What are the pros and cons of placing pricing packages on your website?

It helps to weed out the people who wouldn't want to pay your base rates, so I think it's a good thing. I'll have both (starting) package prices and hourly pricing on my new (launching soon) website, so I can avoid cold calls with someone who isn't willing to pay what my service is worth. 

The con is that it lets your competition underbid you, but honestly in this business the work should speak for itself, and those who go around underbidding probably aren't doing quality work.

I am re-designing my business website and this time, I am adding my pricing plans this time. The Pro for me is weeding out the ones that want it all for very little money. The Con for me, is the possible upsell methodology. IMHO

Commodity businesses publish prices.

Creatives cannot. Why? Because there are too many possible options.

Commodity website 'designers' are not selling anything but a place on the net. their sites don't sell- they just look pretty. They don't make money- they cost money.

If that's where you are, make sure you jump into the fray and post your prices. And someone else will buy your competitor because they are cheaper.

If you are good- and I don't know you to judge- you should be able to build a site with specific performance standards. This changes everything. You go from 'this is what you see' to 'this site will do this for you'. And 'this' should be visitors, conversion rates, etc.

A site needs mechanical excellence, graphic design expertise, copy written by an authority, and a sales qualified person to advise. Anything less than that can be bought on price.

Gas stations post their prices. And people choose based on that because they do not see a difference.

If you are the same as every other web designer, make sure you post your prices...

I personally do not have any pricing on my website but I do have it on my Linkin page. The reason I do not add pricing is that each project is different. A logo design can take 1 hour up to 10 hours depending on the client. That also applies to all the marketing material. I have seen other graphic designers offer a package like 500 brochures for $150. That includes 2 hrs of design time. It has a disclaimer that after 2 hrs the design will be billed on an hourly basis. It's a good hook I guess, maybe I may try it sometime.   

It is a basis to work from but if it commits you to a certain price before you completely understand all the variables etc. You may have to back track with the costs after the project is started. In that case it may not be as profitable. One on one is the best approach for me. Mass production may work better depending on the company.

Personally, I would never put price packages on my website when it comes to website development. But the websites my company develops are custom websites, not template sites. If I was doing lower-end websites and using templates, then customizing them, I think it would be a different story. You know what the basic setup looks like, and you know about how many hours it takes to add the design elements that your normal clients need. In that case, I think I would put in package prices, and if it scares away some of the clients, they are probably the ones who want a really cheap website, and I would encourage them to look somewhere else anyway, so if you lose them because your services seem too expensive, and you know you are not, it's natures way of weeding out the clients that don't fit your business model. 

By at least offering a starting price for web dev services, you immediately eliminate the hit and runs and those that aren't willing to pay for professional services because they think they could do it just as well for free.

On the flip side, people who *are* willing to pay appreciate the fact that you are forthcoming about what you charge. If a site's services are out of my league, price-wise, then it's a waste of everyone's time (theirs and mine) for me to contact them just to know what ballpark we're talking about.

You charge what you charge - and if someone runs away at those zeros, you probably weren't going to get their business anyway. There may be the 1 person that you could convince that it's worth it by showering them with all they'll get for the money, but our business is devalued too often and, in my experience, if people have a difficult time with the zeros, they are coming to you with a preconceived idea that web design is something "any idiot could do." 

In our industry you have friends and also those who are not. We like the prospect to call us so we can develop a personal relationship. When we have listed the price for something or they call us as a so called customer it is amazing how the competition seems to offer the same thing. 

I think it depends on your marketing goal.  Some users will use your pricing to reject you, and if price is their main criterion for choosing, they are unlikely to be great prospects.  If they are satisfied that your pricing is in their range chances are they are not afraid to pay for good service.

Not addressing the cost or pricing issue is, in my opinion, a big mistake.  It is interpreted by many as your being afraid that you are charging too much for what you offer.

It comes down to your business model and types of services you offer. If you offer "widget" type services then I would recommend putting prices on the site.

If you don't offer widget services (commoditized services) or you offer more custom services in addition... I personally would not list prices for anything that needs a conversation to determine what the client needs and your time / effort involved.

Not only does this help you scope before offering a quote, but it also screens out potential clients that need custom service but want to treat you like a widget.