Project-Based Web Developer in Nepal
A project-based web developer is hired for one project, with a written scope, a fixed price and a finish date, instead of by the hour or as an employee. I’m Ujjwal Rupakheti, a full-stack developer in Itahari, Nepal, and I build websites, online stores and web apps per project for clients in Nepal and abroad.
- A fixed price in writing, in NPR or USD
- A working preview link every week
- Code and intellectual property yours on payment
01Pricing models
Hiring a Project-Based Web Developer: Fixed Price, Hourly or Retainer?
There are three common ways to pay a developer. With a fixed price you buy an agreed result. With hourly billing you buy time, whatever it produces. With a retainer you buy ongoing help each month. Each suits a different stage of a project.
| Fixed price per project | Hourly | Monthly retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You pay for | The pages, features and launch in the written scope | Hours worked | Ongoing work each month |
| Total known | Before work starts | Only at the end | The same each month |
| If it takes longer | The developer absorbs it, inside the scope | You pay for the extra hours | It moves to next month |
| Best for | A new website, store or first app version | Small, unclear or exploratory jobs | Maintenance, SEO and work after launch |
| With me | How I price every new build | Not how I price builds | Maintenance, monthly SEO or product work after launch |
Fixed price needs one thing from you: a clear idea of what you want, written down together before the build. If you don’t have that yet, a free consultation call is the place to start. For everything else I build and the stack I use, see my main web developer in Nepal page.
02Scoping
How a Fixed-Price Web Project is Scoped, Built and Paid
The written scope is the most important document in a fixed-price project. It is what the price is for, what each payment stage covers, and what both sides check the finished site against.
- 01
Discovery Call
30 minutes on your goals, users, pages, budget and deadline, on WhatsApp, Viber or video.
- 02
Written Scope
Pages or features, milestones, timeline and a fixed price, in NPR or USD.
- 03
Weekly Previews
A working link every week, so feedback comes early, not at the end.
- 04
Launch & Handover
Launch, Search Console set-up, and the code and accounts handed to you.
- 05
Support
A free bug-fix period, then optional maintenance or monthly SEO.
- Project
- A business website with six pages and a blog
- In scope
- Design, build, enquiry form, WhatsApp button, structured data and launch
- Not in scope
- Online payments, writing the blog posts
- Milestones
- Home and one inner page on a preview link
- Every page built and reviewed
- Launch and handover
- Price
- Fixed, agreed in writing
- Payment
- In stages, tied to the milestones
- Changes
- Written up and priced before they are built
Milestones and Payment Stages
You pay in stages tied to the written quote, so you never pay for work you haven’t seen on a preview link. The stages are written into your proposal before anything starts.
- In Nepal: eSewa, Khalti, Fonepay QR or bank transfer
- Abroad: USD by bank transfer, Wise or PayPal
- Larger products start with a paid discovery week
- Domain, hosting and paid plugins billed to you directly
03What I build
What a Project-Based Web Developer Builds, and What It Costs
Each kind of project has a starting price and a typical timeline. Your own price is fixed after the discovery call, so the number you agree is the number you pay.
| Project | Starting price | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Static websiteService pages, an enquiry form, WhatsApp and map links | NPR18,000 | 1–2 weeks |
| Website with CMS or WordPressMore pages, a blog, content you edit yourself | NPR35,000 | 2–4 weeks |
| Online store or online bookingeSewa, Khalti, Fonepay or card payments | NPR60,000 | 3–8 weeks |
| Web app or SaaS, first versionAccounts, dashboards, roles and payments | NPR70,000 | 6–12 weeks |
| Technical SEO auditThe fixes listed in order, or made for you | NPR15,000 | 1 week |
| Redesign or custom softwareRedesigns per site, custom software per module | Quoted | By scope |
Clients abroad get the same scope as a USD quote; I don’t publish USD prices. Industry examples: hotel website design and restaurant websites. For what a site costs to run each year, read my guide to website cost in Nepal, and for apps, software development cost in Nepal.
App publishing SaaS
Jhino
An HTML file becomes a live app with sign-ins, sharing and live sync, designed and built as one TypeScript program.
Read the case study
Loyalty SaaS
Eknas
A customer wallet, counter app and owner dashboard I built for its owners, with rotating signed QR codes and a public API.
Read the case study
School assessment SaaS
Prishta
CAS and report cards for grades 1 to 10. I worked on it at Ektukra Digital Agency, fixing, testing and deploying the code.
Read the case study
Wedding invitation SaaS
Nimtto
52 animated designs with Bikram Sambat and AD dates and RSVP per ceremony, built for its founder.
Read the case study
Vehicle rental marketplace
Sajilai
Cars, bikes and vans from rental businesses across Nepal, with the exact price for your dates and QR payments.
Read the case study
B2B catalogue & CMS
Pentagon Carpets
A catalogue website for a carpet exporter, with trade enquiry forms and a CMS its staff update themselves.
Read the case study04Ownership & contracts
Code Ownership, NDAs and Clients Abroad
A one-off project should leave you owning everything and depending on nobody, including me. These terms are the same whether you are in Itahari or in London.
Code and IP Transfer on Payment
After the final payment, the code, the repository, the designs and the intellectual property are yours, with the domain and hosting in your name.
An NDA Before You Share Details
Mention it in your first message. I sign an NDA, including your own, before you share anything confidential, such as your idea or your code.
A USD Quote and a Written Contract
Clients abroad get a fixed quote in USD and a contract with the scope and milestones. I work as an independent contractor.
Paid by Milestone
Bank transfer, Wise or PayPal, against invoices that match the milestones in the contract.
Working Hours That Overlap
I work on Nepal time (UTC+5:45), which overlaps with European mornings, the Gulf working day and Australian afternoons. See US clients, UK clients and Australian clients.
One Person, Start to Finish
The person on the discovery call is the person who writes your code, so nothing gets lost between a salesperson and a developer.
05Changes
Change Requests Without Surprises
New ideas during a project are normal, and weekly previews make them more likely. The written scope decides what is part of the price and what is a change, so neither side has to argue about it later.
What the Written Scope Fixes Covered by the Price
- The pages or screens, by name
- The features and integrations, such as payments
- Who supplies the text and photos
- The languages and the milestones
- Your feedback on each preview, within that list
What Counts as a Change Quoted First
- A new page type or screen
- A new integration or payment method
- An extra user role or language
- Content that was yours to supply
When you ask for a change, I write down what it is, what it adds to the price and how it moves the timeline, and nothing is built until you agree. You can also swap it for something of similar size in the scope, or park it for a second phase after launch.
06Who it suits
Who a Project-Based Developer Suits, and Who It Doesn’t
Hiring per project works best when the goal is clear and the work has an end. If your project needs something else, I’ll say so on the first call.
A Good Fit If You…
- Know roughly what you need and when
- Want one number before you commit
- Run a business, a startup or an agency that needs one build
- Want one person accountable from call to launch
Better Elsewhere If You…
- Need a developer inside your company full-time for months
- Expect the requirements to change every week
- Need many developers at once, or round-the-clock support, which an agency suits better
- Only want the cheapest template, which a site builder does for less
07Proof
Clients I Have Built for, in Their Words
Two of them in their own words: a digital agency in Kathmandu on a website build, and a founder on the product I built for him. Every other project is on my work page, each with its stack and status.
Working with Ujjwal on our agency project was a remarkable experience. He approached the project with the precision of an engineer and the strategic thinking of a marketer. The website he built not only looks polished but ranks exceptionally well for our target keywords. His dedication to quality and his availability made the entire process seamless.
I saw a real problem in the Nepali market: online wedding invitations were made for Western weddings, not for ours. Ujjwal Rupakheti helped me bring my idea to reality. He built Nimtto with Nepali and English, Bikram Sambat dates and RSVPs for every ceremony, exactly the way I imagined it.
13+
projects shipped, each with a case study
15+
clients in Nepal and abroad
3+
years building for the web
1
person from the first call to launch
FAQ: Hiring a Web Developer per Project
Scope, payments, ownership and changes, answered before you ask.
Ask me on WhatsAppWhat is a Project-Based Web Developer?
A project-based web developer is hired for one defined project, such as a website, an online store or a first app version, with a written scope, a fixed price and a timeline. You don’t pay by the hour or hire an employee. When the project launches and is handed over, the engagement ends, unless you choose ongoing maintenance.
Is Fixed-Price Web Development Better Than Hourly?
For a project with a clear goal, usually yes, because you know the total before you commit and the developer carries the risk of it taking longer. Hourly billing suits small, unclear or exploratory jobs where nobody can define the result yet. Ongoing work after launch, such as maintenance or SEO, suits a monthly retainer.
How Do Payments Work on a Fixed-Price Project?
You pay in stages tied to the written quote and its milestones, so you never pay for work you haven’t seen. Clients in Nepal pay by eSewa, Khalti, Fonepay QR or bank transfer. Clients abroad pay in USD by bank transfer, Wise or PayPal, against a written contract. The stages are set in your proposal before work starts.
Who Owns the Code When the Project Ends?
You do. The code and intellectual property transfer to you on payment, and the repository, domain and hosting accounts are in your name after the final payment. I hand over the admin logins and a short guide to running the site, so you can maintain it yourself or give it to another developer.
Will You Sign an NDA Before I Share My Idea?
Yes. Mention it in your first message, and I’ll sign an NDA before you share anything confidential, such as your idea, your code or access to a staging site. You can send your own NDA for me to sign. The discovery call can stay general until it is in place.
Can I Hire You for One Project from Abroad?
Yes. I work with clients in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the Gulf as an independent contractor from Itahari. You get a fixed quote in USD, a written contract with milestones, payment by bank transfer, Wise or PayPal, and weekly preview links. Nepal time is UTC+5:45, which overlaps well with European mornings.
What Happens If I Want Changes Mid-Project?
Feedback on the pages and features in the scope is part of the weekly previews. Anything new, such as another page type, integration or language, is written up with its price and its effect on the timeline, and nothing is built until you agree. You can also swap it for something in the scope or move it to a second phase.
How Long Does a Fixed-Price Project Take?
A static website takes 1 to 2 weeks, a website with a CMS 2 to 4 weeks, an online store or online booking 3 to 8 weeks, and the first version of a web app 6 to 12 weeks. Late content and slow feedback cause most delays, so the review schedule is agreed in the written scope.
Tell Me About Your Project.
I’ll Send a Fixed Quote.
Send a short note about what you want built, your deadline and your budget. I reply within one working day with questions or a first estimate.
Ujjwal RupakhetiReplies within one working day
What’s the project?
Opens WhatsApp with your message started.