I got approached by a real estate agency to budget a web project that could be done in two ways. Their current website is in PHP and has an outdated and broken design. My options are: 1) Update the design to a more modern look while keeping the same stack (this is the easier option, but they'd still have an outdated stack), or 2) Migrate to Next.js (and possibly Nest) with a fresh design and updated stack. For the first option, I should mention that I'm not fully confident with PHP Laravel, but I feel I could handle it as it mainly involves design (HTML), plus I have my friend Claudio to help me out. The second option might seem more complicated since it includes a landing page, image hosting, changing the website host, redoing authentication, and migrating the database. However, since I already have a real estate app in Next.js that I can clone and adjust to fit the client's needs, I'm considering this route. Additionally, the base database structure is already provided, and there are no complex integrations like WhatsApp or Telegram involved, although I could add those if I get paid more. Given all this, what do you think would be a fair price for this project? I haven't kept up with development costs lately.
1 Answer
If you can clone that Next.js app, it totally shifts the game! I mean, modifying someone else's messy PHP is a headache compared to working from your own clean setup. For pricing, it really depends on where you're located, but I'd suggest around $800-$1500 for the first option and maybe $2000-$3000 for the full migration to Next.js. Since you can reuse a lot of code, option 2 might actually be quicker than messing with old PHP!
I know, right? Option 2 sounds way easier! But I get it, the agency might not want to spend too much. I'm actually creating a third option where I only work on the public screens to lower the price!