this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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Web Development

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I am at a loss on where to search for professional independent web developers (programming.dev)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by FiniteBanjo@programming.dev to c/webdev@programming.dev
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My team has decided to put the launch on hold, for now, I appreciate everyone's interest in the project and I'm very thankful for all of the input and helpful discussion.

I tried making a Freelancer post, as I used their service once years ago and it was generally pleasant, but I was immediately bombarded with AI Applicants and an AI Recruiter grilling me for answers to its questions. Immediately deleted the post and the entire account.

Where do I go to get a quote for some work done by some actual human beings? I don't need AI, I don't want AI, if someone automate their quoting process then I'm out because I'm not gonna fuckin negotiate with the hallucinating vending machine.

EDIT: ~~I attempted a post on UpWork.com and there is far less AI response than on Freelancer, but I've still declined all offers so far because they failed an important filter question. Still, I've been able to get quotes! FINALLY! Looks like my website could potentially be built for some number between $5,000 and $38,000. Very interesting. As some commenters have suggested, I'll check out some options in local cities, though I doubt I'll find much in my small studio's price range.~~ EDIT2: These quotes are bogus, I think. I've been seeing the same phrases repeat across multiple proposals "AI is a powerful tool but no replacement for creativity". I went through so many proposals and not a single one looked like a real human capable of adhering to a no-ai policy.

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[–] nykula@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

EDIT: Other quotes I’ve gotten are $5,000 / $14,000 / $15,000 / $38,000 so the $7,000 estimate actually seems really low by comparison. Clearly the amount of features I’ve requested are quite challenging.

Interesting, do estimates of hours also differ a lot? Do responders who have more senior qualifications estimate particular tasks as more difficult, according to their experience? I'm fairly confident that my estimate matches the tools I'm familiar with, but at the same time I'm neither still junior nor yet senior and might have underestimated some tasks, particularly those related to communication inside the team, because I'm used to working solo.

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If you haven't done freelancing before, do acquaint yourself with the laws in you area. You will need to pay for health insurance, income tax, pension, and so on yourself. Budget that into the hourly to be able to give a quote. To earn the equivalent of a salaried worker, I've often seen at least double the hourly of a salaried worker requested. This varies from region to region of course.

[–] nykula@piefed.social 3 points 3 days ago

Correct, I am registered as a sole proprietor and pay all the taxes. I have no health insurance and will receive almost no pension; this is how the economy is organized here. With the U.S. rate that I asked I can actually earn more than at two of my Ukrainian day jobs combined... So I honestly didn't see a strong need to include that into the quote.

[–] FiniteBanjo@programming.dev 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

When I made my post I requested flat rate estimates, so I'm not sure. The largest difference in price points doesn't seem to be qualifications, almost random actually. Users with higher estimates seem to have questions about the hardware, though.

[–] nykula@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago

Sorry for the usual annoying question but have you received my e-mail from June 12th? I sent portfolio links and some more clarification questions. I've just found out that Gmail has placed my letters in spam folders this month; maybe Yahoo does, too.

Regarding hardware, I didn't ask because I assumed that if hosting is handled by administrators, they will take care of assessing and renting a capable server. My apps usually start on a €10/m Hetzner VPS and as they grow, admins upgrade plans or move it where it's convenient for them. For media content, one client added a CDN later to an existing project, while others found a dedicated server provides enough bandwidth for their needs. Best experience with Debian and Alpine servers. One client wanted Windows, their IT staff took care of managing it so I'm not familiar with deployment to that platform. With GNU/Linux, musl and FreeBSD servers I had different levels of involvement, from sending the manager a Docker image or a repo and having their staff install and run it on their own, to full root, hosting and DNS access and me being paid for installation, documentation and a few hours of support every month.

The primary interesting thing about your project is for me that nobody's going to mess up my code with unreviewed LLM patches, and that it's supposed to help indie artists who I assume are politically progressive and curious about free software.