I’ve written this to give you an idea of how I work. Feel free to ask me about any of it…

Budget

I can work to any budget .. although of course the more you are prepared to pay, the more of my time you can afford. Tell me about your business, what sort of website you want, what you already have (content, artwork, images), and what facilities you think you need and then we can discuss how much it might cost. And its not just the website… there are also decisions to make about your domain name, your email, your hosting provider, and future support and help.

And if you are trying to create an Aston Martin on a Skoda budget, I’ll let you know.

Quotations

I don’t give fixed price quotes.   However, of course I realise that people have budgets to work with, and for that reason I can normally give you a rough estimate. I can also steer you if you start to work in a way that means we won’t be able to stick to the budget we have agreed on.

When do I start paying?

The age-old problem … when does an enquiry become a planning meeting, and when does the clock go ON.

I try to be very clear about this, but I am also quite flexible as some projects need more initial talking and planning before you can be sure that I am the right person for you. As long as you accept that it is unreasonable for me to work for free, I think we will understand each other. I am always clear about the point at which “chat” is turning into “work”.

Ecommerce work – selling online

I don’t do normally take on ecommerce work as you would need more ongoing support from me than I am able to give, being a one-woman-band working part-time.

Having said that though, I am happy to provide links to third-party providers e.g Eventbrite or Etsy.  If anything goes wrong with the booking/buying process, you would contact the third-party and sort it out with them.

So .. I don’t rule it out entirely, and we can discuss your requirements.

Payments

All work is charged at my hourly rate of £60 and I generally invoice at the end of each 2-3 hour chunk. This means that you can see how things are going and there are no nasty surprises. If you have to suspend the project for a while, we simply settle up the timesheet and then wait until you are ready to get going again.

Once a client has been with me for a while, I am happy to keep a tab of small bits of work and then invoice now and then.  Minimum charge for a task is 15 mins for existing clients, 30 mins for new clients.

I ask for payments within 14 days, but can be flexible if this doesn’t fit your business model.

Chargeable work includes phone calls, online meetings, emails and work done .. ie all time spent on your project.

Contacting me

We’re all different – some people prefer face to face, some like phone calls best and some prefer email.  I can do whatever works best for you.

Email is the quickest route to me  – I check it all the time and can respond quickly to emergencies even if I am out and about.  Its my preferred contact medium and the one I find easiest, particularly as I don’t work full-time.

So .. email first .. and if you want to chat, we can arrange a convenient time to meet up or have a phone call.

Website support and emergency advice

I am only me, and so I obviously cannot offer 24/7 support!   If you have a problem, please check here on my advice page before calling me.

Hosting and domain renewals

I am happy to arrange hosting and domain registration for you but they will always be in your own name so that you do all of the renewals yourself and are not tied to me.

Meetings & Training sessions

All meetings and training sessions take place here at my office in Teddington. If you are in the Teddington area I am happy to travel to you if you prefer.

Meetings outside the area are also possible, but I will charge for the travelling time.

Keeping your website going

I don’t just create your website and then disappear off into the ether – read about my website aftercare.

Say it like it is

I am very down to earth and I prefer it that we are straight with each other. If you don’t like my design, please don’t worry about offending me. The quickest way we can get from A to B is to be honest and say what we mean.

And please don’t ever worry about “bothering me”, or “it going on too long”. You are paying me for my time, and I won’t feel I’ve done a good job unless you love the site and it does exactly what you wanted it to do.

Likewise, if you have asked me to do something that I don’t think will work, or are working in a way that is preventing me doing a good job or will take you above your budget, I will let you know.

So, what next?

Please do contact me and we can start the ball rolling. Its a lot easier than you might think.

Charlotte
(last updated Feb 2026)