Chris Pearson, uber-blog designer, asks How much should a blog design cost?:
Every week, I get emails from potential clients who all want to know one thing: How much for a design?
Nine times out of ten, my answer causes them to run for the hills…
Good design not only stands out clearly, it is not cheap.
In the last month, we’ve been discussing with various designers the costs associated with redesigning this very blog – The Blog Herald. Prices ranged from $1000 – $4000 or more depending on some various options.
Getting an outstanding design on your professional blog is not only critically important – it is not cheap to do. Not with a good designer anyways.
I’ve stated before that doing my own blog design is simply not an option. I may know what I want in my head to some extent, but I certainly can’t translate those mental images into any sort of reality – no matter which platform we’re talking about. But great designers can. In the end, you get what you pay for.
I’ve worked on my own for more than thirteen years now as a consultant. While my expertise is more in the area of coding, development, and systems administration, the parallels are similar. Our firm has put together very complex student loan systems with significant backend automation – all wrapped up very prettily with PHP and MySQL leading the way for us. But we don’t come cheap.
Many clients, even in the heyday of the net in 1999 – 2000, would balk at our $100+/hr rate for coding work. We’d get lowballed down to prices like $40 – $50 for the entire job, not even by the hour. Obviously, we didn’t take those jobs.
Great designs come only from great designers – and they are worth every penny. And if you’re a professional blogger, then you should seriously consider getting a great design. After all, isn’t the packaging just as important as your content?
Disclosure: Chris Pearson is a former business partner of ours and is currently completing the redesign of Blog Herald.
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