There is a big difference between a single splash page with just some contact details and a website like amazon. One might cost under £50, the other £50,000,000,000. So what will help us both to work out your quote? Read on…
I find this happening all too often and I very much doubt I’m the only one:
There are certain things a web designer is going to need from you, the same as any type of business. Think of it like calling an electrician for a quote but not telling them whether you need them to simply replace a fuse or re-wire the whole house.
So before you contact someone like me, answering as many of these questions as you can is a fantastic start…
Technical
- Do you already have a domain name and hosting?
- Will you want to be updating it yourself or leaving it once it is live?
The Content
- Do you already have the all the images, text and logo ready to go on?
- How many pages will need to be created?
- Do you have a colour scheme in mind?
- Will you just want the template built and you’ll add the content or will the web designer be doing it all?
What you really want on the site
Some of the things you may want, which takes time to create, are:
- A blog
- An image gallery
- A website that works from a desktop down to mobile
- A booking form or contact form
- Buy now buttons
- A mailing list
- Social Media interactions
- A web app
- An image slider
- A payment system
The list is endless. Each one of these takes time to create. You need to spend some time looking at other websites but also look at your competitors websites to see what else you might need.
The single most helpful thing you can do
Give us some examples of websites you really like the look of. Explain what bits you like and why. I can spend a few minutes looking at a website and in that time I can give you a fairly accurate quote. I’m not talking about copying the website, rather by knowing what ‘fancy bits’ I’ll have to code on the pages.
It’s all the ‘fancy’ stuff that takes the time. A button that changes colour and expands is not the same as a static button that does nothing. A sliding image gallery at the top of a page, with links and text for each slide, is VERY different to a static image. One takes a minute or two, the other could take an hour or more.
It’s the ‘fancy‘ details that are really important for us.
Be clear with what you want
If you want the site to slide, zoom, fade, bounce, whatever… be clear that you are looking for something more than a static website. Web design has moved forward at a rapid pace over the last few years. Browser compatibility is the best it’s ever been now that Internet Explorer has finally died the death it deserved. We can do more than ever but it all takes time to build.
Summary
By giving the web designer as much information as possible it becomes that much easier to give you a quote. Don’t assume that anything animated is quick and easy. Don’t assume that the ‘buy now’ button is simply inserting the buy now image on the page and that’s the job done (trust me, it isn’t!).
So there we go, if you were give this kind of detail to the designer or design company, they will be much more able to give you an accurate quote for your brand new website design!
