Ask three people to quote on a website and you'll likely get three very different numbers. That doesn't mean two of them are ripping you off. They're often quoting for quite different things, so it's worth knowing what to compare.
Who writes the words?
This is the biggest hidden difference. Some quotes assume you'll supply all the text. Others include writing it. Writing good copy for every service page is a real chunk of work, and it's the part that decides whether the site gets found and whether visitors pick up the phone.
How many pages, really?
A five-page site and a site with a page for every service in every area you cover are very different jobs. More pages isn't automatically better, but if you want to show up for lots of local searches, you need the pages to match.
Who owns it when you're done?
Some sites are built inside a platform you rent month to month. Stop paying and the site goes. Others hand you the code and the domain outright. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you're getting.
Questions worth asking any web designer
- Is writing the copy included, or do I supply it?
- How many pages, and which ones?
- Who owns the domain, the code and the content?
- What does it cost to run each year after launch, including hosting?
- What happens if I want to make changes in six months?
We give one fixed price in writing after a short brief, with all of the above spelled out. Whoever you go with, get those answers before you start.
