“How long will it take?”
It’s the question every freelance developer hears, and it’s one of the most difficult to answer. Underestimate, and you’ll be working late nights for free, your profit margin evaporating with every passing hour. Overestimate, and you risk scaring off the client with a timeline that seems too long or too expensive.
The pressure to seem fast and affordable is immense. But as one veteran developer in the “i only speak liquid” newsletter wisely put it: “Don’t be afraid to ask for the time you need to do the thing right the first time.”
Rushing leads to mistakes, technical debt, and a final product that is less stable and harder to maintain. In fact, a significant portion of freelance work often involves undoing the damage done by someone in a hurry.
Accurate scoping is not about padding your hours; it’s a sign of professionalism and a commitment to quality. This guide will provide you with practical strategies for estimating your timelines with confidence.
Why We Underestimate: The Psychological Traps
Before we can fix the problem, we have to understand why we consistently get it wrong.
- Optimism Bias: As developers, we are problem-solvers. We tend to focus on the best-case scenario, assuming everything will go smoothly and no unexpected issues will arise.
- Fear of Losing the Project: We worry that if our timeline is too long or our quote is too high, the client will choose someone else. This fear can lead us to propose an unrealistic, people-pleasing timeline.
- Forgetting the “Unknown Unknowns”: Every project, especially on a platform as complex as Shopify, has hidden complexities. A third-party app with a poorly documented API, a theme with a mountain of technical debt, or a critical feature the client forgot to mention—these are the “unknowns” that can derail a project.
Strategies for More Accurate Scoping
Accurate estimation is a skill that can be learned. It requires a systematic approach to deconstructing a project and accounting for uncertainty.
1. Break It Down Into Granular Tasks
Never estimate a “project.” Estimate the small, concrete tasks that make up the project. A request like “build a new product page” is too big. Break it down:
- Create new section file: 30 mins
- Develop the schema for the image gallery: 1 hour
- Write the Liquid for the variant selector: 2 hours
- Style the description area with CSS: 1.5 hours
- …and so on.
This process forces you to think through every detail of the project and provides a much more realistic bottom-up estimate.
2. Always Add a Contingency Buffer
Once you have your task-based estimate, add a buffer to account for the “unknown unknowns.” A standard professional practice is to add a 15-25% contingency buffer to your total estimated time. This buffer is for:
- Unexpected bugs.
- Vague or changing client feedback.
- Issues with third-party app integrations.
3. Price a “Discovery & Audit” Phase
For large or complex projects, the most professional approach is to not provide a full estimate upfront. Instead, propose a small, paid initial phase called a “Discovery & Audit.”
During this phase (which could be 2-5 hours of work), you will perform the full technical audit, dig into the client’s theme and apps, and produce a detailed project plan and a highly accurate, fixed-price quote for the full build. This has two major benefits:
- You get paid for the crucial work of scoping.
- It demonstrates your professional, systematic approach to the client.
How to Communicate Your Timeline to the Client
How you present your timeline is just as important as the number itself.
- Be Confident: Present your estimate as a fact, not an apology. You are the expert, and this is the time it will take to do the job correctly.
- Explain the “Why”: Frame your timeline as a benefit to the client. “This estimate includes a full day dedicated to testing across all major browsers and devices to ensure a bug-free launch.”
- Include It in Your Formal Proposal: Your timeline, with key milestones, should be a central part of your written proposal. This formalizes the agreement and provides a document you can refer back to.
Final Thoughts: Speed Follows Quality
In the world of freelancing, a reputation for quality and reliability is far more valuable than a reputation for being the fastest or the cheapest. By taking a professional, systematic approach to project scoping, you can set realistic timelines, protect your profitability, and deliver the high-quality work that turns one-off projects into long-term client relationships.
Asking for the time you need isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of a seasoned professional who knows what it takes to do the job right.
❓ What’s your strategy for dealing with “unknown unknowns” when scoping a new project?