Oh, you're just being modest.

Fe's package deals are a good way around too. That way you know what you are going to charge - your customer knows what he is definitely due to pay and you don't have to haggle about what goes into the site. However, always try to get your customer to agree to a leeway on your prices - maybe he asks you to do some image editing that wasn't envisaged - or add in a couple of forms at the last moment etc. Decide how that leeway should be calculated eg. an extra 10% on the total? extra time? (decide on an hourly rate).

And one of the biggest problems for web designers is convincing their clients that the web designer only designs the web site - all content must come from the client in digital format that you can just copy and paste into pages. If you offer editing - that should be extra. You should not be responsible for spelling checks (although you almost always will be). And the real site build only begins when you have all the content to hand! You can't put a timescale on a site without a clause stating that the timescale begins when you have everything to hand.

And back to spelling - always keep a dictionary handy because at the end of the day, even if you didn't write the copy, it still reflects on you as a web designer if there are typos or spelling mistakes. Bear in mind that English comes in about a dozen different flavours, so make sure you have the right dicitionary to hand for your intended audience.

ps. A last point in consideration of Fe's prices. She designs databases too. So for the cms sites she builds, those prices might even be considered a little low in some circles. If you are just building a web site "template" to which you add content, you will probably be aiming a little lower, at least at first until you get some more experience and confidence under your belt.

oh yeah - putting a time limit on the build to billing date is a biggie - or customers pizzabout forever getting content to you

one of the nicer things about a CMS - you can build all the templates and then give it to them to fill in the content and tell them the bill will arrive at the start of next month - ready to go live or not

hehe - of course i'm not quite so rude as to chuck it at em half finished and say thats it - i always say fill it in and give it back for fancy formatting and SEO when you're ready to go live... I'm just not waiting unpaid forever while they mess about with the filling it in bit...

Thanks for all your input. It's all been a good advice toward establishing a good business structure for creating a website business. At this juncture I know just enough web stuff to be dangerous to myself if not to others. But, I'm learning more all the time as I see what others have done, and perusing the forums. I'm way out in rural Colorado, where cows and trucks outnumber people, and I'm in a wheelchair. So I'm looking for a business model I can accomplish from home without trekking 100-miles into the city. I'm pretty good at Photography/Photoshop/design and getting stronger in web skills, so this business seems like a good possibility if I can pull it all together. Wife thinks that my making money is a REAL GOOD idea, LOL!

So, thanks for the help, everyone.
-Mike

PS Janys, I downloaded your picture of the Giudecca Canal for my desktop which I enjoy everyday. Very calming and beautiful, love the colors. Thanks!

Hi Mike... wishing you every success, and keep your eyes open for some more of those pictures which you will be more than welcome to download. Did you get the one with the sunset? I have one on my own desktop which is very soothing indeed. I will try to attach it here, but if it won't go, I'll put it on the blog for you. It's a view of the lagoon out back of where I live...

No... it's not happening as the attachment is too big. I will get that up on the blog for you later.