Currently I’m rebuilding their whole site from WordPress into a dedicated Laravel app for their needs
Since I lose money on hosting their sites I’m not gonna spend a lot of time updating them since they think that’s also free.. so every XX years they need something new
Back in the days I’ve spend a lot of time of free on their stuff but not anymore
I so much rather spend it on you all♥️
Years ago I also hosted and build a few websites for friends of theirs for a "friend price" aka bullshit
Ive stopped with that and requested them all to move to another host since they also refused to pay a normal amount
Somehow they rather pay 2K to a company then 500,- to me for example lol!
For me it's simple now, if you don't respect the work im not gonna do it anymore
If it's so easy and quick, just do it yourself ❤️
And what really gets me is the word "quick" or "quickly"
In their eyes it's always a quick and easy fix that should be done right away for them but if you ask them how they are clueless
If you request something from a developer, STOP using the word "quick" because it's often not
It feels like massive disrespect
@stux We deeply appreciate that.
@stux just tell them how they can do it themself :3 Throw google terms.
And if they tell you that "you already know that stuff", you can tell them "yes, and work pays me xx $currency per hour to do it. I can track my time and charge you the same rate instead" :)
@stux Zo herkenbaar!! Blij dat we daar vanaf zijn.
@Zjaan Echt he! ❤️
@stux IMO, friend price is BS unless initiated by the friend itself.
I like my friends, and I wouldn’t screw them over by expecting them to lose income over me.
@mahryekuh Yup they are
I made professional websites for 150 bucks lol -.-'
@stux 150 bucks?? That’s lowball.
Personally, I’d let ‘em shop at a website company just so they could get a feel for the prices.
@mahryekuh I know right, even that was "pricey" according to them
Most companies start with a few K to begin with
@stux Procey? For 150 most companies will laugh their ass off before they say no 😂
A few K even for simple sites is not unrealistic given the time and knowledgd needed to do it right.
@mahryekuh Yeah.. that included updates, edits etc
And thats where i always got fcked, the "edits" parts was always so much
Sometimes i redesigned the site twice or more since they actually wanted something different
@stux Gosh, that’s rough.
I assume you’re no longer doing that?
@mahryekuh Nop, if they wont pay for updates i wont do them
At some point stuff gets broken so much i offer to build a new site for an XXX amount
It's shitty to say but my parents aren't worth it
@stux Dit klinkt beter in het Nederlands.
Een vriendin van mij zegt altijd:
> “Met vrienden moet je wandelen, niet handelen.”
(En dat geldt ook voor familie.)
Gelijk heeft ze.
@mahryekuh klopt! die houd ik ook aan tegenwoordig, ook met buren
Ik doe het liever gratis dan, ook geen rechten te ontlenen
@stux So much this! I paired up with a graphic designer, and we usually charged something like 1-2000€ for a small business website that was essentially the same as Wordpress does now. (We're still 20 years ago.) I generated the CMS code in PHP (long before AI) and we custom built the theme and design on top of it.
I quickly learned to double my hour budget for the edits they were sure they didn't need. I stopped telling them about how I calculated the offer. 😅
@stux Also, if it is quick, the developer will let you know. If it's quick, we can get onto the next job.
@Remittancegirl Wish it where quick indeed :blobcatgiggle:
Few days ago they send me a link to php.net with: "there is the solution, just download"
tihi
@stux God save us.
@stux @Remittancegirl You should have replied with "Just wget -m php.net then?"
@RandamuMaki @stux Better yet. Tell them to go to any AI chat bot and vibe code it themselves.
@Remittancegirl @stux Ew, no. Use of AI should never be encouraged.
@RandamuMaki @stux It will be the last time they ever use it though. 😂
@Remittancegirl @RandamuMaki But I prob have to fix it 😆
@RandamuMaki @Remittancegirl Hahaha :blobcatgiggle:
@stux You should point people to the Project management triangle; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle
They can have it done properly, quickly, or cheaply. They can pick one.
@stux Quick in archaic English also meant alive, so all Human developers are quick by definition.
@stux At my job the one I hear all the time is "It shouldn't be too hard to..." and "I don't understand why we can't just..." These are just as bad as "quick", especially when said with a demeaning tone.
@stux I built websites about 20 years ago before Wordpress was the default to use for small stuff. It was a horrible way to make a living because I also resold/bundled hosting, and a lot of the private customers I had, most of which I knew and were friends, didn't bother paying the hosting bill until I called them up and begged them. I had barely enough money to pay my own bills. In the end, I transferred all my customers to the company I bought the hosting from. Then it became their problem. 😅
@veronica Exactly this! Begging them them to pay the bills
And thats friends and family
I still have a few unpaid bills from family that ill never get
@stux My mom was one of my customers. I made a website for her little church group. But she always paid me at least. 😊
@veronica ❤️ moms are different!
(in my case it's my dad and his wife)
@stux I'm still paying for her email hosting on a domain I no longer use myself though. It's just an alias for her GMail, but it's the address she actually uses, so yeah, I still pay for her tech. I guess I'll be doing it for the rest of her life. I'm sure she'd pay me if I asked, but it's only something like 25€ a year. 😊
@stux I'm not a dev nor an "expert", I'm just a self-taught person that in 30 years has always solved his computer problems by himself. so in my town I'm known to be someone who "likes computers" and that's an excuse for anybody asking me to solve their problems (for free of course). As if they were doing me a favour because I "like computers" 🙄 look guys... I'd rather stay at home minding my own business
@stux [picture] Alt text: A scary government-style infographic, bearing the caption: "If you don't talk to your parents about hosting, who will?" over a picture of Mark Zuckerberg.
Oct 23, 2026, 1:54 PM@stux building a custom laravel app does sound like a significant amount of work tbh 😬
@freezombie Initially yes but a lot better in the long run!
Wordpress is nice and all but a lot of work to keep it clean
It’s way too bloated by default