What the quote should spell out
- The business you’re contracting with: full legal name and, for a company, its registered number.
- The pages or templates included, and any features (forms, booking, shop, blog, multilingual).
- Who writes the copy and supplies images, and whether stock images and fonts are licensed in your name.
- Number of design concepts and revision rounds.
- What “done” means: browsers and devices tested, accessibility checks, speed checks, redirects from any old site.
- Launch tasks: connecting the domain, email set-up, search engine basics such as a sitemap.
- Training or handover documentation.
- Timeline, including what you must supply and when.
Price, payments and ongoing costs
- A fixed total for the agreed scope, with VAT shown, rather than an open day rate.
- Payment stages tied to milestones (for example design sign-off, then launch), not all up front.
- Every recurring cost listed separately: domain renewal, hosting, maintenance, software licences, email.
- How extra work is quoted and approved before it starts.
Citizens Advice’s advice for home improvement work makes the same points: get a written quote rather than an estimate, pay in stages, and be wary of large up-front payments. It’s a useful benchmark for any service contract.
What the contract should cover
- Ownership: who owns the design, code, text and images on full payment, or what licence you receive. Copyright arises automatically (GOV.UK), so this needs to be written down.
- Domain and hosting: registered and contracted in your name, or a duty on the designer to transfer them on request.
- Access: you get admin logins for the site, hosting and domain.
- Data protection: if the designer or host handles personal data for you (form submissions, customer accounts), the contract should say how.
- Support: what’s included after launch, response times for faults, and for how long.
- Termination and handover: notice periods, and what you receive on exit (files, database export, logins), with any fee stated.
Your basic legal protection
If you’re a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats a service contract as including terms that the trader will use reasonable care and skill (section 49) and, where not agreed, perform the service within a reasonable time for a reasonable price (sections 51–52). Business-to-business contracts have a similar implied term about care and skill under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. These are a floor, not a substitute for a clear written scope.
Comparing quotes fairly
- Write a one-page brief (what the site is for, pages, features, who supplies content) and send the same brief to each designer.
- Put each quote into the checklist above and note the gaps.
- Compare the three-year cost, including hosting and maintenance, not just the build price.
- Ask each designer to fill any gaps in writing before you decide.
See also red flags when hiring a web designer.
Questions people ask
Is a monthly ‘website for £X a month’ deal a bad idea?
Not necessarily. It can spread cost and include hosting and updates. Check the minimum term, what happens if you stop paying, and whether you keep the domain and content. Some plans include the site only while you subscribe.
Should I pay a deposit to a web designer?
Many designers ask for a deposit before starting. Keep it proportionate and tie later payments to milestones you can check, such as design sign-off and launch.
Do I need a written contract for a small website?
It’s strongly advisable. Even a short written agreement covering scope, price, ownership, domain and hosting, and exit terms prevents most disputes.
Related guides
Questions to ask a web designer
The questions that separate a clear, accountable web designer from a vague one, and what good answers sound like.
Own your domain & hosting
Why the domain should be in your name, how to check who the registrant is, and what to ask about hosting and logins.
Red flags
Warning signs in a web design pitch: ranking guarantees, domain held in their name, no written scope, and more.