We create websites for mainly clients in the United States (our agency - https://dengradel.com/), and our customers are small business owners. How much should we charge for such services in Nigeria? We're curious because I don't see many local agencies here.

Nigeria clients are so difficult to work with

Devaro:
Nigeria clients are so difficult to work with

It goes both ways. Nigerian service providers (e.g Web Designers) are the most difficult to work with. Poor quality work, missed deadlines, bad attitude, the list is endless.

VAPatrick:


It goes both ways. Nigerian service providers (e.g Web Designers) are the most difficult to work with. Poor quality work, missed deadlines, bad attitude, the list is endless.

I completely agree, and I'm glad you brought up the crucial issue.

It's a frustrating scenario for everyone involved.

When clients have a complex project with a budget that drastically undercuts the market value, it's a recipe for DISASTER.

Here's the thing: quality web development, especially anything involving advanced features like escrow wallets, demands significant time, skill, and resources.

Attempting to squeeze that into a tiny budget simply doesn't work.

Desperate developers might try to take on such projects, but the results almost inevitably include what you described: missed deadlines, poor work, and a frustrated client.

If a client doesn't want to invest ADEQUATELY in their online presence, they're far more likely to encounter either unqualified developers or worse, outright scams.

Professionals in any field deserve fair COMPENSATION. It ensures we can dedicate the necessary time and attention to produce the best possible results.

Honestly, turning down underfunded projects is a sign of professionalism, not a bad attitude.

I always encourage clients to understand that high-quality websites are an investment in their business.

When they see web development as a PARTNERSHIP, rather than a bargain-bin service, everyone benefits.

I don use too much grammar but the truth be say your likes should do better because we don chat about projects in the past but your investment can't work for me and you never had the balls to say straight away that your budget is tight or low, it is always "ok" and you go mute until the messages are cleared.

Do better.

Devaro:


I completely agree, and I'm glad you brought up the crucial issue.

It's a frustrating scenario for everyone involved.

When clients have a complex project with a budget that drastically undercuts the market value, it's a recipe for DISASTER.

Here's the thing: quality web development, especially anything involving advanced features like escrow wallets, demands significant time, skill, and resources.

Attempting to squeeze that into a tiny budget simply doesn't work.

Desperate developers might try to take on such projects, but the results almost inevitably include what you described: missed deadlines, poor work, and a frustrated client.

If a client doesn't want to invest ADEQUATELY in their online presence, they're far more likely to encounter either unqualified developers or worse, outright scams.

Professionals in any field deserve fair COMPENSATION. It ensures we can dedicate the necessary time and attention to produce the best possible results.

Honestly, turning down underfunded projects is a sign of professionalism, not a bad attitude.

I always encourage clients to understand that high-quality websites are an investment in their business.

When they see web development as a PARTNERSHIP, rather than a bargain-bin service, everyone benefits.

I don use too much grammar but the truth be say your likes should do better because we don chat about projects in the past but your investment can't work for me and you never had the balls to say straight away that your budget is tight or low, it is always "ok" and you go mute until the messages are cleared.

Do better.

I like how you quickly turned my comment around in defense of your professional colleagues. You would have made a good lawyer, you know?

Far from it, my comment has nothing to do with budget. Even if it were, it's not an excuse to deliver low-quality project. As a web developer, if you accept to deliver a project like Facebook or Whatsapp for N100K, it is your duty to deliver. The client should not be blamed for that. An agreement is an agreement.

Secondly, before now I never knew turning down a project can be considered bad attitude. I am a service provider myself, and I turn down projects on a daily basis. I'll give an example of what I consider bad attitude in respect of web design. I recently hired a web designer from here (I hope he sees this). He completed the first task and got paid for it. I assigned another task to him. This time I made the mistake of paying him 100% of the agreed fee up front, thinking that will motivate him to deliver on time. This project was only supposed to take a few hours, but days later, this guy was still giving me excuses. I checked the file on cpanel and noticed it's not been updated for 5 days, meaning he's not working on it, so I changed the login details and blocked him.

Responding to your last paragraph. I am an IT person too, so for every task I assign, I have at least a fair idea of what it entails. When a dev quotes an unrealistic fee, I simply respond with "okay", and move on to the next person. That's because I don't have the time for negotiation. This has nothing to do with me not having the balls, like you said. By virtue of my military background, I have the balls to do whatever even physically, let alone when I'm behind a keyboard. It's not also a tight budget thing, cos by the grace of God, money is the least of my problems.

Edited:

Over the last 17 years, I have hired more than 50 web developers from this platform, for various tasks. Hence, my comment that web devs here are difficult to work with is not made up, but based on my personal experience vis-à-vis my experience with devs on other platforms like Fiverr. That's not to say there are no good ones. I have met amazing web developers here whose web design/development skills and attitudes are top notch.

VAPatrick:


I like how you quickly turned my comment around in defense of your professional colleagues. You would have made a good lawyer, you know?

Far from it, my comment has nothing to do with budget. Even if it were, it's not an excuse to deliver low-quality project. As a web developer, if you accept to deliver a project like Facebook or Whatsapp for N100K, it is your duty to deliver. The client should not be blamed for that. An agreement is an agreement.

Secondly, before now I never knew turning down a project can be considered bad attitude. I am a service provider myself, and I turn down projects on a daily basis. I'll give an example of what I consider bad attitude in respect of web design. I recently hired a web designer from here (I hope he sees this). He completed the first task and got paid for it. I assigned another task to him. This time I made the mistake of paying him 100% of the agreed fee up front, thinking that will motivate him to deliver on time. This project was only supposed to take a few hours, but days later, this guy was still giving me excuses. I checked the file on cpanel and noticed it's not been updated for 5 days, meaning he's not working on it, so I changed the login details and blocked him.

Responding to your last paragraph. I am an IT person too, so for every task I assign, I have at least a fair idea of what it entails. When a dev quotes an unrealistic fee, I simply respond with "okay", and move on to the next person. That's because I don't have the time for negotiation. This has nothing to do with me not having the balls, like you said. By virtue of my military background, I have the balls to do whatever even physically, let alone when I'm behind a keyboard. It's not also a tight budget thing, cos by the grace of God, money is the least of my problems.

Edited:

Over the last 17 years, I have hired more than 50 web developers from this platform, for various tasks. Hence, my comment that web devs here are difficult to work with is not made up, but based on my personal experience vis-à-vis my experience with devs on other platforms like Fiverr. That's not to say there are no good ones. I have met amazing web developers here whose web design/development skills and attitudes are top notch.

I am not defending anyone just stating the obvious which is you can not budget money for pencil and expect to get a pen.

If you go through my comment, you will read clearly where I stated that low budget attracts desperate developer and potentially scammers.

The aspect of unrealistic fee "okay" and keeping mute isn't the best approach because I have worked with lots of both Nigeria and foreign clients specifically the whites which made me spot what's missing.

If a white client isn't okay with the fee, he or she will make it as clear to the developer

"Okay, I can't work with you" or "I'm on a tight budget, let's do this some other time"

It is more professional and straight forward in doing business.

Lastly never make a mistake of paying 100% to a developer either you have worked with the developer in the past or not.

Developers never work on a project if your upfront isn't paid and the balance being assured.

Thanks

VAPatrick:


I like how you quickly turned my comment around in defense of your professional colleagues. You would have made a good lawyer, you know?

Far from it, my comment has nothing to do with budget. Even if it were, it's not an excuse to deliver low-quality project. As a web developer, if you accept to deliver a project like Facebook or Whatsapp for N100K, it is your duty to deliver. The client should not be blamed for that. An agreement is an agreement.

Secondly, before now I never knew turning down a project can be considered bad attitude. I am a service provider myself, and I turn down projects on a daily basis. I'll give an example of what I consider bad attitude in respect of web design. I recently hired a web designer from here (I hope he sees this). He completed the first task and got paid for it. I assigned another task to him. This time I made the mistake of paying him 100% of the agreed fee up front, thinking that will motivate him to deliver on time. This project was only supposed to take a few hours, but days later, this guy was still giving me excuses. I checked the file on cpanel and noticed it's not been updated for 5 days, meaning he's not working on it, so I changed the login details and blocked him.

Responding to your last paragraph. I am an IT person too, so for every task I assign, I have at least a fair idea of what it entails. When a dev quotes an unrealistic fee, I simply respond with "okay", and move on to the next person. That's because I don't have the time for negotiation. This has nothing to do with me not having the balls, like you said. By virtue of my military background, I have the balls to do whatever even physically, let alone when I'm behind a keyboard. It's not also a tight budget thing, cos by the grace of God, money is the least of my problems.

Edited:

Over the last 17 years, I have hired more than 50 web developers from this platform, for various tasks. Hence, my comment that web devs here are difficult to work with is not made up, but based on my personal experience vis-à-vis my experience with devs on other platforms like Fiverr. That's not to say there are no good ones. I have met amazing web developers here whose web design/development skills and attitudes are top notch.

Thank you for such a detailed answer. Are there other sites in Nigeria (besides the mentioned Fiverr, which is not only Nigerian) where you can find clients for projects?