What is a quote made of?

A quote is not a number. What sits behind it is what decides whether it can be compared with another one at all.

Ask three developers to quote for the same website and you will typically get three very different numbers. It is tempting to read that as one being expensive and another cheap. Usually it is neither: the three quotes are not describing the same thing.

A quote that contains only a sum cannot be compared with anything. It does not say what is included, what is not, and what will be invoiced separately later. What follows is what mine contains — and what is worth looking for in anyone else's.

What is in it

What I am building, itemised. How many pages, with what functionality, what you will be able to edit yourself and what you will not. It is the longest section, and it is where it becomes clear whether we have the same thing in mind.
How much work, broken down by stage. In working days: scoping, structure, interface, content, testing, launch. There is a separate piece on how long a website takes to build. A breakdown can be questioned; a total cannot.
What is not included. Copywriting, photography, logo design, legal texts, ad management. These are separate jobs, and their absence from a quote does not make them free — it means they have not been discussed yet.
What I need from you, and when. Content, access, decisions. If those are late, the deadline moves — I say so upfront, because afterwards it sounds like blame.
What happens afterwards. Hosting, domain, maintenance. The one-off and the recurring items are listed separately, because they are two different decisions. There is a separate piece on what a retainer actually covers.
How long it stands. A quote rests on an estimate, and the estimate rests on what I know at the time of asking. Six months later it is a different request.

What is usually missing

This part is not about other people; it is about what to check. Four things that regularly get left out and surface later.

Ownership. Whose name is on the domain, the hosting, the code? If the answer is not unambiguously yours, the site is not yours — you are using it. There is a piece that works through who your website is tied to.

Testing. Does it cover multiple browsers, phones, keyboard and screen reader use? It is the easiest line to drop, because its absence only shows up later — and then on your customers.

Fixes after launch. Something always surfaces in the first days that only production reveals. If there is no line for it, it is either included tacitly or it will arrive separately. Worth asking which.

Getting the content in. “A finished website” often means an empty one: the frame is built, and typing in the text and images is left to you. That is a legitimate arrangement — it just has to be known in advance.

In a quote these two columns have to stand apart. Written as one, it never becomes clear what the site costs and what keeping it running costs.

ONE-OFF: Scoping and structure · Building the interface · Putting the content in · Testing and launch
RECURRING: Updates and backups · Bug fixes · Small changes · Hosting and domain
The difference: The left column arises once, the right one every month. That is why they are listed separately: different decisions, made at different times.

Why I do not send template quotes

The cost is that a quote requires me to ask questions. After the first exchange of emails we usually talk as well, and only then does the letter with the numbers go out. To anyone expecting an instant price this feels slower — in exchange, that letter is about what is actually needed.

Worth asking — of any quote

What is not covered by the price?
How many working days, and how do they split across stages?
Whose name will the domain, the hosting and the code be in?
What happens in the first month after launch if a fault appears?
Which items recur monthly, and which arise once?

My quote answers these, because those five questions are what gives it its structure. If you cannot find one of the answers, say so — that is my fault, not yours. A quote is not there to persuade you; it is there to make the decision possible to make.

Questions on this topic

What does a quote contain?

Itemised: what gets built — how many pages, with what functionality, what you will be able to edit yourself. Alongside it, the workload in working days broken down by stage; what is not included; what I need from you and when; and what comes afterwards — hosting, domain and maintenance. The one-off and the recurring items are listed separately.

What is usually missing from a quote?

Four things. Ownership: whose name the domain, the hosting and the code are in. Testing: whether it covers multiple browsers, phones, keyboard and screen reader use. Fixes after launch. And getting the content in — “a finished website” often means an empty one.

Why do I not get a price straight away?

Because a template quote does not address what the actual work is in your case. Sending everyone the same list means you either pay for something you do not need, or the one thing that is most of the work in your case is missing. After the first exchange of emails we usually talk as well, and only then does the letter with the numbers go out.

What is worth asking of any quote?

Five questions. What is not covered by the price? How many working days, and how do they split across stages? Whose name will the domain, the hosting and the code be in? What happens in the first month after launch if a fault appears? And which items recur monthly, as opposed to arising once?

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