I have been approached by a few potential clients about creating a site.  one is for a non-profit and DNN would be perfect for them.  the other two are for balloon decorators that will need to put up a lot of photos of their work and would like the ability to update their site themselves.

How do I price creating/modifying a skin and creating the pages needed and train them how to log in and do the updates?

Also, how do people charge for hosting these web sites.  Is it worth the trouble to resell a site or justify the client deal with it?  I figure I would be contacted if there is any issues anyway. 

I will be either upgrading my current account with 3essentials or moving to another host that is less expensive depending on what happens with these three potential clients.   Also, at what point is moving to a virtual machine on a webhosting service is viable?

Thanks

Doug 

I'm in Los Angeles California.  I realize they vary, but I would like to know a ball park in the USA.  Do people charge for skin and then per page and feature?  How many hours is normal to make a skin if your are proficient?  Im a beginner so I would take more time to create a skin or modify one.

Don't know how much it helps, but I'm east coast USA here (South Carolina, acutally) and my DNN-based projects have ranged from $800 for the cheapest to ~$25,000. Basically, I have a standard 'base-line' price to cover the minimum time it will take me to setup a site - my time calculation is based on my current efficiency at putting together an installation and basic skin and has fluctuated over time.

Usually, this cost will cover a 5-10 page site with no custom functionality aside from allowing the client to login and edit the content of their site. If the client needs custom functionality (property listings, response-driven or workflow-based forms, etc) then I usually will work up a custom quote - which involves me researching the solutions, 3rd party and in-house, and projecting a time to implement (usually round up to cover any unforeseen issues). I'll then submit the proposal and draw a 50% non-refundable deposit upon acceptance. However, that's just what *I* do, and it really comes down to who you work for and where you work (I'm sure in LA that you should be able to charge more).

That being said, there is a benefit to being in a lower cost-of-living area, because I have several customers from Arizona, California, and even Ohio since I can provide more-for-less... however, you also want to make sure you price yourself to the market you're trying to reach (too cheap will expose you to a bunch of 'I want you to build a Digg clone for $500' clients).

Hope that helps some.

Note to moderators: I know there is some clause about discussing prices on the forums, if this violates it just delete the post.

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Wells Doty Jr
Online Content Development