Services
So, you want to know about the things this web developer can do for you?
- Maybe you have a great idea for the next big thing that will inevitably flop in the end.
- Maybe you want to be the 10 billionth person to have that blog you've always dreamt about.
- How about an online store you can sell your hand-knitted gloves on, but will make no sales because you don't want to invest any time in actually running the store?
- Perhaps you want to manage your stock but don't like any of the software available to you because they don't have that one obscure feature you want and would rather develop your own.
- Maybe you are a restaurant owner who wants to start taking orders online to overwhelm your already busy chefs and service personnel.
Whatever the case is, you can be sure I will be nodding and smiling while you are telling me your great ideas, then put a frown on your face when you realize what that will cost you.
While I can definitely "shut up and take your money", I'm better at providing actual constructive feedback on your ideas (if you want to listen) and then brainstorm the best way to achieve your goals or solve your problems.
Work ethics
I value quality. I care about what kind of product leaves my hands, and I detest the "good enough" mentality when it leads to a product that may look impressive on the surface but is actually thrown together from a bunch of random code snippets. I don't like releasing things that I wouldn't be proud to say, "Yes, I made that."
That being said, I understand the need for a first viable product, that may be missing some (or a lot of) features, but even those need to be at a point where they are at least secure and "user-proof" enough to use. This can mean vastly different things in scenarios where the user is only you or a controlled group of people, than when the users are a bunch of strangers.
This leads to the unfortunate truth that quality requires (more) time, and time is money. I'll let you figure out what that equates to.
"But my third cousin who just finished college can make [insert great idea here] in half the time and asks only for three apple pies and two cans of coke."
And that's fine. If your requirements are that someone downloads a template off the internet, copies your provided text into it, changes a few colors, then slaps it onto a server, I am overqualified anyway, and you could probably find someone better suited (and cheaper) for that.
Rates
With all that said, you may want to ask, "Okay but how much?" The template answer you see in many places is "Contact me and let's talk about it". There is a good reason for that. The reason is they want to investigate who you are, what company you might represent, so they can milk as much money out of you as possible... allegedly. It's also possible that requirements are usually so customized that it's impossible to give you a pre-specified rate. Or maybe they are still setting up prices. Or maybe the other 15 legitimate reasons they might have. But I'm sure it's the first.
With me, you usually pay based on the proficiency required to do certain tasks or solve certain problems.
Here are some of the example rate ranges I typically charge depending on what you need.
Task & Rate |
|---|
Coding 75 - 120 EUR/hour |
Hosting management 60 EUR/hour |
First Time Consultation 60 EUR/hour |
Professional Consultation 84 EUR/hour |
E-mail/Chat communication Usually free |
Unnecessary meetings 300 EUR/hour |
Depending on the project, I usually ask for a deposit and/or milestone payments.
You pay for the work I do. I will not count my shopping trips, tea breaks, or that three-hour tutorial video I watched as work hours. You'd think this should be the norm, but I've heard a lot of things over the years.
All the work I do is invoiced; you will not get a "no invoice discount". Most of the time, a written contract will be made which contains all the legal details, along with the tasks you want me to complete.
I can invoice you and accept payment in multiple currencies. I take EUR as the base currency and calculate the other currencies based on that. Right now, these are:
I do not accept payment by any of the following methods:
Cryptocurrencies, Exposure, Promises
Currently the only way to pay me is through direct bank transfer, but other online payment methods are in the works.
Tools of the trade
Like everyone, I have preferences when it comes to the tools and frameworks I work with, since the tools I'm most familiar with are how I can work the most efficiently. With that said, I'm a lifelong learner. Even if I've never or rarely used a technology, I do not shy away from working with it if that's what the project requires. If you'd like to know more about my favored tools, you can read about them on the about me page.
AI in my work
If you've been alive at all in the last two years, you might have been slapped in the face with how our future AI overlords can do everything for everyone.
This includes coding too. While AI code can vary in quality somewhere in between "that mysterious chunky puddle you saw while you've walked past the bar at 10 pm last time" and "that cold pizza you ate right out of the fridge which was tasty, but could have been better", there is no denying that it can help a lot and speed things up.
I am and will be using AI tools to speed up my work, which includes both autocompletion and coding agents, but you will never receive any piece of code, that I haven't personally run my eyeballs through and used my brain to understand.
If you want a true "vibe coder" who sips their coffee while having little to no idea what's going on on their screen, and then keep kicking the AI until something usable comes out, please look elsewhere. I can vibe, just not that hard.
Expectations
You are contracting a freelance developer. Not an agency. I might not be available to you 24/7 or answer your questions the minute they come to mind. I am also one person. I have this thing called life that includes things like free time and sleep I may want to have sometimes. Please keep this in mind before you ask me to develop a 1:1 copy of Facebook for you.
However, you are also getting a direct line to the developer of the project, who will give you status updates on how the project is going and have discussions with you if you don't like the direction it's going or want to change something.
Communication is key on both sides. You can expect to know in advance how much you will have to pay in the short term, and I will try to give you rough estimates for longer projects. In return, I expect you to tell me if you want to change something and acknowledge that these changes might incur extra costs.
I hope this wall of text helps you understand what you can expect if you decide to work with me. If you have any further questions you can contact me or look at the FAQ.