Ask HN: Recommendations for building websites as an independent consultant

Having done this in the past, what I would do is build on Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, or another platform and run the monthly billing through you (and double the price to make money on monthly hosting). If you ever decide you don't want to deal with hosting/support anymore, it will be easy to hand it off to someone else (just change the billing and access info).

In the past I built custom sites using React/Rails/etc. and when I wanted to stop support/hosting it was a huge PITA because handing off a custom codebase is difficult and time consuming. You have to find another developer, help them transfer the code or servers, help them get it running, etc. If you build on another platform you don't have to worry about this.

So this is a good start. I did similar to you, offering packaged websites for service businesses.

In terms of hosting + CMS you have the choice of using preexisting packages from bluehost, siteground, wordpresscom, ghostpro, etc. or you can test using your preferred VPS provider and setup your own machine, cms, etc.

Before you code, while doing the sales process you need to determine whether the client is willing to do some CMS work, let someone else do CMS work, or have fixed information. The sooner you can get an answer the better you can decide what package to use. It would be better for you to setup and bill your client, this way you can add more to your rate BUT you would be liable if the client fails to learn how to use the product (teach them by providing short training session and simple handbook/tutorial documentation.

Use what you're already familiar with otherwise pick one then iterate. Good luck

For services that can potentially cost you high amounts I would suggest setting up the account and creating a secondary administrative account that is registered with the company you are working with - they can then add their preferred payment method. When it comes to hosting I bill them yearly. That being said, I usually choose a cheap VPS so yearly costs are about 70€.

When hosting their site I use containers - that way I can easily migrate from dev to prod.

My stack as of now is Strapi + Nextjs + Nginx. I use caching a lot so even a small machine can withstand a good amount of traffic.

For maintenance / administration I bill them a bit less then my normal dev rate so that they stay with me.

I'm in a similar boat and I'd like to also know if anyone has any resources for setting up a good pricing model for the initial implementation vs potential future updates. If they just want a one off project I'd probably just hardcode most data. If they asked for a CMS or I thought it fit their need then I'd recommend setting it up and probably charge more for that initial implementation. However, when it comes to actual code maintenance/updates does anyone have any experience with varying levels of pricing for this? Do you just charge the same hourly rate you would've charged before?

That really depends on what I have to do. If I’m using a Web UI to update a plug-in I charge less. When I have to use a terminal or an IDE I charge the normal development rate. When doing content updates (yes some clients want a CMS but still don’t do content alone) I charge the least.

I think some web building services are providing pricing plans specificaly for freelancers and agencies[1], and some even allow you to export HTML/CSS/JS source code and self-host later.

This seems like an optimal solution, but I personally never used them.

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1. Webflow pricing plan "For freelancers & agencies"

https://webflow.com/pricing#workspaces

> Also importantly would you pass these costs along to the client and have them set up the accounts for these services themselves or would you set them up yourself and then bill them?

Set them up yourself. That’s what people are paying you for, unless they say specifically otherwise

That's a good point - but how would you ensure that you don't get burned by not getting paid? Do you shut off all services if they don't pay you, which in this case you're potentially out $$$. Especially with something like Google's geocoding API if the site you're building has a lot of requests and you're fronting all those costs you could be out a lot of money.

There's no one size fits all. It sounds like GP's hosting costs are O($100/yr) at which point they're not out all that much due to non-payment. To contrast, if you're using Google maps' expensive Maps API, billing monthly seems like the obvious solution.

First, I'd say to outsource everything. White label.

I have a company that will put a pre-existing template together for $350, and custom template for $550.

When I start, I charge a one-time startup fee to my client of either $350 or $550, so I will never be out hard costs.

I only create 5-10 page websites. Basic 5 page starts at $300 per month. They pay the first month up front. All charges are up front. Fuck collecting after the fact. I am NOT going to be chasing people for money. If they want digital marketing it can go up to $4000 per month or more, depending. Average is $2000 per month per website with digital marketing. I have them sign a 12 month agreement that they will stay at least a year. If they want to leave, I'll make noise and try to convince them not to leave, we signed an agreement, but ultimately, if they leave, fuck it. I'm not going to sue them, because fuck everything about that. The agreement is just for the honest business owners to be honest. Everything is paid for up front, so it's not like I lose money, but I will lose time and money if I try to sue. I don't worry about it or get mad or give it a second thought.

I'd never do custom programming backend because a lot of reasons. The first is it is just very expensive. When anything is very expensive, then there is a lot of risk and a lot to lose on your side and on theirs.

You do a 5 page website for $300 per month, nobody is going to get too excited if shit hits the fan and shit fucks up for whatever reason. People can just walk away. Plus, it's really hard to fuck up a 5 page website. No 250 page websites for me, thank you very much.

But really, I'd say the #1 job is to find great people or company that charges not too much but good quality and outsource it to them.

Your main job after finding a qualified outsource company or people, should be only sales and marketing and customer support, and initial layout of the website. I tell my clients that I am the symphony director - I don't play all the different instruments. Others do. I direct it all to make beautiful final product. I say no one can be an expert in everything on websites, and we can't. And I tell them I'm not going to hire 10 different people, because then I would have to triple the price of everything. Business owners understand - they don't do everything themeselves - they hire linen washers for their tablecloths and uniforms for restaurants, or parts suppliers for parts for a plumbing company.

So if you are charging about $2,000 per month per website for the website and digital marketing (you have different levels and different prices for digital marketing), then after 10 clients you are making $20,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Don't worry about the website - focus on digital marketing. That's where the money is. A website gets you $300/month recurring income, but digital marketing can get you $2,000 or more. I've sold $4,000 per month in digital marketing services. Coca-Cola spends $4 billion in marketing per year. https://investors.coca-colacompany.com/filings-reports/all-s... - see page 45 on their 10-K annual SEC filing.

As to what specific stack - I'd say if you find a reliable company to white label for you, just whatever they use is fine. The end user sure doesn't give a shit. They just want a nice looking website.

For example, Wix. They have a marketplace where you can hire Wix developers.

https://www.wix.com/marketplace

So this guy charges for a website at $199 https://www.wix.com/marketplace/wix-partner/steven-crayne?cu...

This one is a top 10 Wix designer and starts at $799. https://www.wix.com/marketplace/wix-partner/steven-crayne?cu...

And remember, whichever you choose, it costs you nothing. It costs the client. So the one time startup fee in this case you can charge $250 for the first one, or $950 for the second one. Up front.

Someone else mentioned webflow. They also have experts. https://experts.webflow.com/browse

For example, this company white-lables: https://experts.webflow.com/profile/p2h-inc

A whitesite starts at $999, but that is usually the end-user price, not the reseller pricing. But look through the developers. `

This company starts at $25,000, fuck them. https://experts.webflow.com/profile/paper-tiger

You can also conteact them and see if you can get better pricing as you are a consultant and are going to be doing all the initial design and specifications and are a professional so they won't be talking to an end user - you will be more professional and so save him or her time.

So then you can charge a minimum of $300/month for the website - ongoing revenue.

You spend 3 or 4 hours specing it out, shoot it to the developer, and you're done. Collect $300 per month.

And of course you also sell them digital marketing which is the awesomeness.

But platform and tech stack doesn't matter, in my opinion. Finding a good reliable developers is the key, and whatever they do, it's fine. Because you are not going to be doing anything fancypants. Or at least I don't. Because why?

Wix is easy for the client.

The hosting billing should be included in the monthly recurring charge - if you want to charge them $30/month for hosting, then add on $30 to the $300 and charge them $330 per month. Charge them whatever the fuck you need to. Just add it into the recurring charge. You can break it out for them if they want, but most are not going to give one fuck. One price is better. You do want to break out the marketing prices, though, as they are pricy.