What Should Be Included in a Website Design Quote?
A website quote should tell you much more than how much you'll pay. Here's what a good website design quote should include—and the questions you should ask before accepting one.
A website quote should tell you what you're actually buying
Getting a website quote can be surprisingly confusing.
One designer might send you:
Website Design — £1,500
Another might send you a four-page proposal explaining exactly what you'll receive, how the project will work, what you'll need to provide, and what happens after launch.
Both might ultimately deliver a website.
But they're not offering the same thing.
A good website quote isn't just a price tag. It's a definition of the project.
Before you agree to anything, you should be able to understand what you're paying for, what isn't included, and what both you and the designer are expected to do.
Here's what to look for.
1. A clear description of the project
The first thing your quote should establish is what is actually being built.
Don't settle for vague descriptions like:
"Professional website design."
That doesn't tell you much.
A better description might specify:
A five-page business website
Custom homepage design
About page
Services page
Contact page
Responsive layouts
CMS/blog setup
Contact form
Basic SEO setup
The more clearly the scope is defined, the less room there is for misunderstandings later.
2. The number of pages
Page count isn't everything, but it still matters.
Your quote should tell you approximately how many pages are included.
For example:
5-page website
Home
About
Services
Case Studies
Contact
But be careful with phrases like "up to 10 pages."
Ask what counts as a page.
Does a CMS blog article count?
Does every individual service page count?
Does a privacy policy count?
Does a dynamically generated product page count?
A good quote makes this clear.
3. What's included in the design
This is one of the most important sections.
"Website design" can mean very different things depending on the designer.
Your quote should explain whether you're receiving:
A template customization
A semi-custom design
A completely custom design
Wireframes
Desktop designs
Mobile designs
Tablet layouts
Custom graphics
Animations
Interactive elements
Design system or reusable components
If you're paying for custom design, you should know how much of the website is actually being designed from scratch.
4. Responsive design
This should be explicitly mentioned.
Your website isn't just being viewed on a desktop anymore.
People will visit from:
Phones
Tablets
Laptops
Desktop monitors
Large screens
A quote should tell you whether responsive design is included.
And ideally, "responsive" shouldn't simply mean:
"We'll make the desktop version shrink down."
Good responsive design often requires different spacing, typography, layouts and interactions depending on screen size.
5. Content and copywriting
This is one of the biggest sources of confusion in website projects.
Who is writing the website?
Your quote should make this very clear.
Does the client provide all the copy?
Does the designer write it?
Does the designer edit existing copy?
Is professional copywriting included?
The same applies to images.
Clarify whether you need to provide:
Text
Photos
Logos
Brand assets
Product information
Testimonials
Videos
If content isn't included, it shouldn't be silently assumed that the designer will create it.
6. Branding
If you're also hiring the designer for branding, establish where that work ends and website design begins.
For example:
Included:
Existing logo
Existing brand colours
Existing typography
versus:
Included:
Logo refinement
Colour palette
Typography system
Brand guidelines
These are completely different scopes of work.
If you're using an existing brand, the website quote should say so.
7. Functionality
A website can look simple while hiding a lot of functionality underneath.
Your quote should specify what functionality is included.
For example:
Contact forms
Newsletter signup
CMS
Blog
Search
Filtering
Booking system
Payment integration
Ecommerce
Social media integrations
Analytics
Third-party APIs
If something is important to the way your business operates, don't leave it implied.
8. The platform
You should know what platform your website will be built on.
For example:
Framer
Webflow
WordPress
Shopify
Squarespace
Wix
Custom development
This matters because platforms have different capabilities and ongoing costs.
A quote should ideally also tell you whether the platform subscription is included in the project price or paid separately by you.
9. SEO basics
You shouldn't necessarily expect a full SEO campaign to be included in a website design project.
But basic technical SEO should at least be discussed.
Depending on the project, this could include:
Page titles
Meta descriptions
Heading structure
Image alt text
Clean URLs
Sitemap
Robots configuration
Open Graph/social sharing metadata
Search-friendly page structure
Basic indexing setup
There's an important distinction between making a website SEO-ready and doing SEO for the business.
A website designer can build a strong technical foundation without promising that you'll automatically rank first on Google.
10. Revisions
This is a big one.
Ask:
How many rounds of revisions are included?
A project might include:
2 rounds of revisions
or
Unlimited revisions
Those sound very different.
But even "unlimited" needs clarification.
If a client changes their entire business direction halfway through a project, that's not really a revision. That's a new scope.
A good quote should explain what happens when changes go beyond the agreed scope.
11. Timeline
A quote should give you some idea of how long the project will take.
It doesn't necessarily need to promise an exact launch date.
A typical structure might be:
Week 1: Discovery and content
Week 2: Design
Week 3: Revisions
Week 4: Development and launch
But the timeline should also explain what can delay the project.
For example, if the client takes two weeks to provide content, the project probably isn't going to launch on the original schedule.
12. What you need to provide
Website projects aren't completely passive for the client.
You may need to provide:
Business information
Copy
Photos
Logo files
Brand guidelines
Login credentials
Product information
Testimonials
Legal information
Feedback
A good quote should tell you what the designer needs from you and when they need it.
13. Domain and hosting
Find out who is paying for the infrastructure.
Your quote should clarify things such as:
Domain registration
Hosting
Platform subscription
Email hosting
SSL
CDN
Premium plugins
Third-party services
Some designers bundle everything together.
Others expect you to purchase these services yourself.
Neither approach is automatically better.
You just need to know which one you're agreeing to.
14. Analytics
If you're building a business website, you probably want to know what happens after people arrive.
Ask whether analytics are included.
Depending on your requirements, this might involve:
Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Conversion tracking
Form submission tracking
Event tracking
You don't necessarily need sophisticated analytics on day one.
But knowing how your website performs can become extremely valuable later.
15. Training and handover
What happens when the website is finished?
If you're going to manage it yourself, you should know whether you're receiving:
A walkthrough
Training
Documentation
Access to the CMS
Ownership of the website account
For platforms like Framer, Webflow and WordPress, this can make a significant difference.
A beautiful website isn't particularly useful if you have no idea how to update it.
16. Ownership
This is something you absolutely shouldn't ignore.
Ask:
Who owns the website after the project is complete?
You should understand who controls:
The domain
Website account
Design files
Content
Brand assets
Code, where applicable
Also check whether you're allowed to move the website to another provider later.
You don't want your entire online presence effectively held hostage by your designer.
17. Post-launch support
Some designers disappear the moment the website goes live.
Others include a period of support.
Your quote should tell you what happens after launch.
For example:
Included:
14 days of post-launch bug fixes.
or:
Optional:
Monthly maintenance and updates.
There is nothing wrong with charging separately for ongoing support.
In fact, it's often better for everyone when ongoing work is clearly separated from the initial project.
18. The actual price
Finally, you need the obvious part:
How much does it cost?
But even here, the number isn't enough.
Your quote should ideally explain:
Total project price
Deposit required
Remaining balance
Payment schedule
Taxes, if applicable
Additional costs
Hourly/day rates for work outside the scope
For example:
Project total: £1,200
Deposit: £600
Final payment: £600
Simple.
No surprises.
What isn't included matters just as much
This is one of the biggest signs of a professional quote.
A good proposal doesn't only say:
"Here's what you get."
It also says:
"Here's what you don't get."
For example:
Not included:
Professional photography
Copywriting
Paid stock imagery
Domain fees
Platform subscription
Additional pages
Ecommerce functionality
Ongoing SEO
Ongoing maintenance
This protects both sides.
The client knows what they're buying.
The designer knows what they're responsible for.
Beware of extremely vague quotes
Something like:
Website Design — £2,500
isn't really a useful quote.
You don't know:
How many pages?
Custom or template?
Which platform?
Responsive?
SEO?
Copywriting?
Revisions?
CMS?
Forms?
Hosting?
Support?
Timeline?
The problem isn't necessarily that the designer is charging £2,500.
The problem is that you don't know what the £2,500 represents.
A good website quote should answer three questions
Before signing anything, you should be able to answer:
1. What am I getting?
The scope and deliverables.
2. What do I need to do?
Your responsibilities, content and feedback.
3. What will I pay?
The total cost and any additional expenses.
If you can't answer those three questions after reading the quote, ask for clarification.
Don't choose a designer based on the cheapest quote
Price matters.
But it shouldn't be the only thing you're comparing.
Imagine you receive three quotes:
Designer A — £700
Template customization, five pages, one revision.
Designer B — £1,500
Custom design, responsive layouts, CMS, SEO foundations, three revisions and post-launch support.
Designer C — £4,000
Strategy, custom brand direction, UX, custom website, copywriting, advanced animations and extensive support.
It's impossible to say which is "cheapest" without considering what you're actually getting.
They're three different products.
That's why a good website quote makes comparison possible.
Your quote is also a sign of how the project will be managed
There's something else worth remembering.
A website quote isn't just paperwork.
It's an early glimpse into how the designer works.
A clear, thoughtful proposal suggests that they've thought through the project.
A vague one may indicate that the project itself will be vague.
That doesn't mean a beautifully designed proposal guarantees a good website.
But clarity is a very good sign.
The bottom line
Before hiring a web designer, don't just ask:
"How much for a website?"
Ask:
"What's included?"
A good website design quote should clearly explain the scope, pages, design, responsiveness, functionality, content responsibilities, platform, SEO, revisions, timeline, costs, ownership and post-launch support.
You shouldn't have to guess what you're buying.
And neither should your designer have to guess what you're expecting.
The clearer the quote, the smoother the project is likely to be.
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