A web design quote should tell you exactly what you will get, what it will cost now and later, and what happens if you part ways. Most quotes do the first part vaguely, the second part partly, and the third part not at all. That is how two quotes of £1,500 and £4,000 can turn out to be for roughly the same thing, or for completely different things.
Use this checklist to read a quote you have been sent, or to ask a designer to fill in the gaps before you commit.
1. The scope: pages and features
A quote that says 'a five-page website' tells you almost nothing. Ask for the pages to be named: home, services, about, reviews, contact, and so on. Then ask for the features to be listed.
- Named pages, and what happens if you want another one later (price per extra page).
- Forms: contact, quote request, booking request. Where do submissions go, email or a dashboard?
- Any booking, payments, shop, gallery, blog or customer login functionality.
- Integrations: Google Business Profile, reviews, calendars, email marketing, accounting software.
- Mobile design. It should be a given, but it should also be stated.
2. Content: words and photos
Content is where more projects stall than anywhere else. If the quote assumes you will write every page yourself, you are taking on the hardest part of the job, and the launch date depends on you finding the time.
The quote should say plainly whether copywriting is included, how many pages of it, and whether they will research your services and write in a way that suits your customers. Same for photos: do they use yours, source stock images, or arrange a photographer? Generic stock photos are not a substitute for pictures of your actual work, premises or team.
If copywriting is included, find out how it is done. A short questionnaire and a phone call with someone who then writes the pages is common and works well. If the plan is to reuse text from your old website or borrow from competitors, the result will not be better than what you have now.
3. Design process and revisions
- Is the design custom, or a customised template or theme? Both are legitimate at different prices; the quote should say which.
- How many design concepts or directions will you see?
- How many rounds of revisions are included, and what do extra rounds cost?
- When do you see the design, and do you sign it off before the build?
- Ask to see an example of what you will be shown at the design stage. Some designers present a full homepage design, others a set of colours and fonts, others a working draft site. Any of these can work, as long as you know what you are signing off and what can still change afterwards.
4. SEO, speed and accessibility
'SEO included' can mean anything from typing a page title to a proper local search setup. Ask what specifically is done. A reasonable baseline for a small business site: page titles and descriptions written for each page, sensible headings, structured data for your business, a sitemap submitted to Google Search Console, and basic performance work so pages load quickly on mobile. Ongoing SEO work, if offered, should be a separate line with named monthly tasks.
Accessibility is worth asking about too: readable contrast, alt text on images, forms that work with screen readers. It helps real customers and is a sign the builder knows what they are doing.
If ongoing SEO is on the quote, ask what will be different on your site after three months of it: new pages, improved pages, listings built, reviews requested. Reporting on its own is not SEO.
5. Timeline and your responsibilities
A quote should have a realistic launch timeline and say what it depends on. If the designer needs your logo, photos, service list and sign-off by certain dates, that should be written down. Otherwise delays become arguments about whose fault they were.
It is also worth asking what happens if you are the one causing the delay. Some quotes say that if content or feedback is not received within a set time, the project is paused and moved down the queue, or the final payment becomes due regardless. That is not unreasonable, since designers book their time in advance, but you should know about it before you sign rather than discover it halfway through.
6. Ownership, hosting and costs after launch
This is the section most quotes skip, and it is the one that matters most over the life of the site.
| Question | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Who owns the domain? | You or your company are the registrant |
| Who owns the design, code and content? | Stated clearly, including what you can take if you leave |
| Where is it hosted and what does that cost? | A named monthly or annual figure, with what is included |
| What does maintenance cover? | Updates, backups, monitoring and fixes listed, not just 'support' |
| How are changes charged? | A set number included, or an hourly rate, with turnaround times |
| Is there a minimum term? | The length, and whether it rolls monthly or renews for another year |
| What does it cost to leave? | Notice period and any exit fee stated upfront |
7. Price and payment terms
- The total build price, and whether it includes VAT. If the designer is VAT-registered, 20% makes a real difference to the number.
- The payment schedule: deposit, stage payments, final payment on launch.
- What happens to the deposit if the project stops.
- Every recurring cost, as a monthly or annual figure: hosting, maintenance, domain, email, licences.
- A three-year total. If the quote does not give one, work it out: upfront plus 36 months of the monthly costs.
Comparing quotes side by side
Once you have two or three quotes, put them in a simple table using the sections above. Most of the difference in price usually comes down to three things: whether the words are written for you, whether the design is custom, and what is included after launch. Once those are lined up, the quotes are much easier to judge.
We publish exactly what our plans include, with prices, so you can use our pricing page as one column in that table: £299 setup then £99 a month on Monthly, including copywriting, a custom design, hosting, maintenance and two changes a month. It should stand up to the same questions as anyone else's.