The obvious answer might be yes. But before you jump to that conclusion, here are some other points worth taking into account.

Known cost and price

Does your service or product have a known cost and price?

If so, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t display it on your website.

For example, you may be a freelance content writer who charges a set amount for a blog post, a freelance photographer who has a set price for wedding photography, or you have an info product such as a course, or you have a fixed hourly rate. 

However, it can be hard to define a set price at the outset if your service or product is bespoke and has moving variables (such as a large project). Especially if you use value-based pricing, i.e. basing your price on the client’s perceived value of your service.

A very basic example; if you are the only vendor for miles around selling ice-cold drinking water in the desert, the value of that water and the price you could charge would be very different to what you’d charge in your local cafe (unless your cafe was also in the desert!). 

Price range

In the cases where it is difficult to know the final cost, you could consider adding a price range or even a statement on your website saying that “prices start from X amount”. Alternatively, you could show clients case studies of previous projects with an indicator of price or offer packages with a “prices start from X amount” note.

This way, potential customers will know roughly from the get-go whether or not your prices are within their budget. What’s more, most customers expect to see prices or at least a price range. Adding your prices or a price range also mitigates the risk of tire kickers.

Hopefully, you won’t have someone who cannot afford your services get on a client discovery call and try to lowball you. It also lessens any tension or awkward moments on the call when you come to talk about your prices, as they will be within the expected ballpark.

Having said that, clients might be inclined towards the lower figure within the range or, if you have a range of packages on your website (for example, you are a social media manager and offer basic, premium and super-premium packages), client’s might cherry pick items from each package.

Client range

If you have a wide range of clientele, all with different levels of budget, some high, some low, having a set price on your website could mean you are ‘leaving money on the table’.

For example, a small business might have less money to spend on website design than a large corporate enterprise.

Likewise, you may want to work with a local charity or good cause that could be put off if they think your prices are too high or there is no room for maneuver. 

Competition

Yes, your competition might see your prices and may try to compete. This is where your marketing positioning comes into play. Is your brand reputation about being the go-to person in your field and therefore you can command higher prices, or are you known for providing reliable but low-cost services?

In any event, would you want a customer or client who is simply looking for the lowest price and not taking into account the value you provide, the quality of your work and your worth as a freelancer?

It probably pays to be more concerned with what your client wants to see and needs rather than what your competition is doing.

Trust

Being confident and transparent about your pricing is a trust signal to potential clients.

Also, when businesses are reticent about being open about their fees and prices, some potential clients might see this as a red flag. Who wants to get on a client discovery call only to find out at the end that they’ve wasted their time as your price isn’t within their budget?

It would be much easier to know the price or at least the ballpark figure in advance, so as part of a smooth client onboarding process, once the discovery call is over, you can send a quote.

With Invoice Ninja, your clients can turn an approved quote into an invoice with just one click of a button, streamlining the whole process and allowing you to get paid faster.

International clients

If you work with clients worldwide, deciding what currency to display your pricing in can be challenging. A general rule of thumb would be to display your home currency where you or your business are based or the currency where most of your clients are based.

Fortunately, when it comes to invoicing your international clients, Invoice Ninja supports dozens of languages and currencies, and you can set different languages and currencies per individual client.

Try it for free!

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Ultimately, whether you display your prices on your website or not will depend on your specific business, pricing strategy, and your client’s needs. The optimum way to approach this is always to think about what your client needs to see and what will offer them the best experience.

We hope this was helpful. If you know anyone else who might benefit, please share. Thank you!