Commissioning a website: scope, cost and process

A website is no longer a business card on the internet. It is where sales conversations begin, where candidates evaluate you, and where existing customers look for support. Commissioning one is therefore an operational decision, not merely a design preference.

This guide walks through scoping the project, comparing proposals and checking the handover.

1. Define the job the site must do

“Looking more modern” is not a goal on its own. The answers to these questions determine the scope:

• What is the single main action a visitor should take? Request a quote, buy a product, book an appointment, submit a CV?
• Who will update the site? Will every content change depend on the agency?
• Which languages will you publish in? Is English genuinely needed, or will machine translation do?
• Will data be transferred from an existing system such as an ERP or CRM?

Without clear answers, proposals will price different scopes as if they were the same, and you cannot compare them.

2. Put the scope in writing

A good proposal defines functions, not just a page count. It should cover at least:

• Page and template list: home, service details, blog, contact, privacy notice, 404 and similar pages, one by one.
• Content production: Who writes the copy? Are images stock or custom photography?
• Integrations: email service, WhatsApp, form validation, payments, shipping, live chat, analytics.
• Admin panel: Which areas are editable? Are there permission levels?
• Handover: Who owns the domain, hosting, panel, code repository and design files?

Exclusions matter too. A line such as “translation of content into a second language is out of scope” prevents a later argument.

3. Where the budget goes

A website budget is not one line item. Ask for these separately when comparing proposals:

The most common surprise costs are extra languages, extra integrations, licence fees and scope changes. The contract should state how scope changes are priced.

4. A healthy six-step process

1. Discovery: Goals, competitors and existing data are reviewed. Output: a short discovery document.
2. Information architecture: Sitemap and user flows. Output: an approved sitemap.
3. Design: The home page and one inner page are explored first; the approved direction is extended.
4. Development: The design is built with real content. A weekly preview link is shared.
5. Testing and content: Mobile, forms, speed, accessibility and SEO checks.
6. Launch and training: Redirects, panel training and backups.

Written approval at each stage protects both the schedule and the budget. Verbal “okays” are a leading cause of delays.

5. Template or custom build?

A template can make sense for a limited budget and a standard brochure site. But theme updates, unnecessary plugins and customisation limits create cost later. A custom build fits your workflow, yet becomes needless complexity when scoped poorly.

Ask what the site must do in three years. If a product catalogue, membership or quote management is on the horizon, building a suitable foundation now is cheaper.

6. Handover checklist

• Do the menu, forms and phone links work on mobile?
• Are page speed and image sizes reasonable? Are images in modern formats such as WebP?
• Does every page have one H1, a unique title and a description?
• Are form submissions stored in the panel as well as emailed?
• Are the privacy notice, cookie notice and contact details current?
• If there was an old site, is the 301 redirect map in place?
• Are Google Search Console, Analytics and sitemap.xml configured?
• Is responsibility for backups and updates documented?

7. The most expensive mistake: leaving content last

Most projects move quickly through design and stall on content. When service copy, team details and images are not ready, either the schedule slips or the site launches with empty templates. Build a content calendar in week one so the copy is ready alongside design approval.

Commissioning a website becomes far more predictable when the right questions are asked at the start. Clarify the scope, write the acceptance criteria and set up measurement from day one.

To clarify your project scope, write to us; you can see completed work on our references page.