It’s time to talk about the ever-present debate between service providers when it comes to creating a new website: should your prices be included on your site, or not?!

There are a lot of differing opinions on this one — especially from industry to industry — and now is the perfect time to throw my hat into the ring and join this discussion full-force. As you can tell by the title of this post, I’m clearly on the “hell yes” side of displaying your pricing on your website. Keep reading to find out why.

The #1 reason to include pricing on your website is a little thing called *prequalifying.*

There’s a lot that goes into prequalifying a lead (hi, website copy), but pricing is a huge component.

Not every single person who fills out an inquiry form will be your dream client, but there are a few systems you can put in place to ensure that the people who inquire are potential clients who are actually interested and can fit your services into their budget.

By prominently placing your prices on your website, you will save yourself SO much time by prequalifying your leads. Here’s how including pricing on your website can help you:

Automatically repel anyone who can’t afford you.

When someone new lands on your website, they want to know if your services are within their budget. If your pricing is accessible, they’re able to determine whether or not they can afford to work with you.

If your pricing isn’t there, they’ll email you and ask about it. Then they’ll ghost you when your service are out of their current price range, which brings me to the next benefit…

Limit the back-and-forth of inquiry emails.

When people are constantly emailing you asking about your prices, you’re likely getting your hopes up about every new lead, only to be disappointed when they don’t respond, or when they tell you that they can’t afford you. Not only can this be discouraging, but it can also make you second-guess your pricing and your value.

Only attract the clients you actually want to work with.

By including your pricing on your site, you can ensure that when people inquire about working with you, they probably already know how much you charge, and they’re okay with it—almost always making your inquiries successful!

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get a few inquiries per month that turn into paying clients than several inquiries a week from people who don’t.

No pricing conversations spent in Defense Mode.

Prominently displaying your prices makes them seem much more definite. You’ll likely never have to argue with someone about whether or not your prices are justified, because you’ve confidently posted them on your public website.

When pricing conversations are private, people are more apt to assume that there’s wiggle room, and try to barter with you or ask you for a discount.

Addressing your pricing (even if you don’t display your complete price list) also makes future clients happy.

I know you’ve been there: scrolling through someone’s website, loving everything you see, thinking this person, product, or service could be the answer to your prayers… only to end up frustrated and impatient when you can’t find a single thing even remotely close to how much they charge.

No one wants to wait for information about pricing—they’ll even settle for a link to download a pricing guide or an amount ballpark—as long as you don’t make them wait.

(And, I feel obligated to say this because of my role as a copywriter: making your customer wait or do extra work is NEVER a good idea. That’s the easiest way to lose out on a sale.)

Now, let’s talk about some of the objections to displaying pricing on your website… (I’d love to debunk those myths)

“But what if I want to raise my prices?”

Then raise them brotherrrrr! All you have to do is head over to the back end of your website, backspace the old price, and add the new one. It’s that simple.

If you can figure out how to upload a blog post, you can figure out how to change a few digits on your Services page.

(Plus, Miss Google loves a frequently-updated website, so raising your prices is basically boosting your SEO. Maybe. I don’t make the rules.)

“What if my client wants something beyond the scope of the project, but my website says I charge X for a certain service?”

There are two ways for you to address this. The first is by listing all of your prices as ‘starting at’ instead of ‘available for.’

Phrasing it this way implies that there are situations where that specific service costs more than what’s listed under your ‘what’s included’ section (that I’m praying you include when you list your packages).

The second way to address this objection is by having a list of add-ons that is either displayed on your site or later sent via email in the form of a services or pricing guide.

You could also chat with the prospective client on a discovery call about the scope of the project, and then include the additional fees in the proposal you’ll send them after your call.

“I’m scared other people will copy me and my prices if I publicly display them…”

I’m not even gonna lie to you, this objection is STUPID 😩

If someone charges the same amount of money for a service as you, why should that matter? If you’re nervous about a competitor with the same pricing as you, your problem isn’t about pricing at all — your problem is about not realizing how valuable you are.

If you think price is the reason your clients should choose you over your competition, we need to have a whooole different conversation.

“I really freaking DON’T want to display my prices, but I don’t want my customers to be impatient or annoyed that they’re not there.”

Even if you don’t want to display your pricing, you still have a couple options to talk cash money on your site. Here are a few methods I recommend:

Starting at… by including a ‘starting at’ with a baseline price of your services, you’re able to quote higher if the desired project scope dictates it.Our clients typically spend between X and X % of their budget on [insert service here]. This option is great for industries like wedding planning or photography — if a client has a wedding budget of $100,000, and you clearly state on your website that your clients typically spend 10% of their wedding budget on planning and design, then the client is able to determine your pricing without you ever saying a thing.

At the end of the day, all your customers need is a little context when it comes to pricing, so they can determine whether or not your services or products are within their budget.

POINT OF THE STORY: Save yourself some time and your future clients some frustration by being open about your pricing.

And, by the way—if you want more personalized website advice, I’d love to work with you. Websites are my thing. 😉

If you found this post helpful, don’t forget to SAVE it on Pinterest! And if you want a part two addressing how to price your services as a freelancer or creative entrepreneur, send me a message here to motivate me to write it (or record a podcast episode about it)!