A €2,500 website quote can cost more than a €7,500 quote when copy, migration, licences, testing and maintenance are missing and return later as additional work. Put every proposal into the same frame first. Only equal scope can be compared fairly.
Dutch consumer authority ACM recommends comparing not just price, but also work, delivery time, terms, payment and warranty. A business website also needs technical acceptance criteria, intellectual-property terms, data ownership and an exit plan.
Start with one brief for every supplier
Send every supplier the same concise brief:
- the business goal and primary audience;
- the main actions visitors should complete;
- required page and content types;
- existing content, data and URLs to migrate;
- required integrations and administrators;
- language, accessibility, privacy, performance and security requirements;
- desired launch date and internal decision-makers;
- what your own team will supply.
Without this baseline, you mainly compare how each supplier interpreted your uncertainty.
Twenty questions that expose the difference
Goal and approach
- Which measurable problem does the new website solve?
- Which assumptions must be validated before design or development?
- Which comparable projects has the delivery team itself completed?
- Who works on the project day to day, and who makes technical decisions?
Scope and content
- How many unique page types will be designed and built?
- Who writes, edits, translates and enters the copy?
- Are photography, illustration, fonts and usage rights included?
- Which existing pages, downloads and forms will be migrated?
Technology and quality
- Which CMS or framework will be used, and why does it fit this scope?
- Which browsers, devices and accessibility requirements will be tested?
- Which performance and security checks are part of acceptance?
- How will forms, email delivery, analytics and cookie consent be tested?
SEO and launch
- Who creates the URL map and implements permanent redirects?
- Are the sitemap, canonicals, robots directives and structured data included in migration?
- Who monitors errors, indexing and traffic in the first weeks after launch?
Money, rights and what comes next
- Is the price fixed, an estimate or time-and-materials, and what counts as extra work?
- Which subscriptions, licences and transaction fees continue after delivery?
- Who owns the domain, hosting account, data, design files and custom code?
- Which response time, warranty and recovery obligation applies after launch?
- What do you receive if you move to another supplier after a year?
Make acceptance testable
“A professional website” is not an acceptance criterion. Write down what demonstrably has to work.
| Area | Example testable criterion |
|---|---|
| Form | Confirmation appears, email reaches named addresses and the event is measured |
| Migration | Every URL in the approved map returns one direct 301 to the right new page |
| Mobile | Navigation, forms and tables work at agreed screen sizes without horizontal loss |
| Ownership | Accounts and licences are in the client's name at handover |
| Performance | Agreed key pages are measured under equal conditions and blockers documented |
| Accessibility | The selected WCAG scope, test method and known exceptions appear in the delivery report |
An acceptance list protects both parties. The client knows what is being bought; the agency does not have to infer unlimited expectations from vague language.
Compare with a weighted scorecard
Do not give every factor equal weight. Content and conversion may matter more for a lead-generation site; checkout, integrations and recovery matter more for a webshop.
| Category | Example weight |
|---|---|
| Process understanding and proposed approach | 20% |
| Content, design and user experience | 20% |
| Technical quality and security | 20% |
| Migration, SEO and measurement | 15% |
| Total three-year cost | 15% |
| Ownership, maintenance and exit | 10% |
Score each category from 1 to 5 and multiply by its weight. Record unanswered questions as well. A high score with three major assumptions is not yet a safe decision.
Red flags in a website proposal
- It focuses on page count but says nothing about unique templates or functions.
- “SEO included” appears without tasks, migration work or a measurement method.
- The domain, hosting account or premium licences remain in the agency's name without an exit arrangement.
- The schedule assumes all content is ready but names no deadline or owner.
- Extra work has no definition, rate or approval step.
- The proposal promises rankings, conversion or speed without a baseline and conditions.
- Maintenance is compulsory but its scope, cancellation and recovery term are absent.
Sign only when open questions have become appendices
A good sales conversation is no substitute for a complete proposal. Attach the brief, sitemap, feature list, acceptance criteria, schedule, pricing breakdown and maintenance terms. Reference each appendix from the agreement and record which version applies.
For the cost structure, also read what a website costs to build and, for the ongoing work, what website maintenance should include.