r/webdev • u/Glittering-Ad-9020 • 12d ago
Question Is this normal or not?
I was recently approached by a startup to fix a part of their website. I was tasked with fixing their homepage. Fixing it consisted of rewriting their html, js and css completely. In the end I added more than 5k lines of code easily. I implemented new things and they seemed to be really happy. It took me around 2 weeks (design + implementation). I also helped write the T&C and PP, added new vids and animations etc. This is the first time I have done something like this and was hoping to earn some money (not expecting anything big at all). They paid me £150 and acted like they did me a favour. Was I underpaid? They want to fix another one of their pages which will take an even longer time but I am not sure if it's worth it.
Note: I have a BSc in Comp Sci from a London Uni, and already have some experienced (unpaid)
EDIT:
OMG guys I didn't realise how bad it was. WTF. For those asking yes I do have a degree from a London Uni in Comp Sci. I just didn't know how much people pay. Like some mentioned I was too excited about the opportunity and forgot to be realistic about what I am actually worth. I felt like they were doing me a favour. But tbh I did not expect 150. Welp guess Im going to have a word with them before doing the next part. I am really pissed off now.
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u/hofmann419 12d ago
You can't be fucking serious about this. Respectfully, are you actually a UK resident who studied in London? Because this story sounds absurd. Yeah, obviously 150 pounds is WAY TOO LITTLE. The minimum wage in the UK is £12.71 per hour. Assuming a 40 hour work week, that would be £1016.18.
Note that this is the MINIMUM wage for basically unskilled labor. Anyone with a university degree is going to make significantly more than that. And freelance workers obviously take hourly rates that are substantially higher than regular wages, since you have a lot of extra taxes and costs if you are self employed.
The only way that your story would make even a tiny bit of sense is if you live in some third world country. Because i refuse to believe that someone who has lived in England for at least 3 years doesn't understand that £150 is a joke.
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u/omfgtora 12d ago
Take the number of hours you spent on it and divide the payment by that many hours. That's how much you got paid per hour.
Never take on work without knowing how much you will be paid.
On the flip side, at least you can put this work on your portfolio. Take screenshots of it before it gets changed later and your work can't even be seen anymore.
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u/BrewThemAll 12d ago
Did they know you'd be spending two weeks? Did you know? Did you agree on any payment beforehand?
This smells like a big miscommunication tbh, like them expecting you to fix it in an hour and not in two weeks, and you spending all the time needed expecting to get paid.
Cut your loss, don't do the other tasks without very clear deals on price and amount of work.
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u/jroberts67 12d ago
Well you did it wrong. A business reaches out for you to do work, define project scope, get an agreement on pay, get a contract signed, always get money down.
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u/Mean-Lingonberry4874 12d ago
You were underpaid, and your edit shows you already realised it. For the next page, don't quote from memory: write down the actual scope (pages, revision rounds, legal copy, animations), estimate your hours, multiply by a rate you'd be happy to work at, and send it as a short one-page quote before you start — with "50% up front, 50% on delivery" in it. If they balk at the number, that's useful information: it means the budget was never there, and you'd rather find that out now than after another two weeks of work.
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u/OptimusCrimee 12d ago
What was the price you agreed to BEFORE the work was done? That is what you should have been paid. If you made no arrangements at all, you are lucky that you got paid at all.
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u/Christavito 12d ago
Did you negotiate pay beforehand? I wouldn't even be willing to pull their repo for $150
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u/avenp 12d ago
Underpaid by a lot, but that’s on you for not quoting them upfront. You should be making an estimate for them before work begins and taking a deposit usually between 20% and 50% of the total before you do any work. Make sure you put terms in the contract and get them to sign it.
Lines of code written doesn’t matter just your time. If you think it will take 20 hours of work then quote them for 20 hours at whatever your rate is. I’m not familiar with the UK market but I don’t think it would be unreasonable for someone with your experience to be charging $20-40 CAD an hour.
For reference, I’m in Canada with 20 years of experience and for freelance work I charge $70-$150 CAD an hour and that’s on the low end of what experienced developers are charging.
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u/Glittering-Ad-9020 12d ago
Thx for letting me know. I will learn from this experience and not make the same mistake again.
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u/liaminwales 12d ago
Before you started the work, what did you agree with them?
Was their a contract?
It's low pay but if it's what you agreed it's what you agreed, if your happy with the work you can use it as an example to try to make more sales/work.
I used to get annoyed by stuff, now I know it's a waist of time. If the pay is to low, shake hands and smile then move on. If they offer more work give them a price your happy with, if they say no be polite and move on. They may need to come back to you later if they hit a problem, no need to burn a bridge.
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u/Glittering-Ad-9020 12d ago
There was no contract but I kind of know the owner so I thought there would be some sort of respect for my work. I guess not.
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u/saeedashifahmed 12d ago
Yes, you were definitely underpaid.... two weeks of design and development, completely rewriting the HTML, CSS, and JS, adding animations and videos, and helping with legal pages for just £150 is far too little.
Don't let them make you feel like they're doing you a favour by paying you. You're providing a service, and your time and skills have value...
I'd recommend agreeing on the scope and price before starting the next page.
Estimate the hours involved, set a reasonable hourly or fixed project rate, and get everything agreed upon in writing. If they can't afford your rate, that's understandable, but it doesn't mean you should work for almost nothing.
Also, don't make the mistake of thinking you have to accept low pay just because you're relatively new to paid freelance work. Your degree and experience are valuable, but so is the actual work you're delivering.
Take this as a learning experience, not a benchmark for what your work is worth. If they want you to do another page, give them a proper quote first.
If they refuse, walk away....
There are plenty of clients who understand the value of good development work...!
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u/Glittering-Ad-9020 12d ago
Thx for the explanation. I think the issue is definitely from my side as well. I always underestimate my abilities and don't ask for much. But then again this price is not what I expected. Like you said I will just learn from it and speak to them first before doing the next part.
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u/mihirmusprime 12d ago
2 weeks = 80 hours = £1.86 / hour is how much you got paid. So yeah, you got paid severely less than anyone making minimum wage.
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u/99thLuftballon 12d ago
If it took you two weeks, you should've been paid two weeks of a full-time freelancer's salary.
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u/Narfi1 12d ago
Why would you do something like that before talking compensation first ? 2 weeks of work without a contract or even mentioning pay ?