I am posting this because im in the need of this very question i know it might depends on their needs but if your selling a website to client to buy from you and no one else what should i say to to the client if i want them to buy from me what i mean is if i ask them are you wanting a website they will reply what i mean is if i try to buy from a client and they ask me “How much will the website cost for me to build for them” what would be the best response to this very question i was thinking on lines of “Depends on what kind of website are you are after and what goes into it”
What do you guys think what would the best way to respond to a thing like that?
it would be helpful to have some punctuation in your question, but I can advise the following:
It is likely a non-mature buyer as they haven’t done their homework or either have not owned a website before or are unhappy about the last or all of their previously owned websites. As an answer, “Depends” is also a not mature enough response to the question. Some better suggestions:
Use a couple of existing clients examples for positioning of what you think the client needs. Ie. “This is what I build for ABC Company, it was about $x,x00 and it got them lots of positive comments from their clients and they won a major contract after it was running for 4 months”. The number you cite needs to be realistic for you to make a good profit and you need to be able to build to budget. Depending on maturity of the client you will not be able to get more than the amount + 500-1000 out of them for the initial build and they will still compare hosting costs and hourly rate for further work. So in doubt it needs to be what ABC company should have paid.
I hope your not writing their content. When they ask how much it will cost your should tell them about your carpet color. Normally when someone asks me a question I answer it. That’s just me though.
I agree, the OP’s question is difficult to understand, but in the interest of sharing experiences and knowledge, I can share some things that have worked for me. My company builds web applications, not just web sites, so YMMV if you’re doing more brochure-level sites.
A helpful answer to give when someone asks how much their app will cost is to frame the discussion in terms of price ranges you usually work in—give an honest assessment of what it could cost. For example, I often tell prospective clients that I can build their application for $25,000 or $250,000—it really just depends on the level of complexity and polish they’re looking for. Take an everyday application like Gmail, for example. Obviously, Google has spent a lot of time and money making that application as polished as possible and adding enhanced user experience and features like labels, folders, calendar integration, etc. They’ve spent millions on it. But if I were to build an email application from scratch for a client, it could be built much more cheaply, as long as the client and I work together to tightly define features. An email program could cost x or it could cost 10x, depending on what the client wants to put into it. More money will yield more features and more polish.
By saying “it could cost x or 10x,” I help establish for the client what a reasonable range is for the project, and I also help introduce them to the concept that in the end, their requirements are what will determine the final price. It’s my job as the professional to help them identify the smart places to spend their money to ensure that we get the best software out of whatever they spend.