Judging a quote
How to tell if a website quote is fair.
Two quotes for the same website can differ several times over and both be honest, because they are quietly describing different amounts of work. The only way to see that is to make both of them itemise.
A fair quote lists what you get, names what you pay others for separately, and says what happens after launch. An unfair one is a single number with no breakdown, or a low number that turns out to exclude the words, the photographs and the hosting. Compare the breakdowns, not the totals.
Written by Susarathi Bose of Silicon Insights, Kolkata. Last updated .
In detail
What to look for, and what should make you slow down.
Ask what is not included
The most useful question you can ask about any quote. Words, photographs, hosting, the domain, the Google setup, changes after launch. A quote that covers only the design can be perfectly honest and still be a third of what the finished job costs.
Separate what you pay them from what you pay others
The domain and any paid hosting are yours, in your own accounts, paid to those companies. If a quote bundles them invisibly into one figure, you cannot tell what is service and what is a pass-through, and you will not know what happens when the renewal comes.
Find the ongoing cost before you sign
Ask directly: what will I pay every month or every year after this is live, and what do I get for it. A build price that looks low next to a maintenance plan you cannot leave is not a low price.
Count the revision rounds
One round included is normal. None included, with every change billed, is a quote that will grow. Unlimited rounds is a promise nobody keeps and usually means the price already assumes you will not use them.
A number with no breakdown is not a quote
It is a figure. Ask for the items. Anyone who cannot itemise their own work either has not thought it through or does not want you comparing it with anybody else’s.
Be careful with a price far below the others
Sometimes it is genuine, from somebody early in their career doing good work cheaply. Sometimes it is a template with your logo on it, no words written, no photographs, and the domain in their name. The itemised list tells you which, and it takes one message to ask for.
Fair does not mean cheap and it does not mean expensive. It means you can see what you are buying, you know what you will still be paying next year, and nothing important was left out of the number on purpose.
Questions
Questions people ask
How much should a website cost in India?
Widely enough that any single figure quoted on a page is close to meaningless, which is why this site does not publish one. What decides it is the number of pages, whether photographs have to be taken, who writes the words, whether anything on the site has to do something rather than say something, and what happens after launch. Our own page on what a website costs sets out those six things without pretending to a price list.
Should I pay the whole amount before the work starts?
No, and few honest people will ask you to. Some advance is normal and reasonable, because the work starts before anything is visible. The whole amount up front removes every incentive to finish. What matters more than the split is that it is written down, tied to stages, and invoiced against items you can recognise.
Why is one quote three times another for the same site?
Usually because they are not the same site. One includes photography at your premises, the words written and approved, the Google listing set up and a year of support. The other includes a template filled with text you supply. Both may be honest. Put the two breakdowns side by side and the difference stops being mysterious in about a minute.
The other questions