When you ask several agencies to quote for a website, it is perfectly normal to see big differences between the figures. Most of that gap doesn't come from the agencies' margins, but from the fact that the proposals don't actually describe the same work. One may be pricing a ready-made theme with your content added; another a site that starts with research and is designed specifically for your brand. In this guide we break down the cost drivers one by one and show how to weigh proposals on the same scale.
The seven main cost drivers
- Number of page templates: cost depends less on the number of pages than on the number of templates that need their own design. A hundred product pages are one template; the home page, a service page and the contact page are three.
- Where the design comes from: adapting a ready-made theme, customising a theme and designing from scratch differ enormously in both effort and result.
- Content: who writes the copy, prepares the images and handles translations has a direct impact on the total budget. Professional copywriting and photography are specialist skills.
- Features and integrations: every function — a quote form, booking system, member area, payment gateway, CRM or ERP connection — means additional development and testing time.
- Multiple languages: every language adds work, including translation, search engine settings (hreflang) and menu and form copy.
- Technical platform: set-up and maintenance costs differ between a widespread content management system such as WordPress and a performance-focused custom build.
- Post-launch services: hosting, maintenance, security updates, SEO and ad management are sometimes included in proposals and sometimes not mentioned at all.
If even one of these seven drivers differs, the proposals are no longer comparable. So the first step is to see how each proposal handles them.
Hidden costs
Work that isn't written into the proposal reappears during the project — either as an extra invoice or as a missing deliverable. The items most often left out are:
- A 301 redirect plan from the old site to the new one and protection of search visibility
- Privacy notices, cookie consent management and form permissions that comply with data protection law
- Set-up of Google Analytics 4, Search Console and conversion tracking
- Image optimisation and speed improvements
- Admin panel training and a user guide
- The warranty period after delivery and a definition of which bugs will be fixed free of charge in that time
Weighing proposals on the same scale
The fairest way to compare proposals is to assess each one against the same list of questions. You can use this list for your own notes:
- How many different page templates will be designed, and which ones?
- Will the design be created from scratch, or will a ready-made theme be adapted?
- How many revision rounds are included, and what do they cover?
- Which forms, integrations and modules are included?
- Who is responsible for content entry, translation and image preparation?
- What is the performance target, and how will it be measured?
- Whose name will the source code, domain and accounts be in?
- How long is the warranty period, and how is maintenance charged?
A proposal that gives clear, written answers to these questions often means a lower total cost, even if the figure is higher — because uncertainty about scope is the biggest cause of extra costs and delays in projects.
Using your budget efficiently
- Focus on the most important pages first: most visitors and revenue usually come from a handful of pages.
- Work in phases: launching a first version with the essentials and developing it based on real usage data is more efficient than planning everything up front.
- Prepare content early: late content leaves design and development teams waiting and stretches the timeline.
- Look at total cost of ownership: a build that is cheap to set up but expensive to maintain, license and host can cost more in the long run.
Why don't we publish a price list?
A standard price list either has you paying for features you don't need or leads to surprise costs during the project. That's why we first listen to your needs in a short discovery call and then prepare a written proposal that sets out the scope, deliverables and timeline item by item. That way you know from the start what you are paying for, and why.
