting.co.uk

They seemed to do a variaty of packages that included a smallish good value reseller account that could easily be upgraded when we started getting more customers.

2. Contracts etc - how legally binding do you need to make the whole thing when you agree to take on a job for someone?

ALWAYS get your client to sign something. Always take a deposit up front (about a quarter of the final price). This is very important.
You can find some books containing legal document type templates from your nearest Staples store which has proved invaluable for everything from contracts to invoicing and even if you just use it for some basic grounding, you will find it usefull.

3. How much to charge?

Ahhh.... The famous question.
The answer? How much do you think its worth?
I usually work on the basis of how much I plan on earning per hour, then how many hours I think the job would take. Then stick on any expenses and overheads and add on about 10 - 20 % becauseprojects always run over or client always want something tweaking which takes up more time than you anticipate.

Hope I've helped to give you a few ideas.

Ian AKA Subversive

[MarkyBoy]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for taking the time to reply mate, appreciate it. And, yes, I have noted your first piece of advice - am still thinking carefully!

I'm actually about to move more into a technical database / application support role, hence the idea of doing web work on the side, more to keep my hand in at the moment. If I do it, will probably look for small jobs from friends-of-friends etc at least to start.

Thanks once again, Mark.

[Bubs]

Hey, I haven't been on this forum too much, but one hosting company that's reliable to me the past couple of months has been HostNetway.com. For $35 I got 300mb of storage space, and 15gb of bandwidth, which is more than enough for a business such as your own. This $35 dollars excluded a domain name but it's all for one year, which is rare to find!

As for you business I agree with Subversive, charge what you think is best fit for the work you put into it. Usually you should start out cheaper so that you can build a nice portfolio for customers to view. Most of the time the only thing that lures a customer to purchasing a service from you is from a portfolio, whether it be banners, logos, web designing, etc. That's all I can think of right now and good luck to your business.

[JakSmit]

1. Hosting - e.g. recommended hosting companies to use to host your customers' websites, and what to look for / be wary of?
www.1and1.com and www.flashlevel.net are good.
Mediatemple - despite a number of sites using it and having a very good front page offers very
poor service.

2. Contracts etc - how legally binding do you need to make the whole thing when you agree to take on a job for someone?
I would probably get a lawyer or something to write you up a contract with spaces to fill in the details such as project description etc. shouldn't cost too much if you get someone online to do it.

3. How much to charge?
Try and figure out their budget and then base it around that.

[paris]

1. Hosting
I think this is about the best value for your money http://websiteunited.com/sales.php. I have been with them for a little while, they weren't very professioanl at first, but they have improved and the reliability is now stable. [and i get a referal bonus too if you mentioned me, heh].

Also www.bigbytes.net/ - i also use them. They are a lot more reliabile and more professional fast email return and stuff, and the prices aren't bad.

2. I suggest the staples idea rather than getting a contract written up for you, you're only going to need a generic contract [i assume you're doing smaller projects]. Although I havent' heard about online lawyers before.

3. Although very evil, if you can try and find out what your competition charges and work around that. Perhaps you will be lucky and they'll advertise it on their site.

4. imho, get a good accountant before you start and get some books on how to run a business. Its not so hard to get the money, hard bit is managing the money. If you can; try and make a marketing plan first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_plan i think this would be the most important step, it will help you in deciding if it is really what you want in a way.

neat it auto links

[seen.to]

1. Hosting - go on best recommendations as indeed you are. I can't recommend any actual companies for small hosting plans but should you go dedicated I'd personally recommend these guys. Remember when choosing a company that the cheapest option is always the best value and the most expensive isn't always the best quality.

2. I use this for contracts. It's covered everything I've needed so far for contracts with clients, NDAs, pre-work agreements etc making it pretty good value. Pick a situation and there is most likely a contract in the pack for it. Fill in the blanks (your name, their name etc) and you have a professional contract. The only contract it didn't cover for me was one I had to make with a programmer as a sub-contractor for a recent project. There's also some useful project planning, estimate, and proposal stuff available on there that could really be useful when you are starting out.

3. How much to charge - this is still sometimes a difficult question for me after doing this for 8 years. At the moment I have a set daily rate which is satisfactory for me and not too high as to scare away the client - I don't tell the client this rate. There is an estimating spreadsheet you can get from the link I gave you in number 2 that seems really in-depth but personally I just work out how many days something is going to take me then add a couple of days, multiply it by my daily rate and quote the final figure.

[redplastick]

Originally Posted by JakSmit

Mediatemple - despite a number of sites using it and having a very good front page offers very poor service.

Must say in their defense I've had a very positive experience.
Uploading the site is an absolute breeze if you're working through GoLive as they provide a SitePublish.
Not sure if that is the norm with other hosting services as well, but I was up in a day.

[secretagentgel]

mediatemple has a good reputation as a lot of big name designers host with them. my experience with them was rubbish. downtime, bad response time, expensive.

corey