How to choose a developer and read a quote
Five people name five different figures for the same job and there is nothing to compare. The difference is almost never greed. Each of them counted a different scope, and you can see that before you pay.
I answer within one working day, in writing. I never call.
The cheapest quote is usually the most expensive
A quote is not the price of the work. It is a description of someone's idea of the work. Whoever counted least usually counted less: no phone layout, no content transfer, no analytics, no fixes after launch. All of it surfaces halfway through, when backing out is expensive, and it costs more because by then it is counted separately. Bottom lines can only be compared when the scope behind them matches. So the first thing to look for in the document is not the figure, it is the boundaries.
What to read before the bottom line
What the quote excludes
A good quote is half a list of what is not in it: texts, photographs, filling the catalogue, integrations with other people's systems, domain and hosting. If that list is missing, it still exists. You will simply meet it later, at a separate price.
Whose name the domain and the code are in
Domain, code repository, hosting and advertising account should be yours from day one. Otherwise changing contractors turns into buying back your own website.
What counts as done
«The site is ready» is not an event, it is a criterion. It opens on a phone, the form reaches your inbox, analytics counts, speed is measured. Until that is written down, sign-off rests on everyone's mood.
Who owns the deadline
A date with no answer to «what if it slips» is a wish. Ask how you will be told and what moves next. The answer shows whether the work was planned at all.
Who you will actually talk to
Through a manager every clarification is retold twice and loses half its meaning. Talking straight to the person writing the code turns a three-day fix into an hour.
How changes are counted
You will want to change something along the way. Know in advance whether it sits inside the figure, whether it is billed separately, and who decides if it is a fix or a new task.
What happens after launch
A site does not end at launch: updates, access, domain renewal, small fixes. Ask what the first month includes and what support turns into after it.
Four quotes that will grow along the way
- One line for everything. «Website development» and a figure. Nothing to compare, nothing to adjust, nothing to argue about: any change will land outside the scope.
- Nobody asked a single question. Anyone who priced the job without asking about scope, pages and integrations priced a guess. Guesses get corrected mid-project, and always upwards.
- A figure far below the rest. Usually it is either half the work left uncounted, or a template that will be rebuilt the moment you need something of your own.
- Design and code in different hands with nobody in charge. The seam between the mockup and the build is where «that is not my part» lives: the design exists, the page looks similar, and no one is responsible.
How to check it yourself
Take any quote and find three things in it. First, the list of what it excludes. Second, whose name the domain, the code and the ad account will be in. Third, what counts as done, in one line you can verify. If any of the three is missing, ask by email and watch how fast and how precisely the answer comes: that is your future correspondence on this project. And compare figures only once the scope matches in all of them, otherwise you are comparing different jobs.
Get a priceQuestions people ask
How many quotes should I collect?
Three is enough. More adds weeks, not accuracy: while you gather the fifth, the first two have filled your slot with other projects.
Freelancer, studio or agency?
The difference is not in the word. It is how many people stand between you and the person writing the code, and whose name the access is in. Both questions are asked the same way to all three.
The quotes differ five times over. Who is lying?
Probably nobody. They counted different scopes. Reduce them to one list of work and the gap usually falls to one and a half.
Do I need a written spec first?
No. The spec is already part of the work and a good contractor builds it with you. A list of what should happen on the site, plus a few examples you like, is enough to start.
How do I check a portfolio?
Ask for live links, not pictures. Open them on a phone, find the form, send it to yourself. A picture can be drawn; a working site cannot.
How do you count?
One figure for the whole scope within two working days, agreed before the work starts and fixed after. It comes with the list of what it does not include.
Get a quote for your scope
One figure for the whole scope within two working days, with the list of what it excludes. I answer in writing and I do not call.
Get a price