INCLUDING PRICING ON YOUR WEBSITE
One thing that comes up a lot with my clients when designing their websites is this question:
SHOULD WE INCLUDE THE PRICING?
I am a hard 'no' on this unless it's a shop (duh!!) ... here are my reasons for leaving pricing OFF of websites:
PRICING IS A VISUAL INTIMIDATION
If you are someone who people love to work with and chat with ... who is great at relationships and discussing your craft, then you are probably pretty good at 'closing the deal' and getting hired once you have someone "in front of you" ... even via email, if you have awesome sh*t to say and links to share with great information and 'calls to action' for potential clients this is hugely beneficial ... which means you want people to CONTACT YOU ... and what better way for people to contact you so you have more control?? Create the need for them to ask you your pricing.
If someone is on your website and they see numbers staring them in the face, that is a very unemotional first connection they are making ... clients want to know they aren't just dollars to you ... that they mean something ... that they are special. The money should just be the exchange to get your badass-ed-ness in their corner, but it should feel secondary to you caring about them, their event, their wedding day, their flowers, etc, etc, etc. If the first 'ish' thing they see is the amount of money they have to pay, this can intimidate them and they may not contact you.
Also, keep in mind that clients typically have a 'dollar amount' they don't wish to spend above .... if they see yours is a tad bit higher they may just click out based on that ... but if they are unsure how much you charge, get on a call with you and fall head over heels in love ... well, they may stretch their budget a bit so they can hire you ;)
ALSO: keep in mind that not every client is equal ... you may want to have a phone call with people BEFORE you write out your pricing in 'internet blood' ... if you insist on having pricing on your website please please PLEASE make sure that you include the words: STARTING AT before the dollar sign.
IT'S ONE MORE THING YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO UPDATE
If you have pricing included on your website then you will have to remember to update it ... should you forget and quote different pricing in different places it can cause big problems! Also, if you are unable to update your own website because your website designer handles it all and you want to make a pricing adjustment and they can't work on your website 'right then' and you are forced to wait ... basically, it's just a pain in the ass and you'll have to be diligent in updating each time you want to adjust it ;)
Heather, this feels like a stretch ... ok, maybe a little bit ... but I really really don't like pricing on websites! HAHA!
YOUR COMPETITION WILL KNOW WHAT'S UP
I have had my competition charge less than me intentionally when we were both up for the same job and it's a major bummer when that happens ... I don't include my pricing on my website and I never will ... but obviously if I have shared my pricing with an inquiring client and they share it with another website designer they are considering, welp, there's not a lot I can do at that point ... BUT, what I can control is having my pricing on display for my competition to learn about and use against me ... don't help your competitors by showing what you charge. Put up some barriers and keep that sh*t private as long as you possibly can!
WHAT I SUGGEST YOU DO INSTEAD:
I keep my pricing neatly organized in a 'canned email response' so that I don't always have to retype it out every time someone inquires. I always adjust the intro paragraph when I reply to someone so it's personal between us and then I let them know that the rest of the email is a 'canned' response including basic information about pricing and payment plans for my website designing services. I know a lot of people like to have pricing PDFs that they send out, but IMO that's just one more thing you also have to update every time you change anything.
My way may be a bit too informal, I realize ... so find the answer that works best for you while still keeping your pricing private as much as you can.
XO~ Heather
