There are two common ways to price a website project: a fixed price agreed before work starts, or an hourly rate billed as the work happens. Both can be fair. They put the risk in very different places.
How hourly billing works against you
An hourly rate looks flexible, and the number on the quote is usually smaller. But the quote is an estimate, and the final invoice is whatever the hours turn out to be.
- There is no ceiling: every unexpected problem adds to your bill, not the developer’s
- Small requests add up, because each one is billed separately
- Budgeting is guesswork until the project ends
- The incentive is the wrong way round: the longer it takes, the more it earns
With hourly billing, the risk of the project running over sits entirely with the client.
Worth knowing
What a fixed price changes
A fixed price means the cost is agreed before any work starts. If something takes longer than planned, that is the studio’s problem to absorb, not yours. You can plan around one number.
For that to be fair on both sides, the scope has to be clear. That is what a discovery conversation is for: what the site has to do, how many pages and templates, what content exists, and what integrations it needs. The proposal then states exactly what is included.
What about changes along the way?
Plans change, and a good fixed-price process allows for it. Anything outside the agreed scope is quoted at a fixed price too, and only goes ahead once you approve it. You always know the cost before you commit to it.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Is the price fixed, or an estimate?
- What exactly is included, and what is not?
- How many rounds of amends are there at each stage?
- How are changes priced, and when do you find out the cost?
WebRen works on fixed prices, with the proposal written after a free discovery call. Extra work is quoted in writing at a fixed price and approved before it starts.
