Free Websites Are Paid For By Web Designers

The Art of Pricing Websites has a great article on saying no to spec work in the web development community. Read it if you’re considering doing a site on spec and just say no.

Been There Done That

I’m not proud of it but I’ve done a few jobs on spec when I started out in the industry and none of them were worth it. I’ve also done free websites for friends and a few churches but these were by choice. I did them because I wanted to help an individual or group.

One thing that most people never realize is that none of these websites was really ever free. They take a lot of time to design and develop, time that I could have spent working on sites for paying clients. There have been many instances where I’ve put off client work so I could work on some of these “free” websites. In the end, I the designer, end up paying for the free websites.

Time Is Valuable

I don’t want to sound bitter because I’m not but sometimes it annoys me when people think that creating websites is simple. Some people think that if you have a copy of DreamWeaver or if you’re “good with computers” that making websites is easy. It’s not.

The older I get and the more established my business becomes, the more I value my time. I’m fortunate that I’m always busy with client work. It’s a struggle to stay on top of it all and for the most part I love what I do. The one thing I always wish I had more of is time.

Unsurprisingly, this desire for more time isn’t so I can work on another free website. I’d rather be reading a book or taking photos at the edge of a quiet lake. This might sound selfish but unless you have some balance in your life it’s easy to burn out and resent your day to day work.