How to Determine Redesign Cost: A Freelancer’s Guide to Accurate Pricing

As a freelancer, it may be difficult to figure out how to price a redesign project. Website redesign cost estimation is a complicated topic. Very many factors can have an impact — from the size of the website to the features the client wants. We want to explore all the things that can affect the final cost for a freelancer. Let’s find out what quote you should present your client with!

What Costs to Consider?

How do you calculate the costs of a website redesign? You take your hourly wage and multiply it by the number of hours you spend on the work. Then, you add any hidden costs — for example, payment for the tools that you use. That is the total cost of redesign that you can present to your client. Naturally, flat fees are also a possibility if you prefer them, but an hourly rate is more flexible and often fairer

As you perform more and more redesigns, you will get better at figuring out the number of hours that you need. In the meantime, take a look at the following factors that determine the number of hours you are likely to require. 

Deadline

An important factor in pricing is the deadline. The shorter it is, the more you can charge for urgency. Usually delivering a redesign in a month is an urgent task. If the client wants a redesign faster, you will have to work overtime, and that costs money. 

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all.

Rita Mae Brown, writer

Revisions

Make sure to state how many revisions you agree to do at no fee. If you are going to request additional payment for revisions, make that known as well. It is very important to be upfront about this element of work. Most likely, revisions will be necessary.

What Is My Hourly Rate?

Freelancing hourly rates for web redesign vary rather significantly. They depend on the freelancer’s experience and location. Lower rates are used for less experienced (junior) freelancers. People from poorer countries tend to keep their rates low as well. As a freelancer, you are likely to be able to work for people from other countries. As a result, the rate that is quite agreeable to you can also be very attractive to buyers from richer countries. 

In poorer locations, especially in some countries of Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, a junior website developer can charge as little as $15 per hour. However, the rate grows with experience. A senior developer, especially if they live in a rich country, would probably require $100-150 an hour. Base your hourly rate on what is fair to you, taking into account your experience and needs.

What Counts as Redesign?

The general price of a website redesign fluctuates between $1000 and $100,000 or more. Although, to be fair, freelancers are rarely given tasks that cost more than $10,000. Still, the range is very broad. However, if you look into it, you will discover that redesigns are different. Their scope can include simply changing colors to fully reworking both the code and the interface of the website. All of that can be called a redesign.

In other words, the first question you need to ask your client is what they want to change about their website. Based on the scope, you will have a better idea of how much you are going to charge them. Once again, it comes down to the number of hours spent. However, the following prices are not uncommon.

• A price starting with $1000 is paid when the website only needs a little redecoration. Sometimes, you can go even lower if you want to attract the client with cheaper prices! At times, though, you will have to name a higher redesign cost for this category, especially if the website is very large.
• Slightly greater sums are normal when some minor changes to the backend — the infrastructure — need to be made. Consider charging $5000 or so for this kind of redesign.
• When major changes are needed, it is normal to request $10,000. Depending on how extensive the changes are, you can require more. 

Website Size and Redesign Cost

The scope of work depends rather significantly on the size of the website. The higher prices are reserved for the biggest websites, where a lot of work needs to be done even if it is just a minor recoloring task. You are rather unlikely to get such a big task, though, being a freelancer. Most big websites (usually over 150 pages) require entire teams to work on them.

Mid-sized websites (typically from 50 to 150 pages) take less time and effort, so their redesign costs less, and fewer people are required for it. Small websites (usually less than 50 pages) are most likely to be assigned to a freelancer. Their redesign cost is even lower. 

However, keep in mind that the size of the website interacts with the complexity of the redesign. In other words, there is a huge difference between redecorating a small website and completely revamping a large one. Therefore, keep in mind both the size and the scope while considering how many hours you are going to spend on the redesign.

Features and Redesign Cost

A redesign cost depends a lot on how complex the website is. There are a few features of a website that can affect the number of hours you will need to spend on it. Generally, they include the following groups.

• Design. This category is all about the looks of the website. A simple, minimalistic website requires less work than a custom complicated one. Depending on how the client wants the website to look, more or less time will be required.
• Functionality. All the interactive elements on the website increase the cost of its redesign unless they do not need to be changed. In addition, databases are a part of functionality.
• Content and SEO. If the client expects you to work on the content, that means a lot of work time. However, often a lot of copy comes from the old website and needs only minor changes. Additionally, you as a freelancer might not be offering content services. That is normal, although agencies prefer to diversify their skills to include content.
• Integrations. A lot of websites require integrations to function, and that is additional time you need to spend on the website. 
• Responsive or adaptive design. Mobile internet browsing is very popular. Depending on whether the client wants you to create a responsive or adaptive website, additional time will be required. Responsive design means creating one design that works on different screens while adaptive design requires creating versions of the website for them to look good on any screen.

Redesign Cost: In Conclusion

Every project is unique, so different redesign costs are inevitable. You need to analyze every particular website along with its intended changes. The size of the website, the scope of the redesign, and various features and tools matter when determining the price. Redesign is crucial for businesses, so it is fair for you to request substantial compensation for your work based on the hours you spend and your rate. Apply for website redesign tasks on Insolvo!