Website quote: how to request it, what it must include, and how to compare.
The problem is rarely the price; it is quotes that cannot be compared, because each one answers a different scope. What to send before asking, what a serious quote must contain, and the method for comparing three proposals without getting it wrong.
A serious website quote includes: the scope in writing (pages and functionality), deliverables, a timeline with the conditions that affect it, the price with VAT and payment terms, what falls outside the scope, and ownership terms (domain, hosting and access in your name). Beyond that, comparing only works with the same scope in every proposal: write what you want once, send it identical to three providers, and compare line by line. Asking for a quote costs nothing; choosing wrong is what costs.
| What the quote must have | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Written scope: pages and functionality | Without scope, you are comparing different documents |
| Timeline and start conditions | Timelines start counting when materials arrive |
| Price with VAT and payment terms | Confirm whether VAT is added and which rate applies |
| What falls outside the scope | That is where the extras usually appear later |
| Ownership and access (domain, hosting) | Whose the site is at the end of the project |
Swipe the table sideways →
Request three quotes with the same written scope; it is the only way to compare prices rather than luck. The price bases per site type are published in the website pricing guide.
Before requesting: the document that makes quotes comparable
Anyone who asks three providers for a quote without writing what they want receives three different scopes and compares prices that do not say the same thing. The fix takes ten minutes: a short written brief, sent identical to every provider. You do not need to know anything about websites; you need to answer seven questions:
- What the business sells, in two sentences, and to whom.
- What the site must achieve: present services, receive enquiries, sell, take bookings.
- The type of site, even if unsure: digital business card, brochure site, online shop; the types of websites guide helps you decide.
- How many pages, roughly, and what content already exists (texts, photos, logo).
- Examples of sites you like, even from other industries.
- Desired timeline and dated events (opening, campaign, fair).
- A target budget range, honest: "between X and Y" filters poor fits early.
This brief is the best quality filter there is: whoever replies with smart questions and a scope rewritten in their own words is working; whoever replies with a number and a generic PDF has already shown you how they work.
What a serious website quote must include
Whether it comes from a freelancer or an agency, the document must answer everything that happens between the "yes" and the launch:
- Detailed scope: pages, functionality, how many revision rounds, who supplies what (texts, images, logo).
- Deliverables: what you receive at the end, exactly: installed site, access to the panel, training or manual, initial backups.
- Timeline with conditions: "X business weeks from receipt of materials" is a deadline; "a month" is a hope. Real timelines per site type are in the timeline guide.
- Price with VAT and payment terms: total, instalments, and whether there is a lock-in or mandatory monthly fee.
- Exclusions: what is NOT included (professional photography, copywriting, domain, hosting, maintenance). A quote without exclusions is not complete; it is vague.
- Ownership and access: domain registered to the client, credentials shared, what happens to the site if the contract ends.
- Post-launch support: how many days of included fixes and what it costs after.
Rule of thumb: every unanswered question in this document becomes a billed extra later. The full list of five red flags is in the article on choosing who builds the site.
A simple quote request template
To use right away, copy, fill in and send to three providers:
- "[Company] sells [product/service] to [target customer]."
- "We need a website that [goal: presents services and receives enquiries / sells online / takes bookings]."
- "Type: [brochure / shop / landing]. Estimated pages: [n]."
- "Functionality: [contact form, bookings, payments, member areas, EN+PT]."
- "We have: [copy yes/no, photos yes/no, logo yes/no, domain yes/no]."
- "We like these sites as reference: [2 to 3 addresses]."
- "Desired timeline: [month/quarter]. Target budget: [range]."
- "Please include in the quote: written scope, timeline with conditions, price with VAT, what falls outside, and site ownership terms."
The eighth line is what separates professional quotes from elevator estimates: it asks for exactly the sections you are going to compare.
Why two quotes for the same site vary so much
The classic question: "why does one say 900 and the other 4,000 for the same site?" Because it is not the same site, and it is not the same business behind it. The four reasons are almost always these:
- Disguised scopes. One included copy and photography, the other expects yours; one includes a worked mobile version and speed optimisation, the other says "the template handles that". Return to the written scope before comparing numbers.
- Who executes. A freelancer has minimal structure and a direct rate; an agency has a team, overheads and margin. Neither is wrong; they are different products. Typical rates per model are in the freelance web design pricing guide.
- Quality invisible in the proposal. Speed, baseline SEO, accessibility and clean code do not show in the PDF, but they are paid for every month afterwards. The cheap option that forgets this gets expensive when the site does not appear on Google.
- Billing model. Fixed project, hourly, or a monthly fee with the build included (the subscription model, from €49/month, exists precisely to spread the cost over time). Compare the 24-month total, not the entry number.
How to compare three quotes without getting it wrong
With the three documents on the table, the method fits in four steps:
- Normalise the scope. Make a table of the pages and functionality in each proposal. Whatever is missing in one, ask: "does it include [what the other has]?" The answer rewrites the price.
- Compare the 24-month total. Build + domain + hosting + maintenance + any rising renewals. That is the real decision number.
- Compare the terms, not just the value. Payments, lock-in, ownership, timeline conditions, exclusions. A discount with a two-year lock-in is a different price.
- Compare the questions they asked. Whoever asked more about your business will probably deliver a more considered site; the proposal started before the PDF.
And distrust the extremes: a quote far below the public market bases skips quality rounds (speed, baseline SEO, testing); one far above must justify it with scope and proof of work, not adjectives.
A quote with all of this in writing.
Send your request with the eight template lines and receive a proposal with scope, timeline, published prices and ownership terms. I reply in under 24 business hours.
Request a quote, no commitmentHow long receiving a quote takes (and what is normal)
With a clear brief, a freelancer replies within one to two business days; an agency may take a week because the request passes through sales and production. More than that, with no explanation, is the first data point on what working with that reply will be like.
Inside the process, expect questions: serious providers do not quote a vague brief blind. And keep the quotes you receive even if you do not move forward: they are the market reference for your project, and any proposal arriving six months later gets compared against the one that stayed on the shelf.