Comparing Web Design Quotes

By Admin January 10th 2011

When comparing Web Design quotes, where do you start?! Obviously, each Web Design company is going to have their own reasons why they are best. Yes, we believe we offer a unique product, giving us (and you) the benefit of being able to offer our services at significantly lower costs. I'm not going to go into that here, so if you'd like to read why we can be less expensive without sacrificing quality, please click here.

I'll warn you now, this isn't a short article, but hopefully it should be very useful.

The Web Design world is a complex one, yet it can be communicated in a way that can be understood by all. Many Web Design companies take great pleasure in baffling their clients with industry "geek-speak" and jargon, thinking their clients will be "wow-ed" at just how clever they are. 9 times out of 10, the client will be baffled, but certainly not impressed... But with so many companies applying this SALES TECHNIQUE, how can the client choose between these?

Glossary of Terms

Well, hopefully here's a start. I've compiled a quick "Glossary of Terms", for you to browse at your leisure, to help you understand what is being said to you. Further to that, read on...

Web Design quotes can include anything from simply the web site design itself (and sometimes not even that) right through to all the bells and whistles you can ever dream of, half of which you will never have known existed. These can range from excellent value for money, to astronomically priced with unnecessary features. So how can you tell the difference?!

You need to know what the quote includes, but first it will help if you know what it is you're looking for that you "need".

Domain Names

First off, you need a "Domain Name". This is going to be the address which your audience will type into their web browser to get to your site. Think of this as your online street name.

Your Domain Name should include either your company name, or something of relevance to the products or services you provide.

Hosting

Once you've got your Domain Name, your street name, you need "somewhere "Hosting". Your hosting (server), your plot of land, is where your house (web site) can be built. After all, you can't have a house without somewhere to build it. For most cases, you're going to need no more than 100mb of web storage space, and you aren't going to need any "sub-domains". Don't let your web design company, or any hosting companies try to sell you anything you don't need. Nothing is for free, and you'll be paying for a service you don't require.

Your Email Requirements

An important part of your hosting is your email. Most hosting usually comes with at least 5 email addresses, which is plenty adequate for a lot of small businesses. If you do require more make sure the package you have been quoted is suitable, and if not, how much extra they're going to charge you to meet your requirements. If your website is going to be using a database of any kind, you are probably going to need "PHP" and "MySQL" support. Your web design company will be able to answer this question. If they are not quoting for hosting, make sure you find out what database technology they are going to be using, and whether they will be using any "PHP" or "ASP". PHP is the most common, but ASP is still quite common place.

Leave It To The Experts?

As you can see, hosting can also be a bit of a minefield, so it's sometimes a good idea to leave it to the experts, your web design company. Prices you will see quoted on a lot of hosting companies own websites are quite often unrealistic. They often quote prices such as £3-5 per month, which is fine... Then you add your email, php/mysql support, setup costs... By the time you're done, your hosting is building up in price, yet this is still an "un-managed" service. Meaning, you break it, you fix it.

If your web design company offers a managed hosting solution, which includes everything you need, plus regular back-ups, this could be worth its weight in gold. The internet is built in a world full of people looking to make their mark, or just generally cause problems. If your website gets "hacked", a regular backup ensures your website can be back up and running as quickly as possible should the worst happen. Quite simply, everything will be taken care of for you. Website uploads, Nameserver and DNS setup, email and general website maintenance are something you never need worry about, or get involved with.

Your Website Design Itself

After you've got your Domain Name, and your Hosting sorted, you can then look more in depth into what the actual website design quotation includes. How many pages are you allowed? How much will it cost to add to these? Is this a total quote, or could this go up if man-hours increase?

These are all very relevant questions when looking at your quote, as quite a few web design companies enjoy a healthy income from "over-charges".

How Do I Update My New Site? What's a CMS?

This is a very important question to ask. Many Web Design companies will (most should really) design a CMS (Content Management System) for you, where you can make changes to your own site. There may be a monthly cost involved with the maintenance and development of this, but it should only be a minimal fee.

If there isn't a CMS included in the quote, it may be worth finding out if they can provide one, and how much they would charge to develop one. Web Designers don't come cheap when it comes to website updates, so even the most basic CMS could end up saving you a fortune in the not-so-long run. Your CMS should be able to ideally update basic content, as well as any events, news, or gallery sections you have on your web site.

Deep Breath's Now...

Right, so here we are. Drawing things to a close... It's not been a short post, but then again if it was of interest, I'm hoping it was worth the read. Granted, we'd like to think you'll be coming to us for a quote, but chances are you'll be shopping around for a few quotes. We like to think we're very competitively priced, and that we offer a product and service comparible to far more expensive competitors. If you would like a quote from us, please don't hesitate to contact us, and we'll also be more than happy to talk you through the quote you receive.