Guide · Hiring
What a Website Project Includes, and What Is Extra
Most disputes over website projects are not about quality. They are about scope — two parties who agreed a price while imagining different amounts of work. The items that cause it are consistent and predictable: who writes the text, who supplies the photographs, how many rounds of changes are included, and what happens after launch. Settling those four before signing prevents nearly all of it.
By Carlos Boluda · Updated · 8 min read
Content is the line item that derails projects
Unless the quote explicitly includes copywriting, the words are your job. Most people do not realise this until the design is ready and the project stalls waiting for text that nobody has started.
This is the single most common cause of a website taking four months instead of four weeks. The build was finished in week three; the About page was not.
Settle it in the quote, in writing. Either the agency writes the text and the price reflects it, or you do and you agree a date to deliver it. The version where nobody quite owns it is the version that produces a half-finished site and an awkward conversation about the final invoice.
Photography is usually extra, and stock images cost you later
Professional photography is rarely included in a website quote. What happens instead is that stock images fill the gaps, and a business ends up with a site that looks like a template because the only distinctive thing about it — the actual premises, staff and work — is missing.
Visitors recognise stock photography. In a local service business it reads as concealment, because the obvious question is why you are showing someone else's office.
A decent phone camera and daylight produce better results than stock for most small businesses. If you would rather hire a photographer, do it before the build starts, because a design laid out around placeholder images is a design laid out around the wrong shapes.
Revisions: the number, and what counts as one
"Two rounds of revisions included" means nothing until you agree what a round is. One round is a consolidated list of changes sent once — not a message on Tuesday, another on Thursday and a phone call on Friday, each triggering rework.
Agree also what counts as a revision rather than a new request. Changing a heading is a revision. Deciding the homepage should have a different structure is not; it is a new design.
This is not the agency protecting itself from you. It protects you too, because open-ended revision is how a fixed price becomes hourly billing halfway through, usually at the point where you have already paid a deposit.
What happens after launch is a separate agreement
A website is not finished when it launches. Hosting has to be paid for, software has to be updated, backups have to exist, and someone has to change the opening hours when they change.
Ask three things before signing: what hosting costs and who pays it, whether updates and backups are included or billed, and what a small text change costs after launch. The last one matters more than people expect, because a business that is quoted a callout fee for changing a phone number simply stops updating the site.
Some agencies bundle this into a monthly fee, which can be good value or can be a subscription for occasional work. Either is acceptable if you know which one you are buying.
The legal pages nobody quotes for
Most jurisdictions require a privacy policy where any personal data is collected — including through a contact form — and many require identifying information about the business operating the site. If you sell anything, terms and returns information are usually required too.
These are rarely included in a design quote, and the default outcome is a template found online with placeholder text left in. A live privacy policy containing a bracketed placeholder where the company name should be is a common sight and a bad look, and in some places a compliance problem.
Ask who is responsible for them. If it is you, start early, because they are the pages that hold up a launch nobody planned for.
Payment structure, and what protects both sides
A deposit before work starts is normal and reasonable. Paying the entire fee up front is not, because it removes every incentive that keeps a project moving.
A common arrangement is thirds: on signing, at an agreed milestone, and on launch. The middle payment should attach to something you can see rather than to a date, so it is a checkpoint rather than a calendar entry.
Whatever the split, the final payment should be due at launch and not before. That is the point at which you can verify what you bought, and it is the only leverage you have if the last ten per cent turns out to be missing.
Usually included, usually not
| Item | Typically included? | Settle before signing |
|---|---|---|
| Design and build | Yes | Number of page templates |
| Mobile layout | Yes | Should never be an extra |
| Website text | Often not | Who writes it, and by when |
| Photography | Rarely | Who supplies it, before design starts |
| Logo and brand | No | A separate project |
| Contact form | Usually | Where submissions actually go |
| Basic on-page SEO | Usually | Titles and descriptions per page |
| Privacy policy and terms | Rarely | Who is responsible |
| Hosting | No | Cost, and in whose name |
| Updates and backups | Sometimes | Included or billed |
| Small changes after launch | No | The price of a text edit |
| Training | Sometimes | Whether you can edit it yourself |
How to commission a website without a scope dispute
- 01
Write down every page you need before asking for quotes
A quote for "a website" is a quote for an imaginary amount of work. A list of pages makes two quotes comparable and makes later additions visibly additions.
- 02
Decide who writes the text, and put a date on it
This is the most common cause of a four-week project taking four months. Either it is in the price, or it is yours with a deadline.
- 03
Sort out photography before design begins
A layout built around placeholder images is built around the wrong shapes. Phone photos in daylight beat stock, which visitors recognise and discount.
- 04
Define a revision round in writing
One consolidated list, sent once. And agree what counts as a revision rather than a new request, because that boundary is where fixed prices dissolve.
- 05
Ask what a text change costs after launch
If changing a phone number requires a quote, the site will stop being updated within a year. This single answer tells you a lot about the relationship.
- 06
Agree who owns the domain and hosting
Both should be in your name, with the agency given access. This is the difference between changing supplier and starting again.
- 07
Name who writes the legal pages
Privacy policy, terms if you sell, and the business identification your jurisdiction requires. They are rarely in the quote and they hold up launches.
- 08
Structure payment so the last instalment is due at launch
Deposit, milestone, launch. Never the full amount up front. The final payment is the only leverage you hold if the last ten per cent is missing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a website quote usually include the text?
Often not. Unless copywriting is named explicitly, the words are normally the client's responsibility, and unwritten text is the single most common reason a four-week project takes four months. Settle it in the quote: either it is priced in, or it is yours with an agreed delivery date.
Who should own the domain and hosting?
You, in your own name, with the agency granted access. This is the difference between being able to change supplier and having to start again. An agency that insists on holding the domain is describing its exit terms, whether or not it says so.
What counts as a revision round?
One consolidated list of changes, sent once. Messages arriving on separate days each trigger rework and are how a fixed price becomes hourly billing. Agree too that a structural change is a new design rather than a revision.
Should I pay for a website up front?
A deposit before work starts is normal; the whole fee is not, because it removes every incentive that keeps the project moving. A common arrangement is thirds — signing, an agreed milestone, and launch — with the final payment due only once you can verify what you bought.
Is hosting included in a website project?
Usually not. Ask what it costs, in whose name the account sits, and whether updates and backups are included or billed. Also ask what a small text change costs after launch — if it requires a quote, the site will stop being maintained.
Who writes the privacy policy and terms?
Rarely the designer, and rarely anyone until launch week. Most jurisdictions require a privacy policy wherever personal data is collected, including through a contact form, plus business identification. Decide who is responsible early, because these are the pages that delay launches.