So you need a web site developer. You’ve had a look around our site, and you think you like the cut of our jib. You might be wondering what the next step is. Here are some details about how we roll.

In essence it’s quite simple: you tell us about your project (your requirements), we give you a ‘ballpark figure’ or estimate of costs, and then – if the figure fits your budget – we write you a formal quote.

1. You provide your requirements

‘Requirements’ sounds like a stodgy software development term, but in order to understand what it is that you need, we need some details about your project. These are your requirements. You can either email us this information, or talk to us on the phone.

Requirements typically include:

  • A basic overview about your business and customers
  • Information about the project
  • If you have an existing site, we’ll need your current web site address and some information about what you do and don’t like about it
  • Links to any other sites (perhaps in your industry or field, perhaps not) that you think “get it right”

Sometimes you may not have considered all the options available to you on your project. Or maybe there’s a different way to do something. Either way, once we have your requirements, we may come up with a few ideas or solutions that we will discuss with you to make sure you are getting exactly what you need.

2. We give you a ballpark figure

From the information you provide, we can give you a rough range of costs. If our ranges aren’t compatible with what you were expecting, we don’t want to waste your time. But, if our cost estimate fits into your budget, we can go on to the next stage.

3. We give you a quotation

For small- and medium-sized projects, we’re happy to provide a fixed-price quote. To do this, we’ll look at the requirements you gave us in Step 1, and we’ll ask you for a bit more detail.

Our quote will include a summary of all the pages that your site will have, and the functionality that will be included. We’ll also include some information about other things that you may need: website hosting, copywriting, search engine optimisation services, to name a few.

The most important part of the quote will be a summary of the hours required for the project, the final cost, and an estimated timeline for completion.

If you were unsure of some features, or wanted to break up the project, we can ensure that some items are costed separately, so you can easily see where effort is being expended.

For larger projects, or for projects where the scope is not clearly defined, we supply an estimate instead of a quotation. If you have one of these projects, just talk to us – we can work out a plan of attack that suits you.

4. Like it? Work can begin!

If you like our quote and would like to go ahead, that’s great! We’ll get a signed copy of the quotation summary from you (emailed or faxed back to us is fine) and we will invoice you for a deposit. Once this deposit is paid, we can get started.

5. Think of something else after work starts? Additions aren’t a problem

Often, you realise part-way through developing a website that there are more features you would like to add, or features you thought you would need but actually don’t.

Traditionally, software engineers call this kind of variation “scope creep” and claim that it’s the root of all evil. But it isn’t! We know that sometimes good ideas don’t arrive in the right order. As long as you don’t go overboard, adding a feature here or there usually isn’t a problem.

If you have an idea for a great feature at some point during the development of your site, tell us about it and we’ll give you an idea of how much extra it will cost. In the case of removing features, if any cost savings can be made we’ll let you know; for example, if a feature has already been completed then removing it will not result in a saving for you.

In either case, we won’t go ahead with anything outside of the scope of the original quote without your approval, so you won’t ever be up for any costs you weren’t expecting.

6. Finishing Up

If your total project value is over $3,000 we may invoice for a progress payment, usually at a milestone point (for example, at the end of the design stage). The balance, along with any agreed additions, will be invoiced once the project is complete.

That’s it, folks! Think you’d like to deal with us? Contact us today.