Stop Undercharging for Website Projects

Why pricing feels so hard

Pricing creative work is difficult not because the math is complicated, but because most freelancers are taught to think about their work in the wrong units.

We’re taught to think in hours. How long will this take? What’s my hourly rate? Can the client afford it? That framing immediately puts you on the defensive. You’re negotiating time instead of outcomes, effort instead of value.

The result is predictable: undercharging, overworking, and projects that feel stressful even when the client is happy. You might land the job, but you quietly resent it halfway through.

The hidden costs nobody prices in

When freelancers underprice projects, it’s rarely because they don’t value their skills. It’s because they underestimate the true cost of doing the work well.

A web project isn’t just design or development time. It includes:

• Discovery, planning, and research
• Client communication and meetings
• Context switching between projects
• Revisions, edge cases, and last-minute changes
• Business overhead like software, hardware, taxes, and downtime

These costs are real, even if they don’t show up neatly in a time tracker. Ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear — it just means you absorb them personally.

Why hourly pricing breaks down

Hourly pricing feels fair on the surface, but it creates perverse incentives on both sides. The faster and more experienced you are, the less you earn. The client is encouraged to monitor time instead of trusting outcomes.

It also makes scope creep almost inevitable. Small requests feel harmless in the moment, but compound quickly. Suddenly you’re doing far more work than you priced for, and renegotiating feels awkward.

The problem isn’t charging too little per hour — it’s anchoring your price to hours at all.

A better way to think about pricing

Sustainable pricing starts by shifting the frame. Instead of asking “How long will this take?”, ask:

• What outcome does the client actually want?
• What constraints exist around timeline and quality?
• What risk am I taking on?
• What does this project need to be worth for me to show up fully?

This doesn’t mean ignoring time entirely. Time still matters — but it’s one input, not the foundation. Pricing should account for effort, overhead, and profit together.

Profit is not optional

Many freelancers feel uncomfortable thinking about profit. It can feel greedy or unjustified. In reality, profit is what allows you to rest, improve your skills, turn down bad-fit clients, and stay in business long enough to do meaningful work.

A project that pays the bills but leaves you exhausted is not sustainable. Over time, it leads to burnout or resentment — both of which hurt your work far more than charging appropriately ever could.

Make pricing concrete

One reason pricing stays fuzzy is that it lives in your head. When you’re guessing, every proposal feels like a gamble. Writing numbers down changes that.

When you explicitly account for time, overhead, and desired profit, pricing becomes calmer and more repeatable. You’re no longer negotiating against yourself.

This is exactly why I built the Pricing Calculator — to make this process tangible. It turns abstract concerns into concrete inputs so you can price projects with confidence instead of anxiety.

Pricing correctly is an act of respect

Charging sustainably isn’t about squeezing clients or “charging more for the sake of it”. It’s about setting up a relationship where both sides can show up honestly.

Clear pricing creates clearer boundaries, better communication, and better work. It protects your energy and gives clients realistic expectations.

Sustainable pricing isn’t a mindset trick. It’s a system — and systems can be learned, refined, and reused.