Newbie - help please on general questions

Just started - need help

[StephenRKnight]

Hi

My own site has been up and running for a year.

I have decided to start my own web site design/development business.

I have 4 questions;

1) Should I offer as a service: to manage a clients site, or just pass control over to them on full payment?

If so any tips - i.e. how much should I charge per month - how many 'page' changes are acceptable etc.

2) My host has a resellers package (this is all new to me)
is it a good thing to offer clients a hosting service, or is it more trouble than it's worth?

3) I am able to offer clients database intergration (only via FrontPage/ASP/Access) - any idea how I should charge for a database - rough guess?

4) I am based in the UK - UK webmasters what is the work like out there - busy or what?

Thank you in advance - Stephen

[Travoli]

What services to offer and how much to charge are going to pretty much be up to you. There are so many different (good) ways to run a website development business. I would align my pricing according to what I liked to do. If I really disliked graphic design, I would charge more for that. Maintenance is going to depend on the size of a site of course. How about calling your competitors and asking what they would charge for XXXX website? You could get an idea of what the market supply/demand is like.

You'll probably have to start off less expensive then the competition, then as you get referrals and happy customers, you can charge more.

Best of luck!

[coopster]

It may sound trivial, but if I was you I would develop a business plan first. I'm not saying you won't make it without one, but you will find the answers to every one of your questions as you put it together.

Best of luck with your new venture!