Why we publish prices.

There's a long tradition in design and development services of hiding the price until after the discovery call. The defense is usually some version of: every project is different, so we can't quote without scoping. The honest read is closer to: we want to know what you'll pay before we tell you what it costs.

We publish prices. Three tiers, named numbers. Custom-tier projects get a quote, but the tiered work is fixed.

What hidden pricing costs the client

Hidden pricing introduces a long, low-grade negotiation before the work begins. The client doesn't know if they can afford the studio. The studio doesn't know if the client can afford them. Both sides invest hours in calls before either knows whether the engagement is real. The discovery process becomes a price-discovery process in disguise.

It also asymmetrically punishes serious clients. The clients who would have happily paid the tier price end up paying more because they signaled budget early. The clients who would have walked at the tier price waste the studio's time in discovery calls. The market for service work works against everyone.

What named pricing costs the studio

Named pricing costs the studio the ability to capture the upside of clients with deeper pockets. That's real. The trade is that named pricing buys back trust, speed, and a much shorter sales cycle. We close engagements in days, not weeks, because the price is settled before the first call.

The other thing named pricing costs is the option to take projects we shouldn't. A published tier forces us to defend the price with the work. If $2,599 buys a Plus tier site, the Plus tier site has to justify $2,599 on its own merits. We can't paper over weak output with a high invoice. The pricing model is a forcing function on the studio.

Trust compounds

Across enough engagements, the trust pays for itself. Clients refer other clients who already know what the studio costs. The intake process compresses. The work begins faster. The whole engagement reads more like a fair trade and less like a negotiation. That's the version we want to be running.