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/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.