When you code HTML/CSS...

Originally Posted by Christian Offtopic: Whats NZD? New zeland dollar? if so whats the conversion to usd?

New Zealand Dollars. Look up a foreign exchange calculator like this one to see the conversion rates: http://www.asbbank.co.nz/story3739.asp

NZD is currently at $0.6799 USD. So $100 NZ = $67.99 US.

seen.to, I also estimate, but have done several small jobs lately based on hours.

It takes me roughly 2hrs for each xhtml css code and i charge $25 per xhtml/css code irrelavent of complexity. Also ull probably not find anyone who can code who uses less images, lol, i use bg colours/borders wherever possible. Also, my coding is based upon my theory that xhtml should define text, not have any images at all in it, (i do use tables for forums, but no-where else). And then the style that is then applied should add the images to it, therefore without the style you have the plaintext xhtml, so you can add a completly different style without changing <img> tags. Im yet to see another designer come round to my way of thinking (probably cos its more work), but still im sticking to it. Although AJAX isnt much extra work, I usually charge an extra $25 for that, simply because there arnt too many that can do AJAX, and do it well at a low end price range.

Originally Posted by Xi0s ... Also ull probably not find anyone who can code who uses less images, lol, i use bg colours/borders wherever possible. Also, my coding is based upon my theory that xhtml should define text, not have any images at all in it, (i do use tables for forums, but no-where else). And then the style that is then applied should add the images to it, therefore without the style you have the plaintext xhtml, so you can add a completly different style without changing <img> tags. Im yet to see another designer come round to my way of thinking (probably cos its more work), but still im sticking to it.

Sorry to disappoint but this isn't your theory, its the basic premise of semantic XHTML/CSS - the separation of content from layout.

Also there are occasions where it is still appropriate to include images directly within the HTML.

that's actually a pretty common way of thinking.

Yeah, I see most coders here use that use his theory of semantics. Also, I bet coding the same layout, I'm sure that several people could use less images. Way to make yourself look better than other people here, but I can assure you that you're not.

My rate is $50 per hour.

Thing is, i was never taught how to code, i make it up as i go along, i just happily seem to have hit exactly what's supposed to be . Sorry to have offended ppl, i simple havnt seen all too many coders (on forums, i dont doubt ppl coding sites like adobe's main site) code in this way. Also im thinking of experimenting a lot with ajax, see if i can get some nice page-change effect. I was thinking, you could either effect the colour of the text, which goes out of the window if you havnt got a solid colour bg, or you could use an overdiv of the background image, to fade it out. Can u effect the transparency of text? Also, i need to learn enough javascript to do a preloading effect also . I am in no way saying im the best coder here, but for someone whos self-taught and does it in spare time, having no intention of carrying it on past 2 years, ive done quite well . Anyone know of some good javascript coding sites where i could learn a preloader?

As for chaka42's $50 an hour, based upon the experience and learning that goes into it, along with the strong logical mind to decide how your going to slice things to get the minimum loading time possible, this is probably a fairer price than what I charge, from a coders point of view. However due to the fact that there are so many coders, the price is constantly pushed down and down, which is why i dont like people undercutting web design prices. I keep on the cheaper end of the spectrum for xHTML CSS coding because I have to to get work to pay for new stuff.

You are making it sound like your the only one here who learned on your own and do it for your free time. I've read only 1 site on how to code HTML/CSS and that was w3schools. The rest I have learned by example.

Regarding the prethough period, I always spend about 20-30 minutes before I code to best layout the code in my mind before I do one keystroke. That's why normally, I can code layouts I once though impossible such as this.

And about pricing, you are saying you keep on trying to be the cheapest to get work, but what does that say about your coding? If you need to underprice to get work, there is something wrong with your code where people will only code you for a certain amount of money. The only time I underprice was during the holiday season when I wanted to be kind to others..

I could go on and on, just because you are making yourself sound like the best coder out there, but honestly, I don't think it's worth the time. You may not have known people code like that, but you don't have to plug your amazing coding skills in other peoples faces because of it.

That navigation bar is screaming to be dragable!

i am now billing out at $60 per hour. most people in industry i know up here in calgary, doing design/css/ site dev, are around the same rate.

green ppl here are usually billing around $20-$30 (i've seen as low as $12.50 which you could get starting off as a dish pig at mcdonalds)
while the hardcore devs (advance php/coldfusion/asp.net) start in the $80s.