11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Request a Quote 
(https://www.jordancrown.com/)

4 Qualities of a Robust Website

Proposal
 Joe Ardeeser (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/author/joe/)

 Apr 26, 2018 (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/)

 Strategy (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/category/strategy/)

 1 Comment (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/#comments)

Congratulations. You’ve decided to make a move and invest in one of your most
important marketing assets: your website. But what should you look for in a website
proposal? What are the key fundamentals of a solid bid?

Below are 4 important qualities to a robust website proposal:

Quality #1 – Detail: Look for Speci cs in a

Website Proposal
It’s very tempting in the excitement of choosing a rm, to overlook vague or confusing
proposal content. Instead of ignoring these portions, it’s important to get clari cation.

Disagreements over what a contract includes are some of the most common “hiccups”
in website development.
https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 1/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Disagreements over what a contract

includes are some of the most
common “hiccups” in website
development.

So what does detail in a website proposal look like?

Speci cs Around What Features are Included

When you look at a line item in the agency’s website proposal, is it clear on what’s
included? For example, contrast these two line items.

Example 1

Example 2

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 2/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

As you can see the second example is more favorable. It’s much clearer to the agency
and to the client as to what’s included.

Speci cs Around Limitations

So this is a common problem with agencies. Project scope is too broad and a portion of
a project goes terribly over budget. In the project management world, this is what we
call a never-ending project (https://www.techrepublic.com/article/completing-the-never-
ending-project/).

In this scenario, often times, an agency will start to get impatient or short with clients.
But in reality, it’s the agency’s fault. Why did they keep things so open-ended?

At our agency, if there’s a part of a project with unknowns, we’ll often include a “max
hours” note with the line item.

Note the “2 hour max” for the line item above.

In the end, this is better. The client knows up front that the work has some unknowns
and the developer has some handles to grab onto if something is taking forever.

Here’s the key: clarity during the proposal process sets your website project up for success.

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 3/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Clarity during the proposal process sets

your website project up for success.

The proposal process isn’t glamorous like actually designing your new website, but
neither is constructing the foundation for a house. But, sure enough, if you don’t lay a
solid foundation, you won’t have much of a house.

Quality #2 – Straightforward Pricing: Look for

Transparency in a Website Proposal
I once saw a website proposal that went something like this:

Well, needless to say, the agency didn’t win the deal. And frankly, that was probably for
the best.

When it comes to pricing, don’t expect an agency to go overboard with transparency,

but there should be a minimum level of detail
(https://www.fundera.com/blog/transparent-pricing) that attaches speci c work to a
https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 4/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

speci c price.

A good way to accomplish straightforward pricing is for an agency to break a project

down into smaller parts that have individual descriptions and individual prices. Here’s a
good example of this:

If you’ve ever read a vague line item with a high price- and you felt uneasy- well, you
should be uneasy. What on earth are you paying for?

If an agency is going to take your money, it’s a reasonable expectation that they should
provide detail on where the money will go.

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 5/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

If an agency is going to take your

money, it’s a reasonable expectation
that they should provide detail on
where the money will go.

Quality #3 – Clear Terms: A Robust Website

Proposal has Clear Expectations
Terms. What an exciting topic.

In the end, every part of a proposal is full of terms. What I’m addressing here though is
terms outside of the general scope of a project.

When you’re looking at a website proposal, make sure that you have a good
understanding of the following topics:

Payment Terms
How much is due up front? What is the schedule for additional installments? Will the
nal payment be due before or after the new website is launched? Here’s what our
payment terms typically look like.

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 6/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Overage Terms
What happens if you want to add some new work to a project that wasn’t included
originally? What is the cost and how could it a ect your overall project timeline?

Timeline
What are the key milestones in your project? When will the new website launch? Are
there any dependencies?

Example timeline for a website proposal

Warranty
What happens after the website is launched and bugs or problems occur? If you’re
looking at a proposal and this isn’t spelled out, you’d better hope everything goes really
smooth.

Ongoing Maintenance

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 7/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

How will the website be maintained after it launches? What is the agency’s hourly rate?
Will the company provide quality support? Or will they be like many unfortunate
agencies who “go dark” on you?

“Going Dark” is an industry term that refers to an agency disappearing on you before or after a project is complete.

Hosting
It’s really important that after investing in a high-quality website that you don’t put it on
a low-quality host. That’s comparable to selling a million dollar home and hiring a middle
schooler to take the pictures. Don’t do it. An extra $30-$50 a month for a reliable and
secure hosting company is well worth the money.

For more information on avoiding cheap hosting solutions, see this post.
(https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/why-you-should-pay-more-than-5-for-website-
hosting/)

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 8/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Quality #4 – Flexibility: Great Website

Proposals have Slack
The last quality I’d like to cover is exibility. Many times, because of the software that an
agency is using, prospective clients aren’t able to select or deselect proposal items. In
contrast, mature agencies give the ability to turn on or o select features or even
subfeatures.

Flexibility in a website proposal is important because it will allow you to control both
price and scope.

Flexibility in a website proposal is

important because it will allow you to
control both price and scope.

Here’s an example of this for an “SEO Optimization” line item:

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 9/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Note that the entire line item can be selected or deselected. Additionally, there 7
modi cations that can also be turned o or on at the user’s will… and did you notice the
prices associated with each modi cation?

A proposal like this will make you feel like you have control over your project.

Where to Go Next
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand some of the important characteristics
of a solid web design proposal. Maybe you have a few proposals you’re looking at or
maybe you haven’t started that process yet.

Along with assessing an agency based on their proposal, I’ve also written a helpful guide
on other important factors when selecting an agency to work with
(https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/5-tips-selecting-an-agency-new-website/).

Wondering where we got our screenshots? 

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 10/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

At Jordan Crown (https://www.jordancrown.com), we’ve created our own proprietary

proposal software to speci cally meet the needs of our clients. If your company is
considering a new website, we’d love to be part of that discussion. You can click here
(https://www.jordancrown.com/contact/) to reach out to us.

Share the Love: Did you nd this resource helpful? If so, could I encourage
you to share it on Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin?

Related Posts

(https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/website-marketing- (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/12-bene ts-using-

newbies-4-ways/) wordpress/)
Website Marketing for Newbies: 4 Ways to 12 Bene ts of Using WordPress
Get Your Feet Wet (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/12-
(https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/website- bene ts-using-wordpress/)
marketing-newbies-4-ways/)

Discussion
 Ross Alisha
 Nov 10, 2018 at 3:51am (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/#comment-
17580)

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 11/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

I love this blog post. I am brand new to the blogging world. I have recently launched a blog
style website that includes contributors beyond myself. I have run two businesses prior to
this, but this is a whole new bag. Your words about sticking with it are very inspirational…I
don’t think one can know how hard it is to ‘get out there’ until they get started. Thanks for the
exceptional tips and I will revisit this post whenever I am havin’ a bad day
Reply

Leave a Reply
Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post Comment

Work (https://www.jordancrown.com/portfolio/)
Clients (https://www.jordancrown.com/clients/)
Industries (https://www.jordancrown.com/industries/)
Services (https://www.jordancrown.com/services/)
Digital Strategy Services (https://www.jordancrown.com/services/digital-strategy/)

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 12/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

Web Design Services (https://www.jordancrown.com/professional-web-design/)

WordPress Development (https://www.jordancrown.com/services/custom-wordpress-development/)
Team (https://www.jordancrown.com/team/)
Blog (https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/)
Contact (https://www.jordancrown.com/contact/)

425.268.2718 (tel:4252682718)
Jordan Crown Web Design (https://www.jordancrown.com/)
2828 Rockefeller Ave
Everett, WA 98201
Monday - Friday
9:00 am - 5:30 pm

Professional Web Design Agency

Jordan Crown specializes in high-octane marketing websites that are easy to manage and work great on
all devices. Expert WordPress developers; responsive web design.

 
(htt (htt
© 2019 Jordan Crown, LLC
ps: ps:
Privacy Policy (https://www.jordancrown.com/privacy/)
Terms of Use (https://www.jordancrown.com/terms/)

//w //t
ww wit
.fac ter.
eb co
oo m/j
k.c ord
om anc
/jor ro
da wn)
ncr
ow
n/r
https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 13/14
11/16/2019 4 Qualities of a Robust Website Proposal | Jordan Crown

evi
ew
s/?
ref
=p
ag
e_i
nte
rna
l)

https://www.jordancrown.com/blog/4-qualities-robust-website-proposal/ 14/14