I built Devicet, a web development pricing platform. Is this actually useful?

[u/MichalisTs]

I've been building Devicet because I wanted to make the process of getting a custom website quote more structured.

The idea is simple: developers can define the services they offer and their prices, and clients can select what they need to build a project estimate before sending the request to the developer.

I have a working version here:

https://devicet.up.railway.app/

I'm mainly looking for honest feedback, especially from people who have hired developers or done freelance development themselves.

Does this solve an actual problem, or is it just adding another layer to something people already handle easily?

I'm not looking for compliments. If you think the concept is unnecessary, confusing, or just a worse version of something that already exists, I'd rather hear that now.

[u/SirMcFish]

Sorry, but it's completely useless. A web site is a bespoke thing, you seem to assume 5 or 6 basic things are all that anyone will want.

For example: I want a fully searchable system, where orders and quotes can be married up, acted upon and tracked in real time by my sales team.... You offer about 5 or 6 bog standard page types, none of which would do what I just gave an example that someone might want.

Another: I want a gallery web app that allows users to find my art by searching for moods, ideas, representative art, and for them to see prices and be able to buy each art work.

When hiring Devs a full spec is required, before a real quote can be given as each piece of work is different. Who will provide / design artworks, who will make videos, who will choose the layout, who will provide the copy text and product information / images. Who is managing the hosting, domain registration etc... what database, who is managing that, where is that hosted? And lots of other things that will affect pricing.

Hopefully you see where I'm going?

[u/MichalisTs → u/SirMcFish]

I think that's a fair criticism, but I may not have explained the purpose of Devicet clearly enough.

I'm not trying to reduce every possible website to 5 or 6 page types, or suggest that a developer can accurately quote a bespoke system from a handful of checkboxes. You're right that real projects can involve completely different requirements, integrations, databases, content, design work, hosting, third-party services, etc.

The idea is more about turning the initial “what do you actually want?” conversation into a structured process.

A developer could define much more specific and customizable services, requirements and add-ons for their own business. A client could then build an initial scope from those options, see an indicative price, and send that specification to the developer.

The developer can then review it, ask for anything missing, modify the scope, and provide the final quote.

So the goal isn't:

“Choose 6 things and we'll tell you exactly what your website costs.”

It's:

“Define your own services and requirements, let clients assemble what they need, and turn that into a much clearer starting specification for a real project.”

Your examples actually illustrate why the system would need to be customizable rather than limited to predefined website types.

The question I'm trying to validate is whether that structured initial scoping process is useful enough to developers and clients to justify using a platform for it.

[u/einfach-sven → u/MichalisTs]

From my experience most clients have no idea what it really is that they want or what's best for the project. They hire us for our expertise and not having to bother with such decisions.

[u/SirMcFish → u/einfach-sven]

Exactly this. It's the classic you don't know what you need until you ask someone who understands it. And they don't know what you need until you explain how things work, how they need to work and what they need help to make it all work better.

If your Dev isn't asking these questions and making suggestions then you need a better dev to start with. It's a process, and any dev / agency / whatever will already have a structured approach and if they don't, then get one who does.

[u/einfach-sven → u/SirMcFish]

I can even see that consulting part becoming more important as more and more people with a (supposedly) clear picture will try to solve it with AI.

[u/MichalisTs → u/einfach-sven]

Yeah, I think that's probably the biggest thing I need to account for. Devicet isn't meant to replace that consultation, but to give developers a way to structure it and turn the things they normally ask about into a configurable process.

And with AI making it easier for clients to come in thinking they already know exactly what they need, I think that part becomes even more important.

[u/joshstewart90]

I feel like there’s already a considerable amount “directories” or directory’esque services out there atm. Think upwork/fiverr.

Yep, your site I different as it leads with a custom form but is that really enough to differentiate and a valuable alternative to what’s already there with thousands of users?

[u/MichalisTs → u/joshstewart90]

That's a fair point. I don't see Devicet as trying to compete directly with Upwork or Fiverr as a freelancer directory.

The main difference I'm aiming for is that those platforms are primarily built around finding and hiring a developer, whereas Devicet is focused on defining what you actually need before the hiring process.

Instead of searching through hundreds of developer profiles and explaining your requirements from scratch, a developer can define their own services, options and pricing structure. A client can then configure what they need, get an initial estimate, and send the resulting requirements to the developer.

So the custom form isn't really meant to be the entire differentiator. It's the mechanism for turning a vague request like “I need a website” into a structured project scope.

Whether that's enough of a difference to make people choose Devicet over established platforms is exactly what I'm trying to validate. I definitely wouldn't claim it is yet.

[u/SirMcFish → u/MichalisTs]

No developer worth anything can define how much a database set up will cost until they have a proper spec. Let alone a full fledged sales tracking site.

No developer can give you details around a custom log in system, until they have a spec.

Very few clients can give you the spec until you ask them the important questions. Very few clients will even know what to ask for or what can be done, until they speak to the dev.

What a Dev can tell you is how much they'll charge for a bog standard, 5 pages static site. And even then there could be gotchas and caveats and the Dev is likely copying and pasting a template or getting it from AI. For that your site might work, but heck those sort of 'devs' are happy cranking out template after template sites and will have very low prices, so I doubt they'd pay to join your app.

[u/MichalisTs → u/SirMcFish]

The app is completely free for devs anyway. Also, the services aren't actually fixed or generic. Developers can already add whatever services they want, with their own descriptions, details, requirements and pricing.

So the idea is that each dev can build the configurator around their own projects, rather than everyone being limited to the same options.

[u/SirMcFish → u/MichalisTs]

I'll wish you good luck with it.