The problem with website quotes
We know from client feedback, that web design agencies will quote vastly different amounts for projects, which confuses clients, leaving them unable to explain the huge differences.
It can be unclear exactly what you are getting for the price, and why a quote is two or three times higher than another one, which appears to be for the same thing!
Also it can be a mystery as to what the price is for website hosting and maintenance and how often those costs have to be paid. This page attempts to make it easier for you to understand the pricing of website projects in London (and the rest of the UK), so you can make more sense of the quotes you are getting.
How are websites priced?
Some agencies might pluck a figure out of thin air, but we've always wanted to be completely transparent with clients over pricing, so you can make an informed decision.
This transparency means that, if the price is a more or less than what you were expecting, you can already start to think about why that might be, based on the detailed website estimate that we provide.
The stages of web design
Building a website is different to building a house, it's often more about quoting for time, rather than materials. However, there are different stages to each project such as planning, design, build, testing, so we need to account for those clearly in our website estimate.
We therefore, estimate the amount of hours required for each stage and add a row for that. The client can then see the time and cost associated with that stage and feedback if they don't think it's relevant or required.
Other website costs
One other thing that you'll need to know, is the cost of hosting, which will normally be an annual cost and the cost of ongoing maintenance. Your preference might be to pay a set monthly fee for maintenance or just pay for updates "as and when" they are required. The size of the project and likelihood of regular updates and maintenance will determine which route is best for your new website.
How to price web design projects
Like any large task, it's much easier to break it down, into smaller, more manageable tasks. Doing this also shows the potential client where the budget is going. For example, 4 hours on the sitemap, and 15 hours on wireframes. If we just quoted one large figure for the whole website project, it would be hard for us as well as the client to know if it allows enough time or not.
Involving the whole website team
We ask the planner / designer how long they need for the Home page, and for the other main page types. We can then add pages based on these designs, so we rarely need to design every single page. We then do the same with the developer, asking them how many hours they need to build the website. Finally we add an allowance for final testing and amends, so everyone knows how many hours of tweaks we have allowed for. We add hosting on the end, making it clear that it is a once-a-year cost and a line for maintenance and updates too.
Don't forget taxes and payment details
Each line in the estimate also shows price exclusive of VAT and once the VAT has been added afterwards. Our estimate template also includes a link to our terms and conditions, a reminder of our hourly rate and our name, address and payment details.
Template for a web design project
Here's a template you can use for pricing up website estimates.
Download [Excel format, .xlsx, 13KB]
Important: You use this template at your own discretion. We have done our best to ensure it is virus free and you must update it with your own terms and conditions and you accept that any wording is not legally binding. We are not held liable for any losses arising out of using this template for your website quotes.
What's next?
Contact us for a friendly, no-obligation chat about your project...
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