When people ask for a web design quote we are naturally pleased they have considered us as an option to design, code and host their website. When we get an enquiry, we don’t expect to get a lot of detail straight away. There are often commercial sensitivities and we pledge to treat each enquiry with integrity and discretion. We often come back to the enquirer with more questions so we can put together an accurate quote or proposal.
Here are some questions that we often ask or need to know.
What is your business or project?
New website aside, the first thing we need to know is more about your business or project and your future plans. We like to know in detail as this helps us understand where the website fits in with your business process and how it is going to help you progress.
This helps us come up with practical suggestions for features that help improve your business such as making communication with clients easier, encouraging them to book services or place orders, processing orders more efficiently, promoting the business more effectively etc.
What is your current website?
We do like to look at your current website so we get an idea of what you have done in the past. This gives us an opportunity to check technology used such as content management system (e.g. WordPress, Joomla, etc) or static HTML website, plus any current features. We also need to get an idea of the size of the current website and any current features that may or may not be needed for the new website.
What web designs do you like?
The web design is, of course, very important and we need to know your thoughts about web design and branding. All websites need to be responsive these days so they work on PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets so that is an absolute must. If you already have a logo or want it refreshed then that’s fine. We would also like to know your thoughts on colour palettes, images, backgrounds and background colours.
It often helps if you can list some existing websites that you like. Look at websites of other businesses, especially ones you admire or that do something similar to you. Save links or screenshots of websites with designs or features you like. This helps communicate your style preferences clearly to the designers.
Do you need web hosting and extra features?
A new website is also a good opportunity to switch over to better and faster web hosting. It’s also a chance to add extra features such as a SSL certificate so the website runs securely through https or better email accounts, autoresponders for enquiries, forwarding addresses to cut spam etc.
This is where the web hosting in conjunction with the new web design can really help improve the efficiency of your business processes such as enquiry handling and internal communication.
Finally
The initial enquiry for a web design quote is the first step in working towards building an accurate picture of your new website. Once we have this information we can provide an accurate quote and proposal so all parties know what to expect and how much it is going to cost.
