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I've been redesignin Web sites for awhile now and kinda-sorta finally have
my own formula figured out...
I charge for two templates (one for the home page, one for the inside page).
This includes layout, preliminary content for two page samples (one each),
and the CSS. (Note that by "template," I mean a file that may or may not be
a Dreamweaver template...sometimes, all I create is an HTML file called
"template" that I copy and paste to create the new pages. It depends on
who's going to be maintaining the Web site...me or them...and which tools
are involved.)
I then charge to transfer content...it's their choice if I do it or they do.
Now, the reason that this works for me is that the sites I've developed
recently (as in the last couple of years) all meet Web standards...no tables
for layout, all CSS-driven using classes and divs. Therefore, instead of
having to mess with which column I'm in and it should be a different size
and how am I going to do this?, I find the appropriate div and change the
content. Typically, only one div in the page needs changing between
pages...the rest are the header, footer, and navigation areas.
I always create the home page first and get that right, and then I go to the
inside page (which uses many of the same pieces, but different...smaller
logo, typically, and slightly modified layout).
To directly answer your question: there's no formula. I know approximately
how long it will take me to create the home page, based on experience and
metrics, and I know how these numbers have to change if the customer wants a
design that I haven't implemented before vs one that I have...I always steal
from my own CSS files. I've also started using the same div names and style
names in the different sites, which means it's much easier to create a new
site based on an existing site. However, these numbers are mine and, while
I'll share my base numbers, they won't apply to you...these goes along with
what others have said. You need to know how long it takes you to do
something in order to figure out how long it will take you to do a new one.
It typically takes me 4-8 hours to create the home page template. It
typically takes me 1-3 hours to modify and tweak it for inside. It typically
takes me less than an hour to transfer content per page...depends on what
already exists, if I have to edit, how easy it will be to copy from a
table-based layout cell-by-cell into my layout.
For example, I created templates for my husband's hosting site, based on a
design he had seen and liked. It was a pretty complicated design and took me
about 12 hours for the home page (but, thankfully, it was the same design on
all pages). He then decided he wanted an entirely new design, because he
liked one I had done for a client better. This time, it took me about two
hours to set up the home page, inside page, and transfer content...of
course, I was able to transfer content from my first site for him to the
second, so I only had to copy the stuff in the content div and paste. Both
sites use a pretty basic two-column layout (left column nav, right column
content) and while they look somewhat similar, they also look somewhat
different.
Good luck :-)
Char James-Tanny ~ JTF Associates, Inc. ~ http://www.helpstuff.com
2004 Microsoft Help MVP ~ MSHelpWiki http://www.mshelpwiki.com
AuthorIT Certified Consultant ~ AuthorIT Development and Training
RoboGURU: RoboHelp Consulting, Development, and Training
Moderator, HATT and MSHelp2
Web site Hosting and Design ~ http://www.jtfhosting.com
> I'm not sure a formula would help you if you don't
> know how long it'll take you to do the job. A web site
> redesign could take as little as 5 minutes per web
> page or could take hours per page, depending on what's
> on it, what needs to be changed, etc.
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