Frame the decision correctly
Comparing price solely based on page count is misleading. The same five pages require different levels of effort depending on whether they are for a simple promotional site with ready-made content or for a site offering memberships, reservations, and multilingual management. Ensure that design, development, content, integration, and post-launch responsibilities appear as separate line items in the initial budget.
What should be considered during implementation?
Evaluate proposals based on a shared scope. A low starting price does not allow for a meaningful comparison if details such as which screens will be designed, who is responsible for product data entry, and revision limits are not specified. Describe custom integrations by specifying exactly what data is transferred and in which direction, rather than just using a generic name for the connection.
Review and next steps
Distinguish between the one-time project fee and recurring expenses such as domain registration, hosting, service provider fees, and maintenance/support plans. Ask for the validity period of amounts subject to change, such as those affected by exchange rates or provider tariff updates. Do not assume an additional service is included in the package without explicitly confirming it within the scope of the proposal.
Your quick checklist
- Separate one-time costs from recurring budget items.
- Compare the same scope.
- Ensure excluded works are listed in writing.